World’s first superconducting cyclotron was tested successfully at MSU

Henry Blosser and William Powers on the cyclotron at MSU's campus in 1989 — Henry Blosser and William Powers working on the cyclotron in 1989. Photo courtesy of Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections.

MSU emerged as a leader in nuclear physics in the 1960s when Henry Blosser and his team developed MSU’s first cyclotron, the K50.

The 1980s brought a new era of success in the field. In the late 1970s, the nuclear physics team at MSU began work on creating a superconducting magnet for the K500, the next generation cyclotron.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, this superconducting cyclotron was successfully tested at MSU Nov. 21, 1981. It was officially completed in 1982.

The completion of the K500 initiated the superconducting cyclotron era, and the MSU Cyclotron Laboratory became a national user facility for research with heavy ions.

Now home to the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, MSU remains a premier location for nuclear physics research. The original K500 superconducting cyclotron was recently repurposed as part of a new facility dedicated to semiconductor chip testing, supporting U.S. innovation across industries such as defense and autonomous systems.

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