The Office of the Vice President for Research is excited to launch a new, resource-rich website to empower the USC research community to pursue innovation, discovery, open scientific discourse and collaboration with the global scholarly community while keeping USC’s research enterprise secure. The new Office of Research Security website is your one-stop source for learning about USC’s research security program, connecting with support for secure foreign travel, receiving guidance to keep data secure while collaborating with international colleagues and much more.
Beginning with the 2021 Presidential Memorandum on United States Government-Supported Research and Development National Security Policy, the U.S. government (USG) has directed higher education institutions that conduct government-sponsored research to take specific, proactive steps to protect sensitive research data and intellectual property, and to improve security controls.
I fully intend for the Office of Research Security to serve as a partner to USC’s research community. Our goal is to provide the tools, training and services that faculty, staff, postdocs, student researchers and others under our purview need to do their vital work with confidence, knowing they have a strong ally in their corner helping them maintain the security of their research every step of the way.
— Steve Schrimpf, USC Chief Research Security Officer
In response to this memo, subsequent guidance and other security-related USG requirements issued over the years since 2021, the University of South Carolina established a new Office of Research Security unit inside of the Office of the Vice President for Research in late 2024, hiring Steve Schrimpf, a security professional with more than 38 years of experience, to serve as the university’s Chief Research Security Officer. Schrimpf joined the University of South Carolina most recently from Lockheed Martin, where he served as the Senior Industrial Security Manager and Facility Security Officer for five years, managing classified security operations and programs.
“I fully intend for the Office of Research Security to serve as a partner to USC’s research community,” Schrimpf said. “Our goal is to provide the tools, training and services that faculty, staff, postdocs, student researchers and others under our purview need to do their vital work with confidence, knowing they have a strong ally in their corner helping them maintain the security of their research every step of the way.”
The new Office of Research Security website was developed to advance the unit’s mission to empower and support research personnel through training, education, awareness and direct support to protect the integrity of discoveries and innovation, enable collaboration and open scientific discourse, and achieve compliance with USG and sponsor agency requirements.
Discover the elements of our research security program, find information on the responsibilities involved in safeguarding research and connect with on-demand training to get up to speed quickly, on your schedule.
Get international travel security updates from trusted sources, learn about important steps to protect sensitive and controlled information in your possession while traveling internationally and reach out for help with travel questions.
Find the information and risk assessment support you need to safely engage in innovation, open scientific discourse and scholarly collaboration with international partners while avoiding malign foreign talent programs.
Learn to identify potential indicators of misconduct that could harm the university research enterprise and report suspicious activity to the Office of Research Security.
Get the information and tools you need to comply appropriately with the university’s processes for disclosing potential conflicts of interest and commitment.
Get to know the Office of Research Security and the federal regulations governing its work, and contact the office for support with all your research security needs.