Since 1989, the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has fostered interdisciplinary work of the highest quality, transcending many of the limitations inherent in traditional university organizations and structures. The Institute was founded on the premise that reducing barriers between traditional scientific and technological disciplines can yield research advances that more conventional approaches cannot.

Research themes at Beckman are regularly reviewed to provide an agile research environment based on new directions proposed by faculty. Dynamic faculty-led research groups are located within the main research themes of the institute: Intelligent Systems, Integrative Imaging, and Molecular and Electronic Nanostructures.