A major leadership change in the works for FSU-headquartered National MagLab

 

A major leadership change in the works for FSU-headquartered National MagLab

After heading the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory for nearly two decades, Greg Boebinger is stepping down from his position as the MagLab’s director.

“I’ve never done this before, so after 19 years it certainly is a mixed feeling,” Boebinger told the Tallahassee Democrat.

As Boebinger prepares to return to the faculty over the summer, the university is launching a national search to choose his replacement, where FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Dean Suvranu De will serve as chair of the 14-person search committee.

His departure comes as the university and local economic leaders try to position Tallahassee as the "Magnetic Capital of the World," which could draw industries in a cutting edge industry to a city that has worked for years to diversify its economy beyond state government.

The National MagLab — which receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the state of Florida — hosts researchers from universities like the University of Florida as well as businesses and labs around the world, using unique high field magnets and instruments to further research and make discoveries.

Under Boebinger’s additional role of being the principal investigator of the MagLab’s core funding grant, it has grown by 67 percent, according to a university release.

The laboratory has also had over 8,400 publications and contributed to over 1,200 master’s or doctoral theses during Boebinger's tenure as director.

In addition, Boebinger is a member of the National Academy of Sciences for his career in physics and is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.