The Los Alamos Club
The inspiration for this report comes from a March 2017 article in the South China Morning Post titled “America’s Hidden Role in Chinese Weapons Research.” The article notes that so many former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have returned to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and are now working on military research programs that they are referred to as the “Los Alamos Club.” However, no specifics about this “Club,” its membership, or the programs these scientists are working on were reported.
The objective in conducting this study is to contextualize and document the ongoing efforts of the PRC government to send promising scientists to U.S. national laboratories for training while also recruiting leading scientists back to the PRC to advance its own military programs. Former Los Alamos scientists have made, and continue to make, considerable contributions to the PRC hypersonic, missile, and submarine programs that present an array of security risks for the United States and the entire free world. Better protection is needed for the institutions, research programs, and scientists advancing innovation in this era of strategic competition without harming open scientific collaboration.
This report does not suggest any illegal activities were conducted by any individual, university, professor, laboratory, or research institute named. Additionally, we do not argue that Los Alamos National Laboratory bears responsibility for, or was complicit in, the PRC’s recruitment of former Los Alamos affiliates.