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 () is an Office of Science User Facility () operated for the U.S. Department of Energy ( by Stanford University (). 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 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 . Users disseminate their findings through talks and publications, and new are featured monthly. Experiments conducted at SSRL resulted in over , 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 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 scientific papers annually, which includes about 20% that are prepared by students who relied upon access to SSRL to complete their dissertations.
Link to SSRL can be found here: