Ohio State University has agreed to a $2.1 million settlement to address allegations that it failed to disclose certain faculty members’ ties to Chinese institutions when applying for federal research grants, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. The settlement pertains to grants awarded by NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) between November 2012 and August 2023.

Both NASA and the NSF require applicants to disclose any foreign government support received by principal investigators or co-principal investigators involved in federally funded research. According to the Department of Justice, Ohio State University did not provide this information despite internal reports identifying faculty affiliations with Chinese universities and state-run research entities.

Specifically, the allegations focus on annual faculty activity reports submitted by OSU starting in 2014 that noted connections to Chinese institutions. However, the university reportedly failed to notify NASA or the NSF of these relationships. Furthermore, in 2019, the university became aware that a principal investigator working on NASA grants participated in the Thousand Talents Programme, a Chinese government initiative aimed at recruiting experts with access to foreign technology and intellectual property. OSU did not disclose this involvement to the federal agencies until four years later, in 2023.

The Justice Department stated that the settlement resolves the allegations but that no determination of liability has been made. The announcement also noted the identification of additional employees connected to the grants who had affiliations with or received funding from Chinese organizations.

The NSF, established by Congress in 1950, is a key source of funding for scientific research in the United States, while NASA manages the nation's space exploration program. The Thousand Talents Programme, launched by the Chinese government in 2008, seeks to attract overseas scholars of Chinese descent by providing research funding and other incentives.

Ohio State University has settled the claims without admitting wrongdoing and agreed to pay the $2.1 million to resolve the matter, underscoring ongoing scrutiny of foreign affiliations in federally funded research projects.