FRIB, Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, construction is 10 weeks ahead of schedule. The building completion was initially scheduled for 2022, but the project management team is estimating completion in 2021.
FRIB is being constructed by MSU for the Office of Nuclear Physics in the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC). FRIB is a $730 million project that will be home to scientific studies regarding the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions and applications for society, according to communications manager Karen King.
The building is being constructed on MSU's campus near Bogue Street and Wilson Road. The facility will engage scientists from all over the world along with graduate and undergraduate MSU students.
"A rare isotope forms when neutrons are removed from or added to the nucleus of a stable atom and it becomes unstable against decay," King said, "FRIB will enable researchers to answer key scientific questions, ranging from the origins of stars and the universe to how to diagnose and cure diseases, optimize nuclear reactors, and destroy nuclear waste."
MSU was granted approval for FRIB in December of 2008. Costs and schedules were approved in September of 2013 and construction began in 2014. King said thousands of scientists from around the world are eager to begin research with FRIB.
"MSU’s nuclear physics graduate program is ranked number one in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of graduate schools," King said, " Each year about 10 percent of the nation's nuclear science PhD holders are educated at MSU."
