Pentagon scrutinizes foreign research ties at 30 US academic institutions

The Pentagon ordered 30 U.S. academic institutions to audit their research and financial ties to certain foreign entities or risk losing eligibility for future federal research funding, it announced Monday. The institutions must review partnerships with international entities identified under federal law, as well as organizations associated with rebranded Confucius Institutes, and evaluate whether they may have revealed sensitive or export-controlled information. Institutions have until Aug. 31 to report their conclusions and any mitigation efforts, including discontinuing collaborations deemed troublesome, to the Defense Department. The department did not name the 30 institutions publicly. “The Department of War has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security,” said Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s top research and engineering chief, in a release. “Institutions that receive funding from American taxpayers must uphold the highest standards of research security, and these mandated audits will ensure accountability across the board.” The audits target ties to foreign entities identified under Section 1286 of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which established a Pentagon standard for identifying international organizations that pose national security issues. The fiscal 2025 list of institutions the Defense Department deems problematic includes 130 organizations from China, Russia and Iran, ranging from electronic measurement labor…