Ex-Harvard Chemist Charles Lieber Joins Chinese University

Former Harvard Chemistry professor Charles M. Lieber, who was convicted of lying to federal authorities about his ties to China in 2021, took a new job as a professor at a Chinese university last week.

Lieber started his new role at Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, where he now holds the school’s highest faculty rank, in Shenzhen, China, on April 28.

“Shenzhen’s dynamism and innovative spirit align perfectly with my vision to co-create a global scientific hub here,” Lieber said during an April 28 ceremony welcoming Lieber to the university, according to a press release.

Lieber was found guilty in 2021 of six felony counts of concealing his ties to the Thousand Talents Program, a Chinese government initiative which brings overseas researchers to the country, in misleading statements and falsely reported tax returns. In 2023, Lieber was sentenced to one day in prison, a $50,000 fine, and two years of supervised release, including half a year of house arrest.

He had been actively searching for a job in China since at least last June. In October, a federal judge granted him permission to visit China for “employment networking” and to deliver a lecture in Beijing.

Lieber, a pioneer in applying nanotechnology to biology and medicine, once held Harvard’s highest faculty rank as a University Professor and was an internationally celebrated chemist.

He was arrested on Harvard’s campus in 2020 and charged with making false statements about his involvement with TTP. Immediately following his arrest, the University placed Lieber on paid administrative leave and replaced him as chair of the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department.

Lieber’s conviction marked a high-profile victory for the Department of Justice’s China Initiative, a controversial series of prosecutions launched in 2018 under the first Trump administration that attempted to crack down on alleged intellectual property theft perpetrated by China. The initiative was shuttered in 2022 amid allegations that it targeted individuals of Chinese descent and strayed from its initial goals.

His arrest drew backlash from many prominent scientists, including seven Nobel laureates and more than two dozen Harvard professors, who signed an open letter calling his prosecution “unjust.” The letter cautioned that similar legal actions could have a “chilling effect” on global scientific collaboration.

His new position in China comes as the country attempts to catch up — or even surpass — advanced industrial economies, including the U.S., in its technological prowess by investing heavily in research and scientific education.

Tsinghua SIGS Dean Ouyang Zheng said during the April ceremony that Lieber’s new appointment would “advance SIGS’s academic excellence and contribute to the establishment of a world-class scholarly community,” according to the press release.

—Staff writer William C. Mao can be reached at william.mao@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @williamcmao.

—Staff writer Veronica H. Paulus can be reached at veronica.paulus@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @VeronicaHPaulus.