SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory | Bold People. Visionary Science. Real Impact.

SLAC’s campus looking south with Interstate 280 in the distance.

The LSST 3200 megapixel camera is being tested inside the clean room at SLAC. The camera is the central component of the Vera Rubin Observatory.

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Aerial view of SLAC’s campus. Stanford campus and Hoover tower can be seen in the distance.

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Sunrise timelapse of SSRL (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource)

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View of SLAC’s LCLS-II First Light celebration on October 26th 2023 with DOE Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and LCLS team

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Bold People
Visionary Science
Real Impact

We explore how the universe works at the biggest, smallest and fastest scales and invent powerful tools used by scientists around the globe. Our research helps solve real-world problems and advances the interests of the nation.

Our story Our people

Visionary Science

Explore our frontier research

X-ray & ultrafast science

Revealing nature’s fastest processes with X-rays, lasers and electrons

Physics of the universe

Studying the particles and forces that knit the cosmos together

Advanced accelerators

Building smaller, faster, more powerful accelerators for all

Science of life

Understanding the machinery of life at its most basic level

New technologies

Inventing new tools for science and society

Energy sciences

Finding clean, sustainable solutions for the world’s energy challenges

WHERE RESEARCH HAPPENS

Facilities & centers

At our large-scale facilities and specialized centers, scientists take advantage of powerful tools and unique expertise and collaborate with each other across a wide range of disciplines. Working together is what makes science tick.

Scientific facilities Joint institutes & centers

Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at sunset — SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) provides extremely bright X-rays that scientists use in a wide range of research to probe matter on the scale of atoms and molecules. (*Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)*

The linac with Interstate 280 bridge and Stanford University in the distance. — The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s first hard X-ray free-electron laser, allows researchers to make stop-action movies of chemistry in action and explore proteins for new pharmaceuticals. (*Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)*

FACET-II provides high-energy electron beams for researching revolutionary particle accelerator technologies that could make future accelerators 100 to 1,000 times smaller and a lot more capable. *(Peter Ginter/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)*

The Stanford-SLAC cryo-EM facility gives scientists unprecedented views of the inner workings of the cell and of technologies like batteries and solar cells. — The Stanford-SLAC Cryo-EM center gives scientists unprecedented views of the inner workings of the cell and of technologies like batteries and solar cells. *(Andy Freeberg/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)*

MEET OUR TEAMS

SLAC people

To achieve our ambitious goals and keep SLAC a great place to work, the lab needs a creative, diverse and united workforce – people with a wide variety of experiences, ideas, skills and backgrounds.

Members of the MEC-Upgrade Project tri-lab collaboration on the roof patio of LCLS. — Members of the MEC Upgrade Project tri-lab collaboration on the roof patio of LCLS. (*Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)*

SLAC employees participated in the first campus pride parade, 2022. — SLAC employees participated in the first onsite Pride Parade on June 29, 2022. (*Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)*

Anna Rosa Ziefuss, Chris Crissman, Dr. Siegfried Glenzer, Griffin Glenn, and Zhijiang Chen at LCLS's laser lab. — Anna Rosa Ziefuss, Chris Crissman, Dr. Siegfried Glenzer, Griffin Glenn, and Zhijiang Chen at the HEDS (High Energy Density Science) Sector 10 Laser Lab. (*Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)*

Jeney Wierman of SLAC’s Structural Molecular Biology team — Jeney Wierman stands in the control room of SSRL. She, along with other members of the Structural Molecular Biology team, supports three beamlines, 12-1, 12-2 and 9-2, which are dedicated to helping research from all over the world, creating 3D atomic-resolution shapes of various SARS-CoV-2 related proteins. (*Linda McCulloch/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)*

The TMO Control Room 1.1 located in the Near Experimental Hall at LCLS — From left, Project Scientist Dr. Razib Obaid, Staff Scientist Ming-Fu Lin, Associate Scientist Taran Driver and Doctoral Student Erik Isele work in the TMO Control Room 1.1, located in the Near Experimental Hall at LCLS. (*Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell*/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

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LATEST UPDATES

SLAC news center

News Feature

What could smaller particle accelerators look like in the future? SLAC scientists are working on innovations that could give more researchers access to accelerator science.

This is a graphic image of particles moving through plasma during plasma wakefield acceleration.

News Feature

Strongly interacting electrons in quantum materials carry heat and charge in a way that’s surprisingly similar to what individual electrons do in normal metals...

An illustration shows electrons transporting heat from a warmer to a cooler area of a material.

News Feature

Teams at SLAC installed new experimental hutches with cutting-edge instruments that will harness the upgraded facility’s new capabilities and expand the breadth of research...

News Feature

Disabling those hinges could be a good strategy for designing vaccines and treatments against a broad range of coronavirus infections.

A 3D image of a round, spiky coronavirus with inset showing how far its spikes can bend.

News Feature

Strongly interacting electrons in quantum materials carry heat and charge in a way that’s surprisingly similar to what individual electrons do in normal metals...

News Feature

Teams at SLAC installed new experimental hutches with cutting-edge instruments that will harness the upgraded facility’s new capabilities and expand the breadth of research...

News Feature

Disabling those hinges could be a good strategy for designing vaccines and treatments against a broad range of coronavirus infections.

News Brief

The team reduced the amount of expensive platinum group metals needed to make an effective cell and found a new way to test future...

An illustration of a thin film resembling dry, cracked earth.

News Feature

Four engineers discuss their journeys to working at SLAC and counsel those following in their footsteps.

News Feature

The future of experimental particle physics is exciting – and energy intensive. SLAC physicists are thinking about how to make one proposal, the Cool...

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SLAC EVENTS

What’s happening

Upcoming Event

The goal of APS CUWiP is to help undergraduate women continue in physics by providing them with the opportunity to experience a professional conference...

Silhouettes of women with chalkboard sketches

Jan 19–21

SLAC has a talented and dedicated staff with an extremely bright future, one that will help solve some of the greatest scientific challenges facing the world today.”
Chi-Chang Kao Former Lab Director