Project M

Project M: The Beginning of SLAC 

The idea for a two-mile linear accelerator at Stanford University was conceived in 1956, proposed in 1957, and authorized by the United States Congress in 1961. Initially called "Project M," (for “Monster” or “Multi-BeV ”) and, for a short time, SLEAP (Stanford Linear Electron Accelerator Project), the venture proposed to study elementary particles with the largest instrument of its kind in the world; an accelerator distinguished by its length, high energy, and high current. The project was renamed "The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center" in August of 1960.

The Project Staff:

• Office of the Project Director
  • Edward L. Ginzton, Project Director
  • W. K. H. Panofsky, Deputy Director
  • Mrs. Beverly Monks, Secretary
• Division of Administrative Services
  • R. H. Moulton, Jr., Associate Director
  • O. E. Snyder, Organization Planning
  • W. T. Kirk, Reports Editor
  • Mrs. Pam Langston and Miss Phyllis Brady, Staff Secretaries
• Technical Division
  • R. B. Neal, Associate Director
  • Staff Specialists: I.L. Chu, K.G. Dedrick, R. Helm, K. Mallory
  • Mrs. Beverly Monks, Secretary
• Division of Business Services
  • F.V.L. Pindar, Associate Director
  • Assistants: E. B. Rickansrud, W. Field, Paul Fihe (Inventions)
  • Mrs. Jane Post, Secretary
• Plant Engineering Department
  • K. Copenhagen, Manager
  • Project Engineers
    • Civil: R. S Gould
    • Mechanical: L. Gallagher
    • Electrical: P.C. Edwards, C.B. Jones, K.R. Willson
    • Architect: W.A. Kinst
• Accelerator Structures Department
  • R. B. Neal, Manager (Acting)
  • Accelerator Tube Department: A.L. Eldredge, L.E. Cain, J.A. Pope
  • Vacuum System: D.J. Goerz
  • Support and Alignment: K.C. Sandkuhle
• Microwave Engineering Department
  • R. B. Neal, Manager (Acting)
  • Klystrons: J.V. Lebacqz, G. Beardsley, G.E. Mardinian, J. Meloni
  • Windows: J. Jasberg, R. Fowkes
  • Microwave Circuitry: G.A. Loew, D.J. Goerz, C.B. Williams
• Instrumentation and Controls Design Department[correct title?]
  • K. Brown, Manager
  • Measurements and Local Control: K. Mallory, O. Kraus
  • Data Transmission and Distant Control: K Breymayer, T. Christie
• Electronics Engineering Department
  • R. B. Neal, Manager (Acting)
  • Modulators: T.F. Turner, C. Sphar
  • Injection: G. Dome
• Accelerator Design Department
  • R. B. Neal, Manager (Acting)
  • Mark IV Conversion and M Accelerator: D.J. Goerz, A. Crabtree, and Committee
• Research Planning Department
  • R. F. Mozley, Manager
  • H. D. DeStaebler

Note: Some links on this page open pdf files, which require the free Acrobat Reader.

Project M in the News

• 1960 Stanford Daily news articles about the Project.

Project M Memories:

• Copenhagen, Ken and Robert Gould Film of SLAC Linac excavation and construction. Probably from 1963-1964 (AHRO accession 2000-017)
• Dupen, Douglas W. The Story of Stanford's 2-Mile Long Accelerator. SLAC-R-062, May 1966. 118pp.
• Ginzton, Edward L. An Informal History of SLAC Part One: Early Accelerator Work at Stanford. SLAC Beam Line Special Issue Number 2, April 1983
• Ginzton, Edward L. Times to Remember: the Life of Edward L. Ginzton. Blackberry Creek Press (1995)
• Loew, Gregory. "We have accelerated electrons” The history of our beginnings at Stanford . Gregory Loew. Presentation at Celebration of Sixty Years of Accelerated Electrons at Stanford and in the UK. Wednesday, 23 May 2007 (video: requires player to view)
• Moulton, Robert.Physics, Power and Politics--Fear and Loathing on the Electron Trail: An Eyewitness Account of the Campaign for Congressional Approval of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, 1959-1961 Stanford Historical Society, Sandstone and Tile Volume 25, no 1 (Winter 2001) p. 3-13.
• Neal, Richard B. The Stanford Two-Mile Accelerator ("The Blue Book"). Benjamin (1968)
• Panofsky, W. K. H. An Informal History of SLAC Part Two: The Evolution of SLAC and Its Program. SLAC Beam Line Special Issue Number 3, May 1983.
• Panofsky, W. K. H. Big Physics and Small Physics at Stanford. Stanford Historical Society, Sandstone and Tile Volume 14, no. 3 (Summer 1990) p. 1-10.
• Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky on physics, politics and peace: Pief remembers. Springer (2007)