Update (July 2021): The PAC1 meeting has been rescheduled for 5-6 and 12-13 August 2021.
Marking an exciting step toward commencing scientific user operation, FRIB issued its first call for proposals today. The call invites scientific users the world over to submit their requests to use FRIB to conduct their scientific experiments.
More than 1,500 scientists, or users, are preparing to do research at FRIB. They are organized in an independent FRIB Users Organization, and include scientists, postdoctoral research associates, and graduate students from universities, national laboratories, and industry. It is anticipated that up to 1,000 users will visit FRIB each year.
FRIB is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC) user facility, open to all interested researchers. Beam time is granted based on a merit review of proposals. There is no charge for users who are doing non-proprietary work, with the understanding that they are expected to publish their results. Full cost recovery is required for proprietary work. With this call, FRIB invites proposals for beam time to be considered at the first meeting of the FRIB Program Advisory Committee (PAC) scheduled for May 2021. PAC is a group of international experts who review proposals for non-proprietary beam time requests submitted to FRIB. PAC makes recommendations to the FRIB Laboratory Director about beam-time allocation.
FRIB is funded by the DOE-SC, MSU, and the State of Michigan, with operations supported by the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. Supporting the mission of the Office of Nuclear Physics, FRIB will enable scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes (short-lived nuclei not normally found on Earth), nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry. It is under construction now, with final completion and start of user operations set for 2022.
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of today’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.