John Sarrao named director of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Physicist and scientific leader John Sarrao will become SLAC’s sixth director. He succeeds X-ray scientist Chi-Chang Kao, who stepped down after 10 years in the position.
Researchers pair machine-learning techniques with beam physics equations to predict a beam’s distribution of particle positions and velocities as it zips through an accelerator.
SLAC researchers are turning seawater into hydrogen fuel
A SLAC-Stanford team pulled hydrogen directly from ocean water. Their work could help generate low-carbon fuel for electric grids and other infrastructure.
Detailed measurements of the X-ray emissions from galaxy clusters helped Stanford and SLAC Lab scientists test the prevailing theory of the structure and evolution of the universe.
As SLAC celebrates its 60th anniversary, Chi-Chang Kao looks back on the advancements, expansions, and collaborations that mark his 10-year tenure as director.
Molecular cage protects precious metals in catalytic converters
Encapsulating precious-metal catalysts in a web-like alumina framework could reduce the amount needed in catalytic converters – and our dependency on these scarce metals.
Researchers at SLAC found that “diamond rain” on giant ice planets could be more common than previously thought, and that oxygen boosts this exotic precipitation.
Helium’s chilling journey to cool a particle accelerator
It takes just one and a half hours to make a superconducting particle accelerator at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory colder than outer space, thanks to a new helium-refrigeration plant.
For a d.school class project, PhD student Jannicke Pearkes turned her research at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory into an art installation that resembles a giant disco ball.
SLAC’s superconducting X-ray laser reaches operating temperature colder than outer space
The facility, LCLS-II, will soon sharpen our view of how nature works on ultrasmall, ultrafast scales, impacting everything from quantum devices to clean energy.
What drives rechargeable battery decay? Depends how many times you’ve charged it
It depends on how many times you’ve charged it. A new study looks at the ways the particles that make up a rechargeable battery electrode work together to prolong or degrade battery life.
How a soil microbe could rev up artificial photosynthesis
Researchers discovered that a spot of molecular glue and a timely twist help a bacterial enzyme convert carbon dioxide into carbon compounds 20 times faster than plant enzymes do during photosynthesis. The results stand to accelerate progress toward converting carbon dioxide into a variety of products.
A cellphone-sized device that adjusts a home's power use up or down to save money and increase the resiliency of the electric grid will be tested in hundreds of homes over the next two years.
A new way to shape a material’s atomic structure with ultrafast laser light
X-ray laser experiments show that intense light distorts the structure of a thermoelectric material in a unique way, opening a new avenue for controlling the properties of materials.
Over the past few years, Kathleen Ratcliffe and Tien Fak Tan have worked together to help build the superconducting accelerator that will drive new scientific discoveries at SLAC’s X-ray laser.
