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Two former UH professors sentenced to federal prison

Two former University of Houston physics professors David Starikov and Abdelhak Bensaoula were sentenced to federal prison Monday for misusing $1.4 million dollars in federal research grants, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The two faced 29 counts of conspiracy and were convicted for fabricating their documentation and claims when applying for grants from NASA, the Department of Energy, the United States Air Force and the National Science Foundation.

Their business, Integrated Micro Sensors Inc., was established for “bringing the leading-edge wide bandgap semiconductor sensor technology to the marketplace,” according IMS’ website.

Their website also notes that private contractors and government grants propel the company. There is no word on the future of this company.

Although UH was not a target of the investigation, the University was fully cooperative with any investigation done by the United States Attorney’s Office.

“The University of Houston is committed to maintaining a research environment that promotes attention to the highest ethical standards for all sponsored and non-sponsored research,” UH said in a news release. “If allegations are proven to be true, the University also has suffered fraud and has been victimized in this incident.”

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