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Ever wonder what goes on at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory? The SLAC Public Lecture Series is your chance to find out! The evening lectures highlight the cutting-edge science happening at the laboratory. From the nanotechnology of diamonds to the latest Higgs Boson discoveries, SLAC public lectures provide non-scientists with a unique insight into the workings of our universe.
Public Lecture Highlights
Learn more about the work that we do by watching from our collection of popular recordings from our YouTube Playlist that highlights the breadth of our research.
Super-Human Operator: Controlling Accelerators with Machine Learning
Particle accelerators are used every day in a wide range of scientific, medical and industrial applications.
Presenter: Auralee Edelen
Brown Dwarfs: Failed Stars or Overachieving Planets?
Giant planets can be up to 13 times the mass of Jupiter, while the least massive stars are about 80 times the mass of Jupiter.
Presenter: Eric Nielsen
Seeing is Exploding: Snapping Biological Images with X-ray Laser Blasts
SLAC's X-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source, launched a new generation of light sources when it opened 10 years ago last month, with beams 10 billion times brighter than any before.
Presenter: Sebastien Boutet
Liquid Diamonds: New Materials at Pressures of the Earth's Core
At the center of the Earth, matter is crushed under pressures millions of times higher than we experience here on the surface.
Presenter: Emma McBride
Cryo-EM: Amazing 3-D Views of Life's Molecular Machines
Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a revolutionary technology for making 3D images of the inner workings of cells in much higher resolution than ever possible before.
Presenter: Wah Chiu
Batteries for the Future: What's Possible?
Increased demand for energy storage in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and the power grid presents opportunities and challenges for rechargeable battery research and development.
Presenter: Yi Cui
Solar power is a clean and renewable source of energy, but it has struggled to compete with fossil fuels on cost.
Presenter: Kevin Stone
Gravitational Waves: The Sound of Black Holes Colliding
On September 14, 2015, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) made the first direct measurement of a gravitational wave coming from deep space.
Presenter: Brian Lantz
Dark Matter: Detecting Gravity's Hidden Hand
Dark matter is one of the most mysterious components of the universe.
Presenter: Tom Shutt
Viewing the Beginning of Time from the Most Remote Places on Earth
Shortly after the birth of the universe, space was filled by a plasma that was literally red-hot.
Presenter: Zeeshan Ahmed
Catalysis: the Hidden Path to Foods, Fuels and Our Future
The high standard of living we enjoy today is made possible by catalysts – behind-the-scenes agents that promote chemical reactions in the vast majority of industrial processes, including production of fertilizers, gasoline and other essential products.
Presenter: Simon Bare
