Yesterday, after deliberating for just under three hours, a Boston jury found renowned Harvard chemist and nanoscientist Charles Lieber guilty of lying to the US Defense Department and National Institutes of Health about financial support from a Chinese foreign talent program, reports Science. The verdict, which was unanimous, also convicted Lieber for failing to report income from the program on his federal income tax forms or to disclose a Chinese bank account that was used for the payments.
Through a recruitment initiative known as the Thousand Talents recruitment program that is run by China’s government, in 2011 Lieber spearheaded a joint venture with the Wuhan University of Technology called the WUT-Harvard Joint Nano Key Laboratory. The program afforded him a monthly salary of $50,000, living expenses of $150,000, and lab startup funds of more than $1.5 million, The New York Times reports. He also received millions in research grants from ...
