Proceedings of a Workshop

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This activity was supported by the United States Department of Defense under award numbers W911NF18D0002 and W911NF20F0052, the National Institutes of Health under award HHSN263201800029I/75N98020F00015, and the, and the National Science Foundation under award number 2154341. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the roundtable.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-72695-5
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-72695-6
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/27976

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable Capstone: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27976.

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PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR THE NATIONAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SECURITY ROUNDTABLE CAPSTONE WORKSHOP

KATHRYN A. MOLER (Chair), Marvin Chodorow Professor, and Professor of Applied Physics, of Physics, and of Energy Science and Engineering, Stanford University

THOMAS E. MASON, Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory

J. MICHAEL MCQUADE, Special Advisor to the President, Carnegie Mellon University (until June 30, 2024)

ANNA PUGLISI, Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution (as of September 1, 2024)

Staff

KARLA HAGAN, Staff Director

STEVEN KENDALL, Senior Program Officer

ZARIYA BUTLER, Senior Program Assistant

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NATIONAL SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SECURITY ROUNDTABLE

JOHN C. GANNON (Co-Chair), Former Chairman, National Intelligence Council (retired)

RICHARD A. MESERVE (Co-Chair), President Emeritus, Carnegie Institution

MARIA T. ZUBER (Co-Chair), E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

CHAOUKI T. ABDALLAH, Executive Vice President for Research and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (until September 10, 2024)

CHRISTOPHER AUSTIN, CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering (until March 31, 2024)

THOMAS FINGAR, Shorenstein APARC Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University

J. MICHAEL MCQUADE, Special Advisor to the President, Carnegie Mellon University (until June 30, 2024)

KATHRYN A. MOLER, Marvin Chodorow Professor and Professor of Applied Physics, of Physics, and of Energy Science and Engineering, Stanford University

ANNA PUGLISI, Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution (as of September 1, 2024)

JASON DONOVAN (Ex Officio Member), Director of the Office of Science and Technology Cooperation, U.S. Department of State

LYRIC A. JORGENSON (Ex Officio Member), Associate Director for Science Policy, U.S. National Institutes of Health

REBECCA KEISER (Ex Officio Member), Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy, U.S. National Science Foundation

HARRIET KUNG (Ex Officio Member), Acting Director of the Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy

MICHAEL S. LAUER (Ex Officio Member), Deputy Director for Extramural Research, U.S. National Institutes of Health

THOMAS E. MASON (Ex Officio Member), Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory

BINDU NAIR (Ex Officio Member), Director for Basic Research, U.S. Department of Defense (until October 18, 2024)

JEFFREY J. WELSER (Consultant), Chief Operating Officer, IBM Research

Staff

KARLA HAGAN, Staff Director

STEVEN KENDALL, Senior Program Officer

ZARIYA BUTLER, Senior Program Assistant

Reviewers

This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by E. WILLIAM COLGLAZIER, American Association for the Advancement of Science (retired). He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this

proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies.

Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Preface

Summary

1 Introduction

2 The Work of the National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable

3 The U.S. Research System’s Role in National and Economic Security

4 The Nature of the Geopolitical Challenge

5 University and National Lab Responses on Research Security

6 Funding Agency Responses

7 Law Enforcement Agency Responses

8 Legislative, Regulatory, and Other Types of Responses

9 Potential Near- and Long-Term Responses on Research Security

10 Possible Future Directions for Securing Scientific Research While Preserving Openness in the U.S. Research System

11 Concluding Session: A Brief Summary and Synthesis of the Capstone Workshop

APPENDIXES

A Abbreviated Agendas for NSTSR Regional Meetings

B Workshop Agenda

C Workshop Advance Reading Materials

D Workshop Slide Presentations

E Biographical Sketches of Workshop Participants

F The National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable Co-Chairs’ Paper

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Preface

Since 2020, the National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable, or NSTSR, has explored the risks and benefits of open research in the context of national and economic security. This capstone workshop brought together experts and stakeholders to reflect on the Roundtable’s work and possible paths forward.

An experimental physicist, I began to grapple with research security policy in 2018 when I accepted a role as Stanford University’s senior research officer. I joined the national discourse on security and foreign interference just as federal agencies were publicizing research integrity issues, strengthening disclosure requirements, and tightening enforcement. I was sobered by the strong polarization of opinions. Some advocated for the value of the free exchange of ideas but downplayed the costs of unfair practices and resisted increased oversight. Others sounded alarms about threats posed by foreign adversaries but seemed to minimize the disadvantages of restricting research collaboration.

The roundtable gave many stakeholders an opportunity to learn, teach, and promote best practices. We need a common understanding of costs, benefits, and risks: if we ignore the risks, others may unfairly exploit our open system; if we compromise our core strengths, we may sacrifice our inherent advantages.

The roundtable’s co-chairs, John Gannon, Dick Meserve, and Maria Zuber, memorialized insights from our conversations and regional visits in a paper shared at the beginning of the capstone workshop and published

herein as Appendix F. In the context of the threat from China, they recommended that we weigh the risks of both threats and constraints, welcome and value foreign-born researchers who are eager to join and strengthen our institutions, invest strongly in science and technology, and maintain close contacts between the research community, the funding agencies, and the Intelligence Community.

The planning committee designed this capstone workshop to disseminate and build upon the co-chairs’ paper, share the roundtable’s work, and discuss ways to address foreign threats and ensure our nation’s continued leadership in science and technology. The assembled experts offered valuable perspectives and insights on simultaneously cultivating a thriving research system and safeguarding it through carefully considered security measures.

As I reflect on everything I have learned, four principles emerge:

Differentiate research topics and apply appropriate controls. Agency staff who understand both the science and the tradeoffs should be empowered to make these determinations. Our open research environment accelerates innovation, promotes education, creates opportunities for diplomacy, and broadens our knowledge. We must preserve these benefits while ensuring that open research is conducted with integrity, reciprocity, and transparency. We also must identify research that poses a specific benefit or threat to national security and conduct it in secure environments.

Invest in research. We need to invest sufficiently to remain at the forefront of discovery. Federal funding has declined as a percentage of gross domestic product. The United States still invests substantially in research and development, but our relative global position has slipped as other countries, particularly in Asia, have increased their investments.

Foster talent. As Susan Gordon¹ said during the capstone workshop, the great supply chain issue of our time is not microchips, but talent. The best way we can tackle momentous challenges is to cultivate a smart, creative, and capable new generation, drawing both from domestic and immigrant sources.

Continue sharing expertise and knowledge. The roundtable convened researchers, policymakers, diplomats, faculty members, congressional staffers, national security experts, leaders of technology companies, representatives of professional societies, officials of federal funding agencies,

___________________

¹ Co-chair of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Protecting Critical Technologies for National Security in an Era of Openness and Competition and the consensus study report Protecting U.S. Technological Advantage, and former principal deputy director of national intelligence.

scholars in science policy and international relations, experts on intellectual property and export controls, members of the national intelligence and law enforcement communities, administrators and research officers from universities and national labs, individuals affected by government actions both in China and in the United States, and members of the public. When we value and respect each other’s expertise, we can develop effective and balanced solutions to the complex challenges that arise wherever science, technology, and national security intersect.

On behalf of the panelists and participants of the capstone workshop, and on behalf of the Workshop Planning Committee consisting of Thom Mason, Michael McQuade, Anna Puglisi, and myself, staffed by Karla Hagan, I hope these proceedings introduce you to issues before us and suggest paths to a secure, strong, and innovative research environment.

Kathryn A. Moler, Chair
Planning Committee for the National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable Capstone Workshop

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