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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Sunrise timelapse of SSRL (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource)

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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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SLAC’s research yard in the foreground, with the LINAC stretching 2 miles to the west, and SLAC’s campus on the right.

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 CryoEM 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

About 30 years ago an ‘ideas guy’ and a team builder joined forces to search for the invisible bulk of existence. In this Q&A, SLAC’s Thomas Shutt and Daniel Akerib discuss the challenges of their field and how future generations of dark matter experiments will narrow down the chase.

News Brief

LCLS X-rays allowed researchers to connect the molecular dynamics of supercritical carbon dioxide, used in industrial and environmental applications, with its unique properties.

A figure showing atoms and blue blobs projecting an image onto a screen.

News Feature

Consumers’ real-world electric vehicle driving benefits batteries more than the steady use simulated in almost all laboratory tests of new battery designs, a Stanford-SLAC...

An illustration of a car inside a battery.

News Brief

A SLAC study shows a process called atomic relaxation offers a new way to explore quantum states in these puzzling materials.

Light blue wavy lines on a maroon red background.

News Brief

LCLS X-rays allowed researchers to connect the molecular dynamics of supercritical carbon dioxide, used in industrial and environmental applications, with its unique properties.

News Feature

Consumers’ real-world electric vehicle driving benefits batteries more than the steady use simulated in almost all laboratory tests of new battery designs, a Stanford-SLAC...

News Brief

A SLAC study shows a process called atomic relaxation offers a new way to explore quantum states in these puzzling materials.

News Feature

A new center brings astrophysics, data science, and AI together to answer some of the universe’s biggest questions.

News Feature

AI is playing a key role in helping SLAC researchers find new galaxies and tiny neutrinos, and discover new drugs.

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News Feature

SLAC partners with five national labs and eight universities seeking to increase the supply diversity of EV batteries and relieve supply chain concerns.

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SLAC EVENTS

What’s happening

SLAC hosts a range of exciting events to raise awareness, inform, educate and connect with sitewide staff, the Stanford and local communities and the general public.

Event attendees listen to a science lecture

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