US Indicts Science Professor For Concealing Ties With Chinese University - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2019) A professor at the University of Kansas (KU) has been indicted with failing to disclose he worked full time for a Chinese university while accepting US Federal funding for research, the Department of Justice said in a press release.

"Feng 'Franklin' Tao, 47, of Lawrence, Kansas, an associate professor at KU's Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC), is charged with one count of wire fraud and three counts of program fraud," the release said on Wednesday.

Tao was employed since August 2014 by the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis, whose mission is to conduct research on sustainable technology to conserve natural resources and energy, the Justice Department said.

"The indictment alleges that in May 2018 Tao signed a five-year contract with Fuzhou University in China that designated him as a Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor. The contract required him to be a full-time employee of the Chinese university," the release said.

However, while Tao was under contract with Fuzhou University, he was also conducting research at University of Kansas that was funded through two US Department of Energy contracts and four National Science Foundation contracts, the release added.