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Feng "Franklin" Tao

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Feng "Franklin" Tao
Born(1971-08-28)August 28, 1971
Chongqing, Sichuan, China[2][3]
Alma mater
Awards
Scientific career
Institutions
In this Chinese name, the family name is Tao.

Feng "Franklin" Tao[4][5] (Chinese: 陶丰;[6][7] pinyin: Táo Fēng; born August 28, 1971) is a Chinese-born American chemical engineer who was a tenured associate professor at the University of Kansas.[8] His research areas of specialization are heterogeneous catalysis, energy chemistry, nanoscience and surface science.

Education and career[edit]

Tao earned his undergraduate degree at Chongqing Normal University.[9][10] He pursued a PhD in physical chemistry at Princeton University from 2002 to 2007[11][12] and conducted postdoctoral research in catalysis at University of California at Berkeley.

He started his career as an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2014.[13] During his tenure at the University of Kansas, he rose to the rank of associate professor in the chemical & petroleum engineering and chemistry departments (during which time he was honored by the university as a "Miller Scholar")[14] and also served as the director of the Nanocatalysis for Chemical and Energy Transformations Lab.[15]

Tao did research on in situ studies of chemistry & structure of materials in reactive environments,[16] and conducted further studies on reactor for tracking catalyst nanoparticles[17] in liquid at high temperature under a high-pressure gas phase with X-ray absorption spectroscopy.[18] He has published over 180 papers in international journals. He also served on the advisory boards of Chemical Society Reviews and Catalysis Science & Technology.[19]

Federal charges, conviction, and acquittal[edit]

In 2019, the United States Department of Justice indicted Tao for 'failing to disclose conflict of interest with a Chinese university',[20] as the first case of its China Initiative.[21][22] The evidence used by the Department of Justice was obtained after Tao was reported to the FBI for alleged espionage by a vengeful co-author, who presented manufactured evidence to the FBI. Based on this evidence, the FBI obtained a search warrant. Tao was subsequently indicted for an email regarding a contract to teach in China, but not for alleged espionage.[23][24] Tao and his lawyer rebutted the accusations, stating that the contract was neither signed nor accepted by Tao. Using a GoFundMe campaign and loans from family members, Tao and his family raised "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to fund their defense.[22]

On April 7, 2022, Tao was convicted by a jury of "three counts of wire fraud and one count of false statements" for not disclosing the contract on conflict of interest forms.[25][26][27] Tao was fired by the University of Kansas following the conviction.[28]

On September 20, 2022, a federal judge threw out the three convictions of wire fraud, leaving the count of making false statements on a form. The judge ruled that prosecutors had not provided sufficient evidence to prove the wire fraud convictions.[29] On January 18, 2023, the judge sentenced Tao for the count of false statements to time served and supervised release, with no additional prison time, saying his case "is not an espionage case" and the prosecutor presented no evidence that Tao received any money for his work in China.[30] The judge also noted that Tao had published 16 papers and a book while working at home on unpaid administrative leave since being banned from KU's campus in 2019, saying that such a high level of productivity was indicative of his "continued value to society."[31]

On July 11, 2024, a federal appeals court voided Tao's last conviction for the count of false statements, finding that the government had failed to provide sufficient evidence to show that any harm had been done, and directing the lower court to acquit him.[32] Tao is currently seeking reinstatement of his tenured faculty position at the University of Kansas.[33]

Personal life[edit]

Tao is married to Hong Peng, a radiologist.[22]

Awards and honors[edit]

See also[edit]

  • Gang Chen (engineer), another Chinese–American engineer controversially indicted as part of the China Initiative

External pages[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Franklin Feng Tao". ku.edu. 2017-12-04. Archived from the original on October 29, 2019.
  2. ^ "昨日，华裔科学家陶丰被诉欺诈案在美开庭-资讯-知识分子". Zhishifenzi. March 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "前堪萨斯大学学者陶丰上诉,要求撤销最后一项定罪_美中时报 美中经贸的桥梁 精英人士的智库". SinoUSTimes. April 5, 2023.
  4. ^ Remmel, Ariana (2022-09-26). "Federal judge acquits chemist Feng "Franklin" Tao of wire fraud". American Chemical Society Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  5. ^ "University of Kansas Researcher Indicted for Fraud for Failing to Disclose Conflict of Interest with Chinese University". The United States Department of Justice. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  6. ^ "法官判决华人学者陶丰无需入狱 虚假陈述罪仍成立". Caixin. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  7. ^ "停职3年多仍发16篇论文，在美华裔学者迎最新判决—新闻—科学网". ScienceNet. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  8. ^ "Franklin Tao". Department of Chemistry. 2014-12-09. Archived from the original on 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  9. ^ "昨日，华裔科学家陶丰被诉欺诈案在美开庭 - 上海科普网". SHKP. March 22, 2022.
  10. ^ "停职3年多仍发16篇论文，在美华裔学者迎最新判决_陶丰_堪萨斯_美国司法部". Sohu. April 2, 2023.
  11. ^ "Franklin (Feng) Tao". Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. 2014-11-12. Archived from the original on 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  12. ^ Lewis-Kraus, Gideon (14 March 2022). "Have Chinese Spies Infiltrated American Campuses?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  13. ^ "NSF Award Search: Award#1462121 - CAREER: Catalysis on Singly Dispersed Bimetallic Catalytic Sites". nsf.gov. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  14. ^ a b "Franklin (Feng) Tao named AAAS Fellow". Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. 2017-12-04. Archived from the original on 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  15. ^ "Franklin Feng Tao" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  16. ^ Tao, Franklin (Feng); Salmeron, Miquel (2011-01-14). "In Situ Studies of Chemistry and Structure of Materials in Reactive Environments". Science. 331 (6014): 171–174. Bibcode:2011Sci...331..171T. doi:10.1126/science.1197461. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 21233377.
  17. ^ Nguyen, Luan; Tao, Franklin (Feng) (2018-02-01). "Reactor for tracking catalyst nanoparticles in liquid at high temperature under a high-pressure gas phase with X-ray absorption spectroscopy". Review of Scientific Instruments. 89 (2): 024102. Bibcode:2018RScI...89b4102N. doi:10.1063/1.5003184. ISSN 0034-6748. OSTI 1540128. PMID 29495804.
  18. ^ Attorney: Kansas Researcher Denies Concealing Chinese Work Jan. 16, 2020 U.S News
  19. ^ Dame, Marketing Communications: Web // University of Notre (11 January 2011). "Franklin (Feng) Tao accepted invitation to serve on advisory board of Catalysis Science and Technology, a new journal led by UK Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) // Notre Dame Energy // University of Notre Dame". Notre Dame Energy. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  20. ^ "University of Kansas Researcher Indicted for Fraud for Failing to Disclose Conflict of Interest with Chinese University". www.justice.gov. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  21. ^ "University of Kansas chemist Feng 'Franklin' Tao's attorneys move to dismiss charges for fraud and false statements". cen.acs.org. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  22. ^ a b c "How US scheme to catch Chinese spies is enabling what it tries to prevent". South China Morning Post. 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  23. ^ Prasso, Sheridan (2021-12-14). "China Initiative Set Out to Catch Spies. It Didn't Find Many". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  24. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (2021-08-24). "Kansas professor says FBI misled court in alleging hidden ties to Chinese government". The Washington Post.
  25. ^ "Kansas researcher convicted of illegal secret China work". POLITICO. Associated Press. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  26. ^ "Kansas Researcher Convicted of Illegally Hiding Ties to China". VOA. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  27. ^ "Kansas researcher convicted of illegal secret China work". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  28. ^ Mervis, Jeffrey (12 Jul 2024). "Court exonerates Kansas professor in China research fraud case". Science. Retrieved 15 Jul 2024.
  29. ^ Stafford, Margaret (September 20, 2022). "Judge tosses most charges against Kansas researcher". Associated Press. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  30. ^ Stafford, Margaret (January 18, 2023). "Kansas researcher given time served in China-related case". Associated Press. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  31. ^ Mervis, Jeffrey (18 Jan 2023). "No jail time for Kansas professor convicted for undisclosed research ties to China: Sentencing of Franklin Tao is latest rejection by U.S. courts of government's prosecution of Chinese-born scientists". Science Insider. Retrieved 20 Jan 2023.
  32. ^ Karnowski, Steve (2024-07-13). "Court voids last conviction of Kansas researcher in case that started as Chinese espionage probe". Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  33. ^ Mervis, Jeffrey (12 Jul 2024). "Court exonerates Kansas professor in China research fraud case". Science. Retrieved 15 Jul 2024.
  34. ^ a b "Franklin (Feng) Tao | Petroleum Engineering 2016 | Conferenceseries Ltd". petroleumengineering.insightconferences.com. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  35. ^ "Award Abstract # 1462121 - CAREER: Catalysis on Singly Dispersed Bimetallic Catalytic Sites". National Science Foundation. 1 Dec 2014. Retrieved 20 Jan 2023.
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