A Dialogue Between the Academic and Asian American Communities and the FBI

In 2022, the Department of Justice ended its China Initiative — a strategy to counter Chinese espionage and threats to U.S. research security — after academic and civil rights groups raised concerns about bias and damage to the United States’ scientific enterprise. However, there were several recent media reports of border entry issues for Chinese graduate students and academic researchers who are green card-holders and even American citizens.

This event brings together Jill Murphy, deputy assistant director of counterintelligence at the FBI, and the leadership of the FBI’s Houston field office for a dialogue with members of the academic and Asian American communities. It will examine gaps between national science and technology policy and its implementation. It will also explore the possibility of establishing a regular communication channel between the academic and Asian American communities with FBI field offices. 

The event will take place in the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering Science at Rice University. It is free and open to the public. 

This event is co-sponsored by the Baker Institute Science and Technology Program, Rice University’s Office of Innovation, the APA Justice Task Force, and the Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition with support from Rice University’s Office of Research.

Read a related commentary by Neal F. Lane, Steven Pei, and Jeremy Wu.

Registration

This event is free, but registration is required. In-person registration has closed. Zoom registration is still open below.

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Agenda

Organizing Committee Members

Tom W. Abrams, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, University Maryland and Vice Chair, Council of University System Faculty Executive Committee, University System of Maryland

H.C. Chang, Member, Asian American Bar Association of Houston; Legal Advisor, Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition (TMAC)

Gang Chen, Ph.D., Professor and Former Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT; Member, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences, Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Tam Dao, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President for Research Security, Rice University

Kenneth M. Evans, Ph.D., Scholar in Science and Technology Policy, Baker; Assistant Director for Innovation Policy, Rice University

X. Edward Gou, Ph.D., Professor and Former Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University; President, Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering

Peter Michelson, Ph.D., Professor of Physics and Former Senior Associate Dean of Natural Sciences, Stanford University; Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Steven Pei, Ph.D., Professor of Electrical Engineering, Former Associate Dean of Engineering for Research, and Member and Founding Chair of the Faculty Senate Subcommittee on Academic Freedom, University of Houston

Rory Truex, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University

Pretta VanDible Stallworth, Ph.D., Trustee, Houston Community College; Secretary/Treasurer and Director-at-Large, National Association of Community College Trustees; Rice University Engineering Alumni Board

Qin Yan, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology; President, Asian Faculty Association at Yale, Yale University