HFML recognised as leading Dutch research facility
Following a large national competition, the High Field Magnet Laboratory (HFML), jointly owned by Radboud University Nijmegen and the FOM Foundation, has been selected as one of the five leading Dutch research facilities to raise the international profile of the Netherlands. This was announced on Friday 2 March by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The HFML will also receive a grant of 11 million euro's through the Dutch National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Facilities to strengthen its leading international position.
At the request of NWO, an advisory report was drawn up about the construction and operation of large and expensive pieces of equipment and research facilities that would make an important contribution to the vitality and innovative ability of the Dutch science sector and its image abroad. Of these, the very best projects showing the greatest scientific potential were selected. A total of 27 large-scale facilities were given a place on the new National Roadmap. Of these, five will receive a grant for the construction or conversion of their research facilities with international appeal located in the Netherlands. A total of 80 million euro's will be made available for this.
European top
The selection of the HFML and the corresponding grant confirms the considerable importance of the laboratory to materials research, and is an affirmation of the course the HFML has been following. The HFML takes a leading role within Europe as head of the European Magnetic Field Laboratory (EMFL), which together with laboratories in Grenoble, Dresden and Toulouse forms a top research facility. Professor Jan Kees Maan, Director of the HFML, is overjoyed: "With this investment, we want to take the magnet lab to a world-class level. The laboratory offers first-rate facilities and equipment for Nobel prize-level materials research, for our own research group as well as the many users and guests from all over the world."
The 11 million euro grant will make a significant contribution to the joint ambition of Radboud University Nijmegen and the FOM Foundation to make maximum use of the unique opportunities offered by the HFML. HFML Director Maan: "We are not there yet, but this is a huge boost. The money from NWO, in addition to the extra investments made by FOM and the university last year, will help us make significant advances."
Innovation
High magnetic fields are essential for quickly discovering the properties of new materials. Magnetic field laboratories are therefore highly sensitive antennas for the latest developments in materials research. New materials are often the driving force behind innovation and, thanks to the HFML, which opened in 2003, the Netherlands can make a significant contribution to this. For example, HFML researchers were the first in the Netherlands to work with graphene when the Nobel Prize winners Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov conducted their experiments in the laboratory.
High magnetic fields
The HFML is a special laboratory in which magnetic fields can be generated that are 33 times stronger than that of the well-known horseshoe magnet and almost 100,000 times more than the Earth's magnetic field. The HFML has magnets that allow research to be carried out in very high magnetic fields for long periods of time. The investment of 11 million euro's will be spent partly on equipment, and partly on staff and operations to be able to carry out more research, log more magnet hours and therefore allow more people to make use of the laboratory. A new 38 Tesla magnet will also be developed, a world record for this kind of magnet. In a few years' time, an even stronger 45 Tesla magnet will be taken into operation.
A helium liquefaction system will also be purchased to produce liquid helium at -269 degrees Celsius. Liquid helium is required for almost all the experiments in the laboratory and the new system will significantly reduce costs. The helium can also be recycled – important given the rarity of this gas.
Materials of the future
With the new facilities, the HFML can carry out more innovative materials research. An example is research into correlated electron systems, new materials made up of rare earth elements and metals that display exotic behaviour due to the fact that the electrons inside strongly interact. This kind of behaviour results in magnetism and superconductivity, much of which is not yet fully understood. Research in high magnetic fields can lead to new discoveries, and according to Director Maan this is one of the biggest challenges in materials research. It is possible that it will lead to insights that will be of benefit in about 20 years' time. "Without this kind of fundamental research, we would have had no magnetic heads in hard disk drives and no tablet computers. To achieve scientific progress, you need to be able to experiment creatively under extreme conditions as, sooner or later, this often results in important new discoveries."
Press release from FOM Foundation and Radboud University Nijmegen
Contact
Prof.dr. Jan Kees Maan +31 (0)24 365 34 22
FOM Foundation, Gabby Zegers +31 (0)30 600 12 08
Radboud University Nijmegen, Media Relations Office +31 (0)24 361 60 00
Former press release
/live/english/news/artikel.pag?objectnumber=161766
http://www.ru.nl/english/general/news_agenda/news/redactionele/fom-radboud/
About EMFL
http://www.emfl.eu/
About the National Roadmap
http://www.nwo.nl/nwohome.nsf/pages/NWOP_8RYJT5 (in Dutch)