Dr. Charles M. Lieber has a long, long list of accomplishments and honors to his credit. He does research in nanotechnology, advises scientific journals, and was the principal inventor on 35 patents. He's the Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University.
He was arrested in January, charged with lying to the United States government about his ties to China's Thousand Talents Program - and the money they've paid him. As a recipient of millions of dollars of U.S. grants, he was supposed to disclose whether he was also receiving payment from any foreign governments. He answered, No.
Why did he do it? Sounds like China gave him compelling amounts of money: $50,000 per month, $158,000 as living allowance, and $1.5 million to create a research lab in Wuhan, China. You have to wonder if he really thought he could hide all that money.
Did he sell America's intellectual property to the Chinese? Dr. Lieber now has the focused attention of the Department of Justice, and he's on indefinite leave from one of the most elite universities in America.
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