Gutmann protests research restriction

Penn President Amy Gutmann spent Friday lobbying against a proposed law that would require foreign students and professors working in scientific labs to get special permission from the federal government.

The FBI's National Security Higher Education Advisory Board, on which Gutmann and 14 other universities' leaders serve, convened for the first time Friday at FBI headquarters in Washington.

Committee members met with FBI and Department of Commerce representatives to protest the proposed law, which Gutmann said would damage the power and appeal of American universities' research capabilities.

The discussion focused primarily on "deemed exports," regulations that restrict who has access to potentially dangerous materials and technology in research labs.

As the regulation stands, foreign students and professors don't need licenses to work in labs with equipment that can be used both for civilian and military purposes.

The materials necessary to cultivate anthrax, for example, are found in most basic scientific labs -- including Penn's, according to School of Medicine Vice Dean for Research and Research Training Glen Gaulton.

But Gutmann and other Penn administrators say that if the exemption is revoked -- as the federal government is considering -- the results could be disastrous for research universities across the country.

"It is very, very important that the government not burden universities with regulations that would prevent us from engaging in the highest levels of research," Gutmann said, adding that the proposed solution seems out of proportion with the scope of the problem. "It would be tantamount to trying to kill an ant with a sledgehammer."

But FBI spokesman William Carter said that concerns over foreign nationals entering the country for research are valid.

"Foreign governments are vitally interested in research at United States universities," Carter said. "Professors have been threatened and coerced to provide research information" to other countries' intelligence services.

Carter added that his organization takes the perspective Gutmann presented at the meeting seriously and that the gathering also allowed federal representatives to inform universities about current threats to the country.

For Gaulton, who said that a quarter of graduate students in his school come from outside the United States, requiring foreign students to get a research license would be "catastrophic, impractical and nonsensical," he said.

He added that a new requirement would not enhance national security because most substances used to create biological weapons occur naturally.

David Roos, the director of the Penn Genomics Institute, said that virtually all lab equipment could be considered subject to the law.

"Much of the equipment one would need [to create harmful agents] is basically high school laboratory equipment," Roos said.

Gutmann also said that the new requirement would be discriminatory against foreign nationals and damage Penn's ability to appeal to international students.

Assistant Provost of International Affairs JoAnn McCarthy agreed with Gutmann.

"We do not want to see critical research going to other universities" because students and professors from abroad find it easier to go to another university, McCarthy said.

Roos said he knew a Palestinian researcher who was considering coming to Penn, but upon being denied a research permit by the Department of Homeland Security, the researcher went to work in Canada instead.

"He's doing spectacular work, and I wish he were doing it here," Roos said.

FBI Director Robert Mueller formed the advisory board last year in order to hear the perspective of higher education on national security issues. In addition to Gutmann, representatives include Penn State University President Graham Spanier and Johns Hopkins University President William Brody.

Lobbying the FBI - National Security Higher Education Advisory Board includes 15 university leaders, Gutmann among them - The board met for the first time Friday at FBI headquarters in Washington - Gutmann protested a proposed law which would make foreign researchers get permission to work in many U.S. labs, including those at Penn

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