The abrupt closure of the college’s climate lab came the same month that Sen. Marco Rubio pressured universities to cut ties with a Chinese institution affiliated with A&M’s research.
By Kristoffer Tigue, Inside Climate News and Samantha Ketterer, Houston Chronicle
HOUSTON—U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in February mailed letters to 22 U.S. universities: Cut ties with Chinese institutions that have previously “ensnared” scholars in schemes to steal valuable information, he wrote. China’s military, he said, is attempting to acquire and develop cutting-edge technology, sometimes through theft under the guise of academic collaboration.