Societal Applications

Discover the broad applications of research with rare isotopes

Nuclear science research has led to significant advancements in energy, materials, medicine, national security, and more. Isotopes are used in a multitude of applications in these areas.

FRIB at Michigan State University is dedicated to collaborative, interdisciplinary research that explores how previously unavailable rare isotopes can be used to enhance and expand applications to the benefit of society. 

FRIB makes possible a range of new nuclear physics opportunities.

FRIB figures largely in the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee’s (NSAC) 2023 “A New Era of Discovery: The 2023 Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science.” The plan provides a roadmap for advancing the nation’s nuclear science research programs over the next decade. FRIB400—an energy upgrade to expand the already broad scientific reach of FRIB—is explicitly mentioned in the executive summary following Recommendation IV, which calls for investments in additional projects and new strategic opportunities that advance discovery science. Instruments aspired by the community for FRIB, such as the High Rigidity Spectrometer, the Gamma-Ray Energy Tracking Array, the FRIB Decay Station, and the Isochronous Spectrometer with Large Acceptance, feature in the science section of the long range plan.

In Reaching for the Horizon (PDF), the 2015 Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science, the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee stated that the initiation of FRIB’s scientific program “will revolutionize our understanding of nuclei and their role in the cosmos.”

Meeting Isotope Needs and Capturing Opportunities for the Future (PDF), the 2015 Long Range Plan for the DOE Isotope Program stated that: “During routine operation for its nuclear physics mission, FRIB will produce a broad variety of isotopes that could be harvested synergistically without interference to the primary user. Research quantities of many of these isotopes, which are of interest to various applications including medicine, stockpile stewardship and astrophysics, are currently in short supply or have no source other than FRIB operation.”

Often, work in these areas can proceed concurrently with the FRIB primary nuclear science operations without any adverse impact, thereby optimizing the overall scientific output. Research in several of these areas is already being actively pursued at other facilities, such as ISOLDE at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland; ISAC at TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada; and others.

Access to rare isotopes creates opportunities for research and innovation

FRIB can produce about 80 percent of the isotopes predicted to be possible, which world-renowned researchers and graduate students will use to study nature. Here are a few examples of the applied benefits of FRIB’s nuclear science research:

Medical advancement

Thanks to ongoing nuclear science research, new cancer treatments utilize isotopes to target specific cells. This protects the surrounding tissues and facilitates precise treatment, which is critical in pediatric, brain, and spinal cancers. Certain nuclear isotopes have also been used for the early detection of cancers, medical imaging, and monitoring of heart and lung functions.

National security

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security utilizes nuclear science techniques to protect the nation’s borders by preventing the transport of radiological materials while also helping to ensure the personal protection of security agents.

Forensic science

Numerous forensic and elemental science applications use nuclear science. Radioisotopes help scientists place objects in geological time, while stable isotope ratios help correlate crime scene evidence with geographic locations.

Science communication

Nondestructive nuclear techniques make it possible to analyze historical art and artifacts and learn more than ever before. For example, research using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and neutron activation analysis (NAA) allows archaeologists to locate the origin of objects and discover trade routes.

Isotope harvesting

FRIB isotope harvesting offers a fast development path for any rare isotope, leading to innovations and student research opportunities. Isotope harvesting relies on FRIB’s novel isotope production method. It makes MSU a leader in radiochemistry, nuclear chemistry research, and education, and provides an opportunity for MSU students and researchers not available at other universities.

Advanced microelectronics

FRIB’s chip-testing facility for next-generation semiconductor devices will help meet the current national shortfall of testing capacity for advanced microelectronics, including those used for commercial spaceflight, 5/6G wireless technology, and autonomous vehicles.

Contact information

For more information about the applied benefits of FRIB, nuclear science research, or FRIB’s mission to explore new regions of the nuclear chart, please email gradschool@frib.msu.edu.

Prospective graduate students seeking research opportunities with FRIB should email gradschool@frib.msu.edu.