Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource

SSRL is a forefront lightsource providing bright X-rays and oustanding user support.

The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), a Directorate of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC website) is an Office of Science User Facility (Office of Science DOE) operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE home page) by Stanford University (Stanford University home page). Located in Menlo Park, California, SLAC is a multi-program national laboratory exploring frontier questions in photon science, astrophysics, biochemistry, material science, particle physics and accelerator research. SLAC engages in fundamental research which is published or shared broadly with the scientific community. The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. (taken directly from about page at SSRL)

Scientific Mission

SSRL enables and supports outstanding scientific research by a broad user community in a safe environment. SSRL operates approximately 9 months each year with a very high reliability -- delivering more than 95% of scheduled x-ray beam time. Access to the SSRL is competitive based on peer-review. Users disseminate their findings through talks and publications, and new highlights are featured monthly. Experiments conducted at SSRL resulted in over 14,200 scientific publications since 1974, with 24% in high-impact journals.

Opportunities for Training and Discoveries

Of the approximately 1,700 scientists who annually participate in experiments at SSRL, either on-site or by remote data collection, ~30% are first-time users and ~55% are postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Each researcher completes training to operate SSRL equipment. Students and new researchers learn from and assist more senior researchers with taking measurements and analyzing data during their experiments. The personal experience received during beam time benefits each participant by providing a framework and understanding of the mechanisms and difficulties that can be encountered during research experiments.

Scientific users also have the opportunity to participate in schools and workshops which provide in-depth, hands-on experience with specific data acquisition and analysis techniques as well as practice with sharing research findings through talks and poster presentations. SSRL research results in approximately 600 scientific papers annually, which includes about 20% that are theses prepared by students who relied upon access to SSRL to complete their dissertations.

Link to SSRL can be found here: SSRL Homepage