Stay on the right side of export control laws

In 2012, University of Tennessee professor John Reece Roth began serving a four-year jail sentence for export control violations. His crime: Using graduate students from China and Iran for U.S. Air Force research and carrying restricted data on his laptop during a trip to China.

The professor's incarceration illustrates how serious the consequences can be for academics who flout U.S. laws that are intended to keep certain technologies and information out of the hands of foreign nationals and nations.

While jail time for export control violations may be rare, tangling with the feds over export controls can be costly in other ways. Fines can run as high as $1 million per violation. Other consequences may include loss of funding or research privileges for an individual or even an entire institution.

ISU export control officer Brooke Langlitz said a little knowledge can go a long way in helping Iowa State faculty and staff avoid export control violations.

Export control laws, designed mostly to serve national security or foreign policy purposes, are plentiful and complex. However, faculty and staff don't need to become experts, Langlitz said. They simply need to be able to identify red flags -- signs that their research or other work activities might be subject to export controls. Once they've flagged a potential issue, a quick call to Iowa State's export control office will get them in touch with the experts who can guide them through the paperwork and approval processes.

A one-page online document Is My Work at ISU Subject to Export Controls? provides a good overview of the kinds of university activities that may be subject to export control.

Here are a few of the red flags noted in the document:

You're shipping something abroad

Anytime you're shipping something to a foreign collaborator abroad or a foreign national in the United States, consider whether the items in the shipment might be subject to export control. In the Export Administration Regulations alone, there are thousands of controlled items grouped into several categories:

• nuclear
• materials, chemicals, microorganisms and toxins
• materials processing
• electronics
• computers
• telecommunication
• information security
• sensors and lasers
• navigation and avionics
• marine
• aerospace and propulsion

The export control office can help you determine, for example, if that electronic device or unpublished research data makes the list.

Shipments containing biological materials, including seeds, are common at Iowa State. International shipments of biological materials always require export control reviews, Langlitz said. Basically, a review involves scrutiny of the material itself, the person and the institution receiving it and, perhaps most importantly, its intended use.

"There are pathogenic bacteria that can be used for wonderful vaccines," Langlitz explained. "But bacteria could also be used for creating biological weapons."

Faculty and staff who aren't sure if their shipments are subject to export controls should contact the export control office as early as possible.

You're planning to take a laptop or GPS device out of the United States

Laptops and GPS devices are covered by export controls, in certain cases. Much depends on what's on the device and where you're taking it. Generally you can take your device abroad if:

• It doesn't have encryption software;
• It doesn't contain unpublished technical data; and
• You're not traveling to a U.S.-sanctioned country -- Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Even if you're not going to one of these countries, it's a good idea to touch base with the export control office; sometimes you'll need to carry documentation for your device when you travel to other places.

Your sponsored research requires pre-approval prior to publication or places restrictions on foreign national participation

Whether your sponsor is John Deere, Boeing or the U.S. Department of Defense, export controls may apply if you're:

• Sending items or information outside the United States or to a foreign national in the United States
• Including international researchers or students in the research project
• Traveling abroad with your research data

It's wise to get ISU export control administrators involved in any of these situations. Restrictions will vary with the research, the sponsor and the foreign country involved.

Your work involves travel to, or collaboration with, citizens of these countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria or Sudan

Because there are U.S. trade sanctions against these five countries, export control reviews are required for any research activities with them.

Export controls also are selectively applied to other countries as well. It all depends on the research and the reasons for the export control, Langlitz said. For example, an export control for high-level national security reasons might be applied for every country but Canada.