The MagLab in Tallahassee has $18 million from the National Science Foundation for a 23.5-tesla NMR magnet, due to be installed in 2028 and open to researchers in 2029.

The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee has won $18 million from the National Science Foundation to build a new magnet facility. It will be centered on a 23.5-tesla nuclear magnetic resonance magnet, one of the strongest in the United States.

Florida State University, which headquarters the lab, announced the award Thursday in a university news release. The grant is listed in the foundation’s own award record.

What the money buys

Nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR, uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to map the 3D structure of molecules. The new system will pair the magnet with equipment that speeds up data collection.

According to FSU, the facility will:

  • let scientists study samples across the whole periodic table at higher sensitivity
  • help researchers study proteins linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Type 2 diabetes
  • look at lithium and sodium, which are being studied for solid-state batteries
  • detect elements used in electronics, solar cells and LEDs

It will be the only ultra-high-field magnet in the world equipped with both magic angle spinning and dynamic nuclear polarization, the university said. The second technique boosts the signal by up to four orders of magnitude.

“This grant will fund an instrument that is unique in the world,” said Frederic Mentink-Vigier, the project’s lead researcher and an affiliated faculty member in FSU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

When it opens

The magnet is scheduled to be installed in 2028, FSU said. Researchers from around the world can start using it the following year.

It will run as part of the MagLab’s user program, which serves more than 1,600 academic researchers and companies a year. The program is also a training ground for students.

“This will only expand what’s possible for top scientists from around the world who come here to push the boundaries in biology and other disciplines,” MagLab Director Kathleen Amm said.

The project honors Robert Schurko, the lab’s former NMR facility director, who died in February, the university said.

What it means for you

The MagLab is funded by the National Science Foundation and the state of Florida, according to FSU. The new grant is federal money for a lab based in Tallahassee, and it brings visiting researchers to the city from 2029.

FSU did not say whether the project will add staff. “This award further amplifies the MagLab’s impact by empowering scientists from around the world to make new discoveries,” said Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, a MagLab researcher and professor at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.