I came to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) in May 2016 for the 11th International Conference on High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics. The facilities were perfect for a conference of this size on this topic. Talks were given on a stage in a large lecture-hall styled room. I presented my work on Carbon Monoxide at high pressures and temperatures in one of the poster sessions. Posterboards where we mounted our posters were placed in the the hallway side-by-side making it easy to walk poster-to-poster and ask questions to presenters. Breakfast offerings were provided in the morning and coffee throughout the day. We got some conference swag, and tours of the facilities were offered for those who wanted to partake. The cafeteria had a selection of lunch offerings so we could stay on-site for lunch if we wanted. There are also a number of restaurants near-by if you have time and want to go out for lunch. read more

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory - My 1st first author paper was published as a response to this call. - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Menlo Park, California

Came here for a retreat and went on a tour of their facilities. It's absolutely amazing how much work and brainpower went into creating the largest linear accelerator there is. Kudos to team for such a feat! read more

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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Had an opportunity to tour SLAC on a rare press tour. So rare, that some of the SLAC staff who accompanied the tour had never been down in the tunnel. Very cool to see the different sections of of the underground facility, each running different types of research experiments. Lots of signage regarding safety, radiation and alarms. Entry was dramatic: entering a hatch and climbing down a long ladder. Lots of shiny tubes, lasers, and hi-tech gear straight out of a sci-fi movie...in addition to sections of equipment that were literally wrapped in household aluminum foil! My favorite: one segment of the laser area literally incorporated a Nikkor 105 photography lens...the exact same model I have in my camera bag! The accelerator is miles long, and we stopped to speak with several folks on the long walk, learning about the work they do, and have done here over the years. Friendly, informative staff. If you ever get a chance to tour SLAC, do it! read more

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There's a little bit of everything here. For those interested or involved in STEM, you're sure to delight your inner nerd, or at least admire some of the work going on here. For those just interested in learning about some of the cool research going on here, there are plenty of enthusiastic folks who can explain things and help you delve into a different world. For the active visitor, there's a hill you can climb to admire the view of the facilities (in particular, it's quite cool to see just how FAR it goes). There's even a park with tables and a field you can relax in. And, heck, for the tag-along-ers, there's a mini-Starbucks to help satiate your sugar and caffeine cravings. Overall, if you have the opportunity to tour this place, go for it. It's a fun visit and everyone here seems to be friendly and happy to share. I highly recommend poking around their website first and observing some of the virtual tours: https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/ Closed-toed shoes recommended :) read more

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We went on the FREE SLAC tour Fri 3/6/12 at 3:30pm. Tours are the 1st & 3rd Fri of each month at 1:30pm & 3:30pm. You have to sign up a month in advance & seems to be very popular, April dates already filled. It's not on Stanford Campus & has Security Guard that checks ID. Instructions given via email. We met the tour at the Visitor Center, there's bathrooms available there. Visitor Center has Dinosaur bones of a Paleoparadoxia - that used to look like a Hippopotamus. Our tour started at 3:30pm with a short lecture facing a screen. In 2012 they are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of SLAC. SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the US Dept of Energy. They no longer have particles that collide. SLAC in 1991 was the first world wide web site in North America; Has world largest database (500,000 gigabytes @ Babar), & World straightest/2nd Longest Building. Everyone gets on the Stanford Shuttle. We got to stand in the 2mile long building. Very cool to see an un-ending hallway! Know that every time you drive by Hwy 280 you are getting radiation. Then we went to the Main Control Center - a bunch of people work in there - very geeky. Then we went to Bldg 750 the Collider Hall, a huge pit, no longer in use. http://www.slac.stanford.edu/cgi-wrap/getdoc/slac-tn-91-004.pdf Back to the parking lot, end of tour. Tour took 1.5hrs. Mildly interesting for me, might be more for Science Folks. Website for SLAC Tour: https://oraweb.slac.stanford.edu/apex/slacprod/f?p=240:26:1162124384487993::::: read more

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I have a soft spot in my heart for US Department of Energy (DOE) Laboratories. I did my Master's Thesis work at Los Alamos, which also started a life long love affair with Northern New Mexico. It's even better that LANL is associated the University of California, rather than SLAC's unfortunate alliance with Stanford. GO BEARS! I came down to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Facility yesterday for a professional development conference. Yesterday's rains were in almost Biblical proportions and it wasn't an easy drive down a visually opaque and crowded I-280. But I was glad I made the effort. Although the facility is a bit retro and I had to pass on the tour of the Accelerator itself, I had a great time. And one of the presenters actually Blinded Me With Science! I was particularly impressed with the professionalism of SLAC staff, a comfortable and well utilized conference room, a pretty campus with a welcoming atmosphere, and the fact that are real physicists here! However, maybe all those Muons were the cause of the spotty cell phone reception. read more

Wow, just WOW!!! I bet 99.9% of the Bay Area doesn't even know this exists and I barely can appreciate all the groundbreaking things this place as done. They stopped giving tours which is unfortunate but I got hooked up through our UCSD Alumni Group (GO TRITONS!) Special shoutout to Dr. Gill for hosting us. Some of the stuff here hasn't been used for ages, and it's a pity. It's like a seeing the ruins of Rome and forgetting it's former glory. This place would make for an awesome set for Hollywood sci-fi movies. They should really explore this option. read more

A neutrino walks into a bar, and the bartender says: "Hey, we don't serve neutrinos here." The neutrino responds with, "hey, I was just passing through." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7DkeQ0roAM read more

I'm rating this 5 stars, which Yelp coins "...As good as it gets!" I'm going to be honest with you. I have virtually no experience with other labs with which to compare SLAC to. So with my total lack of experience in mind, let me instead try to illuminate SLAC from what experience I do have: working as a contractor here. I imagine that if you're reading this review, it's either because you like my reviews and have a few minutes to spare, or you were searching for the Guest House, or you're interested in science and coming to visit or looking to work here as well. Fans of my writing, thank you, I'll try to make this interesting. Guest House seekers, please look here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/stanford-guest-house-menlo-park . And for those of you coming to visit, study, work, teach, or research, I hope my experience here helps enlighten yours. SLAC resides on top of a hill outside of Palo Alto, technically Menlo Park. The Margarite bus does get up here from the CalTrain station, so if you're flying in to SFO, you don't have to rent a car. You can take the BART to a CalTrain connection, ride to Palo Alto, and catch the Margarite B Clockwise (PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK, might be counter-clockwise) route to the Hospital parking lot B, then catch the SLAC bus up. Or, if you're staying at the Guest House, call them in advance, and they may be able to pick you up at the CalTrain station. The lab is protected by DOE security. Make sure you have ID and you're expected. I've found that the security guards are friendly but thorough. If you're an AT&T subscriber, be prepared to be cut off from the rest of the world, except for about 4 spots around the lab campus. On top of a hill in the center is the cafeteria, and this is where I find I'm flooded with text messages and voicemail. There's another spot at the west end of the campus in one of the parking lots that gets about 3 bars, and right outside the front of the Guest House. Otherwise, just let loved ones and coworkers know you'll get back to them when you can, but you won't be picking up any time soon. And make sure to enjoy the relative peace you'll experience from being disconnected from the rest of the world. It's oddly comforting. There is SLAC wi-fi available, but you'll need to launch a browser to enable it, and you'll need to enter in some contact info. iPhone users, hit the safari app and fill out the application. If your Wi-Fi is set to remember, you shouldn't have to do it again unless you're absent for a week or two. I just spent three days at the Sheraton Palo Alto, and upon return, everything logged in just fine immediately. The cafeteria serves good food and good coffee, but the hours are limited. Most of the buildings have kitchenettes where you can find coffee makers and even espresso machines. You'll probably have to pitch in a couple quarters for those; I'm finding each building has its own coffee rules. NOTE: you'll probably want to pick up a portable mug. I've also noticed that many of the kitchenettes don't supply paper cups or mixing straws. You can buy a SLAC mug at the guest house. I can't really speak to the quality of the labs. I'm a designer, not a physicist, so in this area I'm a bit ignorant. However, judging from the general level of excitement I detect from the scientists I do interact with, I get the feeling that there is some really cool, cutting edge stuff here. My specific job is to design and build out portions of the intranet, and there's some cool, cutting edge stuff going on there, as well, if I may be immodest for a moment. :) I've enjoyed interacting with just about everyone. There's a pretty good range of people here, from young PhD students, to elderly accomplished scientists; an international cast of characters, and professionals from X-Ray physicists to administration bureaucrats. You can walk from end to end of the lab pretty comfortably, considering we're in California and even when the weather sucks, it's still nice comparitively. I have yet to really get to see the inside of the LCLS or SSRL facilities, but from the photos I've worked with, it all looks pretty cool. Apparently, though, the security test to get access is pretty rigorous, and there hasn't been any need for me to take it, as the folks I meet with generally can head out and meet me in one of the buildings I have access to. But again, from the general level of excitement around the possibilities the tools and instruments provide for science and research, I have to assume that those labs and facilities are pretty damned neat. read more

I love SLAC maybe because I worked here for 10 yrs. before moving on to work at Stanford University. Please do not listen to some of the reviews below as SLAC still collides particles and so does SSRL. If you love physics and/or science it is worth scheduling the free SLAC tour. For those who are not so into physics this might be a little boring but if you focus it is very interesting + since SLAC is an exit off the 280 there are plenty of beautiful spots to take photos (nature around) and who knows you might run into a deer, rabbit and other wild life. SLAC has been through a lot of construction adding the huge Signature building, a mini Starbucks + more. I still believe they kept the fossils and added a fountain where employees used to play soccer (I wonder how they feel about that, lol). The first (2nd in the world) American website was created at SLAC and the first website in the world was created in CERN (Switzerland). read more

I prefer my accelerators to be circular accelerators versus linear accelerators. I also prefer fabulous physics to come from Cal. I'm in no way any type of physicist...but by association, I can say that amazing research is coming out of this here center thanks to my roomie! Hence, they get 4 stars even though it's Stanford...the security is on point, they checked IDs and made sure we were legit, and there is a bus that comes to transport students. It's also close to the 280 so you can just jump right on there and not have to deal with all the traffic down there near the university. But the SLAC lectures sound really cool! Nerd Date Night! "Talk Nerdy to Me!" read more

SLAC is a really excellent place to work, especially if you are in a group in one of the new buildings like the ROB or the Fred Kavli Building (like me!). Working in a DOE compound is nice, in that the complex is it's own little city. There's a library, and a cafeteria, and a synchrotron-- all the amenities of life. The cafeteria serves BBQ food outdoors twice a week during the summer, and the food is very good. There's even Starbucks coffee and sushi available. At the library, you can borrow books indefinitely (until someone else recalls it). So if you want to borrow that "Large Scale Structure Formation" book for 8 or 9 months, no one is going to stop you. SLAC has gone a little crazy about safety training since that really bad electrical accident last year, but I suppose it's better safe than sorry. I get constant all-hands memo for safety meetings. There's even something called "Ladder Training" where you need to go to special training to even use a ladder. And of course, there are the JHAMs (Job Hazard Analysis M-somethingwordI'veforgotten). As a computational physicist, I had to fill mine out with "Hazard: I could possibly tire out my hands typing" and "Hazard: I suppose it's possible I could trip over my computer cord" or "Hazard: Maybe my computer monitor could fall on my foot and hurt me?" The SLAC grounds are beautiful (especially around my beloved FKB), and people play soccer all the time in the quad. At salvage you can find enough equipment and furniture to furnish your entire lab (believe me, I've done this). But the best thing about SLAC is that the people are friendly and great. read more

Went on a tour organized by SLAC under their educational program which was very interesting. A lot of things about atoms and particles are beyond me but it was definitely a very educational tour. Definitely sign up to go on the tour if you get a chance, 2 hrs on the week days. http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/tours/ You actually get to see the longest bldg in the world where the Linear Accelerator is located! Right below Hwy 280. read more

Ha ha, I rarely get a chance to review work sites I visit. SLAC is ok, but: --parking sucks. Minus 1* --security is ok --infrastructure reflects facility's age and needs serious investment read more

I went on the tour the beginning of february at 1:30 PM. It's a very informative tour beginning with an introduction in the visitor center (so if you're a bit late, that is okay.) You get on a bus, stop at three points, take pictures, ask questinons. Afterwards you come back to the parking lot, and that ends your tour. This is funny to me because after we got off, we thought the tour guide was going to say something else. Instead he just said, alright, Bye! The tour guide was funny, and informative. I hope my mind would be as bright as his when I get to his age. Interestingly I didn't know laser pointers didn't work on screens. To get on this tour, I recommend you to be at your computer at like 8:55 AM and try to get tickets. From experience, they seem to be all out within ten minutes. read more

They've started giving tours again, and it's a fantastic experience. SLAC is an amazing place that's been doing world-changing research for decades. The tours are not "slick." You literally get to walk around the equipment scientists use on a daily basis. The tour guides are actual, working scientists and technicians who love what they do. Go and be inspired. read more