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Exclusive: US National Science Foundation reveals first details on foreign-influence investigations

The funding agency has taken action in 16–20 cases in which foreign ties were not properly reported.
  1. Andrew Silver
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The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has for the first time released figures on the actions it has taken against researchers found to have violated rules on the disclosure of foreign ties. Since 2018, the agency has reassigned, suspended or terminated grants, forced institutions to return funds or barred researchers from applying for future funding in 16–20 cases in which rules weren’t followed, according to Rebecca Keiser, the agency’s first chief of research security strategy and policy.

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Nature 583, 342 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02051-8

Updates & Corrections

  • Clarification 08 July 2020: The story has been updated with a direct quote from Heather Pierce that more accurately reflects her opinion.

  • Correction 09 July 2020: The story stated that the Office of Inspector General made recommendations to the National Science Foundation about non-criminal cases and referred criminal cases to the FBI. The office has since contacted Nature to clarify that administrative recommendations are often made during the course of ongoing investigations to protect NSF funds. It refers criminal and civil cases to the US Department of Justice.The story has also been updated to clarify Steven Chu's statement.

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