Select Committee on China

🚨 The Select Committee on China has released 700+ pages of previously non-public, unclassified investigative records concerning research security cases investigated by the NSF Office of Inspector General (chinaselectcommittee.house.g…). The records document cases involving undisclosed foreign appointments, compensation from 🇨🇳 institutions, participation in 🇨🇳 talent recruitment programs, conflicts of commitment, and repeated failures to disclose information required by federal research funding agencies. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Chunmei Wang, Texas Tech University Xiang-Qiang Chu, Wayne State University An Chen, Iowa State University Franklin Tao, University of Kansas Center for Research Inc Hu “Tiger” Tao, University of Texas-Austin Chenzhong Li, Florida International University Shaorong Liu, University of Oklahoma Hu Bin, University of Tennessee Knoxville James Ricles, Lehigh University Sebastian Bednarek, University of Wisconsin-Madison Mingqing Xiao, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Weiwei Deng, University of Central Florida / Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) Alex Liu, Michigan State University Tao Li, University of Florida Le Song, Georgia Tech Research Corporation Tim Li, University of Hawaii / Hawaii Earth Science Consulting Various Principal Investigators / Co-PIs, Stanford University 👉🏻 an Oct 2022 NSF investigation identified at least 26 Stanford University research awards involving researchers who participated in foreign-funded projects that had not been disclosed to the agency. Those awards had more than $12.8M in associated claimed costs, according to the investigative records. Investigators recommended suspending 14 awards because of disclosure deficiencies. The documents do not establish that NSF ultimately suspended all 14 awards or that the entire $12.8M was improperly spent. The investigation also identified Stanford professor Richard Zare as holding a Chinese Thousand Talents Program appointment requiring 3 months of work annually at a foreign university. Stanford had known about Zare’s appointment since May 2019 but had not formally notified NSF. Investigators recommended suspending his research award, which had received ~$464,000. Wenlu Zhu, Wenlu Zhu, Chunsheng Wang, and Ming C. Lin, University of Maryland College Park Luiqing Yang, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Enrique Lavernia, University of California-Irvine 👉🏻 a 2020 NSF investigation involving Enrique Lavernia, a Cuba-born materials scientist who served as executive vice chancellor and provost of the University of California-Irvine until Mar of that year. Investigators documented his undisclosed affiliations with Wuhan University of Technology and other Chinese institutions, including participation in Beijing’s Thousand Talents recruitment program. Wuhan University of Technology publicly identified Lavernia as a strategic scientist and reported that he received the Chinese Government Friendship Award in Sep 2017. A Chinese Academy of Engineering document credited Lavernia’s work with helping China develop advanced materials and manufacturing technologies for defense weapons and equipment. The records also contain an unsigned Chinese employment contract offering $50,000 per month, research-team funding, laboratory support, and other benefits. Lavernia repeatedly omitted Chinese affiliations and compensation from federal research disclosures and a Department of Energy Top Secret security-clearance reinvestigation. The NSF investigation identified ~$5.2M in federal research awards associated with him since fiscal year 2012. NSF imposed a government-wide suspension in July 2020, temporarily barring him from receiving federal grants and contracts. Lavernia joined Texas A&M University in 2023. In Mar 2026, the university named him a university distinguished professor, its highest faculty distinction. University materials identify NSF and Energy Department support for his research. chinaselectcommittee.house.g…