Arrested in January 2021, followed by a year-long investigation, and dropped charges in January this year... In the blink of an eye, Chen Gang, a Chinese-American professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who had been slandered by the U.S. Department of Justice as a "Chinese spy," had been away from the center of public opinion for more than half a year.
NBC reported on August 26 that according to Chen Gang, his life in the past six months has been bittersweet: just last month, Chen Gang's research team discovered the "best semiconductor material to date" cubic boron arsenide; But he still lives in fear of wrongful prosecution. Chen Gang said he would withdraw from the study and "have received enough federal funding" to decide to stay away from the U.S. federally funded research project.
Screenshot of NBC report
"I hope [cubic boron arsenide] will get the attention of the scientific community and the government to fund more research in this area," Chen told NBC, but for him, he was going to withdraw from the study, "basically, I'm done with federal funding."
Gang Chen is part of a research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Houston, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In July, the research team discovered the semiconductor material cubic boron arsenide and published the results in the Journal of Science. Due to its ultra-high performance in thermal and electrical conductivity, cubic boron arsenide is also known as "the best semiconductor material ever discovered".
Silicon is currently the most widely used semiconductor material, and scientists say cubic boron arsenide could help designers overcome existing model limitations to make better, faster, and smaller chips. Previous experiments have confirmed that the thermal conductivity of the material is about 10 times that of silicon.
Chen Gang told NBC that the research is still in its early stages and may be years away from commercial use, but the findings have "great potential." He added that his team made the first prediction for the material in 2018 and was "very pleased that our prediction was correct."
In July this year, Chen Gang's research team published an article in the journal Science
However, this success has not cured the shadow that Chen Gang has encountered over the past year or so.
"I love science, but I still live in fear, and many people like me still live in fear," Said Chen Gang, who has long been terrified by a wrongdoing by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2021 and has left his family suffering as a result.
Chen Gang went on to point out that now, not only does he want to stay away from the U.S. federally funded jobs, but he even feels troubled by opening emails from international scholars. "The damage has been done," he said.
Gang Chen is a Chinese-American (a graduate of Huazhong University of Science and Technology) and serves as director of the MIT Papado Micro and Nano Engineering Laboratory and director of the Solid-State Solar Thermal Conversion Center. Beginning around 2013, his research at MIT received more than $19 million in grants from U.S. federal agencies. At the same time, since 2012, Chen Gang has held a number of positions in China and received financial returns.
In the early morning of January 14, 2021, Chen Gang was making coffee at home when more than a dozen agents suddenly came to the door and tortured Chen Gang away in front of Chen Gang's family. After being released in the afternoon, he "shuddered all over" in the car home.
After his arrest, Chen Gang was charged with wire fraud (not reporting partnerships with Chinese research institutions when applying for a U.S. Department of Energy grant in 2017), making false statements on tax returns, failing to file foreign bank account reports, and facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
However, many of the allegations in the indictment are untenable. The amount of cooperation does not belong to Chen Gang personally, but belongs to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and this cooperation has also been promoted on the school's official website and has not been deliberately concealed. After the incident, more than 170 MIT faculty members signed a joint letter to upset Chen Gang's arrest.
Chen Gang (infographic)
After a year-long investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice dropped charges against Mr. Chen in January. However, according to US media reports, prosecutors refused to apologize to Chen Gang, and even said that this played a role in "killing chickens and making monkeys".
Chen Gang was one of the academics arrested for the China Initiative. Under the plan to capture "Chinese spies", 20 researchers have been innocently affected, the vast majority of whom are Chinese scientists. It is worth mentioning that a study published last October showed that more than 50 percent of Chinese-American scientists in the United States "feel quite frightened or anxious" because they believe they are being monitored by the U.S. government.
Amid widespread protests and controversies over racial discrimination, on February 23 this year, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the termination of the much-maligned China Action Plan.
Looking back on his experiences over the past year or so, Chen Gang bluntly said that he had a tough time: although the academy provided him with a lot of support, his professional reputation was damaged. He said he was placed on paid leave during the investigation, and many of his students and postdocs had to reschedule their career paths.
"Worst of all, america's competitiveness is declining as a beacon of talent from around the world," Mr. Chen said.
"[More than three decades ago], I said ,'The academic environment here in America is awesome', so I decided to stay,' he recalls. Actually, I would say I'm so grateful for all the opportunities I've been given. But it makes me sad and sad for many of us because so much has changed here. ”
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