Graduate student working at FRIB. Find out more

Welcome to FRIB

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU) is a world-class research and training center, hosting the most powerful rare-isotope accelerator. MSU operates FRIB as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), with financial support from and furthering the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. FRIB is where researchers come together to make discoveries that change the world. They study the properties and fundamental interactions of rare isotopes and nuclear astrophysics and their impact on medicine, homeland security, and industry.

Research areas

FRIB advances nuclear science by improving our understanding of nuclei and their role in the universe, while also advancing accelerator systems.

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Capabilities

In establishing and operating FRIB, capabilities were developed that transfer to other industries and applications.

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A photo of the K500 ribbon-cutting ceremony, showing several people cutting the event ribbon on stage.
A graphic showing arsenic-73 Artificial intelligence/machine learning graphic

User facilities

FRIB hosts the world’s most powerful heavy-ion accelerator and enables discoveries in rare isotopes, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and societal applications like medicine, security, and industry.

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Learn more about upcoming events taking place at FRIB. 

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  • 24 March 2026
  • 11:00 EDT
 Nuclear Lattice Effective Field Theory: From Chiral EFT to Nuclear Structure and Reactions Nuclear Lattice Effective Field Theory (NLEFT) is a framework for performing ab-initio calculations of nuclear structure and reactions. In this approach, nuclear forces derived from chiral effective field theory (EFT) are formulated on a periodic cubic lattice. Observables are computed using stochastic, non-perturbative methods such as auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo simulations. This powerful framework provides a quantum many-body approach with remarkable predictive power. In this talk, I will provide an overview of NLEFT, emphasizing its crucial role in bridging the gap between quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and low-energy nuclear phenomena. Additionally, I will discuss recent developments, including a novel method called wavefunction matching, and present state-of-the-art ab-initio calculations of nuclear structure, scattering, and reaction processes.
  • 27 March 2026
  • 2:00 EDT
 Challenges in observational studies of heavy elements Heavy elements make up the largest part of the periodic table and they still pose a large number of open questions associated with their formation. Most of the heavy elements form via neutron captures that happen on a slow (s-process), intermediate (i-process) or a rapid (r-process) scale (when comparing to the following beta decays). In this talk I will present a homogeneous follow-up observational study targeting light as well as heavy elements in about 50 metal-poor stars. Our study provides new insights into the formation of the third r-process peak (Ir, Os, Pt) as well as challenges we face when deriving abundances of even heavier elements (Th), such as shortcomings in our models as well as atomic physics. A few peculiar stars stand out in the study by either having a very high or very low level of heavy elements in their atmospheres. I will discuss the possible origin (spatial as well as nuclear formation) of these peculiar stars.
  • 27 March 2026
  • 3:00 EDT
 Transforming the BNL 200 MeV H- LINAC: 1000x Lower Losses, 2x High-current Transmission, and 2x Lower Emittance The Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) 200 MeV H⁻ Drift Tube Linac (DTL) operates at 6.67 Hz, delivering beams for the polarized proton program at RHIC and for isotope production at the Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer (BLIP). Over the past two decades, a series of targeted upgrades—particularly in the low- and medium-energy beam transport lines (LEBT and MEBT)—have substantially improved linac performance and operational robustness. High-current transmission for isotope production has more than doubled, while transverse emittance for polarized proton operation has been reduced by approximately a factor of two. In parallel, beam losses have decreased by roughly three orders of magnitude, significantly reducing radiation levels and enabling higher delivered currents. Together, these improvements increase intensity and reliability for BLIP while providing improved beam quality and stability for future accelerator programs, representing a major step forward in long-term linac performance and scientific productivity.
Training the next generation

Education & training

FRIB at MSU is a world-class research and training center where students and researchers from all career stages and backgrounds come together to make discoveries that change the world.

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External news and journal publications discussing FRIB.

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  • 4 March 2026
  • Lansing State Journal

Michigan State University's K500 Chip Testing Facility, inaugurated in February at FRIB, cost approximately $14 million to establish, with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Defense. The project repurposed the campus' K500 superconducting cyclotron, completed in 1982 for high-energy, heavy-ion research, including producing and accelerating ion beams to study nuclear structure, to now allow the facility to test semiconductors for space, defense and on-Earth applications.

 https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/campus/2026/03/04/msu-micr…
  • 22 January 2026
  • Phys.org

Researchers have reported new experimental results addressing the origin of rare proton-rich isotopes heavier than iron, called p-nuclei. Led by Artemis Tsantiri, then-graduate student at FRIB and current postdoctoral fellow at the University of Regina in Canada, the study presents the first rare isotope beam measurement of proton capture on arsenic-73 to produce selenium-74, providing new constraints on how the lightest p-nucleus is formed and destroyed in the cosmos.

 https://phys.org/news/2026-01-cosmic-rare-proton-rich-isotope.html
  • 26 March 2025
  • Lansing State Journal

One of the nation's premier research facilities located at Michigan State University is getting a multi-million dollar upgrade. Late last month, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science approved $49.7 million for MSU's Facility for Rare Isotope Beams.

 https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/campus/2025/03/26/msu-frib…