A drone captures a sweeping view of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory at sunset in 2024, perched atop Cerro Pachón in Chile. The observatory is preparing to begin a 10-year survey of the southern sky, taking a new image every 30 seconds and collecting around 2,000 images every three nights. This ambitious effort will create an unprecedented 3D time-lapse of the universe. (Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

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Sunrise timelapse of SSRL (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource) (Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

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Aerial view of SLAC’s  campus. Stanford campus and Hoover tower can be seen in the distance. (Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

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SLAC’s campus looking south with Interstate 280 in the distance. (Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

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The undulator hall, where electrons pass through precisely engineered magnetic arrays to generate soft and hard X-ray laser light. (Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

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SLAC news center

News Release

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory spots record-breaking asteroid in pre-survey observations

First peer-reviewed paper using data from SLAC-built LSST Camera identifies an asteroid, nearly the size of eight football fields, rotating every two minutes.

Illustration showing asteroids
News Brief

SLAC researchers image plasma instability relevant to fusion energy and astrophysics

The team developed a platform that uses powerful X-rays from the lab’s LCLS X-ray laser to resolve for the first time the evolution of...

February 12, 2026  ·  4 min read
Illustration of filament-like structures in plasma
News Brief
VIA Stanford

New method measures energy dissipation in the smallest devices

SLAC and Stanford researchers have developed a breakthrough technique that quantifies energy dissipation in complex, small systems, offering insights into energy use, efficiency, and...

February 10, 2026
Illustration with colorful dots
Feature

Two SLAC researchers receive DOE Early Career Awards to develop novel AI tools

Derek Mendez and Xueli “Sherry” Zheng aim to accelerate drug discovery and improve energy storage.

February 5, 2026  ·  5 min read
Man and woman
News Brief

SLAC researchers image plasma instability relevant to fusion energy and astrophysics

The team developed a platform that uses powerful X-rays from the lab’s LCLS X-ray laser to resolve for the first time the evolution of...

February 12, 2026  ·  4 min read
Illustration of filament-like structures in plasma
News Brief
VIA Stanford

New method measures energy dissipation in the smallest devices

SLAC and Stanford researchers have developed a breakthrough technique that quantifies energy dissipation in complex, small systems, offering insights into energy use, efficiency, and...

February 10, 2026
Illustration with colorful dots
Feature

Two SLAC researchers receive DOE Early Career Awards to develop novel AI tools

Derek Mendez and Xueli “Sherry” Zheng aim to accelerate drug discovery and improve energy storage.

February 5, 2026  ·  5 min read
Man and woman
Feature

What is the field of microelectronics and why is it so important?

SLAC experts discuss how microelectronics impacts our lives and where the future lies in this Q&A.

February 2, 2026  ·  6 min read
Angelo Dragone and Paul McIntyre
Feature

Zooming in, zooming out: Q&A with SLAC’s Deputy Director for Science & Technology Alberto Salleo

Salleo sees strength in the big picture and minute details of the people, tools and partnerships at SLAC.

January 30, 2026  ·  7 min read
Portrait of Alberto Salleo
Multimedia

X-rays from SLAC's synchrotron reveal star maps in a centuries-old manuscript

Pages from the Codex Climaci Rescriptus palimpsest from the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, were brought to the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource...

January 29, 2026  ·  1 min read
A photo showing pages of the Codex Climaci Rescriptus palimpsest.
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Two people looking over at equipment in the TMO Hutch.
SLAC is a world leader in X-ray and ultrafast science, offering researchers from all over the world access to our scientific facilities.  (Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
A view of SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), looking west at sunset.
A view of SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), looking west at sunset. (Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
SLAC team taking a group selfie with the Legacy Survey of Space & Time (LSST) Camera.
SLAC built the world's largest camera for astrophysics for the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile – one of many complex projects we've led to enable major advances in science. (Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
Person gesturing to a research poster while explaining it to someone.
SLAC and Stanford researchers share their latest results at a poster session in SLAC's Science and User Support Building. (Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
Staff members at SLAC having lunch on the main quad outside the Science and User Support Building (SUSB), with clear blue skies overhead.
SLAC staff enjoy our annual holiday lunch on the Main Quad, with the Science and User Support Building (SUSB) in the background. (Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
Two individuals with monitors & headphones engaged in conversation at the SLAC Shared Science Data Facility (S3DF).
The SLAC Shared Science Data Facility (S3DF) is a computing hub for data-rich science projects at SLAC and Stanford.  (Jim Gensheimer/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

SLAC is a vibrant community of diverse perspectives and expertise, all working together to solve some of the most pressing challenges of our times.”

John Sarrao Lab Director Headshot of John Sarrao
About SLAC video
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SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is a Department of Energy national lab run by Stanford in the heart of Silicon Valley. We invent scientific tools to explore the universe at its biggest, its smallest and its fastest. (01:30min) (Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
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SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) accelerator tunnel.
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Physicist checking experimental equipment at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL).
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SLAC/Stanford Professor Zhi-Xun Shen and SLAC staff scientist Patrick Kirchmann

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atoms forming a tentative bond

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Our first interns in the inaugural mechanical engineering internship program at SLAC, 2019

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Using X-rays from SSRL, Chuntian Cao maps silicon as it cycles within a battery

For students & educators

SLAC welcomed the Science in the City summer camp in July, 2022 where students aged 10-12 from underrepresented groups did experiments and presented their work at the end of the week.