Ohio State agrees to $2.1 million settlement over undisclosed China ties in federal research grants

The Ohio State University has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle federal allegations that it failed to disclose employees’ affiliations with, and financial support from, China while receiving research funding from NASA and the National Science Foundation.

The settlement covers NASA and National Science Foundation research grants awarded to Ohio State between November 2012 and August 2023.

The Justice Department said annual faculty activity reports submitted to Ohio State since at least 2014 identified affiliations between university employees and Chinese universities and state-run research organizations. Federal officials allege Ohio State did not disclose those relationships to NASA or NSF as required during the grant process.

The allegations center in part on former Ohio State earth sciences professor C.K. Shum, who received NASA and NSF research grants.

Ohio State learned in 2019 that Shum had participated in China’s Thousand Talents Program, according to the settlement. The Justice Department described the program as a Chinese government initiative established to recruit people with knowledge of or access to foreign technology and intellectual property.

Ohio State did not notify NASA and NSF about Shum’s participation until 2023, according to federal officials.

“American universities that benefit from the federal government’s support for scientific research and advancement must fully disclose all foreign funding in their grant applications,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a statement.

“We will continue to hold accountable any university that fails to comply with disclosure requirements designed to protect research security and federally-funded scientific achievements,” Shumate added.

Federal law has prohibited the use of NASA grant funding for certain collaborations with China, Chinese universities and Chinese-owned companies since 2011. NASA and NSF also required Ohio State to disclose foreign government support received by principal investigators and co-principal investigators seeking grant funding.

Federal investigators identified additional Ohio State employees who worked on the grants and allegedly had affiliations with or collaborations with or received funding from China.

Ohio State did not admit liability as part of the settlement.

“This settlement agreement is neither an admission of liability by OSU nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded,” the agreement states.

Ohio State spokesman Chris Booker said the university cooperated with federal authorities and has safeguards in place to protect research integrity and national security.

“Ohio State takes national security seriously, and the university has long been recognized for its efforts to promote research integrity and security,” Booker said, according to Cleveland.com. “Safeguards include dedicated research compliance and secure research offices, mandatory conflict-of-interest and research security disclosure systems, and robust security and foreign influence training programs.”

Booker said Ohio State suspended Shum’s privileges as a principal investigator and halted spending on the affected grants after investigating his foreign affiliations and reporting them to NASA and NSF.

Ohio State previously repaid $254,661 to NASA and NSF in January 2024 and will pay approximately $1.8 million more to the federal government under the settlement, according to the agreement.

NASA’s Office of Inspector General characterized the case as a national security issue.

“The settlement and accompanying compliance agreement send a clear message: We will not tolerate institutions that conceal foreign ties and compromise national security,” NASA Office of Inspector General senior official Robert Steinau said in a release.