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From the Director: The Accelerator Directorate Stands Up

(Photo - Persis Drell)

SLAC is one of three National Accelerator Laboratories in the U.S. As such, we have a special responsibility to wisely manage and steward our accelerator resources for the benefit not just of SLAC, but for the national program. Back on June 3, when I announced the new LCLS director, I wrote that I had asked Dale Knutson to help with the formation of a new Accelerator Directorate. Dale led a series of discussions and planning sessions throughout June and July, and we are now ready to roll out the new organization.

My overarching goal in this reorganization is to ensure that SLAC accelerator core capabilities are managed for the benefit of the laboratory as a whole and a shared long term vision, rather than just optimizing locally for individual programs. I also want to ensure that accelerator research and accelerator operations are tied together and mutually supportive. Finally, I want to make sure that the accelerator resources both support the current programs and also position the laboratory for its long term future.

The major changes in the new SLAC organization are as follows:

  • Formation of a new Accelerator Directorate, or AD, with Dale Knutson as the acting associate lab director and the existing ETS Directorate, headed by Karen Fant, as a division within the new directorate.
     
  • Accelerator operations for the Linac Coherent Light Source and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource will move into the AD.
     
  • The Accelerator Research Division currently in the Particle Physics and Astrophysics Directorate will move into AD, headed by Tor Raubenheimer.
     

The new highest level organizational chart and the articles below provide details of each new directorate.

Several people are stepping into new leadership roles in this reorganization. Notable among them are Bob Hettel and John Seeman, who will be deputy ALD's with responsibilities to integrate activities across Accelerator Directorate.

I want to express my admiration and appreciation for Dale and his team, who have worked hard to develop a structure that will both deliver near term success in our existing programs and serve the lab well in the years to come.

—Persis Drell
  SLAC Today, July 29, 2009