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Convicted Former Harvard Scientist Rebuilds Brain Computer Lab In China (reuters.com) 72

Posted by BeauHD from the brain-drain dept.
Reuters reports that Charles Lieber, the former Harvard scientist convicted of lying to U.S. authorities about payments and ties to China, is now leading China's state-funded i-BRAIN lab in Shenzhen, where he has access to advanced nanofabrication tools and primate research facilities for brain-computer interface work. From the report: Charles Lieber, 67, is among the world's leading researchers in brain-computer interfaces. The technology has shown promise in treating conditions such as ALS and restoring movement in paralyzed patients. But it also has potential military applications: Scientists at China's People's Liberation Army have investigated brain interfaces as a way to engineer super soldiers by boosting mental agility and situational awareness, according to the U.S. Defense Department. Lieber was found guilty by a jury and convicted in December 2021 of making false statements to federal investigators about his ties to a Chinese state program to recruit overseas talent, and tax offenses related to payments he received from a Chinese university. He served two days in prison and six months under house arrest, and was fined $50,000 and ordered to pay $33,600 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. During the case, his defense said he was suffering from an incurable lymphoma, which was in remission, and he was fighting for his life.

Three years after he was sentenced, Reuters has learned that Lieber is now overseeing China's state-funded i-BRAIN, or the Institute for Brain Research, Advanced Interfaces and Neurotechnologies, with access to dedicated nanofabrication equipment and primate research infrastructure unavailable to him at Harvard. The lab is an arm of the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation, or SMART. "I arrived on April 28, 2025 with a dream and not much more, maybe a couple bags of clothes," Lieber said of his move to China at a Shenzhen government conference in December. "Personally, my own goals are to make Shenzhen a world leader."

SMART last year appointed Lieber as an investigator, according to a post on i-BRAIN's website dated May 1, 2025. That news was covered by some media outlets. The same day, i-BRAIN said Lieber had also been appointed its founding director -- an announcement that went unreported at the time. This story is the most comprehensive account of Lieber's activities since he moved to China. Reuters is reporting for the first time that his lab has access to dedicated primate research facilities and chip-making equipment; that it sits within a sprawling ecosystem of state-backed institutions bankrolled by billions of dollars in government funding; and that it is housed within an institution that is luring top scientific talent back from the United States.

Convicted Former Harvard Scientist Rebuilds Brain Computer Lab In China More | Reply

Convicted Former Harvard Scientist Rebuilds Brain Computer Lab In China

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  • It being China we're taking about, I'm going to go ahead and translate "dedicated primate research facilities" into "prisons."
    • Not the "brain drain" we were worried about...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by seeker ( 9636 )

      Diabolical, but I bet you are correct.

      • Apparently there's strong evidence that the plasticized bodies in "Bodies: The Exposition" are Chinese political prisoners. I was too lazy to look up this evidence, so I just threw out a flippant comment that alluded to China's impressive and well documented lack of giving any shits about human rights.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      But why single out China? This business is global, just like any other organ harvesting. As the song goes;

      Whatever they can do, we can do better...

  • Once upon a time, this would have made him a prime target for a fatal accident -courtesy of the CIA.

    • Pity it still doesnt. No one likes a traitor.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dfghjk ( 711126 )

        You're a Trump supporter, you love a traitor.

      • Why is he a traitor? Because he wants to do research but cannot do it in the US because he got sentenced? It's not like the US isn't attracting chinese scientists to their labs, funny enough if you look at many 'US' patents, it got chinese names on it.. It's US its own fault he went to china to continue his research, and with that loosing valuable knowledge..

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

          Not only that, the US tossed him in jail. Definitely not a recommended recruitment or retention strategy recommended by 9 out of 10 HR professionals.

  • How did he leave the country? (Score:3)

    by DrMrLordX ( 559371 ) on Thursday April 30, 2026 @03:18PM (#66120830)

    How did this guy leave so easily? Surely he was placed under travel restrictions after the end of his house arrest?

    • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

      by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 )

      He started wearing brown makeup outside - ICE deported him after a few days. The only tricky part was getting from El Salvador to China...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      He served out his sentence (2 days in jail, house arrest, and 2 years supervised release) for two counts of filing a false income tax return, and two counts of failing to report foreign bank accounts. Why would he have any travel restrictions after his sentence was completed?

      • He had ties to a Chinese state-owned operation and lied to Federal authorities about leaking sensitive information to them.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

          The authoritarianism isn't sneaking in anymore, hey? You're outraged it's not coming fast enough.

    • From the article:

      While still on supervised release, Lieber obtained court approval for at least three trips to China in 2024, including one that U.S. District Judge Denise Casper granted for "employment networking," court documents show.

      The answer to your question is no. He was upfront about what he was doing, and the court permitted it. Why wouldn't they? Once his sentence was completed, he had as much right to move to another country as anyone else.

  • Selling to the highest bidder, isn't that what the economic geniuses here all support? Funny how greed and racism can come into conflict.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ffkom ( 3519199 )
      Indeed, "recruiting overseas talent" seems to be a most common thing when "we" do it... why would it be a crime if "they" do it, too?
  • The US has no moral standing to criticize anyone in the world. Look at what US or its cat's paw are doing *simultaneously* at this very moment :
    Adding more deaths to an existing genocide in Gaza
    Looking to make Lebanon the next Gaza
    A war of choice in Iran that started with a school bombing and is having ripple effects world-wide, including the possibility of famine in poor countries.
    An oil blockade on Cuba that is causing suffering and deaths.
    que meme: are we the bad guys?

    • Move your ass to China then if you think it's so great.

    • Cat's paw?

      And, would these things happen without the US being involved? Answer is Yes!

      Possibility of famine in poor countries? Isn't that constantly a thing, anywhere/everywhere?
      No moral standing? What countries have higher moral standing than the US (not saying we're top of the heap)?
      I seem to remember during Desert Storm and War On Terror... somehow, those wars didn't disrupt oil as fast as this one did. Did the premature BEV push somehow increase oil usage a lot faster than they can produce fuel for

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cusco ( 717999 )

        How frelling long have you had your head in the sand?

        When Israel started its project the US shipped (according to the IDF) over 25,000 tons of weapons just in the first six months, most of it at US taxpayer expense. Yes, your tax dollars and mine helped Israel kill tens or hundreds of thousands of children and those of us who complained about being made party to a genocide were derided as 'antisemitic'. The shipment of free weapons to slaughter civilians continues, by the way.

        So the US imposing a blockade

        • What is "frelling"?

          Started this "project" (as you said) or this war?
          Oh, and why would the US (a mostly Christian nation) want to send anything to help defend (what is predominantly considered by a pretty good majority to be) the seat of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam?
          Is it the US's job (solely, entirely, with no involvement from anyone else) to make sure every single other place on the face of the Earth has food? What happened to NATO and WHO? Did they suddenly cease to exist in the last five minutes?

          Ac

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by cusco ( 717999 )

            OK, come back when you've graduated high school and maybe we'll talk. Until then attempt to learn a little bit about history, economics, trade, and if it's not too much to comprehend maybe take a look at other cultures. It will serve you in the future.

      • No moral standing? What countries have higher moral standing than the US (not saying we're top of the heap)?

        That list is easy to compile. And long.

        Start with the Scandinavians. Add all of the Baltics. Continue in Oceania and then East Asia with Japan and South Korea.

        Admittedly, now we move to an area of the world with candidates which will feature at the opposite end of that list.

        • Umm... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
          They don't have factories that crank out missiles and M16's by the thousands.
          Not to mention the whole WWII thing... they don't really wanna get involved with anyone's (or in everyone's) crap.

          The US _has to be_ involved (being part of NATO and the UN, and a major superpower)... if the US didn't do a thing (whether it's Iran or Pakistan or Venezuela), we'd be the criminal, and we couldn't "borrow" non-existent money for the National debt. (and, plus, if there's oil, 'b

        • That's like saying a quadriplegic is more moral because they'll never get into a fistfight.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cusco ( 717999 )

      We are the Evil Empire.

      I had one over-arching criteria during the 2024 election: I would not vote for anyone who supported genocide. Doesn't seem like a high bar to pass, does it? No one leading either major party or several of the smaller ones could bring themselves to say, "Genocide is wrong and I won't use your tax dollars to fund one."

      **sigh**

  • While the US harasses them for breaking silly rules, China welcomes them
    The US is run by lawyers, China is run by technical experts
    We need to abandon the old cold war thinking and move toward greater cooperation with China

    • Technical experts who come up with technical solutions, like "simply remove the population that resists our authority". Of course, they are brilliant technocrats, so waste not want not, that becomes "remove the organs from the resistant population, implant them in reliable party supporters".

      Yeah, let's definitely cooperate more with that. Great idea. No worries for you as I'm sure you'd never resist government authority.

      You got the sarcasm, right?

  • Enjoy the fish heads and rice you commie bastard.

  • "I arrived on April 28, 2025 with a dream and not much more, maybe a couple bags of clothes," Lieber said of his move to China at a Shenzhen government conference in December. "Personally, my own goals are to make Shenzhen a world leader."

    SMART last year appointed Lieber as an investigator, according to a post on i-BRAIN's website dated May 1, 2025. That news was covered by some media outlets. The same day, i-BRAIN said Lieber had also been appointed its founding director -- an announcement that went unreported at the time. This story is the most comprehensive account of Lieber's activities since he moved to China. Reuters is reporting for the first time that his lab has access to dedicated primate research facilities and chip-making equipment; that it sits within a sprawling ecosystem of state-backed institutions bankrolled by billions of dollars in government funding; and that it is housed within an institution that is luring top scientific talent back from the United States.

    SO:
    He moved to China at least a full year ago.
    Five months ago he spoke in front of a crowd at a conference.
    The news of his appointment to the company was covered in the media.
    This current story is not the first account of his move, it's just "the most comprehensive... since he moved".
    This is just the first time Reuters has bothered to report... [insert list of scare phrases where straightforward facts that are exactly what you'd expect from every engineering/tech research operation on the planet with regard

    • Your well-motivated , well stated and undoubtedly well financed hit-piece against a hit-piece should please  your CCP handler. SlashDot as an agentic platform shines again! Bite me if I'm wrong, still  rewards go right to the top ...  justifying  every penny Chen Yixin paid . 

    • Or the simpler explanation... Reuters had nothing better to report, but has to write something in order to make money.

      • Or the simpler explanation... Reuters had nothing better to report, but has to write something in order to make money.

        Oh definitely. Horses not zebras.
        I don't, of course, actually know the reason for the article. But it definitely reads like the kind of thing someone would write in an campaign to astroturf some Yellow Panic for the sake of new federal policy or contract dollars.

  • This reads a lot like a scare piece. It says lots of vague or innocuous things in ways that are supposed to sound ominous, and tries to imply they add up to something sinister.

    The field he works in potentially has military applications? You could say that of almost any research in any field done anywhere. In this case it's really a stretch. Those applications are speculative and probably a long way off, unlike the well established applications helping people with brain disorders.

    The institute where he n

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cusco ( 717999 )

      Indeed.

      Scientists at China's People's Liberation Army have investigated brain interfaces as a way to...

      As though scientists in the MIC would never have contemplated such a thing. I remember this research being under way in the '80s, and have trouble believing it doesn't continue.

    • Yep. Full of curious word choices intended for dumb readers.

      Also unaddressed is the nominal two days in jail. Two days for two counts of what I'm guessing is the same conduct: ie for two tax returns he had a bank account in China that he didn't list. Two days in jail implies the court decided on one day per offence.

      This has the hallmarks of one of those get-him-anyway-you-can cases which wouldn't happen outside of political instructions.

    • What I took away was that this prick who took money from China to stab his nation and fellow citizens in the back, is now living high on the hog in China, instead of being in a pillory here so we could be throwing manure in his face by the shovelfull.

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