Pentagon Considers Tighter Controls on Academic Research By RON SOUTHWICK
Washington
The Department of Defense is considering new restrictions on research sponsored by the military, including the possibility of imposing criminal sanctions against individuals who publish unclassified studies involving basic research. College lobbyists and even some officials within the Defense Department say that the proposed regulations, which are driven in large part by concerns about terrorism in the aftermath of September 11, would unacceptably constrain university research.
The proposed rules, detailed in a 110-page document titled "Mandatory Procedures for Research and Technology Protection Within the DOD," are under review within the military. The regulations, if enacted, would mark a drastic change from current policy, which exerts tight controls only on research on classified technologies, Defense Department officials said. The military now allows scientists using funds from the department to discuss and publish fundamental research in conferences and journals.
The Defense Department has drafted the new procedures to protect its material and technologies, potentially including all unclassified science and technology. Under the proposed policies, scientists using funds from the department would need authorization to disclose research findings or results. Sharing such information without clearance could lead to administrative sanctions or criminal penalties, even for work defined as fundamental research.
The proposal also calls for scientists using Defense Department funds to report all foreign travel. Institutions receiving grants would also be responsible for making sure subcontractors comply with the regulations. Other steps under consideration involve a new database tracking every researcher using Defense Department funds, and new restrictions on access by foreign nationals to material defined as "critical research technologies," which some officials say could include most or all military research.
The plans are largely driven by concerns raised by the September 11 attacks, but also stem from security lapses within the Department of Energy's national laboratories in recent years.
Some Defense Department officials feel the regulations would go too far and may stifle military research. In a review of the proposed regulations, one department official concluded that such restrictions would discourage top scientists from doing military research and could actually weaken national-security efforts.
"If approved in their present form, the directives can be expected to have a chilling effect on the defense research conducted by the nation's universities, industrial centers, and military laboratories," the department official wrote in a review of the regulations.
When asked for official comment, a Defense Department spokeswoman said new guidelines were under review but had not been finalized. She said she could not answer specific questions about the proposal.
The new policy, developed by the military's counterintelligence sector, began circulating through the Defense Department last month. An internal request for comments is scheduled to end on Sunday. Some officials hope that the comment period is extended to allow more time for revisions, particularly relating to areas affecting research done by universities.
The military spends $1.38-billion on basic research and is a major federal sponsor of studies in computer science, engineering, biology, mathematics, and oceanography. About 60 percent of the military's fundamental research is done by academic scientists.
A Defense Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposed regulations would not deter all university scientists from seeking research grants. However, the official said that it may prompt scientists who can win funds from other agencies to stop working for the Defense Department.
"The highest quality people will go elsewhere," the official said. Noting the requirements for authorization and the threat of sanctions for violating the policy, the official added, "The best people will not want to subject themselves to that."
Wary of being viewed as insensitive to national-security concerns, college lobbyists who are aware of the proposal are responding cautiously. But some have privately expressed alarm about the prospect of criminal penalties for disclosing basic research and are hoping that the Pentagon revises its proposal.
The Coalition for National Security Research, a group that represents higher-education institutions, hopes the department's effort to protect sensitive technologies does not put unmanageable barriers on scientific research. "We look forward to working with the department on an effective balance between maintaining national security and fostering scientific progress and innovations so that America's universities can continue to help the department achieve its mission," said Elaine McCusker, co-chairwoman of the coalition.
One Department of Defense official said that university scientists may have little to worry about. Even if the department were to adopt the policy, the official said, it would be unlikely to impose a harsh penalty unless a scientist disclosed material that could pose a serious threat to security.
Other Pentagon officials disagreed, however, saying the mere mention of the possibility of criminal sanctions within the regulations would threaten academic researchers.
Some Defense Department officials say the proposed regulations may contradict national-security policy. President Ronald Reagan issued a directive in 1985 stating that "fundamental research" should remain unrestricted to the maximum extent possible. When control over a given study or technology is needed, it should be done through the procedures for classifying information, according to the policy put in place by Mr. Reagan.
In the proposal under review, the military would protect a new set of material considered "critical research technology," but some Defense Department officials say that the current definition for such sensitive material would include all military research. The guidelines define such critical technology as research and development that is "identified and prioritized by site directors and managers that may be important to maintaining the U.S. warfighters' operational advantage when the resulting capability becomes part of a future DOD acquisition program or system."
Department officials concerned with the new policy said that definition would eventually include all Defense Department work, largely because administrators would identify all their research projects as important to national security, for fear of facing budget cuts if they did otherwise.
A proposal to create a new database for all military research also has elicited criticism within the military. The Defense Department currently maintains records of institutions working in sensitive technologies. But a department official questioned the need to develop archives of every researcher using the military's funds, or requiring all scientists receiving department funds to report any foreign travel. Such steps should only be employed for researchers working with technologies that would pose a clear security threat if they fell into the wrong hands, the official said.