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

Aerial view of SSRL (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource) with SLAC’s campus in the background.

Aerial view of SLAC’s campus with the LINAC in the foreground leading into the campus. The interstate 280 passes over the LINAC. Stanford campus and Hoover tower can be seen in the distance.

SLAC’s campus at sunset looking southeast. The Stanford Dish and Interstate 280 in the distance.

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)

Work with us Life at SLAC

LATEST UPDATES

SLAC news center

News Feature

The method could lead to the development of new materials with tailored properties, with potential applications in fields such as climate change, quantum computing and drug design.

News Feature

Scientists demonstrated a materials characterization technique can be successful at a new type of facility, and they used it at LCLS to discover a...

A small bright ball falls on a purple grid, creating a wave.

News Brief

Wheat and other sources of gluten can spell trouble for people with the disease, but new findings could aid the development of first-ever drugs...

News Feature

Vera C. Rubin Observatory will capture the faint light of distant brown dwarfs to help scientists understand the Milky Way’s formation and evolution.

News Feature

Scientists demonstrated a materials characterization technique can be successful at a new type of facility, and they used it at LCLS to discover a...

News Brief

Wheat and other sources of gluten can spell trouble for people with the disease, but new findings could aid the development of first-ever drugs...

News Feature

Vera C. Rubin Observatory will capture the faint light of distant brown dwarfs to help scientists understand the Milky Way’s formation and evolution.

News Brief

A study reveals an ultrathin material’s ability to circularly polarize light, potentially informing how they work in optoelectronic devices.

Image from SLAC's high-speed electron camera showing circular polarization of terahertz light.

News Feature

Improvements to the lab’s “electron camera” use AI and “time stamping” to help reveal nature’s speedy processes more accurately.

Film strip showing images of the MeV-UED, experimental setups and graphics.

News Feature

The Ultrafast X-ray Summer School, run by the Stanford PULSE Institute and hosted at SLAC, opens the door for students and postdocs to imagine...

A group photo of people in red tee shirts.

News archive Media mentions Media resources

SLAC EVENTS

What’s happening

Upcoming Event

Presented by Chelsea Bartram

Aug 01

Upcoming Event

The SLAC Summer Institute (SSI) is an annual two-week-long Summer School tradition since 1973. The theme of the 52st SLAC Summer Institute is “The...

Aug 05–16

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

About SLAC video still frame — 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. *(Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)*

DIG DEEPER

Explore SLAC

PUBLIC TOURS

Bold People Visionary Science Real Impact

Explore SLAC

Bold People
Visionary Science
Real Impact