Harvard scientist convicted of lying about China ties rebuilds brain-tech lab in China
Dr., a former Harvard scientist who was convicted in 2021 of concealing his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program. Charles Lieber has since rebuilt his office. brain-computer interface laboratory in Shenzhen, China, according to Reuters.
Convicted of six crimes Lieber served two days in jail and six months under house arrest for his crimes after lying about a contract with Wuhan University of Technology.
Just three years after this conviction, Reuters reportedLieber fled to China, where he became head of the country’s burgeoning program to connect the human brain to computers.
Considered one of the world’s authorities on nanotechnology, Lieber is currently the head of the China Institute of Brain Research, Advanced Interfaces and Neurotechnologies (i-BRAIN).
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Charles Lieber, chair of the department of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University, is released from the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston on January 30, 2020. Federal authorities said Lieber, a nanoscientist and entrepreneur, received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Chinese contacts.
(Getty Images)
“I arrived on April 28, 2025, with a dream and much more, maybe a few bags of clothes,” Lieber said at a Shenzhen government press conference in December. “Personally, my goals are to make Shenzhen a world leader.”
His departure marks the confluence of a number of emerging trends. Although his initial conviction highlights the continued efforts of the United States Reducing Chinese tech theftSome experts argue that his defection is proof that these efforts have failed.
“China has weaponized our own openness and innovation efforts against us,” said Glenn Gerstell, an advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former U.S. general counsel. National Security agency (NSA), told Reuters. “They turned it around, turned it against us, and they are taking advantage of it.”
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Beinao-1, a semi-invasive brain-machine interface system also known as the NeuCyber Matrix BMI system, is displayed during a media briefing as part of a media tour of the China Brain Research Institute in Beijing, China, on March 19, 2026.
This move also shows the imports made by China develop advanced technologies. Lieber’s original contract with Wuhan University of Technology paid him $50,000 per month and over $150,000 in living expenses. His new lab probably cost the Chinese government much more than that.
Lieber reportedly has access to a broad suite of tools and resources to continue developing computer-brain interfaces. produce coveted semiconductor chips and a large primate laboratory.
Wang Jianwei C, a professor at Peking University, tests an integrated photonic quantum chip with doctoral students Jia Xinyu L and Zhai Chonghao at the Peking University laboratory in Beijing, China, February 18, 2025.
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Computer-brain interfaces show promise It can be used to treat neurological disorders but also has potential military applications.
Fox News Digital contacted Harvard University and i-BRAIN for additional comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Original article source: Harvard scientist convicted of lying about China ties rebuilds brain technology lab in China
