FRIB project included in Obama’s budget

President Barack Obama has included funds for the construction of MSU's Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. The $30 million included in his budget is important to the completion of the facility, but the budget must first be approved by Congress.

According to excerpts from the article:

With the inclusion of a $30 million award from the Department of Energy in President Barack Obama’s budget, the construction of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, moves one step closer to its expected completion in 2020.

The money was specified in earlier negotiations and was used to shape the project’s budget, said Alex Parsons, FRIB’s Project Communications Manager.

“That request in the Department of Energy is consistent with the budget that was worked out,” Parsons said. “It’s not new — it’s not an increase.”

Completing FRIB will cost about $500 billion, said J. Ian Gray, vice president for research and graduate studies. In the next 20 years, the project is expected to spur about $1 billion in economic activity, he said.

Despite the crippled economy, FRIB has remained a priority because it’s one of the highest research tools in maintaining American innovation, according to officials from the department.

FRIB will help maintain MSU’s position as one of the top nuclear science graduate programs in the country and earn the university global recognition, he said.

“Completion will allow us to be one of the three (international) sites where scientists will study rare isotopes,” Gray said.

“This is very important to the institute’s research reputation.”

Read the entire article here.