Students reported that teachers plagiarized their scientific research achievements and applied for patents. School: Handled.
In the alumni group of nearly 500 people, Meng Yupeng was kicked out of the WeChat group chat, which originated from a report against the teacher of his alma mater.
"I graduated from college in 2015 and submitted my graduation design works and papers to the school. Unexpectedly, this year, I found that the teachers of the school plagiarized my academic achievements in 2017 and declared three patents. " Recently, Meng Yupeng, a graduate of Biomedical Engineering in Hubei Institute of Science and Technology in 2015, told The Paper.
The first and second inventors of these three patents are Ye Huashan, associate professor of School of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Imaging, School of Medicine, Hubei University of Science and Technology, and Zheng Min, dean of the school. On November 9, Hubei Institute of Science and Technology found that Ye Huashan had academic misconduct of plagiarizing others’ academic achievements and improperly using others’ signatures, suspended Ye Huashan from applying for a higher-level professional and technical post for two years, and cancelled his qualification to apply for a postgraduate tutor within three years.
Meng Yupeng was dissatisfied with the result, and he thought that Zheng Min, the inventor of the second patent application, should also be held accountable. In this regard, Zheng Min responded to The Paper that she had no knowledge of the whole process from patent application to approval to approval, and was also a victim.
The two sides held their own words. The Paper contacted the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Hubei University of Science and Technology on this matter. The relevant person in charge responded that "the school has a unified processing result, and the documents reported above shall prevail."
The school decided that the teachers involved plagiarized other people’s academic achievements.
The incident can be traced back to 2015. According to Meng Yupeng’s statement, when he was near graduation, he worked as an intern in a company and designed a noninvasive blood glucose detector. In May of the same year, he took his graduation project and thesis "Design of Remote Non-invasive Detection System of Human Blood Glucose Based on ATR-FTIR Spectrum" to participate in the graduation thesis defense of Hubei University of Science and Technology.
It was not until this year that the company he founded applied for a high-tech enterprise that he unexpectedly found that the research results were plagiarized by others and used to declare three patents. China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Search and Analysis official website shows that the patent application date is September 6, 2017, and the applicant (patent right) is Hubei Institute of Science and Technology, and the inventors are Ye Huashan, Zheng Min, Ye Siwen and Xia Pei.
The first two "inventors" are the teachers of their alma mater. Ye Huashan is currently an associate professor at the School of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Hubei University of Science and Technology, and Zheng Min is the dean of the school.
In addition, Meng Yupeng revealed that Ye Siwen is Ye Huashan’s niece and Xia Pei is Ye Huashan’s nephew. The Paper confirmed from the insiders of Hubei Institute of Science and Technology that Ye Siwen and Xia Pei are indeed related to Ye Huashan, and they are former students of Hubei Institute of Science and Technology.

Patent application information of a near infrared spectrum blood glucose noninvasive detector. China National Intellectual Property Administration patent retrieval and analysis official website screenshot

Patent application information of an infrared emission system on a near infrared spectrum blood glucose detector. China National Intellectual Property Administration patent retrieval and analysis official website screenshot

Patent application information of "Signal processing and remote communication system on a spectral blood glucose detector". China National Intellectual Property Administration patent retrieval and analysis official website screenshot
On November 9, the Academic Committee of Hubei University of Science and Technology published the "Letter of Hubei University of Science and Technology on Handling Opinions on Ye Huashan’s Academic Misconduct", which showed that the school’s academic ethics and moral supervision Committee set up an investigation team to conduct a fact-finding investigation on Ye Huashan’s academic misconduct. Ye Huashan was identified as the inventor’s utility model patent "A Signal Processing and Remote Communication System on a Spectral Blood Glucose Detector" (patent authorization number: CN207427198U). "An infrared emission system on a near-infrared spectrum blood glucose detector" (patent authorization number: CN208339517U) and "A near-infrared spectrum blood glucose noninvasive detector" (patent authorization number: CN208031213U) are highly similar to Meng Yupeng’s graduation thesis in three key aspects: the serial number of components and their model location, the hardware system frame diagram and text statement, and there are academic misconduct of plagiarizing others’ academic achievements and improperly using others’ signatures.
The school dealt with Ye Huashan’s academic misconduct in the following ways, including admonishing Ye Huashan on scientific research integrity; Give Ye Huashan informed criticism; Suspend 2 years to declare a higher professional and technical post; Cancel the application qualification of graduate tutors within 3 years; Ordered Ye Huashan to publicly apologize to Meng Yupeng, Wang Banghui, Gong Huihong and Zheng Min; Scientific research awards obtained by recovering related patents.

Letter from Hubei Institute of Science and Technology on Opinions on Handling Ye Huashan’s Academic Misconduct. Photo courtesy of respondents
Does the inventor of the second patent application know?
However, the incident did not subside. There are still several major points of contention between the two sides.
First of all, did Zheng Min, the inventor of the second patent application, know about it? Meng Yupeng insisted, "Zheng Min, as the dean of the college, gained a reputation as a patent. Such a big thing happened because of her poor supervision and dereliction of duty. Originally, the patent application required her to look at it and sign it. How did she finally become an unwitting victim? "
Regarding the above statement, Zheng Min said in an interview with The Paper that in 2017, when Ye Huashan applied for a patent, she didn’t know. Ye Huashan didn’t ask her opinion at that time, and she didn’t sign the patent application form. Because the school has hired a special agency to be responsible for patent declaration, only the first applicant needs to sign, and no one else needs to sign. Secondly, from the management point of view, the patent declaration does not need the signature of the hospital. So she didn’t know the whole process from patent application to approval to approval.
"In this matter, I am also a victim. I think he (Meng Yupeng) is framing me to some extent. How can I admit what I didn’t do? I only apologize for my lack of supervision as a manager and leader. " Zheng Min said.
According to her, in 2020, she saw her name hanging in the patent application from the science and technology industry department of the school, but she didn’t think that Ye Huashan used Meng Yupeng’s graduation thesis to apply for a patent at that time. It was not until October this year that the college received a report and learned about it.
Meng Yupeng has a different view. He said that in 2015, when he participated in the graduation thesis defense, Zheng Min and Ye Huashan had a strong interest in his works and raised many related questions, which he answered one by one. After the defense was completed, Zheng Min and others hoped that he would keep his works and related design materials in the school, but he declined politely. Then, he received a phone call from the school, threatening not to issue a degree certificate, asking him to hand over the source code and physical objects of his works to the school, but he severely refused.
Zheng Min responded that at that time, she hoped that Meng Yupeng would keep his works and related design materials at school, not for him alone, but for all graduates, and hoped that all samples of students’ graduation designs could be kept at school. "If students are willing to leave their works, the college can compensate them accordingly; If they want to take it away, we hope to copy a sample as a display of the teaching results in the hospital. "
Zheng Min also said that at that time, she affirmed that Meng Yupeng’s research was very good, and hoped that he would continue to do it and improve it. She also suggested that if teachers were needed, several teachers could cooperate with him, but Meng Yupeng refused.
As for whether the school threatened not to issue a degree certificate and asked students to hand over their works to the school, Zheng Min said, "This situation should not exist, or it is a misunderstanding. How can teachers and schools threaten students? "
Is the patent guided by the teacher?
This is not a case about the patent dispute between teachers and students in colleges and universities. Many public reports show that some students’ graduation design works were quietly taken by the instructor to apply for patents as inventors, or some students entrusted the school to apply for patents for their inventions. As a result, the patents were "taken away" by the school, and the transfer was not informed.
And did Meng Yupeng’s graduation design works and papers get the guidance of two teachers, Ye Huashan and Zheng Min? Zheng Min said, "Some teachers and students said that Meng Yupeng participated in the training of the Innovation Laboratory of the School of Biomedical Engineering (managed by Ye Huashan)."
Meng Yupeng retorted that Ye Huashan and Zheng Min didn’t teach him any professional courses in the teaching arrangement during his four-year study in Hubei University of Science and Technology, nor were they his thesis instructors. He himself has not participated in the training, study and practice of the Innovation Laboratory of the College of Biomedical Engineering managed by Ye Huashan.
In October, when Meng Yupeng found that his research results had been plagiarized, at the suggestion of his lawyer, he proposed that he must meet two conditions before agreeing to settle: first, transfer the three patents to himself or the company he founded for free; Second, Ye Huashan compensated the economy and mental damage compensation for 300,000 yuan.
The two sides failed to negotiate on the second condition. Zheng Min said that the college intervened in the negotiation and mediation between the two sides, but the compensation of 300,000 yuan was too high, which was higher than the teachers’ ability. The treatment of college teachers is not high, and the patent itself is not a sophisticated research and development. The teacher did not declare any awards and titles by using the patent, and did not transfer the patent for profit or make any commercial use.
Zheng Min further explained that from the time line, these three patents were applied in 2017 and were not approved until 2018 and 2019. Since 2018, Ye Huashan has not declared professional titles and awards. She also denied that she profited from patents. "These patents are useless to me. Do I have to bother to try my best to name them?"
And why do you propose a $300,000 economy and mental damage compensation? Meng Yupeng said that when he went back to the school for an interview, he had made clear his attitude and purpose. He asked for this 300,000 yuan because he wanted to set up a foundation to subsidize 10 poor students in the school, and each person would subsidize 500 yuan every month. According to the calculation of medical students studying for five years, it would cost 300,000 yuan.

Meng Yupeng explained the reason for asking for 300,000 yuan of economy and mental damage compensation in the alumni WeChat group. Photo courtesy of respondents
In response to Ye Huashan’s handling, the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Hubei University of Science and Technology recently responded to The Paper, saying, "The school has a unified handling result for this matter, and the documents reported above shall prevail." As for whether the school still holds Zheng Min, the inventor of the second patent application, responsible, the other party said, "I can’t answer this," and added, "If Meng Yupeng is dissatisfied with the processing result, he can further reflect it through formal channels."






