UD to pay $715K to U.S. for NASA grant violations, professor’s ties to China

UD will pay $715,580 to the U.S. government as part of the settlement agreement. (Photo from NASA)

The University of Delaware has reached a settlement to pay the federal government $715,580 after withholding information about a professor’s ties to China. 

David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced Monday that the agreement resolves civil allegations that the institution of higher education failed to disclose a professor’s affiliations with and support from the government of the People’s Republic of China in connection with federal research funding.

In June of 2020, NASA issued a grant to UD, and since 2011, federal law has prohibited NASA from using funds to collaborate with China or any Chinese-owned companies.  

Allegations arose that UD caused NASA to violate this law by failing to disclose that one of the principal investigators on the grant was affiliated with the Chinese government through employment at a Chinese university, participation in a program established by the Chinese government to recruit individuals with knowledge or access to foreign technology intellectual property, and a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. 

The professor responsible for causing the incident is Dr. Xiao-Hai Yan, who was a listed co-investigator on the grant and had the above affiliations with China throughout that time period.

Dr. Yan, who is listed on the UD website as retired, is listed as the director of the UD Center for Remote Sensing, the associate director of the NASA-Delaware Space Grant, and the Mary A.S. Lightihipe Professor of Marine Studies in the School of Marine Science & Policy. He received his Ph.D. in satellite and physical oceanography from SUNY-Stony Brook in New York.

“Federal law requires universities, institutions, and researchers to make disclosures, including certain foreign affiliations, when applying for grants so that the granting agencies can assess whether to fund their research and development,” Weiss said in a statement.  “My office will hold accountable applicants who undermine the integrity of the federal grant process by knowingly failing to submit complete and truthful applications.”

NASA’s grant money was distributed to UD between June 1, 2020, and August 31, 2023.

“The University of Delaware is proud of its strong record of compliance in overseeing sponsored research and remains committed to promoting and safeguarding the responsible pursuit of scientific research,” the school said in a statement Monday. 

It continued that the university relies, in part, on the candor and complete disclosures of individuals involved in the grant process. 

“Dr. Yan (1) was a faculty member at Xiamen University (XMU), a public university in China; (2) applied for and received funding from National Science Foundation of China and State Oceanic Administration; and (3) was a Thousand Talent Program recipient and specially appointed professor under the Program at XMU,” the settlement agreement states.

The agreement is neither an admission of liability by UD nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.

UD must pay the U.S. government within 30 days, and $357,790 of the $715,580 is restitution. 

Yan did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

“This settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by the University, but rather a strategic decision to avoid costly and distracting litigation,” UD’s statement read.

Jarek Rutz

Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.

Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz and on LinkedIn.