<p>David Larbalestier, one of the world's foremost authorities on material science, along with his team of experts on superconductivity, have relocated from frigid Wisconsin to sunny Florida -- bringing the venerable Applied Superconductivity Center to Florida State University.</p>
<p>According to Larbalestier, "We've been a center for about 25 years, and in fact in our 25th year we came to Florida State University because of the wonderful synergy that could exist between the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and our center."</p>
<p>Larbalestier is viewed by many of his peers as the leading researcher in the United States, and possibly the world, in the basic research of practical superconducting materials for magnets and power applications. Over a 35-year career, he has profoundly influenced the development of high-field magnets for high-energy physics and other applications, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), that have evolved from them. Among the highlights of his career is his election in 2003 to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering.</p>
<p>Back in 2005, when the Center's decision to relocate to FSU was announced, the university was also launching its Pathways of Excellence Initiative -- an ongoing effort to elevate the university's already significant reputation in academics and research. The decisions went hand in hand.</p>
<p>Today, renovations are well under way at the Frank Shaw Building near the Magnet Lab to house all the tools, equipment and apparatus Larbalestier and his team of researching professors brought from Wisconsin. Even as they're settling in at FSU, Larbalestier and his team are making progress on unlocking the secrets of superconductivity, which can lead to much greater efficiency in the flow of electrical current, resulting in faster computers and more efficient MRIs, to name just a few of the advances possible with these new materials.</p>
<p>"It's a wonderful challenge because the materials themselves are very complicated," Larbalestier said. "They require a discovery, synthesis, analysis. You have to understand where every atom goes. You need wonderful techniques of fabrication. You need very secure theoretical understanding, which we have here in the center. They require microscopy of the highest order, which again we have here in the center, and we are very pleased that FSU has made a major investment in our facilities."</p>
<p>The more than $4 million being spent renovating FSU's Frank Shaw Building was part of the package that attracted the world's leading Applied Superconductivity Center to FSU.</p>
<p>The "new" Shaw building will have a dedicated suite of electron microscope rooms. In all, more than 80 percent of the Shaw Building's square footage is being renovated so that the researchers in this field can have a state-of-the-art facility within walking distance of the Magnet Lab.</p>
<p>FSU's Associate Vice President for Research Ross Ellington says the Applied Superconductivity Center and the Magnet Lab may just have been a match made in heaven.</p>
<p>"The Applied Superconductivity Center is a unique operation that essentially brings to Florida State in one fell swoop a research capability that really complements the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. The Applied Superconductivity Center is part of the global effort FSU has taken to move forward in its research and graduate education programs. It's one part of a development in the area of advanced materials that we believe will move FSU into preeminence in this area."</p>
<p>For the complete article, see: <a href="http://www.everythingfsu.com/pages/2007/04/12/ResearchTeamSetting.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.everythingfsu.com/pages/2007/04/12/ResearchTeamSetting.html</a></p>