Established in 1963, the NSCL is the nation’s largest nuclear science facility on a university campus. "NSCL is a world-leading laboratory for rare isotope research and nuclear science education. With support from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the laboratory operates as a national user facility that serves more than 700 researchers from 100 institutions in 35 countries. Nuclear physics research began at Michigan State University (MSU) in 1958. In the decades that followed, MSU became known for its innovations in nuclear science and associated cross-disciplinary research, both in the United States and worldwide. Major contributions have been made in the fields of nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics, heavy-ion reaction mechanisms, accelerator physics, beam dynamics and experimental techniques."