October 30, 2017

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The Chronicle

See Inside Duke rolls in exhibition opener Page 6

T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y

MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2017 DUKECHRONICLE.COM

COVERT AFFAIRS New book describes how foreign intelligence can manipulate American universities like Duke

Ha Nguyen | Staff Graphic Designer

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH YEAR, ISSUE 23

By Neelesh Moorthy Towerview Editor

D

id a billion-dollar Chinese company with close ties to the Chinese government steal valuable intellectual property from Duke? That’s the story told by ProPublica Journalist Daniel Golden in the first chapter of his recently-released book, “Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI, and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit American Universities.” Today, the Kuang-Chi conglomerate’s affiliates— Kuang-Chi Science Limited and Kuang-Chi Technologies Company Limited—have $2.95 and $6.93 billion valuations. The conglomerate uses metamaterials—materials that demonstrate properties not found in nature—to improve aviation, wireless internet and mobile payment solutions, among other uses of the technology. Per Kuang-Chi Science’s webpage, the company works to “provide a series of disruptive space services and build a global disruptive space technology alliance.” But prior to Kuang-Chi’s inception in 2010, its founder Ruopeng Liu, M.S. ‘08 and Ph.D. ‘09, worked in the lab of renowned metamaterials researcher David Smith, James B. Duke professor of electrical and computer engineering. Smith did not respond to questions in time for publication. Liu allegedly passed data from the lab to Chinese researchers, data which Golden wrote could have helped the United States develop military technology. The FBI has never charged Liu with a crime, but it has taken an interest. The FBI’s National Security Higher Education Advisory Board discussed Liu’s exploits at an October 2012 session. “Without [Smith’s] knowledge, a Chinese national targeted his lab and created a mirror institute in China,” per an agenda from the meeting Golden obtained via a public records request. “The episode cost Duke significantly in licensing, patents and royalties and kept Smith from being

the first to publish groundbreaking research.”

visit the lab, and Smith agreed once Liu said China would foot the bill. Economic espionage Cui’s team took photos of the lab, and could recreate the Smith joined Duke’s faculty in 2004. lab in China, per information Golden got from the FBI and In 2006, his Duke lab created a prototype invisibility another student in Smith’s lab. cloak. Although the cloak could not conceal objects from the Throughout the chapter, there are multiple signs of human eye, it could from microwaves—meaning potential suspicious behavior on Liu’s part. In one example, Golden applications for cell phones and antennas. writes that a postdoctoral fellow in the lab gave Liu data, only Also in 2006, Ruopeng Liu joined Smith’s lab. In the to see Cui present the results as his own. Liu was also cobook, Smith described him as a promising student and full authoring papers with Cui’s research team. Smith instructed of enthusiasm. He soon stepped up as a leader of sorts in the Liu to stop—thinking at first it was an honest mistake—but lab, Golden wrote. the publications kept coming. Eventually, Liu made what would seem to be an innocent Although the book indicated that Smith might have suggestion—the lab should collaborate with one in China, looked the other way due to the importance of collaboration, run by Tie Jun Cui, Cheung-Kong professor at Southeast Smith and Liu’s relationship eventually soured. University in Nanjing, China. Smith—wanting to share the See INTELLIGENCE on Page 3 fruits of collaboration—agreed. Liu suggested Cui’s team

Duke men’s basketball dons ‘EQUALITY’ warmup shirts By Sameer Pandhare Staff Reporter

Neal Vaidya | Staff Photographer

As Duke ran out of its locker room for the final time before tip-off in its first exhibition game against Northwest Missouri State, the Blue Devils took the court donning all black. But Duke was not wearing the all-black jerseys it’s sported on the road over the years. Instead, the Blue Devils took the floor wearing shirts with the word ‘EQUALITY’ written across the chest. In a year when the line between sports and a turbulent political climate has blurred to an unprecedented extent, Duke made an opening statement in what is likely to be a yearlong topic of interest for even casual college basketball fans. “We had a few discussions as a team about what’s been going on in the country specifically with the national anthem, and we decided that

INSIDE — News 2 | Sports 5 | Crossword 9 | Opinion 10 | Serving the University since 1905 |

@dukechronicle @dukebasketball |

as a team we would stand and wear the equality shirts,” senior Grayson Allen said. “What that would symbolize basically is a sentence that everyone knows, ‘One nation, under god, with liberty and justice for all.’” The intrigue only built as it came time for the national anthem at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Although a slew of players across the NFL have either taken a knee or decided to stay in the locker room, it has yet to be seen what the response in college basketball would be. “All of our guys want to stand,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Not everybody wants to put their hand over their heart, and they don’t have to do that. Some guys put their heads down because they’re praying. Some people put their hands on the side or in the back. For the next two hours, the Blue Devils brought the Cameron Crazies to their feet with See EQUALITY on Page 8 @thedukechronicle | © 2017 The Chronicle


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