MSU WINS $550 MILLION RESEARCH FACILITY

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Thursday named Michigan State University as the site for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. Conceptual design work for the proposed new $550 million facility will begin this year, with construction expecting 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.

“This is a great day for science,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. “We are grateful to the Department of Energy’s commitment to address this critical priority for the nation’s physical sciences research infrastructure, and we are proud to have been selected as a partner. We are deeply dedicated to working with the Department of Energy’s Office of Science to develop an exceptional user facility serving the needs of national and international scientists.

“This is the first step on the journey,” Simon said, noting that subsequent allocations must be appropriated by Congress to make the FRIB a reality. Simon said she will work closely with Michigan’s congressional delegation to ensure the facility’s funding.

The facility is expected to bring $1 billion in economic activity and 400 jobs to Michigan, according to an analysis by the Anderson Economic Group.

To read the full article: http://news.msu.edu/story/5768/

EDITORIAL: USE NEW MSU LAB TO BOOST STATE ECONOMY
RARE ISOTOPE FACILITY COULD MICH.’S TOUGH TRANSITION

Just when Michigan needed a piece of really good news, it got it Thursday with the announcement that the federal Department of Energy chose Michigan State University as the recipient of its $550 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. The complex research lab will bring up to $1 billion in investment to Michigan and make MSU the premier institution in the nation for isotope research. MSU was chosen in a two-way competition, beating out the Department of Energy’s own Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois.... Michigan State will integrate the rare isotope facility into the University Research Corridor, its collaboration with the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. The corridor already boosts the regional economy by more than $1 billion annually and, in 2008, helped create almost 70,000 jobs. That number should increase in the future as the isotope facility creates high-tech jobs. MSU and President Simon should be applauded for their hard work in attracting a facility that holds so much promise for Michigan’s future.
(The Detroit News, December 12, 2008)
Read the full editorial »

Department of Energy Press Release

Department of Energy Fact Sheet
(1.2MB PDF file, 3 pages)

Podcast with MSU President Lou Anna Simon on the new $550 million facility approved by the DOE
click here to hear the podcast

MSU unveils leadership committee for half-billion-dollar nuclear research project