The Michigan State University Board of Trustees have agreed to move ahead with a half billion dollar nuclear research project, even though federal funding for the project is in some doubt.
The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams could make MSU a top location for nuclear research. But U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu suggested earlier this month that federal officials were reevaluating budget priorities and hinted the MSU project may be one of those cut.
MSU president Lou Anna Simon says today’s move by the university’s trustees is a sign the East Lansing campus is confident the U.S. Energy Department will agree to fund the project.
“MSU continues to move forward with FRIB, ensuring that we are prepared when federal and state officials make appropriate decisions to allocate resources to this project, which is important to MSU, Michigan and U.S. research capabilities,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. “We are confident that our team will successfully present the project at a review by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science in April and will be ready for excavation to start.”
