The following message from Rick Shangraw was sent to all ASU Deans, Chairs, the ASU Research Council, and Principal Investigators on 9/15/09:

RE: Export Control Regulations

I like to update you, annually, on important regulations affecting research.  Export control regulations are federal laws that restrict export of information, goods, and technology to persons and entities outside of the U.S. and to foreign nationals inside the U.S. These laws are implemented through the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). In general, these regulations prevent the flow of materials or information that would compromise our national security.  In recent years, export control issues have become more prevalent in the research community resulting in an increase of university compliance oversight. It is important that faculty and other researchers in ASU departments, laboratories and research centers understand their obligations under these regulations and adhere to them.

Export control regulations apply to:

• transfer of all physical items or controlled information to people or entities outside the U.S.;
• disclosure of controlled information to certain foreign nationals inside the U.S.;
• training or offering of services involving controlled equipment or information to foreign nationals;
• transactions with or providing services to certain foreign countries or individuals who are on embargo lists (this includes research travel to embargoed countries);
• any transactions with individuals or entities on government restricted parties lists.

The regulations apply to virtually all fields of science and engineering; however they do provide several exclusions or exemptions:

• the “fundamental research” exclusion can be applied for basic and applied research in science and engineering performed by universities  as long as the research is carried out openly and without restriction on publication or dissemination of the research results; 
• the “public domain” exclusion can be used if the information is already in the public domain (if it is published and generally accessible to the public through unrestricted distribution); and
• the exclusion from “normal teaching activities” allows the disclosure of educational information released by instruction in catalogue courses of general scientific, mathematical, or engineering principles commonly taught in universities and teaching labs.

Clearly most of the research activities performed by investigators at ASU are excluded from export controls because we can exercise one of the available exclusions listed above. However, when a research or educational activity involves an export, ASU must document its analysis of export control issues, including the availability of any exclusion or exemption.  When an exemption cannot be used (e.g. when exporting a tangible item abroad, such as a prototype or software), it is critically important to begin the license process as early as possible since it can take up to six months to receive a license.

Even though these laws may appear to conflict with the University’s tradition of academic freedom, noncompliance carries severe criminal and civil penalties for the individual and the institution. These include individual fines of up to $1 million, imprisonment, forfeiture of materials or data, and loss of research privileges. Therefore, it is imperative that all researchers familiarize themselves with these regulations and understand their responsibility to determine when these laws apply to their research activities.  The regulations are lengthy, complex and difficult to interpret and they apply to more than sponsored research from grants, agreements and contracts.  The technology controls and the countries that are restricted change frequently.  I encourage you to invite the Office of Research Integrity & Assurance (ORIA) staff to schedule awareness training for your faculty and staff. ORIA has, additionally, developed a number of valuable forms and other materials to guide you in this area that they are eager to share.

Please review the Research Integrity and Assurance website for more detailed information and resources related to export controls, including an ITAR/EAR briefing of the regulations at http://researchintegrity.asu.edu/security.   Also, please distribute this memorandum widely to all faculty and researchers on your staff. While the investigator is responsible for complying with the regulations, in the event of noncompliance, we all share in the responsibility.

The Office of Research Integrity and Assurance is available for consultation and training events and will provide updated information on the regulations when changes occur.  If you believe your research or scholarly activities may be affected by export control regulations or have general questions about export control regulations, please contact Sheryl Trexler, Assistant Director at 727-0870 or sheryl [dot] trexler [at] asu [dot] edu. 

Rick Shangraw
Vice President for Research and Economic Affairs