Welcome to the

Beckman Institute

The Beckman Institute at Illinois is a world-class interdisciplinary facility devoted to ground-breaking research in the physical sciences, computation, engineering, biology, behavior, cognition, and neuroscience.

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About the Beckman Institute

The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology opened in 1989 as one of the first facilities in the world dedicated to interdisciplinary research. The Institute's mission is to foster an interdisciplinary approach to doing leading-edge research in the physical and life sciences, and engineering. The Institute was founded on the premise that reducing the barriers between traditional scientific and technological disciplines can yield the greatest advances. Research is focused broadly around four themes: Biological Intelligence, Human-Computer Intelligent Interaction, Integrative Imaging, and Molecular and Electronic Nanostructures. The 313,000-square foot building was made possible by a gift from Arnold and Mabel Beckman. More than 1,500 faculty, students, and postdoctoral and other associates are actively engaged in research at the Institute.

Research at Beckman

Research at the Beckman Institute is categorized into four broad themes to provide faculty with a loose organizational framework. Beckman's interdisciplinary approach allows areas of study to overlap within the themes. The research themes are:
Biological Intelligence, Human-Computer Intelligent Interaction,
Integrative Imaging, Molecular and Electronic Nanostructures
Scientists work across the themes to both advance our knowledge of science and for real-world applications. Many at Beckman focus on cognitive and brain health, as well as linguistics and language learning studies, which have a beneficial impact on people. Bioimaging work seeks to advance imaging technology and biomedical applications, including in another area of focus, cancer research. Others use bioengineering principles to create new technologies, while Beckman has been home to breakthrough innovations in the fields of electronics and advanced computational methods since it opened.

Research Support Facilities

The Beckman Institute provides researchers state-of-the-art facilities for imaging, microscopy, and scientific visualization that are unparalleled for a campus institute. The Biomedical Imaging Center, Illinois Simulator Laboratory, and the Imaging Technology Group are premier resources for researchers in any field. The Imaging Technology Group was created in 1992 and today is made up of two resources: the Microscopy Suite (for microscopic imaging of specimens) and the Visualization Laboratory (for scientific image and graphics creation and analysis). The Illinois Simulator Laboratory was created in 1995 for experiments in cognition using highly-advanced virtual reality environments. The Biomedical Imaging Center, which became a Beckman resource in 2002, is a unique campus support facility with a variety of magnetic resonance imaging machines, as well ultrasound, optical, and molecular imaging modalities.

World Class Faculty

Beckman Institute researchers are known throughout the world for pioneering work in areas ranging from electronics and imaging science, to neuroscience and signal processing. There are more than 190 faculty members from eight colleges and 41 departments at the University of Illinois doing research at the Beckman Institute. Beckman Institute faculty members hold chaired professorships in departments throughout the Illinois campus, have been named as fellows of the most prestigious science and engineering academies, won the most coveted awards in science and technology, and led research projects that have had a worldwide impact on science, technology, and human health. They have also been rated as excellent teachers by their students, founded start-up companies, and dedicated their work to advances that improve the world in which we live.

Beckman Fellows and Student Researchers

Beckman Fellows and graduate and undergraduate students contribute greatly to the work that goes on at the Beckman Institute. There are more than 1,000 students (nearly 600 graduate students and more than 440 undergraduates) at Beckman who make a tremendous impact on scientific discoveries and papers. Alumni from Beckman Institute research groups and Fellows programs have gone on to make contributions in academia, business, and government. While there are no classes held at the Institute, learning goes on in laboratories, research groups, and cubicles every day. The Institute's researchers rely on the critical contributions of these students and Beckman Fellows to do the laboratory work, experiments, and reporting of results that make research possible. In addition, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation funds the Postdoctoral and Graduate Student Fellows programs at the Institute.

University of Illinois

Founded in 1867 as one of the original 37 land-grant institutions of higher learning, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is annually ranked as one of the top public research universities in the country. More than 40,000 students are served by 17 colleges and instructional units at Illinois. There are 15 colleges and schools and seven institutes and centers engaged in research at the University of Illinois. When the Beckman Institute opened in 1989, it brought national attention to Illinois for its innovative, interdisciplinary approach to research. It remains today as what one campus leader called the crown jewel of research at the University. Top-ranked programs at Illinois such as in engineering and psychology contribute many faculty members to Beckman, helping to make it an integral part of research efforts at the University.

Beckman News

Viz Lab Brings the Augmented Alma to Life at U of I

Viz Lab Brings the Augmented Alma to Life at U of I

While the much-loved and iconic Alma Mater statue is being refurbished, graduates at the University of Illinois will be able to have a photo taken with a photo-realistic, high-resolution digital Alma Mater thanks to a free augmented reality application for iOS devices that displays the sculpture on its pedestal, life-sized and in real time. Travis Ross, the manager of the Visualization Laboratory at Beckman, faced the challenge of taking the 2 billion points of data from the scan and creating a simplified model that could be processed by a mobile device in real time, while retaining the high-resolution detail in its appearance

Emotional Strategy May Influence Anxiety

Researchers report that those who plan ahead and consider how to respond positively to challenging problems tend to suffer less from anxiety than those who ignore, hide, or repress their feelings. A study revealed that those who engage in an emotional regulation strategy called reappraisal tended to also have less social anxiety and less anxiety in general than those who avoid expressing their feelings. Reappraisal involves looking at a problem in a new way, said University of Illinois graduate student Nicole Llewellyn, who led the research with Beckman affiliate Florin Dolcos, professor of psychology.

Separating Carbon Nanotubes

As-made single-walled carbon nanotubes consist of a mixture of both metallic and semiconducting nanotubes. This is a problem for researchers trying to fabricate electronic devices because – ideally – pure samples of either semiconducting or metallic tubes are required, depending on the application. Now, a team, led by Beckman researcher John Rogers, has come up with a new way to separate out the two types of tubes using nanoscale thermocapillary physics.

DNA-based Glue May Lead to Powerful Super Glues

Beckman researcher Nancy Sottos is a member of the team of researchers that has developed a glue that uses DNA base pair mimics that bind to each other more strongly than their natural counterparts and may lead to glues far more powerful than Super Glue.


Tomatoes and Soy Foods Taken Together May Fight Prostate Cancer

"In our study, we used mice that were genetically engineered to develop an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Even so, half the animals that had consumed tomato and soy had no cancerous lesions in the prostate at study's end," said John Erdman, a University of Illinois professor of food science and nutrition.

Videos

What is a Spandrel? Explaining Evolutionary Adaptations and Side Effects

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In this bonus video, neuroscientist and evolutionary biologist Justin Rhodes explains the difference between traits that are the result of evolutionary adaptation and others that are genetic spillovers. Rhodes discusses how biologist and author Stephen J. Gould first used an architectural term to help describe these genetic side effects. Rhodes is a professor in the University of Illinois Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Program, Institute for Genomic Biology and a full-time faculty member in the Beckman Institute NeuroTech Group.

Why Men Are Better Navigators Than Women: Adaptation or Testosterone Side Effect?

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Neuroscientist and evolutionary biologist Justin Rhodes explodes the myth behind why males are better at navigation than females. Most people, including many evolutionary biologists, believe that men are slightly better navigators than women because of the division of labor in early human Hunter-Gatherer societies. The story goes that those with superior navigation skills were more likely to return home to pass on their genes and evolution took care of the rest. But Rhodes and his team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a way to put this long-held theory to the test. Rhodes is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Program, Institute for Genomic Biology and a full-time faculty member of the Beckman Institute's NeuroTech Group. To read more about this research, please visit the University of Illinois' News Bureau Press Release here: http://news.illinois.edu/news/13/0219spatial_ability_JustinRhodes.html

Beckman Institute Open House 2013 (1-minute)

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Beckman Institute Open House 2013 Mar 8, 2013 - Mar 9, 2013 The Beckman Institute Open House is a biennial event, held in conjunction with the University of Illinois College of Engineering Open House. The open house features a variety of exhibits and demonstrations on leading edge research that is happening at the Beckman Institute. The event is Friday, March 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 9 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Beckman Institute is located on the University of Illinois campus at 405 North Mathews Avenue in Urbana, at the intersection of Mathews and University Avenue. Metered parking available in the parking deck across from the Institute. Schools, clubs, and other large groups are welcome.

Beckman Institute Open House 2013 Promo (15-Seconds)

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Beckman Institute Open House 2013 Mar 8, 2013 - Mar 9, 2013 The Beckman Institute Open House is a biennial event, held in conjunction with the University of Illinois College of Engineering Open House. The open house features a variety of exhibits and demonstrations on leading edge research that is happening at the Beckman Institute. The event is Friday, March 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 9 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Beckman Institute is located on the University of Illinois campus at 405 North Mathews Avenue in Urbana, at the intersection of Mathews and University Avenue. Metered parking available in the parking deck across from the Institute. Schools, clubs, and other large groups are welcome.

Vietnam Veterans Help Neuroscientists Map Emotional Intelligence in the Brain

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Cognitive neuroscientist Aron Barbey explores the link between general and emotional intelligence by studying Vietnam veterans with focal brain injuries. Using CT scanners and behavioral testing, Barbey hopes to create a detailed map of the brain regions that play an important role in general and emotional intellectual functioning. Barbey is an Assistant Professor in the departments of Speech and Hearing Science and Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a faculty member in the Beckman Institute's Cognitive Neuroscience Group.

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  1. Beckman Imaging Weekly Journal Club
  2. Beckman Imaging Weekly Journal Club
  3. Neuroengineering IGERT Symposium
  4. Stokols Lecture