Tension over US research security likely to grow

Abstract

Throughout 2019, the US Congress, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies expressed fears about the security of research at US universities. In particular, they pointed to Chinese efforts to steal research by secretly hiring US scientists. Those fears have prompted a series of efforts that could result in new security recommendations in 2020. One provision in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act would require the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to look at ways to protect federally funded science from foreign threats. Another would ask the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to examine the balance between national security and international collaborations. The OSTP has has been holding meetings with the research community to talk about security concerns. Scientists are worried that restrictions on traditionally open research will hurt US science. Even in areas of fundamental scientific research that do have national security implications, “we wall