  We describe the scientific motivation behind, and the methodology of, the
Stanford Cluster Search (StaCS), a program to compile a catalog of optically
selected clusters of galaxies at intermediate and high (0.3 < z < 1) redshifts.
The clusters are identified using an matched filter algorithm applied to deep
CCD images covering approximately 60 square degrees of sky. These images are
obtained from several data archives, principally that of the Berkeley Supernova
Cosmology Project of Perlmutter et al. Potential clusters are confirmed with
spectroscopic observations at the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly Telescope. Follow-up
observations at optical, sub-mm, and X-ray wavelengths are planned in order to
estimate cluster masses. Our long-term scientific goal is to measure the
cluster number density as a function of mass and redshift, which is sensitive
to the cosmological density parameter, and the amplitude of density
fluctuations on cluster scales. Our short-term goals are the detection of
high-redshift cluster candidates over a broad mass range and the measurement of
evolution in cluster scaling relations. The combined data set will contain
clusters ranging over an order of magnitude in mass, and allow constraints on
these parameters accurate to ~10%. We present our first spectroscopically
confirmed cluster candidates and describe how to access them electronically.
