Slashdot Log In
Chinese Scientist Admits To Stealing Chip Research
Posted by
Zonk
on Sun May 14, 2006 08:25 AM
from the do-you-want-to-make-money-sure-we-all-do dept.
from the do-you-want-to-make-money-sure-we-all-do dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A prominent Chinese scientist, one of the founders of the chip manufacturing industry in the country, has admitted to stealing his research." From the article: "Chen Jin, a dean of Shanghai's prestigious Jiaotong University and the leader of a government-funded high-tech research project, was dismissed from his university posts this week and stripped of other government titles and perks. The government also said that Chen had been permanently banned from taking part in any government-funded science projects. In a statement Friday, Jiaotong University--one of the nation's elite schools--said, 'Chen Jin has breached the trust of being a scientist and educator. His behavior is despicable.'"
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Hmm... (Score:4, Interesting)
Meh, maybe I'm just too paranoid. Anyone know more about this? Is that a possibility?
Your just being paranoid (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah it's possible but it's the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot. Lets ruin this guy's carreer while at the same time ruin any credibility of a product that wo
Re:Hmm... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hmm... (Score:3, Insightful)
I think that applies to just about every government. When was the last time you heard any government admit it was wrong. The only time this tends to happen is
Libya... (Score:3, Interesting)
It does happe
what I don't like about the Cuba embargo... (Score:3, Interesting)
Admission (Score:4, Interesting)
The problem of course is the potential legal/financial liability that goes with that, which is what this new law would eliminate. I read that there's a lot of interest in such a law in many parts of the US as well. Could we be entering a time when governments start to be a bit more honest about their screw ups?
No way (Score:5, Informative)
From what I have known, this guy applied government research funding, but developed nothing because he knows nothing about chip design at all, and failed to find any expert would like to work for him, then he bought several chips from Transmeta and Freescale, removed any brand information on those chips, and printed their information on those chips, then showed those chips to the public as their products.
Unlikely, I'd think (Score:2)
Why? I mean, come on. Not everything done by China is something sneaky and awful. It's just another country, abeit one wi
Re:Hmm... (Score:2, Interesting)
Plagiarism, fake research plague academia
By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-03-15 05:39
As China marks the World Consumer Rights Day today, the spotlight would inevitably be on poor p
Re:Hmm... (Score:5, Interesting)
Based on my own experience working with a visiting scientist, this seems to be a problem in Korea as well. I did alot of work with this scientist that yielded some interesting results at the beginning. This scientist went on to do other research while I wanted to continue probing our initial experiments. Eventually, I stopped working with this scientist because of their methodology (tossing out data that didn't agree with the hypothesis, abusing statistics to make conclusions, misrepresenting the methodology period) and desire to make a huge breakthrough in the field.
This is one datapoint though, so I am generalizing alot. What makes me suspect that there is a problem in Korea is that I came to find out that, somehow, this scientist had published these results in well-known Korean scientific journals. This disturbed me and my colleagues because we didn't want our names anywhere on those papers as they represented the worst in research. Not to mention the fact that they were just an abuse of the trust people have in scientists. We've since severed relations with this scientist, but we shudder at what was going on. It simply was not good science and should never have been published. We suspected bribes or connections.
I've not had similar experiences working with Taiwanese or Japanese researchers though. While I've always been aware of problems in China (and these news reports simply reaffirm it), the research papers produced by Taiwanese and Japanese researchers have generally been quite good. I'll also point out that my old advisor did research with a Korean researcher who was apparently very good, though I never worked with him directly and I've worked with some talented Chinese scientists, so this shouldn't be used as a pretext to devalue the contributions of all Chinese or Korean scientists. It should be seen as a need to start examining what's wrong in those countries with respect to science.
And yes, I am posting anonymously out of professional concerns.
Re:It is much more insideous (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hmm... (Score:4, Insightful)
Zero chance.
This is CHINA we are talking about here. They don't need to fake anything. If they want him gone, he's gone... nobody will ask questions. No reason is necessary.
Besides, this isn't exactly a surprise. From the first minute this story hit the presses, people were speculating that this is exactly what happened. China isn't exactly known for discouraging this kind of thing, either.
IP Theft (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:IP Theft (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually the United States government's involvement in economic development activities is one of the primary factors of the late 20th century computer revolution.
Re:IP Theft (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:IP Theft (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:IP Theft (Score:2)
that's the typical drivel (Score:2)
And how do you think this differs from your average corporate hierarchy?
that's not how it works (Score:2)
People don't generally get penalized by having a formal bar on publication. Someone guilty of scientific misconduct will probably find it a lot h
Another quote.... (Score:5, Funny)
"Indeed, his behavior is despicable", said Mr. Duck.
Shocked! Shocked! (Score:4, Insightful)
-"I am shocked, shocked to find gambling in this establishment!"
-"Your winning's sir."
Why so much effort? It's way easier (Score:2)
Re:Why so much effort? It's way easier (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why so much effort? It's way easier (Score:5, Insightful)
The first step is to catch up. That's usually done by having foreign companies manufacture in your country. The second is joint ventures, where foreign companies offer the money, you create a company in your country and manufacture in license. That's also already achived.
Next would be to have your students and your "brain power" catch up, this is either done by sending your students abroad or by hiring high class teachers. China will most likely opt for the latter.
This worked for Japan, and the only reason that Japan didn't simply take over the world economy is that Japan lacks two essential factors: Manpower and resources. They are quite limited in space, and thus workforce, and there are almost no resources on their islands.
It's very different with China. And once they completed step three... good night Europe.
Hehe... that wacky China (Score:2, Insightful)
"His behavior is despicable."
How cute. The country that uses Buddhist monasteries as target practice for rockets thinks someone is despicable.Re:Hehe... that wacky China (Score:2)
Re:Hehe... that wacky China (Score:2)
Bigotry (Score:3, Informative)
Did the poster claim that this particular Chinese regime spokesman had personally taken part in the des
Industrial Espionage and China (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyone following the press sees almost daily reports of Chinese industrial espionage circles working around the world. It is not just chips, but formulas, software, manufacturing techniques, and many trade secrets.
China is not the only country that does this. There have been serious incidents with Russia, Japan, France, etc.
However, in the case of countries with which the US does not have a defense treaty, wholesale theft of technology and related trade secrets risks strengthening the military establishment of those countries. This makes it a national security issue for the US.
Unfortunately, even if exposed, the chances in the US of getting caught, prosecuted, and having to pay for industrial espionage are so low that for all practical purposes US technology is free of charge. You probably have a better chance of winning the local lottery than getting punished.
The problem occurs when foreign espionage organizations target private [non-military related] companies that do not have adequate security measures.
In terms of this particular case, the reaction of the Chinese government is out of character to its past actions, which have somewhat ignored wholesale violation of intellectual property rights, and have encouraged massive collection of economic and technical information from the West.
There is no way other than the use of industrial espionage to explain the short amount of time China took in developing its space program and supercomputer capabilities.
In this chip case, the reaction seems motivated by one of two factors: 1/ it is an emotional reaction from someone higher up who felt duped by the scam of the "researcher", 2/ it is a politicized attempt at public relations -- one of those highly publicized "crack downs" that periodically emerge from China before everything gets back to normal.
It's really a non-event. There are probably dozens of other laboratories working right now on other pilfered technologies. In the long run, however, China is graduating enough engineers to surpass the West within about 25 years. In which case, all of this will seem rather transitional in nature.
Token Sacrifice (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Token Sacrifice (Score:3, Interesting)
You're saying because some people abuse property rights nobody should have them?
You're saying that becuase some system calls something a property right, that it is. Please give me your address so I can have bubba pick you up pounce you in and deliver y
Hm ... Chinese scientist steals research ... (Score:3)
And just to be clear, I'm not referring to American citizens who happen to be of Chinese extraction, or individuals who emigrate to the U.S. with the intention of becoming American citizens. I mean personnel that come here on a visa, work for a few years or go to school here, and then take what they have learned back home. That doesn't bother me in and of itself, but often this includes taking things such as research, engineering drawings and prototypes that don't belong to them. Other nations do this as well, of course (including us) but few on as grand a scale.
Re:Hm ... Chinese scientist steals research ... (Score:3, Informative)
'Despicable' (Score:2)
False summary (Score:3, Insightful)
Hunh? Nowhere in the linked news article does it say that Chen has admitted anything. To the contrary, it says he could not be reached for comment. A correct headline would be:
It's bad enough that both the summary and the headline contain such a glaring and defamatory error, but how come none of the more than one hundred previous posters noticed this? Sheesh.
It ended differently in Australia's Sci.Fraud case (Score:3, Informative)
who felt compelled to blow-the-whistle on her research-
head (for apparently not performing several experiments
reportes as if they'd been performed, etc) the whistle-
blower suffered, but the "bad guy" still has his job at
University of NWS & may still be involved in scientific
reseach there...
BACKGROUND:
2002: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s53140 6.htm [abc.net.au]
"Scientific & Financial Misconduct [re: Professon Bruce Hall at UNSW in Australia]
The Science Show - Broadcast Saturday 13/4/2002
Summary:
This week on The Science Show, Norman Swan presents a major investigation into
scientific and financial misconduct at the University of New South Wales.
Transcript:
Norman Swan: Hello, Norman Norman Swan here sitting in the chair on The Science
Show this week instead of Robyn Williams, because today I have a special and
disturbing feature for you.
Hong Ha: I want my story to be heard by the public because what I have been through
I don't want my children or any one else's children to go through. I want them to
admit the faults that they have done: they exploited me for free labour. This
problem has been going for too long. I want it to be stopped.
Norman Swan: This is a story about powerful scientists with international
reputations who've committed scientific misconduct so severe, it could be
considered fraud; as well as mismanaging public funds where the institution,
the university in which they work, has been slow to protect staff who've raised
their concerns. In fact, at times the university seems to have actively favoured
the strong over the weak. It's fifteen years since the exposure of Dr. William
McBride's scientific fraud, what you're about to hear suggests that safeguards
against scientific misconduct are still inadequate.
[Reading from UNSW Homepage:]
Why study at the University of New South Wales? The University of New South Wales
is one of Australia's major research institutions, attracting top national
competitive research grants and has extensive international research links.
Norman Swan: The University of New South Wales is one of the largest universities
in the country with a highly respected medical faculty. A few years ago, following
Sydney's sprawl to the south west, the university set up a clinical school in that
area centred on Liverpool Hospital.
They even attracted Bruce Hall, a well-known Australian immunologist, back from
Stanford University in California. Bruce Hall is a kidney specialist who researches
how the immune system deals with transplanted organs. The university made him
Foundation Professor of Medicine at Liverpool where he set up his own lab.
With him came his wife, Dr Suzanne Hodgkinson, a neurologist who studies rats with
brain inflammation similar to Multiple Sclerosis. Bruce Hall hired Dr Clara He,
a medical graduate from Shanghai with an Australian PhD and post-doctoral
experience in immunology.
Clara He: Professor Hall was asking me if I was interested in his new senior
position in Liverpool Hospital. I feel that could be new opportunity for me, so
I can design my program. I respect him; I believe we can collaborate and
make good program.
Norman Swan: Dr He has her own research group at Liverpool and is also the
laboratory manager. She's introduced molecular biology into the lab and
her small team has cloned and produc
Re:*faked* his research (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Funny thing about communist countries (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Funny thing about communist countries (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Funny thing about communist countries (Score:4, Informative)
The Soviet Union was very advanced in several fields of science (especially theoretical physics and mathematics). They were the first to launch a sattelite orbiting Earth (Sputnik 1 [wikipedia.org]), first to put a living being in orbit (the dog Laika [wikipedia.org]), first to put a man in space, first dual-manned flight, first space walk, first to land on the moon (with a probe), built the first space station (Salyut 1 [wikipedia.org]).
Just to name a few things.
Re:Funny thing about communist countries (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to mention, their space program was jump-started by a lot of German rocket technology that they crated up and took East with them. (The U.S.'s was as well, we got a lot of personnel, although the Russians got some of of the best hardware and facilities.)
Of the examples you cited, Laika was an arguable failure (the dog died after only a few hours, long before it was supposed to and without getting much useful data back), Salyut 1 is notable, although I feel it necessary to point out that the crew never made home alive -- not strictly a problem with Salyut itself, but you have to wonder if the pace they were working at didn't contribute to lack of QC elsewhere.
Sputnik 1 is definitely a landmark and worth of recognition, and in general the Soviet space program had a lot going for it, but it also had a rather alarming rate of failures. So in considering their progress, one has to consider the cost it was earned at. (I'd say the exact same thing about some other areas of technological development, for instance, their submarines.)
Re:Who should get the blame (Score:2)
"The question is, " said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Hump
Re:Who should get the blame (Score:2)
China's major trading partners are, like China itself, mixed economies in which both state and private initiatives are important. For pri
China is a capitalist country (Score:3, Informative)
Re:IP "borrowing". (Score:4, Interesting)
The People's Republic of China respects intellectual property more than many nations, though admittedly it is not as paranoid about it as the USA. The PRC is a member of WIPO, and has strict IP laws. Nor is there any discrimination against foreign IP: Chinese courts regularly rule in favour of US companies whose copyrights and patents are being infringed on by Chinese companies.
You may be thinking of Taiwan.
Re:IP "borrowing". (Score:3, Interesting)
And in 50 years, they'll be at the top of the world in research, industry, and science because they didn't.
At least we'll have our lawyers.
Re:IP "borrowing". (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:IP "borrowing". (Score:5, Informative)
It is rather funny that you fail to mention the work of American Robert H. Goddard, from whom the designers of the V-2 obtained important ideas. As a NASA web site states:
Goddard's work largely anticipated in technical detail the later German V-2 missiles, including gyroscopic control, steering by means of vanes in the jet stream of the rocket motor, gimbalsteering, power-driven fuel pumps and other devices. His rocket flight in 1929 carried the first scientific payload, a barometer, and a camera. Goddard developed and demonstrated the basic idea of the "bazooka" two days before the Armistice in 1918 at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. His launching platform was a music rack. Dr. Clarence N. Hickman, a young Ph.D. from Clark University, worked with Goddard in 1918 provided continuity to the research that produced the World War II bazooka. In World War II, Goddard again offered his services and was assigned by the U.S. Navy to the development of practical jet assisted takeoff (JATO) and liquid propellant rocket motors capable of variable thrust. In both areas, he was successful. He died on August 10,1945, four days after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.
Goddard was the first scientist who not only realized the potentialities of missiles and space flight but also contributed directly in bringing them to practical realization. This rare talent in both creative science and practical engineering places Goddard well above the opposite numbers among the European rocket pioneers. The dedicated labors of this modest man went largely unrecognized in the United States until the dawn of what is now called the "space age." High honors and wide acclaim, belated but richly deserved, now come to the name of Robert H. Goddard.
NASA [nasa.gov]
Americans steal German rocket research! (Score:3, Interesting)
Forgetting for a moment that the article summary is wrong, IP "borrowing"/"theft" is as old as forever. Ogg started it when he hid behind a bush and watched how Ugg broke flint to make sharp edges. The Europeans stole mathematical, boat bui