David Larbalestier

David Larbalestier is the Krafft Professor and Chief Materials Scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, affiliated with the College of Engineering at Florida A&M University-Florida State University. He holds dual professorships in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering. His research focuses on superconducting materials' structure-property relationships and their applications in high-field magnets, particularly for advanced accelerators and fusion energy systems.

Dr. Larbalestier earned his B.S. (1965) and Ph.D. (1970) in Physical Metallurgy from Imperial College London. He has authored over 1,000 publications and holds patents in superconducting materials processing. His work emphasizes optimizing critical current density, vortex pinning, and mechanical resilience in materials like Nb3Sn, Bi-2212, and REBCO.

He leads efforts to develop ultra-high-field magnets (e.g., 45 T magnets) and has pioneered overpressure processing techniques for Bi-2212 wires. His honors include Fellowship in the Royal Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Engineering membership, and the Cryogenic Materials Career Achievement Award.

Key projects include the 40 T superconducting magnet at NHMFL and strategic initiatives for U.S. fusion magnet infrastructure. His lab collaborates globally on advanced superconductor manufacturing and magnet design for next-generation particle colliders and energy systems.