Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

On December 11, 2008 the DOE announced that MSU has been selected to design and build the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). FRIB will be the cutting-edge research facility to advance understanding of rare nuclear isotopes and the evolution of the cosmos. The new facility will take about a decade to design and build at an estimated cost of $550 million. FRIB will provide research opportunities for approximately 1,000 users from the U.S. and around the world.

There are some 300 stable and 3,000 known unstable (rare) isotopes. These and many more rare isotopes will be produced and made available for research by FRIB. The next generation of scientists will be able to study the properties of these nuclei and use them in applications to address national needs.

FRIB is will have significant economic benefits to Michigan. During the next decade the facility will generate approximately $1 billion in total economic activity, including hundreds of new jobs and more than $180 million in state tax revenue, according to an economic impact study conducted by Anderson Economic Group LLC.

FRIB will establish U.S. world-leadership in rare isotope research for decades to come. By advancing the mission of the Office of Nuclear Physics (NP) in DOE's Office of Science-to discover, explore, and understand all possible forms of nuclear matter-FRIB will help ensure U.S. leadership in this critical field for decades to come.

More information is available at www.frib.msu.edu.