DOE releases specs for $1 billion accelerator;
State of Illinois supports
Argonne bid
ARGONNE, Ill. (Nov. 8, 2004) — The U.S. Department of Energy last month
released a draft document outlining bid specifications to build and host the
Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA), a $1
billion facility for nuclear physics research. Argonne and Michigan
State University are the leading candidates for hosting
the facility.
The 300-page draft document indicates bidders likely will have to submit their
final proposals by the end of the year, although federal officials could push
that timeline back when a final request for proposals is released. A response
to the draft request for proposals was due Oct. 25.
Under the current schedule, the project is expected to be awarded in early
2005. RIA is one of the top priorities of the Department of Energy's 20-year
science facility plan.
If built at Argonne, the Argonne
Tandem Linac Accelerator System, ATLAS,
could be incorporated into the system, saving millions of dollars in construction
costs. Argonne is also pioneering many of the technologies needed for RIA,
from liquid lithium targets able to withstand intense ion beams to “ gas catchers” that
will slow the rare isotopes to a stop so they can be re-accelerated with high
efficiency and excellent beam quality.
State support
The State of Illinois has launched a coordinated campaign to help Argonne
win its site selection bid for RIA.
“It is critical that the public and private sectors in Illinois work together
to support Argonne as the location for this important new facility,” said Illinois
Governor Rod Blagojevich. “To help ensure this necessary support, I have
asked Jack Lavin, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity, to spearhead a public-private task force with Argonne Director
Dr. Hermann Grunder and University of Chicago President Dr. Don Randel to bring
RIA to Illinois where it belongs.”
The initial task force members include U.S. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert
(R-Ill.), Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.),
U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), Northwestern University President
Henry S. Bienen, AFL-CIO President Margaret Blackshere, Chicago Federation
of Labor President Dennis Gannon, Argonne Director Hermann Grunder, Civic Committee
of the Commercial Club of Chicago President R. Eden Martin, Northern Illinois
University President John G. Peters, University of Chicago President Don M.
Randel, Illinois Coalition Chairman Samuel K. Skinner and University of Illinois
President James J. Stukel. — Dave Jacqué
The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory conducts
basic and applied scientific research across a wide spectrum of disciplines,
ranging from high-energy physics to climatology and biotechnology. Since 1990,
Argonne has worked with more than 600 companies and numerous federal agencies
and other organizations to help advance America's scientific leadership and
prepare the nation for the future. Argonne is operated by the University
of Chicago for the U.S.
Department of Energy's Office
of Science.
For more information, please contact Catherine Foster (630/252-5580
or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.
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