U.S. Department of War: Research Security at U.S. Universities

On October 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of War issued a press release titled, “Department of War Announces Research Mitigation Results from Academic Institutions.”  The Press Release states: 

The Department of War announced today the successful completion of its initial research security audits of 30 universities. All 30 universities have fully mitigated identified relationships with foreign entities of concern included on the most recent NDAA Section 1286 list, published in July 2026. Overall, the audits resulted in more than 80 termination-related actions across the 30 universities. These actions included the termination of relationships with entities on the NDAA Section 1286 list, as well as precautionary terminations involving entities not specifically identified on the list.

While the Department worked collaboratively with all 30 universities, several went above and beyond by quickly terminating problematic relationships with entities on the NDAA Section 1286 list and implementing significant mitigation measures to safeguard research. These institutions include:

1. Oklahoma State University
2. The Pennsylvania State University
3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
4. University of South Carolina
5. University of Southern California
6. University of Texas at Austin
7. Virginia Tech

"These academic institutions that went above and beyond deserve immense credit for setting the benchmark in domestic research security," said Joseph Jewell, Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology. "Rather than settling for minimum compliance, these institutions took bold, self-initiated steps to protect their labs, faculty, and intellectual property from foreign exploitation. Their proactive commitment ensures that groundbreaking research directly empowers the American warfighter and strengthens our Nation's technological edge."

The Department will continue to update the NDAA Section 1286 list, as appropriate, and assess universities that retain problematic relationships with entities on the list.

"I am proud that the Department of War went 30-for-30 in working with these top-tier research universities to terminate relationships with malign foreign entities. The Department commends the institutions that took decisive action to mitigate relationships that could expose American research to foreign exploitation," said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. "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."