Federal Findings Raise Alarming Questions About Texas A&M’s Research Security

A new report from the House Select Committee on China, released Oct. 13, documents why stronger research security safeguards are necessary. The case of Dr. Enrique Lavernia, now a professor at Texas A&M University, raises serious questions about whether the university’s screening procedures are sufficient.

The committee’s report, “How to Stop China’s Theft of America’s Taxpayer-Funded Research,” draws on federal investigations, inspector general findings and enforcement records. It challenges the argument that existing university oversight adequately addresses foreign research security risks. The evidence includes cases involving undisclosed Chinese university appointments, foreign compensation, research funding and participation in Chinese government talent recruitment programs. In some cases, federal investigators documented years of undisclosed relationships. The report makes clear that disclosure requirements mean little without verification and enforcement.

Texas A&M’s Enrique Lavernia has a record that is particularly concerning.

Before joining Texas A&M in November 2023, Lavernia served as provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of California, Irvine, and previously held senior leadership positions at the University of California, Davis. He was an established researcher who received federal research funding and served as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation (NSF).

But an NSF Office of Inspector General investigation found that Lavernia had failed to disclose significant foreign affiliations and funding sources.

According to the investigation, Lavernia began serving as a visiting professor at China’s Wuhan University of Technology in 2006. In 2013, he became a strategic scientist at the university. In 2014, he joined China’s Thousand Talents Program, and in 2015, he became dean of the International Model College of Materials Science and Engineering at Wuhan University of Technology. He was also named an honorary professor at South China University of Technology.

The Thousand Talents Program was established by the Chinese government to recruit foreign expertise and facilitate the transfer of technology and intellectual property to China. Such programs have raised national-security concerns because they can provide the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese institutions access to expertise developed in the United States.

Lavernia’s own contract with Wuhan University of Technology, obtained during the federal investigation, reportedly provided 8 million renminbi, approximately $1.13 million, for infrastructure and equipment, a monthly payment of $50,000 tied to his time working in Wuhan, and a living allowance of approximately $141,500. The contract also called for him to work up to nine months annually for the Chinese university, cultivate students and faculty, pursue projects, and publish research in the university’s name (pg. 509).

Federal investigators found that these positions and other foreign funding had not been disclosed in Lavernia’s NSF proposals dating back to fiscal year 2012. Investigators also found undisclosed affiliations and funding involving NASA and omissions of relevant information during his Department of Energy security-clearance process. The NSF Office of Inspector General described the conduct as a pattern of deception, recommended a government-wide suspension in July 2020, and referred the matter to federal prosecutors for further investigation and possible criminal prosecution.

These findings deserve scrutiny regardless of a researcher’s academic reputation.

In November 2023, Texas A&M announced Lavernia’s appointment as a joint faculty member in its materials science and mechanical engineering departments. The university highlighted his National Academy of Engineering membership and distinguished academic career. His appointment followed his departure from UC Irvine, where he had remained a distinguished professor after stepping down as provost in 2020.

The public record establishes his history before arriving at A&M. A university entrusted with protecting Texas research should explain how its hiring and research-security processes account for serious findings in federal investigative records.

This is especially important because Texas A&M has been entrusted with a leading role in research security. In July 2024, the NSF announced a five-year, $67 million SECURE initiative, allocating $17 million to Texas A&M to lead SECURE Analytics. The project is intended to develop tools and analyze data to identify and mitigate research risks. Texas A&M’s research-security leadership makes the questions raised by Lavernia’s appointment more important.

Research security officers have not proven capable of catching these cases.

Texas has a responsibility to protect our research from hostile foreign influence. The Lavernia case demonstrates why setting up a council will not solve the problems we are seeing.