Prof. pleads not guilty in UAV secrets case

Prof. pleads not guilty in UAV secrets case
By Beth Rucker - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 28, 2008 7:51:54 EDT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A retired University of Tennessee professor pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of conspiring to provide military secrets to foreign graduate students.

J. Reece Roth, 70, a professor emeritus who headed the school’s Plasma Sciences Lab, is charged with 18 counts related to violating the Arms Export Control Act and trying to defraud the U.S. Air Force.

He was arraigned on all charges Tuesday in Knoxville by U.S. Magistrate Bruce Guyton, who set a court date of Aug. 4. Roth said nothing in court beyond answering questions from Guyton to establish his competency to proceed with the case.

Most of the charges involve work performed from 2004 to 2006 by Roth, a Chinese graduate student and a university spinoff company called Atmospheric Glow Technologies Inc. for an Air Force contract to develop flight controls for unmanned aircraft, or “drones.”

Prosecutors said Roth and Atmospheric Glow Technologies failed to get government permission before involving foreign national Xin Dai in the work.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_professor_uavs_052708/