About SLAC

SLAC is one of the world's leading research laboratories. Established in 1962 at Stanford University in Menlo Park, California, our mission is to design, construct and operate state-of-the-art electron accelerators and related experimental facilities for use in high-energy physics and synchrotron radiation research. We are enriched by over 3,000 visiting scientists from universities, laboratories and industrial concerns from the U.S. and foreign countries.

Our highly trained and award winning staff of physicists, engineers, computer scientists and other professionals have led to many breakthroughs in science and technology. Our work has been recognized with many awards and honors including three Nobel Prizes in physics.

The Linac Coherent Light Source: A Revolution in X-Ray Science

Just as the invention of x-ray machines a century ago astonishingly revealed the inside of our bodies and began new sciences, the world's first x-ray laser will open up unprecedented opportunities. Pioneering experiments will advance our understanding of everything from the hidden physics inside planets, to how proteins function as the engines of life, to building nanotechnology devices for the backbone of future industry and technology. The applications are legion: medicine, electronics, biology, solid-state physics, nanotechnology, energy production, industry and fields that do not yet exist. 

Photon Science Scientists probe the structure of matter at the atomic and molecular scale with x-rays from the synchrotron light source facility called SPEAR. X-rays are produced when electrons travel around a storage ring and emit radiation. This radiation is intense and highly polarized, and especially suited to studies in biology, chemistry, biomedical and environmental science. See the SSRL User Science Highlights in biological, life, and materials science.

Particle and Astroparticle Science Searching for answers to fundamental questions about the ultimate structure of matter and the forces between these fundamental particles, scientists use accelerators which speed electrons and anti-electrons to nearly the speed of light, and study their collisions and collisions from fixed target experiments. Using similar technology in astrophysics, space-based detectors will help us understand the birth and evolution of the universe.

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA
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