Ohio State University agreed to pay $2.1 million to the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly failing to disclose that a university professor and employees in his lab had ties to China in applications for federal funding, the department announced Aug. 31.
C.K. Shum, a former Ohio State Earth sciences professor, received NASA and National Science Foundation grants from November 2012 to August 2023. His research focused on understanding global sea-level rise due to various geophysical sources, according to Shum's now-removed curricula vitae.
In 2019, Ohio State officials learned that Shum was participating in the Thousands Talents Program. That program was established by the Chinese government to recruit people with knowledge of or access to foreign
intellectual property, according to the Justice Department.
Shum admitted to his involvement in the program, and Ohio State launched an investigation. But the Justice Department said Ohio State did not notify NASA or the NSF about Shum's ties until 2023. A federal investigation also identified additional OSU employees who worked on those grants and were affiliated with, or collaborated with, or received funding from China.
Federal law prohibits the use of grant funds for collaborations with China, Chinese universities, or any Chinese-owned companies.
The settlement is not an admission of liability by Ohio State.
Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson said in a statement that the university uncovered "Shum’s inappropriate foreign affiliations" and took disciplinary actions after its investigation, including suspending his principal investigator privileges, halted spending on the relevant federal awards and repaid the federal grant funds in question.
"Ohio State takes national security seriously, and the university has long been recognized for its efforts to promote research integrity and security," Johnson said. "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."
Shum is no longer employed at Ohio State, and the university has cooperated with federal authorities throughout the investigation, Johnson said.
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State pays $2.1 million to feds over hiding ties to China in grant application
