<p>Naresh Dalal, the Dirac Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida State University, has been recognized as one of the top scholars in his field in the southeastern United States by the Florida Section of the American Chemical Society.</p>
<p>The organization has selected Dalal as the recipient of its 2007 Florida Award, which recognizes leadership and contributions toward the advancement of the profession of chemistry.</p>
<p>"As wonderful an honor as this is, it's especially nice to be recognized by the people who know me best...in this case, my scientific colleagues in Florida," Dalal said.</p>
<p>The Florida Award was established in 1952 and is given each year at the annual scientific meeting of the Florida Section of the American Chemical Society. To be considered for the award, a nominee must be a resident of the Southeast and must have made outstanding contributions to teaching, research, publications or service in advancing the chemistry profession. The award recipient also gets to give an address at the group's Annual Meeting and Exposition. This year, the meeting will be held May 10-12 in Orlando.</p>
<p>"Professor Dalal has had a sustained and distinguished track record in researching the magnetic properties of molecules and solids," said Professor Joseph Schlenoff, the interim chairman of FSU's department of chemistry and biochemistry. "His most notable recent accomplishments are in the area of molecular magnets. These novel materials are potentially valuable for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Professor Dalal joins 15 other distinguished FSU chemists who have received this award since it was initiated."
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Dalal recently took part in a research project that could lead to ways of producing sharper medical images through MRI machines. Working with colleagues from FSU, the University of Colorado and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, he helped uncover unique properties in a molecular magnet - properties that could significantly increase the resolution of MRIs.</p>
<p>"There are continual efforts to enhance the level of image clarity found in today's MRI devices," Dalal said of that research. "MRIs utilize injectable dyes, but those in current use, while easy to manufacture, offer a relatively low contrast. Our experiments show that a class of materials known as single-molecule magnets might produce greater contrast in medical imaging, meaning MRIs would be much more accurate."</p>
<p>Working at FSU and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Dalal and FSU chemistry graduate teaching assistant Vasanth Ramachandran were able to synthesize a substance known as Fe8 that is one of the strongest magnets known.</p>
<p>"Fe8 is a molecule made up of eight iron ions that form a tight molecular bond," Dalal said. "It has a powerful magnetic field, which is obviously important in generating a very clear image with an MRI device. What's more, Fe8 is non-toxic and water-soluble, making it safe for injection into the body."</p>
<p>Molecular magnets such as Fe8 also could lead to significant breakthroughs in the area of quantum computing, which has the potential to create computers that are exponentially faster and more powerful than the ones in use today, he said.
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