As a national user facility the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource invites scientists from all over the world to use our intense X-ray beam and world-class instruments for their experiments.

Electronic Nematicity without Magnetism in FeSe

A Spider Toxin Catches a Sodium Channel Involved in Pain Perception in Action

Direct Imaging of Metal Additive Manufacturing Processes

Structure and Functional Binding Epitopes of V-domain Ig Suppressor of T-Cell Activation (VISTA)

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

SSRL user operations are suspended through at least May 4. Contact the User Office if you have questions about how this impacts your experiments, and see SLAC Emergency for site information.

In support of COVID-19 related research

SSRL has as of March 23 resumed operation, under minimum operations mode, only for remote-access research and to support critical COVID-19 related work.

We are currently supporting remote access experiments at SSRL Structural Molecular Biology macromolecular crystallography beam lines BL12-2 and BL9-2, and small-angle x-ray scattering (BioSAXS) at BL4-2, with fast access through our Rapid Access Proposal mechanism.

Please refer to the instructions for submitting a Rapid Access proposal for COVID-19 related studies. For administrative questions contact the SSRL User Research Administration office (link sends e-mail).

The Stanford-SLAC Cryo-EM research facilities are also operational for COVID-19 related research, see Stanford-SLAC Cryo-EM Center (S2C2) and National Center for Macromolecular Imaging (NCMI).

Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences light sources want to ensure they are doing everything possible to enable research into this virus and the search for an effective vaccine or other treatment. The DOE supports research into structural biology in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, and other partners. This portal collects relevant structural biology resources in a single location, listing their basic characteristics and a point of contact for each (link is external).

Supporting the User Community

Visiting scientists ("users") from universities, industries and laboratories around the world use SSRL experimental facilities to conduct experiments across a broad range of scientific, engineering, and environmental disciplines.

Our Experimental Facilities

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Users conduct experiments at SSRL's approximately 30 experimental stations, which utilize extremely bright x-rays produced by the SPEAR3 storage ring. SSRL provides access to beam lines, instrumentation, ancillary equipment supported by dedicated staff scientists and technicians.

Science at SSRL

SSRL's extremely bright x-rays are used by scientists to view the nanoworld, leading to cutting-edge research in drug discovery, energy efficiency and supply, environmental remediation (toxic waste cleanup), electronics, telecommunications and manufacturing.