Three Florida State researchers named American Physical Society fellows

Three Florida State University physicists who conduct much of their research at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and the university’s Institute of Molecular Biophysics have received one of the top honors in their field: They have been named fellows of the American Physical Society (APS).

With nearly 48,000 members, the APS is the nation’s largest and most prestigious professional society dedicated to the advancement of physics research and knowledge. Election to fellowship is limited to no more than one-half of 1 percent of the society’s membership and is a significant recognition by a scientist’s peers of his or her outstanding contributions to physics.

The Florida State researchers selected as APS fellows for 2010, and the language provided on their citations, are as follows:

* Vladimir Dobrosavljevic, professor of physics and director of the magnet lab’s Condensed Matter Science-Theory program, “for research on fundamental localization processes near the metal-insulator transition, particularly the interplay of strong electronic correlations, disorder, and quantum glassy dynamics.”

* Huan-Xiang Zhou, professor of physics and member of the Institute of Molecular Biophysics, “for his pioneering contributions to theoretical and computational biophysics, in particular by developing elegant theories and methods on protein-ligand binding and the effects of intracellular environment on biophysical properties of proteins.”

* Lloyd W. Engel, graduate research faculty member in physics and a scholar-scientist at the magnet lab, “for contributions to the study of the quantum Hall effects and associated electron solid phases using microwaves in very high magnetic fields.”

“The significant contributions of these three individuals to physics have been recognized by colleagues in their discipline by achieving the rank of fellow,” said Vice President for Research Kirby W. Kemper, the university’s Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Physics. “This selective designation honors their significant contributions to furthering science and also brings recognition to Florida State.”

Kemper’s words were echoed by Mark Riley, FSU’s Raymond K. Sheline Professor of Physics and chair of the Department of Physics.

“Many congratulations to all three on this extremely prestigious and well-deserved recognition,” Riley said. “This is fabulous news for physics at FSU.”

While they may share the new honor, the three FSU scientists’ areas of research differ dramatically.

Zhou’s extensive work on the binding kinetics of proteins has influenced both theorists and experimentalists. The binding of proteins with small molecules, other proteins, nucleic acids, and their complexes is at the center of biological processes.

“Our theory provides a unifying framework for understanding binding mechanisms and accurately predicts binding rate constants,” he said, adding that most studies on proteins are conducted in test tubes, but scientists really want to know how proteins behave inside cells.

“We have been investigating the influences of the crowded intracellular environment on biophysical properties of proteins and have worked hard toward turning such studies into a major area of research,” he said.

Zhou’s research received major recognition recently when it was featured in the cover article of the Nov. 29, 2010, issue of the journal Chemical & Engineering News. That article can be accessed here.

Calling the APS designation a great honor, Zhou said his research “would not have been possible without the collaborators, students and postdocs whom I have had the privilege to work with. It is heartening that the work is recognized by my peers.”

Dobrosavljevic’s research, meanwhile, involves theoretical studies of the fundamental processes that determine how well a given material conducts electricity: Does it act as a metal or as an insulator?

“To understand it and to control it,” he said, “could prove more useful and lucrative than converting lead into gold.”

Indeed, the last few decades have witnessed some amazing and unexpected advances in materials science and technology. And the ability to determine how well materials conduct electricity — its intellectual underpinning — is what was indispensable in designing and fabricating the iPhone, the Xbox and the MRI diagnostic tool, among other modern devices.

“Today’s kids have grown up in a different world than had their parents — all because we have learned a few basic ideas and principles of electron dynamics,” Dobrosavljevic said.

Of the APS honor, he added, “I am happy that my efforts have been recognized by the American Physical Society, because this will contribute to establishing Florida State University as one of the nation’s leading centers for physics research, a goal toward which we have been achieving great strides in recent years.”

Working almost exclusively at the magnet lab is Engel, who studies the physics of semiconductors at low temperatures and high magnetic fields.

“I am grateful to my colleagues for thinking of me” via the APS fellowship, Engel said.