Govt., MSU sign cooperative agreement for FRIB funding

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One of the first milestones on the road to bring the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams to MSU was announced Monday.

MSU and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) signed a cooperative agreement that will allow the DOE Office of Science to begin funding the project, according to a statement from MSU.

“It’s an important milestone for the project, (and) we can’t take any of this for granted,” said Geoff Koch, spokesman for the Cyclotron.

Konrad Gelbke, director of the Cyclotron and FRIB, said the agreement will allow the process to continue.

“Before the cooperative agreement, we had a promise that we had been selected, but in order to proceed, we need the cooperative agreement,” Gelbke said.

“That means money can flow.”

MSU beat the federally funded Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois in December 2008 to be the host site for FRIB.

The facility will allow researchers to study rare forms of atoms, called isotopes.

Federal funding for FRIB will increase as the preliminary construction date of 2012 approaches. Jeffrey Sherwood, spokesman for the DOE, said $7 million has been allotted for fiscal year 2009 and a proposed $9 million for fiscal year 2010. That money will contribute to research and development leading to the facility’s construction.

MSU Trustee Dianne Byrum said the signing of the agreement is a big step for MSU and FRIB.

“It is going to put us in great standing for (future research),” Byrum said.

MSU’s cost share in the $550 million project is about $94 million.

The next step includes an environmental review process. Construction on FRIB is tentatively scheduled to begin in the fall of 2012, with the facility set to open some time in 2017, Koch said.

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