MSU to be site for $550 million nuclear science facility

In late 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science named Michigan State University as the site for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). Conceptual design work for the proposed $550 million facility has begun, with construction expected to take about one decade.

The facility will attract top researchers from around the world to conduct experiments in nuclear science, astrophysics and applications of isotopes to other fields. FRIB will build on the successes of MSU’s National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), which submitted the proposal to DOE. NSCL has been the key driver for MSU’s leadership in nuclear science education and research. The lab has been recognized as a world leader in rare isotope science and has produced research that has led to important breakthroughs in medicine, materials research, national security, and physics.

NSCL Director and university distinguished professor Konrad Gelbke will serve as the FRIB director.