Recent lobbying efforts and proposed legislation have revitalized interest in the $1 billion dollar proposed Rare Isotope Accelerator project that, only a month ago, was thought by some MSU officials to be a lost cause.
MSU and the Argonne National Laboratory, located near Chicago, have each been vying for the project, or RIA, but a limited federal budget stalled plans for either location to build it.
Physics and astronomy Professor Bradley Sherrill said RIA would make its host the most technologically advanced institution in nuclear physics. Bringing RIA to Michigan would create 1,600 jobs and could pump millions into the state's economy.
The U.S. Department of Energy had planned to begin site selection for the project and hold a competition between those bidding for RIA, but those parts of the project were put on hold indefinitely.
But Sherrill said he and about 30 other scientists and graduate and undergraduate students refused to give up hope on the project.
They recently traveled to Washington D.C., to meet with legislators to discuss the RIA project and present them with a letter signed by about 800 scientists from 34 states and 32 countries, which urged support for the project.
"It was a good way to draw attention to the project," Sherrill said.
The project was put on hold because the federal budget deficit is $427 billion this year, but recent legislation suggests that the concept for RIA is still alive, Sherrill said.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers announced this week the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water has approved legislation that includes $10 million toward the RIA project.
The funds include $4 million recommended for preliminary work on research and development for the project, which would mean RIA wouldn't fall victim to budget concerns, said Sylvia Warner, spokeswoman for Rogers.
Another $6 million for a design and operations concept competition is included in the funds. The bill is set to move to the House and Senate within the next month, Warner said.
Congress is expected to finish deliberations about the budget by Sept. 30. The 2006 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
"This really helps keep the momentum for the RIA project going and puts it back on track," Sherrill said.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said both people are still fighting for a claim to RIA.
"We're now in a position to continue the research and development dollars for the project," Simon said.
Howard Gobstein, MSU's associate vice president for governmental affairs in Washington, D.C., said he was doubtful the RIA project was possible, but recent events have left him cautiously optimistic that the project will come to fruition.
"We're still facing some very tight budget constraints as a nation," Gobstein said. "I think that there will be a RIA, but a few months ago, I wasn't sure about that."
