U.S. senators Carl Levin, right, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., share a laugh March 17, 2014, for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, FRIB, groundbreaking across from the Wharton Center. FRIB will support the mission of the Office of Nuclear Physics to serve nuclear scientists all over the world. Julia Nagy/The State News
Shovels finally hit the dirt at the groundbreaking ceremony for the much anticipated Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, this morning.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon stood beside senators and representatives who helped to procure funding for the facility, which is projected to be a $730 million project to be completed in June 2022.
Acting Provost June Youatt emceed the ceremony and welcomed speakers Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both U.S Senators who supported the project, among others.
While many of the remarks made were about the MSU Men's Basketball team's win last night, all of the speakers noted the importance of the FRIB project and its endless possibilities for health, national defense and understanding the world we live in.
Simon said during the ceremony that FRIB is the next step in a plan of scientific leadership started by former MSU President John Hannah.
“It's hard to imagine when people talk about this 50 years from now when the first beam is accelerated in a new machine what kinds of discoveries will have occurred and the kinds of impacts it will have on people's lives to have them excited about science,” Simon said. “This was truly a team effort with bi-partisan support for Michigan, for Michigan State, and for all of us in the scientific community.”
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