NASA Researcher Arrested for Allegedly Hiding Ties to China

NASA Researcher Arrested for Allegedly Hiding Ties to China
Visitors walk along a pond behind the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, on Dec. 2, 2018. Scott Olson/Getty Images
Cathy He
Cathy He
EDITOR
|Updated:
A Texas A&M University (TAMU) professor has been arrested and charged in connection with hiding his funding from China while working as a researcher for NASA, the Justice Department announced on Aug. 24.

Cheng Zhengdong, 53, a professor of engineering at TAMU for years, deliberately concealed his ties to Chinese universities, a Chinese company, and state-backed talent plans, while at the same time leading a research team for NASA, prosecutors allege. Under the terms of his grant from NASA, Cheng was prohibited from collaborating with Chinese institutions, the department added.

Cathy He
Cathy He
EDITOR
Cathy He is the politics editor at the Washington D.C. bureau. She was previously an editor for U.S.-China and a reporter covering U.S.-China relations.
twitter
Related Topics