Michigan State University may play a larger role in the race to understand the evolution of the universe following the U.S. Department of Energy’s announcement today that the university had been picked to house a $550-million facility to study rare nuclear isotopes.

The research to be conducted at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, which will employ about 1,000 scientists, will have applications in medicine, materials science, and astronomy, according to a statement issued by the Energy Department.

“This capability [to study rare nuclear isotopes] will allow physicists to study the nuclear reactions that power stars and stellar explosions, explore the structure of the nuclei of atoms and the forces that bind them together, test current theories about the fundamental nature of matter, and play a role in developing new nuclear medicines and techniques,” said Eugene A. Henry, acting associate director for nuclear physics in the department’s Office of Science, in the statement.

A Department of Energy spokeswoman said that she could not disclose how many other universities had competed for the facility, but according to the department’s statement, Michigan State had been chosen in part because of its realistic budget projections.

According to the Lansing State Journal, the new facility will build on the university’s existing National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, and is likely to prove an economic boon to the local economy. —David Shieh