FRIB funding cuts frustrating, typical
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Departments and businesses around the U.S. are feeling the effects of President Barack Obama’s 2013 fiscal year budget proposal, and MSU is not immune. The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, at MSU might be receiving less than half of the money expected from the Department of Energy, and it’s difficult to be surprised.
The federal budget proposes $22 million for the FRIB, an amount far less than the original expected amount of $55 million. Increased funding in other manufacturing research industries and the funding being allocated elsewhere resulted in the cut.
The proposed cuts are not surprising given the economic state of the U.S. The FRIB is just another byproduct of the current economic state that’s affecting other projects and facilities around the country.
It might not be alarming, but it still is disappointing.
The FRIB has become a staple of progression at MSU. Whenever someone talks about the research developments at MSU, the FRIB is one of the first things mentioned.
In turn, the effects the funding decrease will have on MSU’s FRIB plans might reflect poorly on the university. At a university where innovation and research are objectives that set MSU apart from other universities, having a large funding cut could hinder the completion of one of the largest projects MSU has committed to. Students, faculty and alumni are excited for the FRIB.
With the project costing an estimated $600 million, the $33 million cut could have a marked effect on the timetable of the facility’s completion. The FRIB still is expected to be completed by the end of the decade, and many directors and officials associated with the project will continue to work to meet that mark.
Hopefully the funding cuts will not be detrimental to the FRIB’s completion, but it will be difficult to complete the project as scheduled when the proposal is offering the facility far less than expected.
Konrad Gelbke, director of MSU’s National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory and FRIB told The State News in a previous article (“FRIB faces drastic cuts to federal funding for 2013” 2/14) the project likely will not be completed by its scheduled benchmark, and Obama’s budget proposal presents many problems to the current layout of the FRIB.
He also said the costs of the FRIB might go up.
It seems hypocritical to cut funding now if the project will end up being more expensive later.
It is encouraging to see the FRIB still in the budget proposal, but the project has been planned with the expected money from the Department of Energy. Without it, FRIB directors will be forced to turn elsewhere for funding — such as the state government, which hasn’t necessarily been on the side of higher education in the past.
Now, at least MSU has been given fair warning to the potential cuts and will be able to plan around the funding decrease if the budget proposal passes. Students constantly are told the future of the country lies in technology and research, and it remains disappointing the federal governments still can’t seem to find the funds to promote that technology.
