Stanford Linear Accelerator Center – SLAC

Better than the other accelerators in the area, but not as good as the one in Switzerland.

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.

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!»

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.

We went on the FREE SLAC tour Fri 3÷6÷12 at 3:30pm. Tours are the 1^st & 3^rd 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 50^th 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/​2^nd 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.
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:
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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.»

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.

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

I’m rating this 5 stars, which Unilocal 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:
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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.

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.
You actually get to see the longest bldg in the world where the Linear Accelerator is located! Right below Hwy 280.

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.