About

The Beckman Institute brings researchers from many disciplines together to collaborate. The result: scientific advances that couldn’t occur any other way.

From our founder

"Always strive for excellence—there’s no substitute for it."

- Arnold 0. Beckman

Arnold Beckman looks out a north window at University Avenue in Urbana during the construction of the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

412

publications authored

by full- and part-time faculty during the 2019 calendar year.

25.4%

of all campus patents

were issued through Beckman-supported research over the last 10 years.

campus departments

and 14 colleges are represented within Beckman when considering the home units of both student and faculty researchers.

Mission and core values

The Beckman Institute uses its mission statement and core values as a foundation for making decisions.

Read the statement

A close-up image of a fountain near the Beckman Institute.

News

Martha Gillette wins 2021 Vision and Spirit Award

April 9, 2021 by Meg Dickinson

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News

New pig brain maps facilitate human neuroscience discoveries

April 12, 2021 by College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences News

For nearly a decade, scientists have relied on an MRI-based map, or atlas, of the pig brain – developed at the University of Illinois using 4-week-old pigs – to understand where and how nutrients and other interventions affect the developing brain. Now, Beckman researchers have updated that atlas. To build the updated atlas, Brad Sutton, Ryan Dilger, and Joanne Fil anesthetized and scanned 4- and 12-week old pigs at Beckman’s Biomedical Imaging Center using a state-of-the-art Siemens Prisma 3 T MRI scanner.

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News

Configuring infrared spectroscopy tools to better detect breast cancer

April 8, 2021 by Samantha Jones Toal

Current and former Beckman Institute researchers are one step closer to outlining the most efficient and effective methods of using breast cancer detection tools.

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News

Fast-acting, color-changing molecular probe senses when a material is about to fail

March 26, 2021 by Illinois News Bureau

Materials that contain special polymer molecules may someday be able to warn us when they are about to fail, researchers said. Beckman Institute researchers have improved their previously developed force-sensitive molecules, called mechanophores, to produce reversible, rapid and vibrant color change when a force is applied.

Full story

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A view of Beckman staff members standing in the atrium, as taken from a bridge, at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

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A tour of the under-construction Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Beams are in place, and some masonry is seen in the background, but the tower is open to the air.

Browse our history

The Beckman Institute was the first interdisciplinary research institute on the University of Illinois campus; and a model across the world for creating collaboration. Read more about Beckman's creation and the accomplishments it has since fostered.

View historic timeline

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Job opportunities at Beckman

The Beckman Institute is a fast-paced yet inclusive environment. We're looking for creative thinkers who are excited about supporting cutting-edge research that transcends the boundaries of traditional disciplines.

See current openings

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