Charles Lieber is one of the most famous names in nanoscience, but his career took a dramatic turn after his federal conviction in the United States. Lieber, who was a distinguished professor of chemistry at Harvard University, was convicted in 2021 of making false statements to federal authorities and tax-related crimes linked to payments from China.
Today, he is back in the lab in Shenzhen, where he leads state-supported brain-computer interface research at i-BRAIN, part of the Shenzhen Medical Research and Translation Academy. This field is considered medically promising but also strategically sensitive, which is why its move to China has drawn attention.
Charles Lieber’s Path from Harvard Fame to Federal Conviction
Lieber built a long and influential career at Harvard, where he joined the faculty in 1991 and later served as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology from 2015 to 2020.
He holds the prestigious Joshua and Beth Friedman University Professorship, one of Harvard’s highest academic honors. Over the course of three decades, he became a leading figure in nanoscience, publishing hundreds of peer-reviewed papers and obtaining dozens of patents.
His research has focused on nanomaterials and nanoelectronics, especially devices capable of interacting with biological systems, including early work related to neural interfaces and brain-computer technologies.
In December 2021, a federal jury convicted him of making false statements to federal authorities, filing false tax returns, and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. In April 2023, he was sentenced to time served, six months home confinement, a $50,000 fine, and restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. The case involved undisclosed participation in the China Thousand Talents Plan and payments from a Chinese university.
The research led by Charles Lieber is now in China
Lieber’s move to Shenzhen marked a stunning new chapter in a career already defined by high-stakes science. In April 2025, he arrived in the city and took charge of the Brain Research Institute, Advanced Interfaces and Neurotechnologies, i-BRAIN, which operates under the Shenzhen Medical Research and Translation Academy (SMART). There, he serves as founding director and chair professor. His lab reportedly has access to advanced nanofabrication tools and primate research facilities, giving him resources that were not available to him in the same form at Harvard.
For a scientist long associated with nanoelectronics, this setup is unusually appropriate for the next phase of his work.The field he is now helping to lead is brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, which aim to translate brain activity into signals that computers can read and use. This technology already has medical promise. Researchers are exploring this method for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, paralysis, and aphasia, and recent developments have shown that neural signals can be converted into speech or used to control devices in limited ways.
The field is steadily moving from laboratory experiments toward clinical applications.China has made BCIs a priority area. In 2026, it approved a commercial medical device using BCI technology designed to help people with quadriplegia regain the ability to grasp the hand, and this technology has been identified in national planning as a future industry. This political support helps explain the importance of Lieber’s presence. He has deep expertise in nanofabrication, neural interfaces, and advanced materials, the kind of expertise that can accelerate a field of research of human and strategic value.This is also why his new role remains controversial. Libre is not just a scientist starting over in a new country. A researcher convicted in the United States for false statements linked to payments and affiliations linked to China, he now works within a state-backed Chinese research ecosystem that invests heavily in emerging technologies. His story lies at the intersection of science, geopolitics and technological competition, making him one of the most closely watched figures in the global race to connect the brain to machines.