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

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.

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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 campus looking south with Interstate 280 in the distance.

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The undulator hall, where electrons pass through precisely engineered magnetic arrays to generate soft and hard X-ray laser light.

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.

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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

LATEST UPDATES

SLAC news center

Press Release

SLAC-built world’s largest digital camera brings the night sky to life like never before.

This image combines 678 separate images taken by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in just over seven hours of observing time. Combining many images in this way clearly reveals otherwise faint or invisible details, such as the clouds of gas and dust that comprise the Trifid nebula (top) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light-years away from Earth

News Feature

Ultrafast electrons at SLAC’s LCLS facility resolved the structural changes in a light-activated molecule to determine which simulations work best.

Graphic representation of several molecules floating through space, circle of papers representing scientific results

News Brief

New 3D, interactive visualization of planets and minor planets in our solar system lets you explore Rubin discoveries in real time.

The main viewing screen of Orbitviewer, a groundbreaking new web app developed by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory that brings the dynamic movement of objects in our solar system to life.

Multimedia

Now 10,000 times brighter and thousands of times faster, LCLS sheds light on the formation of free radicals in nature.

a closeup of the target chamber of the RIXS experimental hutch

News Feature

Ultrafast electrons at SLAC’s LCLS facility resolved the structural changes in a light-activated molecule to determine which simulations work best.

News Brief

New 3D, interactive visualization of planets and minor planets in our solar system lets you explore Rubin discoveries in real time.

Multimedia

Now 10,000 times brighter and thousands of times faster, LCLS sheds light on the formation of free radicals in nature.

Multimedia

On Monday, scientists and engineers reacted to the first images from the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, marking a historic milestone.

News Feature

Two decades ago, Stanford and SLAC took a gamble on an unproven telescope design. Now it's on the verge of paying off.

News Feature

Shweta Saraf and her team work to ensure the LCLS beamline runs without interruption.

A woman stands next to a large blue server rack filled with electronic control units, wiring, and monitoring equipment. She is smiling at the camera while using a stylus to interact with a touchscreen interface on one of the devices.

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SLAC EVENTS

What’s happening

Upcoming Event

Register to watch in person in the Kavli Auditorium, or watch the lecture live on our YouTube page. Note: The lecture was originally scheduled...

Aug 07

Upcoming Event

Save the date. This annual meeting is a unique opportunity to gather together the light source community in a single scientific event that includes...

Sep 22–26

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)

Work with us Life at SLAC

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