{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/photos-peters-concludes-10th-and-final-motorcycle-tour-in-east-lansing", "PHOTOS: Peters Concludes 10th and Final Motorcycle Tour in East Lansing", "2026-08-28", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "MI", "Gary C. Peters", "P000595", "www.peters.senate.gov", "garypeters", "https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "EAST LANSING, MI \u2013 U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) toured the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU) during his annual motorcycle tour across Michigan. Peters highlighted his bipartisan efforts to secure more than $2 billion in public investment for FRIB during his time in Congress.\n\n\u201cThe opening of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams has been a groundbreaking success for Michigan State University and our entire state,\u201d said Senator Peters. \u201cIn addition to its contributions to science, FRIB is furthering our state\u2019s economic competitiveness on the national and global stage. That\u2019s why supporting FRIB\u2019s work has been so important. It will continue to spur transformational innovation, strengthen our national security, and create high-paying jobs for future innovators in Michigan.\u201d\n\nDuring the event, Peters toured FRIB and its new K500 Chip Testing Facility with MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz, FRIB Laboratory Director Thomas Glasmacher, and MSU Professor Dr. Artemis Spyrou.\n\n\u201cBecause of sustained bipartisan support in Congress\u2014including the leadership of Senator Peters\u2014MSU designed, built and now operates the premier rare isotope research facility on the planet,\u201d said MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph. D. \u201cFRIB firmly anchors Michigan State as a global epicenter for nuclear science, elevating our university's standing among the top research institutions in the world. That global standing allows us to attract, retain, and activate extraordinary talent. Through FRIB, we are training the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators in high-demand fields.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are honored to welcome Senator Peters back to FRIB as he concludes his career in the U.S. Senate, and we thank him and the entire Michigan delegation for their steadfast support of FRIB for two decades,\u201d said FRIB Laboratory Director Thomas Glasmacher. \u201cWe are privileged to operate FRIB as a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility that enables scientists to make discoveries, while also leveraging technical capabilities in service to the nation\u2014such as our heavy-ion chip-testing facilities.\u201d\n\n\u201cFundamental basic science, like the experimental nuclear astrophysics research my group conducts at FRIB, is the foundation for innovations that directly improve our daily lives,\u201d said Artemis Spyrou, professor of physics at FRIB and in the MSU Department of Physics and Astronomy. \u201cThrough sustained federal support, our research unlocks the mysteries of the universe while building a highly skilled STEM workforce. By coupling world-class science with hands-on training and public engagement, we are actively inspiring and developing the next generation of science and technical leaders.\u201d\n\nTo view photos from Senator Peters\u2019 stop in East Lansing, click HERE.\n\nPeters has been a champion for FRIB and Michigan\u2019s world-class research institutions like MSU. In 2015, Peters held a roundtable discussion with academic leaders and researchers from MSU to help craft legislation that was signed into law to strengthen federal investment in U.S. research and development.\n\nFRIB houses the most powerful heavy-ion linear accelerator, which accelerates heavy ions and produces rare isotopes, short-lived atomic nuclei that cannot be found on Earth. FRIB allows researchers to study the properties and fundamental interactions of rare isotopes and nuclear astrophysics and their impact on medicine, national security, and industry, including diagnosing diseases, improving next generation nuclear reactors for energy, and finding processes to destroy nuclear waste. FRIB\u2019s heavy-ion chip-testing facilities\u2014the FRIB Single Event Effects Facility and the K500 Chip Testing Facility\u2014address the national shortage of testing capacity for advanced microelectronics used in industries like spaceflight, wireless technology, and autonomous vehicles. FRIB employs approximately 460 scientists, engineers, and staff, as well as more than 200 students, and brings together over 1,800 scientists to conduct cutting-edge research in Michigan.\n\nPeters \u2013 an avid and longtime motorcycle rider \u2013 kicked off his \u201cThank you, Michigan\u201d tour in Bay City. He then made stops in Alpena, Marquette, Traverse City, Grand Rapids, and East Lansing. He rode more than 1,000 miles across the state on this year\u2019s tour \u2013 which is Peters\u2019 10th and last official motorcycle tour.\n\n\u201cI've always said the best way to travel across our state is on a motorcycle,\u201d Peters said. \u201cRepresenting Michigan in the U.S. Senate has been the absolute honor of my lifetime. So, this year\u2019s tour is about saying thank you to all of the amazing people and communities I\u2019ve been able to partner with during my career to help make Michigan an amazing place to work, live, and raise a family.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-30T10:18:21Z", "2026-08-30T10:19:31Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/photos-peters-concludes-10th-and-final-motorcycle-tour-in-east-lansing"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9241460356861353, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}