MSU gets nuclear physics lab

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday selected Michigan State University for a federal nuclear physics research facility.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan made the announcement. The $550 million facility would be built over the next 10 years.

Stabenow said the announcement signals a commitment from the U.S. government to the science involved in the new technology. Funding for construction of the new facility still must be secured through Congress.

Michigan State had been competing with Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois for the facility for rare isotope beams.

The project would involve technology to accelerate subatomic particles to high speeds and collide the resulting beams with fixed targets. The research related to energy and matter could be key to developments in medicine and national defense.

The project, which will add hundreds of jobs to the mid-Michigan area, had been sought for several years but often was delayed by the federal government.