Researchers at the MagLab are making discoveries today that will lead to the technologies of tomorrow. Whether a member of one of our robust in-house research groups or one of the nearly 1,400 outside scientists who do experiments here annually, MagLab researchers understand how high magnetic fields lead to making big discoveries.
Seeking the most powerful magnetic fields on Earth, scientists and engineers from across the world come to the MagLab to explore promising new materials, solve energy challenges and grow our understanding of living things. This kind of research has played a critical role in developing new technologies used every day – from electric lights and computers to motors, plastics, high-speed trains and MRI. Find out more by exploring our research initiatives, learning about our interdisciplinary research, or digging deeper into the hundreds of publications generated annually by MagLab researchers.
Research Initiatives
MATERIALS
Scientists use our magnets to explore semiconductors, superconductors, newly-grown crystals, buckyballs and materials from the natural world — research that reveals the secret workings of materials and empowers us to develop new technologies.
ENERGY
Scientists here are working to optimize petroleum refining, advance potential bio-fuels such as pine needles and algae, and fundamentally change the way we store and deliver energy by developing better batteries.
LIFE
With the world’s strongest MRI magnet, scientists here study everything from living animals to individual cells, from proteins to disease-fighting molecules found in plants and animals — work that could improve treatment of AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases.
Latest Science Highlight
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In-House Fabrication of Outsert Coil 1 for the 100T Pulsed Magnet
10 April 2019
Pulsed magnets are designed to operate near their structural limits to be able to generate extremely high magnetic fields. The coils have a limited life expectancy and thus need to be replaced on occasion. Fabrication of these large coils are now being done at the MagLab where advanced nondestructive examinations can be performed. Because of more rigorous quality controls and improvements in high-strength conductors and reinforcement materials, the lifetime of these coils can be extended.
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Scientists identify potential biomarker for brain diseases
20 March 2019
With advanced techniques and world-record magnetic fields, researchers have detected new MRI signals from brain tumors.
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"Molecular sieves" could lead to much cheaper gas production
1 March 2019
Combining high-field NMR with infrared microscopy, scientists learned more about how gas diffuses in a novel class of molecular sieves that could one day be used for gas separation.
Featured Publications
In-House Fabrication of Outsert Coil 1 for the 100T Pulsed Magnet, D. N. Nguyen, et al., IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, v 26, n 4, June 2016 See Science Highlight or Read online
High-magnetic-field MRI brain studies of disease markers, T. Roussel, et al., NMR in Biomedicine, 31, 11, e3995 (2018) See Science Highlight or Read online
Even denominator fractional quantum Hall states in monolayer graphene, A. A. Zibrov, et al., Nature Physics, 14, 930-935 (2018) See Science Highlight or Read online
Molecular Movements Within T-cells that Activate the Immune Responses that Attack Infected or Diseased Cells, K.N. Brazin, et al., Immunity, 49, 1 (2018) See Science Highlight or Read online
Uncovering the Secrets of Fungal Cell Wall Architecture , X. Kang, et al., Nature communications, 9 (1), 2747 (2018) See Science Highlight or Read online
Functionalizing Molecular Nanocarbon with Fluorine Atoms, A. Moreno-Vicente, et al., Carbon, 129, 750-757 (2018) See Science Highlight or Read online
Quasi-2D to 3D Fermi surface topology change in Nd-doped CeCoIn5, J. Klotz, et al., Phys. Rev. B Rapid Commun., 98, 081105 (2018) See Science Highlight or Read online
Destruction of Weyl nodes and a New State in TaAs above 80 Teslas, B.J. Ramshaw, et al., Nature Communications, 9: 2217 (2018) See Science Highlight or Read online
Pinning and melting of a quantum Wigner crystal, T. Knighton, et al., Phys Rev B, 97, 085135 (2018) See Science Highlight or Read online
Manipulating the ferryl tilt in a non-heme oxoiron(IV) complex that makes the complex a better oxidant, W. Rasheed, et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 57, 9387-9391 (2018) See Science Highlight or Read online