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Michigan State University’s NSCL (National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory) is funded by the US National Science Foundation to operate the premier rare isotope user facility in the US. Beams of rare isotopes at NSCL are produced via projectile fragmentation or fission and separated in-flight. The current NSCL facility capabilities and main research directions will be outlined. The laboratory is currently expanding its capabilities by building an efficient gas-stopping and reacceleration capability initially up to 3.2 MeV per nucleon. For the longer term future, NSCL is proposing to replace the existing superconducting cyclotrons with a high-intensity, 200 MeV per nucleon superconducting heavy-ion linac.

The new (2002) Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science in the US finds that “the exciting new scientific opportunities offered by research with rare isotopes are compelling”. The NSCL’s recently completed coupled cyclotron upgrade can provide fast beams of rare isotopes with 2–3 orders of magnitude higher intensities than previously available in the US. Large additional gains, especially for medium-mass and heavy elements, will be possible with the rare isotope accelerator (RIA), the highest priority recommendation for major new construction in the 2002 Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science.