Ohio State University Settles for $2.1 Million Over Undisclosed Researcher Ties to China
The Ohio State University has agreed to pay $2.1 million to resolve federal allegations that it failed to disclose a former researcher's affiliations with Chinese entities while receiving taxpayer-funded research grants. The Justice Department alleged that from 2012 to 2023, Ohio State did not properly report affiliations and financial support involving Chinese universities and state-run research organizations in applications and reports submitted to NASA and the National Science Foundation. These allegations included a principal investigator's participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program. Ohio State stated that it uncovered and investigated former earth science professor C.K. Shum’s foreign affiliations itself and subsequently reported them to federal authorities. Shum is no longer employed by the university. The university suspended Shum’s principal investigator privileges, halted spending on relevant federal awards, initiated disciplinary proceedings, and repaid the federal grant funds in question. 
