East Lansing, MI – In celebration of the anticipated opening of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) in May as a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility, the public is invited to get behind the scenes at a special “FRIB Countdown” event on Saturday, 23 April.

The event will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last tours starting at 4 p.m. It is free and open to all ages, and no appointment is necessary to participate.

The FRIB Countdown offers the public a glimpse at FRIB prior to the start of FRIB’s scientific research program. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about FRIB and rare-isotope research before FRIB opens its doors to scientific users from around the world.

Planned activities at the FRIB Countdown will allow attendees to:

• Tour the FRIB Laboratory
• Explore the fields of FRIB science through hands-on activities and demonstrations
• Meet nuclear scientists, researchers, and engineers as they talk about their work
• Enjoy educational videos

“We are grateful for the public’s continued support over the last 13 years as we competed for and then established FRIB,” said FRIB Laboratory Director Thomas Glasmacher. “The FRIB Countdown is our way to show our appreciation, and to give everyone a preview of the science that FRIB will enable when user experiments begin this spring.”

Following the FRIB Countdown, the laboratory’s ribbon-cutting ceremony on 2 May—which will include senior leadership from the U.S. Department of Energy, elected officials, and Michigan State University leaders—will set the stage for beginning FRIB's scientific mission. FRIB user experiments are slated to begin 9 May.

MSU operates FRIB as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics.

Supporting a community of 1,600 scientists from around the world, 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.

FRIB will become the best place for rare isotope research, and it has the potential to enable major discoveries. The goal of research at FRIB is a comprehensive theory of atomic nuclei, leading to major benefits and new opportunities.

Visit frib.msu.edu/countdown for up-to-date information on all of the news about the FRIB Countdown event.

Michigan State University (MSU) operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics.

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.