Export Controls

Export Controls are federal laws that govern how technology, technical data, technical assistance, and items or materials (from software to satellites and more) are physically or electronically exported, shipped, transmitted, transferred, or shared from the U.S. to foreign countries, persons, or entities.

Not so much in the traditional sense of packing things and sending them to foreign countries. But CMU investigators create knowledge and export it to the world through collaborating with foreign colleagues, participating in international conferences, and welcoming foreign scientists to conduct research here. Usually, these activities do not raise any export concerns because almost all the research conducted at CMU is covered by the fundamental research exception.

Fundamental research means research in science, engineering, or mathematics, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the research community, and for which the researchers have not accepted restrictions for proprietary or national security reasons.

The responsibility to comply with export control regulations is distributed among several academic and administrative entities at CMU.

The Vice President for Research and Innovation is responsible for overall administration of the regulations and signs all requests for licenses submitted to federal agencies.

The Director of the Office of Research Compliance is responsible for identifying various stakeholder entities and providing appropriate education and resources for achieving and maintaining compliance with the regulations.