News & Issues:
Security Plans Worry Colleges

Lisa M. Krieger
Mercury News
Posted Nov. 05, 2005
(http://www.mercurynews.com)

New federal proposals would significantly change how research is conducted at universities, placing tough restrictions on foreign-born scientists and tightening access to equipment and computers.

Universities are exempt from most federal controls on their work because they conduct what the government calls "fundamental research'' -- work that is taught in open classrooms, published in journals and shared openly with the vast scientific community.

But to bolster national security, the Department of Commerce and Department of Defense say stricter standards are needed. If adopted, the proposals would restrict access to some information and technology that is not "classified'' to prevent its export to foreign countries.

"We wouldn't be able to operate,'' said Robert Price, associate vice chancellor for research at University of California-Berkeley. "It runs counter to the essence of our operation here.''

Specifically, the Department of Defense is considering proposals that would require some foreign students to work in segregated laboratories and wear special badges, coded to restrict access to labs.

The Commerce Department would require universities to apply for a license before allowing some foreign-born faculty members, staff members or students -- even those who are U.S. citizens -- to use common scientific equipment such as GPS systems, cell-growing fermenters, the mass spectrometers used to measure concentrations of atoms and molecules -- even high-end computers such as Mac laptop and desktop computers. The universities would need to identify students to the government by their country of birth, not where they hold citizenship.

"I don't think I would come here if I'm not allowed to do what I need to do,'' said Arjun Gupta, a 19-year-old engineering student at UC-Berkeley. A native of India, he gained admission to the leading universities of India and England -- but chose UC-Berkeley for its technical excellence.

"Being an engineer, I need to use labs and equipment,'' said Gupta. "If I'm restricted from doing that, what is the point of coming?''

The proposals are still preliminary. The public comment periods recently closed, and decisions are expected in the winter or spring of 2006.

Tightened security restrictions put in place after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks already limit foreign students' ability to participate in sensitive projects for companies or the government.

The new proposals were triggered by a 2004 fact-finding mission by federal officials to major U.S. research institutions, including Stanford and UC-Berkeley. Based on their visits, they alleged that universities were unwittingly granting foreign researchers unauthorized access to unclassified, but sensitive, technologies, such as the electronic systems and other components of an unmanned reconnaissance vehicle.

"Our overriding focus is to prevent exports that are contrary to our security and foreign policy interests,'' said acting undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Peter Lichtenbaum in a speech last spring.

While universities support rigorous security, they say the new proposals would be virtually impossible to implement. "Universities have hundreds and hundreds of pieces of equipment, all used for different purposes and by people from hundreds of different foreign nations,'' said Robert Hardy, director for contracts and intellectual property at the Council of Government Relations in Washington, D.C.

At a time when the nation is seeking greater competitiveness in science and engineering, new restrictions could set back research and exacerbate the declining enrollment of foreign nationals in the U.S. science and engineering graduate schools, they say.

"It would make foreign nationals second-class citizens in universities throughout the country,'' said Stanford University's Dean of Research Arthur Bienenstock in a letter to the government.

Ample safeguards are already in place, including visa screening for foreign nationals and classification procedures, universities say. Much of the equipment that will be controlled is already available on the commercial market, they add.

Stanford has about 3,000 international students, researchers and visiting professors, UC-Berkeley about 2,500. Nationally, about one-third of the estimated 450,000 science and engineering graduate students in the United States are non-Americans, according to the Association of American Universities. Many others are naturalized U.S. citizens born abroad.

"It is this diversity and fluidity of people and ideas that has resulted in our greatest scientific advancements,'' wrote Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers.

Greatest scrutiny would be given to graduate or postdoctoral students from 12 so-called "countries of concern'' -- including India, China, Israel and Russia -- who do research with any technology that has a potential military application.

"We have the best and brightest from all over the world who have built up our economy,'' said Edward Lee, associate chair of UC-Berkeley's department of electrical engineering and computer sciences. "Failing to recognize that is a big mistake.''

Stanford, the University of California, and other leading universities say they do not conduct research from "classified'' grants on campus precisely to avoid federal restrictions. Many say they would reject millions of dollars worth of federal grants rather than agree to what is being proposed.

"We educate -- that is what we do. That means working in open labs, with free access to all students and faculty, where there can be a free flow of ideas,'' said Heath Brown, director of policy analysis at the Council on Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C.

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