The Ohio State University has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle federal allegations regarding undisclosed foreign affiliations of a former researcher. The university acknowledged that it failed to disclose ties to China while applying for taxpayer-funded research grants from 2012 to 2023.
The Justice Department alleged that Ohio State did not properly report affiliations and financial support from Chinese universities and state-run research organizations in applications submitted to NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The allegations included the involvement of a principal investigator in China's Thousand Talents Program.
In a statement, Ohio State indicated that it discovered and investigated the foreign affiliations of C.K. Shum, who is no longer employed at the university, and reported these findings to federal authorities.
Benjamin Johnson, chief communications officer at Ohio State, stated that the university took several actions, including suspending Shum’s principal investigator privileges, halting spending on relevant federal awards, initiating disciplinary proceedings, and repaying the federal grant funds in question.
The Department of Justice noted that grant applications required the university to disclose any ties to foreign governments. The settlement addresses allegations that Ohio State failed to disclose collaborations and affiliations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) by certain employees working on NASA and NSF grants.
The DOJ's press release indicated that Ohio State was aware in 2019 of a researcher involved in NASA-funded work who was part of the Thousand Talents Program but did not inform NASA and NSF until 2023. The program is described by the federal government as a Beijing-backed initiative to attract individuals with expertise in overseas technology and intellectual property.
The DOJ also identified other Ohio State employees connected to the grants who had relationships with Chinese entities or received funding from China.
Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Division, emphasized the importance of full disclosure of foreign funding in grant applications, stating that universities benefiting from federal support must comply with disclosure requirements to protect research security and federally-funded scientific achievements.