Leading US universities are pushing back against a proposed State Department rule that would bar foreign students from more research projects and classes involving information seen as vital to national security.
Barack Obama’s administration proposed the new rule in response to growing worries in Washington over a rise in intellectual property theft from foreign adversaries, such as China.
Research related to defense technology, such as munitions, nuclear engineering and satellite technology, would be particularly affected by the rule, which is still in the proposal process and has not been widely reported.
Defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Lockheed Martin regularly sponsor university research, but did not respond to requests for comment.
