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Editor says he is concerned about Trump administration taking international security too far, ‘suffocat[ing] science’
The editor of the journal Foundation of Physics recently agreed to comply with an Idaho State University request to remove a professor’s name from an academic paper due to a co-author’s ties to China and U.S. security concerns.
However, chief editor Carlo Rovelli also told The College Fix that he believes the reason behind the request, the Trump administration’s international security concerns, is hurting global scientific research.
“The journal I direct will comply, because the researcher is forced by ISU to agree. I respect the decision of the researcher. He cannot put his employment in danger,” Rovelli said in a recent interview.
“What I find particularly absurd is that in the letter ISU states that it has no obligation of taking this decision. It does so for excess of caution. Fear of what? Of losing financial support from the government?” he said via email.
Along with serving as editor of the physics journal, Rovelli is the author of numerous books on physics and philosophy, and the founder of the quantum gravity group at the Centre de Physique Théorique in France.
When asked if he had seen anything like this in the past, Rovelli told The Fix: “Never in many decades of academic life.”
Recently, Rovelli shared a letter on Facebook that he received from Idaho State University administrator Martin Blair requesting that the academic journal remove Professor Emanuele Zappala’s name from a paper, “Operational Protocols Cannot Certify Classicality.” Zappala teaches mathematics at Idaho State.
In the letter, dated Sept. 29, Blair states the reason for the request: “one of the paper’s co-authors, Antonio Marciano, is affiliated with Fudan University in China.” At the time, the paper had been approved by the journal but not yet published. Blair works as the vice president of research and economic development for ISU.
The letter also stated that, “Out of an abundance of caution, ISU does not allow ISU researchers to co-publish papers with collaborators from a 1286-listed institution.”
Earlier this summer, Fudan University was included on a list of foreign higher education institutions deemed by the National Defense Authorization Act to be engaging in problematic activities.
“The 1286 List specifically counters unwanted foreign influence on Department of War funded research by listing foreign entities and talent programs confirmed to be engaging in activities that threaten U.S. national security interests,” the department states on its website.
Any Department of Defense research or department-funded research at universities is prohibited from collaboration with listed institutions. What this means for research groups is a potential cut in federal funding if they choose to work with these institutions.
Additionally, the department warns researchers “that collaborating with an individual affiliated with an entity on the 1286 List constitutes a compliance risk and may negatively impact their eligibility for federal funding.”
Blair at Idaho State told The Fix that the directive to remove Zappala’s name came from the university’s Office for Research “due to specific circumstances related to this situation.”
“Idaho State University will continue to support academic freedom. And, we will continue to comply with national security guidance related to foreign institutions identified by the U.S. government as posing a U.S. national security risk,” he told The Fix via email.
Additionally, Blair said the decision is not a result of ISU policy, but of a federal government directive.
“Idaho State University and public research universities across the U.S. have an affirmative obligation to comply with national security standards and guidance,” he said.
However, editor Rovelli told The Fix that he is concerned about the impact of the guidance on international scientific collaboration.
“Decoupling scientific research internationally is a way to suffocate science. Pushes in this direction in the US are already leading toward isolation and scientific decline of the US,” he told The Fix.
When asked if this could negatively impact the professor’s reputation or career, Rovelli answered: “Certainly not the reputation, but yes the career, since it takes away the recognition.”
The War Department’s media relations office, when asked about the editor’s concerns, referred The Fix to the National Defense Authorization Act and the NDAA list.
Recently, the Department of War commended several universities for “quickly terminating problematic relationships with entities on the NDAA Section 1286 list and implementing significant mitigation measures to safeguard research.”
The praise was connected to an audit of 30 universities that severed ties to “problematic” international institutions. Idaho State was not one of them.
“Our work will continue. Institutions that fail to meet research security standards are on notice: taxpayer dollars will not support institutions whose partnerships put the American warfighter or the Nation’s technological advantage at risk,” Under Secretary of War Emil Michael stated in the news release.
The Fix also contacted Professors Marciano and Zappala about their paper and the university correspondence, but neither responded.
MORE: Universities end 80 foreign agreements after national security audit
