MSU's National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory received a five-year grant renewal for more than $100 million from the National Science Foundation.
The cyclotron laboratory, which is the nation's largest nuclear science facility on a college campus, was established in 1963 and operates the Coupled Cyclotron Facility, one of the most advanced rare isotope research facilities in the world.
The National Science Foundation has funded the laboratory for about 40 years, said Konrad Gelbke, director of the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, or NSCL.
"This is the first renewal for the operations of the Coupled Cyclotron Facility," he said, adding that the facility was built in 2001.
The lab produces atomic rare isotopes that are not known to exist on earth, Gelbke said. The lab also works with astrophysics — learning how the elements of the universe are made, how stars exist and create energy.
The Coupled Cyclotron Facility was an upgrade from a previous facility, Gelbke said.
"Before it existed, it would take us a year and a half to complete projects we can do now in a couple of days, or even faster," Gelbke said.
Thomas Glasmacher, an associate director of the lab, said about three quarters of the funding goes toward running the facility, and the other quarter goes toward funding the nuclear and accelerator science programs.
"We are educating 10 percent of the nation's nuclear science Ph.D.s," Glasmacher said. "The funding also goes toward thesis projects by graduate students, and at the same time, we are educating the next generation of scientists."
The cyclotron accelerators propel charged particles in a constant magnetic field. Through the cyclotrons, researchers are able to study rare isotopes, Glasmacher said. Some of them have very short life spans because they don't exist on Earth, but they play an important role in the production of elements and help find how they were created.
"We want to see nuclear science expand," said Geoff Koch, communications manager for the NSCL. "This announcement of a five-year, $100 million extension of the operating agreement is a major achievement for MSU and a strong commitment by the federal government to keep the laboratory at the cutting edge."
Last year, the Rare Isotope Accelerator project was put on hold because of a lack of funding in the federal budget. Koch said the project still appears to be on hold and may not be built.
"However, MSU is committed to maintaining the NSCL at the cutting edge of science by investing in the development of new and highly-promising technologies that still need a proof of principle," Koch said.
Cyclotron laboratory officials will be submitting a proposal to the National Science Foundation for upgrades to the facility, he said.
"Given that the laboratory has just received such a large award, we are confident that MSU is well positioned for a major capability upgrade that, if funded, would assert international leadership in rare isotope research for the foreseeable future," he said.
The lab is also an international-user facility, Koch said.
"It is not just research from MSU," he said. "Scientists from all over the world come to use our equipment for their work."
