Attendees from around the United States took part in the final event of the season for FRIB’s Advanced Studies Gateway (ASG) initiative on Sunday, 5 May, as Nobel Prize-winning physicist William Phillips gave a talk on the quantum reform of the modern metric system. The event drew several well-known scientists, former U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory directors, and federal program managers, among others. 

Phillips’s talk concluded the 2023-24 schedule of public events hosted by FRIB. The season included live music concerts, Zoom talks, and in-person guest lecturers. The talk is available online here. 

Over 800 people attended the 16 ASG events during the academic year, which included nine concerts and seven talks. Musicians such as violinist Dmitri Berlinksy and pianist Young Hyun Cho performed at FRIB in a collaboration with the MSU College of Music. Speakers from Purdue University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Duke University, and the University of Michigan, and other institutions delivered lectures on a variety of topics. 

ASG began in 2018 and brings together researchers, innovators, creative thinkers, artists, and performers from all fields. It strengthens ties between Michigan State University (MSU) and the community. Activities include research workshops, public talks, concerts, and special events that are free and open to the public. Dean Lee, professor of physics at FRIB and in MSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and head of the Theoretical Nuclear Science department at FRIB, is the host of ASG. Ten members of the National Academy of Science have given lectures as a part of the program. 

“The ASG events at FRIB have exceptional impact, attracting a broader public audience by showcasing researchers, innovators, artists, and performers from a variety of fields,” said FRIB Laboratory Director Thomas Glasmacher. “The success of the ASG program speaks to the interest that people across the nation have in programming that intersects science, technology, and the arts.”

FRIB also hosted two talks as part of the Distinguished Nuclear Policy Lecture Series. The series is a partnership between MSU’s James Madison College and FRIB. It brings global policy experts to campus for talks about the political and scientific communities. In 2023-24, FRIB welcomed Eugene Rumer, senior fellow and the director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Russia and Eurasia Program, and George Perkovich, the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Chair and vice president for studies at Carnegie. 

For information about public events at FRIB, visit frib.msu.edu/public.

Michigan State University operates FRIB as a user facility for the DOE Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. Hosting what is designed to be the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator, FRIB enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes (that is, short-lived nuclei not normally found on Earth), nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry.