Research Safety and Security

Research safety and security applies to four major areas: Biological and Environmental SafetyExport ControlsData Access and Use, and Facilities Access and Use

  • University policies related to Biological and Environmental Safety are designed to ensure that employees, students and visitors follow safe practices when working with or near hazardous agents and that the University is in compliance with all relevant Federal, State and local laws and regulations.
  • Export Controls are U.S. laws and regulations that regulate and restrict the release of critical technologies, technical data, software code, equipment, chemical and biological materials, and other materials, and information and services to foreign nationals and foreign countries for reasons of foreign policy and national security. 
  • Data Access and Use is guided by both campus policy and external policies and guidelines. The campus policy applies to all campus research and researchers regardless of funding source.
  • Facilities Access and Use is also guided by both campus policy and external policies and guidelines.

Federal Sponsor and Agency Definitions and Guidance:

  • Department of Defense (DOD) - Academic Research Security (Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering - This site is a resource for the actions that the Department and the interagency are taking to ensure the integrity of fundamental research in academia as well as steps that the academic community has taken. 
  • Department of Energy (DOE) - DOE Current and Pending Support Disclosure Requirements for Financial Assistance (FAL 2022-04) - response to NSPM-33.
  • Director of National Security (ODNI) - National Counterintelligence & Security Center (Office of the Director of National Intelligence) - a collection of  Research Security reference documents compiled by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Office of the Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy (OCRSSP) regarding best practices in research security for the academic community.
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)Proposers Guide: Section 2.16 (Current and Pending Support) contains specific guidance regarding disclosure of current and pending support with China.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)Foreign Interference (NIH Central Resource for Grants and Funding Information) - Includes  an overview  of NIH's  principles, case studies, explanations about U.S. government concerns regarding foreign influence, requirements for disclosure of Other Support, Foreign Components, and Conflicts of Interest.
  • National Science Foundation (NSF)Research Security at the National Science Foundation (the NSF Office of the Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy) - Includes a comprehensive overview of Research Security at NSF, including policies, foreign influence an risk mitigation, the benefits of international collaboration, and the Research on Research Security program (RRSP).

Training Resources:

  • NSF has just released a series of four Research Security training modules, free to researchers and institutions throughout the U.S. They are "designed to facilitate principled international collaboration in an open, transparent, and secure environment that safeguards the nation's research ecosystem" (NSF News, 1/30/2024).