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

Argonne National Laboratory brings the world's brightest scientists and engineers together to find exciting and creative new solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.