Charles Lieber, the former Harvard University chemistry department chair who was convicted in the US for concealing his ties to China’s Thousand Talents Program, has been appointed as a chair professor at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.
Lieber is a renowned nanoscience researcher who won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 2012 and was considered a potential Nobel Prize candidate. He was convicted in the US for lying to federal authorities in 2018 and 2019 about his involvement in China’s Thousand Talents Program and his relationship with Wuhan University of Technology.
According to previous media reports, the US Department of Justice alleged that Lieber signed a three-year contract with the Chinese talent recruitment program. The agreement included establishing a research laboratory at Wuhan University of Technology, publishing papers, organizing international conferences, and applying for patents on behalf of the university. He reportedly received approximately $50,000 monthly plus $150,000 in living expenses.
In December 2021, a jury found Lieber guilty of tax crimes and making false statements about his work in Wuhan. He was sentenced in April 2023 to a fine and two years of supervised release, with the first six months under house arrest.
According to an announcement on the Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School website on May 1, Lieber has joined the institution full-time. The appointment ceremony took place on April 28, where he received certificates naming him as a Tsinghua University chair professor and a researcher at the Shenzhen Medical Sciences Academy.
During the ceremony, Lieber expressed that his goal for the coming years is to “build a global technology center and realize more scientific dreams” with colleagues in Shenzhen. He stated that he is ready to begin a new research journey and eager to start work immediately.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 4, 2025
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202505040113.aspx