History & lore

Leading researchers met at SLAC on Pellegrini’s 90th birthday to honor his ongoing scientific legacy and to explore the future of X-ray free-electron laser science.

In 1974, the independent discovery of the J/psi particle at SLAC and Brookhaven National Laboratory rocked the physics world, and entire textbooks had to be rewritten. Earlier this month, SLAC hosted a symposium to celebrate the milestone.

His wide-ranging curiosity, original way of looking at problems and sheer joy in solving them drove many important contributions to particle physics. 

Watch this video for an overview of our rich legacy and cutting-edge research. 

The name SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory pays homage to the legacy of the lab and its connection to Stanford University and the Department of Energy (DOE).

Under his leadership, the lab diversified its research portfolio, expanded its science impact, advanced major projects, increased collaboration with Stanford and met the challenges of a global pandemic.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is a Department of Energy national lab run by Stanford in the heart of Silicon Valley.

SLAC Recent History (1990s-today SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source) – The creation of a powerful X-ray laser. 

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory celebrated 60 years of science in 2022. This video is the first part in a series of videos celebrating SLAC’s early and recent history of various areas of the lab.

This month marks the 30-year anniversary of the first website in North America, launched at SLAC. In this Q&A, one of the Wizards recalls the motivation that spawned the development and how it has changed the work of scientists.

“The Worlds Within” and “Fabrication of the Accelerator Structure,” now available digitally in high fidelity, tell the story of Stanford Linear Accelerator Center’s inception and construction.