A history of cutting-edge imaging tools

The Biomedical Imaging Center traces its heritage to the Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Laboratory, founded at the University of Illinois by late Professor Paul Lauterbur, who won the Nobel Prize for inventing MRI. (Learn more through the Illinois MRI Exhibit.)

Since its founding in the 1980s, the center has been pushing the boundaries of imaging with the goal of supporting interdisciplinary, barrier-breaking research that couldn't happen anywhere else.

About the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology

Explore the unknown. Map the mind. Shape the future.

The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology is a community of faculty, staff and students working across disciplines to tackle problems no single field can solve alone. Supported by state-of-the-art core facilities, professional staff and collaborative workspaces, the Beckman Institute is where the next era of interdisciplinary research takes shape.

 Work at the Beckman Institute is driven by three interconnected goals that address the most consequential problems of our time: 

• Image the invisible. We develop next-generation imaging technologies that illuminate living systems and the material world at every scale.

• Understand intelligence. We investigate the biological and computational foundations of brain function and advance bio-inspired artificial intelligence, from neural networks to molecular computing.

• Create a sustainable future. We design molecules, materials and technologies that promote health, enhance energy efficiency and address global environmental challenges.