A federal jury on Wednesday convicted J. Reece Roth, a retired University of Tennessee professor, on 18 counts of conspiracy, fraud, and violating the Arms Export Control Act for the unlawful transfer of sensitive data to foreign nationals from 2004 to 2006 while he was working two projects for the Air Force on plasma guidance for unmanned aerial vehicles. The Associated Press reported Sept. 3 that Roth, who has maintained his innocence, will be sentenced in early January. He faces up to 160 years in prison and more than $1.5 million in fines. Roth was indicted in May, along with Atmospheric Glow Technologies Inc., a Knoxville-based technology company for conspiring. AGT has pleaded guilty to 10 counts of exporting defense-related materials and Daniel Sherman, a company physicist, pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Sentencing in those cases in still pending, AP reported.
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…