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The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is a vibrant, multi-program laboratory that explores how the universe works at the biggest, smallest, and fastest scales. Operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, SLAC is home to several of the world’s most advanced scientific facilities, attracting thousands of visiting researchers from across the globe each year to solve complex problems in physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, and energy.
Since its founding in 1962, SLAC has been a hub for groundbreaking scientific achievements, including research that has contributed to multiple Nobel Prizes. The laboratory's unique research infrastructure includes:
The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS): A premier X-ray free-electron laser that captures atomic-scale motion in real time, helping scientists visualize chemical reactions, biological processes, and molecular structures.
The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL): A pioneering facility that uses extremely bright X-ray light to investigate materials, environmental science, and structural biology.
FACET-II: A facility dedicated to advanced accelerator research and development, helping to design the accelerators of the future.
At SLAC, research spans a vast array of disciplines, including cosmology, astrophysics, quantum science, battery and clean energy technologies, and biosciences. The laboratory operates at the intersection of academic exploration and national-scale scientific instrumentation.
This collaborative environment is deeply integrated with Stanford University. Through joint research institutes, shared faculty appointments, and student internships, SLAC provides Stanford undergraduate and graduate students with hands-on experience using some of the most sophisticated scientific tools on Earth, helping to train the next generation of global scientific leaders.
