Missouri’s governor, east-central Missouri U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-St. Elizabeth), numerous state lawmakers and others will gather this afternoon in Columbia for a groundbreaking ceremony for the $20-million expansion of the MU Research Reactor (MURR), which is down the hill from Faurot Field.
Congressman Luetkemeyer represents Columbia on Capitol Hill.
State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff (D-Columbia) tells 939 the Eagle that MURR in Columbia is the top-ranked University research reactor in the nation. The reactor produces a medical isotope that battles various cancers worldwide.
“It is an amazing thing. I mean Mizzou was just ranked number one for a university research reactor in the whole nation. And that is probably because of the fact that they are the only ones in the nation that are producing an isotope that is been fighting all kinds of cancers worldwide,” Steinhoff says.
UM System President Dr. Mun Choi says the expansion will help discover new treatments that provide benefits to people nationwide and around the globe.
MURR executive director Matt Sanford will also speak at today’s 1:30 ceremony. The current MURR, which was built in 1966, cost about $1.5 million to build. The $20-million expansion will be a three-story addition.
