1989
Proposing a new lab
Florida State University hires Jack Crow to direct its Center for Materials Research and Technology. Crow, Don Parkin of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and Neil Sullivan of the University of Florida in Gainesville collaborate on a proposal for a new national magnet lab to be operated collaboratively by the three institutions and headquartered at FSU.August 1990
NSF sends MagLab south
The National Science Board awards the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory to the consortium, shocking the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which had operated the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Francis Bitter National Magnet Lab for 25 years.
September 1990
Money for magnets
NSF awards the first operating grant, $60 million over five years. Magnets and infrastructure are put in place the first four years.
April 1992
Our first magnet
The Pulsed Field Facility at Los Alamos acquires its first magnet: a 50-tesla short-pulse magnet.
June 1992
Training for undergrads
The first class of undergraduates participates in Minority Scholars Program, which eventually becomes Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.
May 1993
Pulsed Field Facility launches
- The Pulsed Field Facility at Los Alamos launches its scientific user program.
- The first two superconducting magnets are commissioned at the FSU branch; James Brooks (then of Boston University and now a professor at FSU and member of the lab's Condensed Matter Science group) is the first user.
September 1993
Renovation complete
Final construction and renovation is completed.
June 1994
First home-built magnet
The first MagLab-engineered and -built resistive magnet is installed and successfully tested. At 27 tesla, it sets a new world record. First to do research in the magnet is FSU physics professor Bill Moulton.
September 1994
ICR Facility launched
NSF's Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities Program awards $5 million to the Magnet Lab to develop an FT-ICR-Mass Spectrometry Facility. FSU chemistry professor Alan Marshall is named director. The state of Florida matches with $2 million to acquire high-field superconducting magnets.
October 1994
Lab is dedicated
- The lab is dedicated; Vice-President Al Gore delivers the keynote speech and the lab holds its first Open House, which becomes a popular annual event.
- High B/T Facility at the University of Florida is completed for user operation.
March 1995
New 30 T magnet
MagLab engineers produce a 30-tesla resistive magnet – breaking the lab's previous record with the invention of new "Florida Bitter" magnet technology and tying the world record for highest magnetic fields set at MIT.
July 1995
High homogeneity record
MagLab engineers produce 24-tesla high-homogeneity magnet, eclipsing the mark previously held by the Grenoble, France magnet lab.
September 1995
Record ICR and EMR magnets
The MagLab installs a world-record 9.4-tesla ion cyclotron resonance magnet system and a world-record high resolution electron magnetic resonance spectrometer of 17 tesla.
February 1996
Reaching the 33 T mark
MagLab engineers complete a 33-tesla resistive magnet, breaking their own record.
March 1996
Funding renewed
The second operating grant is awarded: $87.8 million over five years.
June 1997
Magnets in space
MagLab engineers complete a resistive magnet for use on the International Space Station.
November 1997
Magnet for Japan
MagLab engineers install a 30-tesla magnet in Tsukuba, Japan – the highest field resistive magnet in Asia.
February 1998
Beating our own records
MagLab engineers complete a 25-tesla magnet with 12 parts per million (ppm) homogeneity over a 10-mm diameter spherical volume, surpassing their own 24-tesla mark in both field intensity and uniformity.
June 1998
New wide-bore magnet
MagLab engineers complete a 20-tesla magnet with the largest bore in the world: 195 mm.
August 1998
New long-pulse magnet
A powerful 60-tesla, long-pulse magnet is dedicated at the Pulsed Field Facility.
October 1998
AMRIS debuts
The Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy (AMRIS) user program debuts at the University of Florida McKnight Brain Institute.
June 1999
Research for teachers
- The Research Experiences for Teachers program debuts.
- MagLab engineers complete the highest field 50-mm bore magnet in the world withcompletion of the 27-tesla system.
August 1999
ICR renewed
The FT-ICR Facility grant is renewed at $5.8 million through 2004.
October 1999
New Pulsed Field space
The new Experiment Hall opens at the Pulsed Field Facility.
December 1999
World's strongest magnet
The world's strongest magnet – the 45-tesla hybrid – reaches full field and is commissioned for user service, earning a certification from the Guinness Book of World Records.
July 2000
Magnet rupture
- The Pulsed Field Facility's 60-tesla long-pulse magnet ruptures 15 months after its research debut due to unusually low fracture toughness in construction material. It is later rebuilt.
- The Center for Advanced Power Systems – a collaborative effort among FSU, the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, the Magnet Lab, and industrial partners – is established with a $10.9 million grant from the Office of Naval Research.
April 2001
Third operation grant
A third operating grant is awarded, $171 million over seven years, extending the original five-year grant by two years.
May 2001
NIH grant
AMRIS is awarded a $5.2 million National Institutes of Health grant to develop new radio frequency coils for nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance imaging.
October 2001
NMR grant awarded
The lab's Nuclear Magnetic Resonance program is awarded an $8 million National Institutes of Health grant.
April 2003
Highest field resistive magnet
The highest field resistive magnet in Europe is completed in collaboration with Radboud University (Nijmegen, Netherlands). Its field: 33 tesla.
February 2004
Boebinger takes the helm
Greg Boebinger becomes the second director of the MagLab.
April 2004
Upgrades for Florida facilities
The Florida Legislature allocates $10 million for infrastructure upgrades at the FSU and UF branches of the lab.
June 2004
Grant for revolutionary magnet
The Magnet Lab is awarded a $1.8 million NSF grant for conceptual and engineering design of a revolutionary c magnet system.
September 2004
Strongest ICR magnet
- A 14.5-tesla ICR magnet system – the highest field ICR system in the world – is commissioned for research.
- Jack Crow passes away.
April 2005
Wide bore + strong magnet = new record
Tests are completed on a 31-tesla magnet with a 50-mm experimental space – the highest field resistive magnet with a bore of its size in the world.
July 2005
Ultra-wide bore commissioned
- A 900 MHz ultra-wide-bore magnet for nuclear magnetic resonance, engineered and built at the MagLab, is commissioned.
- The world-record 600 MHz triple resonance 1-mm high temperature superconducting NMR probe is installed at UF's AMRIS facility.
August 2005
Free electron laser light source grant
The Magnet Lab is awarded a $1.8 million grant for concept and engineering design of a free electron laser light source for high magnetic field research.
October 2005
Welcome ASC
The Applied Superconductivity Center at the University of Wisconsin moves to the MagLab at FSU.
December 2005
Record continuous field
A MagLab-engineered 35-tesla resistive magnet is commissioned, setting a new world record for a continuous field electromagnet.
February 2006
Five more years
The National Science Board says it will accept a renewal proposal from the MagLab rather than compete the award.
August 2006
Another record tumbles
MagLab engineers complete a new high-homogeneity magnet providing 28 tesla, eclipsing their previous mark of 25 tesla.
September 2006
Next generation hybrid
The NSF awards the MagLab $11.7 million to build the next-generation Series Connected Hybrid magnet.
October 2006
Pulsed fields at 85 T
The Pulsed Field Facility's 100-tesla multi-shot magnet is commissioned for user operation at 85 tesla.
April 2007
Helmholtz contract
The Helmholtz Centre Berlin contracts with the MagLab to build an $8.7 million high-field magnet for neutron scattering.
July 2007
Superconducting record
The MagLab and industry partner SuperPower collaborate to set a new world record for magnetic field created by a superconducting magnet: 26.8 tesla. The world-record magnet's test coil is wound with well-known high-temperature superconductor yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO).
December 2007
Topping 1,000
MagLab tops 1,000 users for the year. More than 1,000 visiting scientists from around the world performed research at the MagLab.
July 2008
Software for petroleum studies
Scientists with the lab's ICR program license petroleum analysis software to Sierra Analytics, advancing the emerging field of petroleomics.
September 2008
YBCO record
A small test coil made from the superconducting material yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) achieves 33.8 tesla at a current of 325 amps, setting a new record for field strength and current density.
October 2008
BISCCO wire
MagLab engineers construct a bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (BSCCO) 2212 round wire test coil that achieves 32 tesla, demonstrating that there is a second superconductor capable of reaching fields higher than 30 tesla.
February 2009
Record Open House
More than 5,500 people attend the annual Open House, setting a new record for attendance.
May 2009
User Summer School
MagLab launches User Summer School, a weeklong learning opportunity featuring tutorials on measurement techniques, practical exercises and plenary talks from experts in the field of condensed matter physics. This first one hosts 28 students.
June 2009
Public tours launched
MagLab launches standing public tours the third Wednesday of each month.
July 2009
First experiments at 85 T
- The first two experiments are completed in the 85-T multi-shot magnet, providing users 110 pulses at 85 T.
- YBCO test coil reaches 27.4 T, another record for magnetic field strength generated by a superconductor.
October 2009
$3 million superconductor
NSF and FSU award the lab $3 million to build a 32-T, all superconducting magnet made with YBCO superconductor.
December 2009
Funding for ICR at 21 T
NSF awards $15 million to purchase a state-of-the-art, 21-T superconducting magnet system for the lab's ICR user program.
January 2010
Reclaiming a record
MagLab reclaims world record for highest field resistive magnet by improving the stacking pattern of bitter plates to reach 36.2 T.
February 2010
Another great Open House
Open House attendance tops 5,700 visitors, a new record.
May 2010
Breakthrough research at AMRIS
At the MagLab's AMRIS Facility, researchers identify a new benefit of the vitamin folate. Their findings represent the first new role for folate in more than a decade.
June 2011
Largest wildfire evacutes LANL
The largest wildfire in New Mexico's history causes staff at the MagLab's Pulsed Field Facility to evacuate. The lab reopens a few weeks later.
July 2011
Record tesla system
MagLab debuts its new world-record setting 25 tesla split magnet.
August 2011
Highest non-destructive field
MagLab researchers at the Pulsed Field Facility create the highest non-destructive magnetic field in the world at 97.4 tesla.
October 2011
Record superconducting insert
The MagLab sets another world record by creating a 35.4 tesla magnetic field using a superconducting-insert magnet.
March 2012
Hitting 100 T
MagLab researchers at the Pulsed Field Facility set a new world record of 100.75 tesla using a multi-shot magnet.
July 2012
Buckyball mystery solved
- The National Science Board awards a 5-year renewal grant to the MagLab.
- A team led by MagLab scientists and FSU researchers solves the mystery of how buckyballs form.
May 2013
Hofstadter’s Butterfly
Working with graphene, two teams of researchers observed a never-before-seen energy pattern first theorized in 1976.
September 2012
First deputy director
Physicist Eric Palm becomes the MagLab's first Deputy Lab Director.
January 2014
Largest Theory Winter School
A record 77 students from across the world attended the workshop on topological phases of condensed matter. This weeklong workshop was started in 2012 and explores a different subject in condensed matter and materials research theory each January.
June 2014
21 T for ICR
World’s first 21 tesla magnet for Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry installed at MagLab.