  Performing a shell model calculation for heavy nuclei has been a
long-standing problem in nuclear physics. Here we propose one possible
solution. The central idea of this proposal is to take the advantages of two
existing models, the Projected Shell Model (PSM) and the Fermion Dynamical
Symmetry Model (FDSM), to construct a multi-shell shell model. The PSM is an
efficient method of coupling quasi-particle excitations to the high-spin
rotational motion, whereas the FDSM contains a successful truncation scheme for
the low-spin collective modes from the spherical to the well-deformed region.
The new shell model is expected to describe simultaneously the single-particle
and the low-lying collective excitations of all known types, yet keeping the
model space tractable even for the heaviest nuclear systems.
