Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Beckman Institute at Caltech

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Established
  
1990

Director
  
David A. Tirrell

Beckman Institute at Caltech

Field of research
  
Chemical and biological sciences

Location
  
Pasadena, California, United States

Affiliations
  
California Institute of Technology

Website
  
http://beckmaninstitute.caltech.edu/

The Beckman Institute at Caltech is a multi-disciplinary center for research in the chemical and biological sciences, located at and partnering with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California, United States.

Contents

Founding

Founding of the Beckman Institute at Caltech was supported by a major philanthropic gift from the Arnold Orville Beckman and his wife Mabel, through the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Beckman had a long-term relationship with Caltech as a student, teacher and trustee. After discussions with chemists Harry B. Gray and Peter Dervan, and biologists Eric H. Davidson and Leroy Hood, Beckman announced in 1986 that he would donate $50 million to establish the institute and an accompanying endowment. The Beckman Institute at Caltech was chartered by Caltech in 1987.

The institute building was designed by architect Albert C. Martin, Jr. in a Spanish style with a pool and a central courtyard. It was dedicated on October 26, 1989, and opened in 1990. The building included four levels of laboratory space, libraries, and archives.

Mission

The institute's mission was to foster innovative research in the chemical and biological sciences. A strong emphasis was placed on instrumentation, both in developing new research technologies, and in making facilities available to researchers across the university.

"The mission of the Beckman Institute is to invent methods, instrumentation and materials that will open new avenues for fundamental research in the chemical and biological sciences, and to provide technological support for these efforts." Beckman Institute Charter, 1987

Organizational structure

The first director of the Beckman Institute at Caltech was chemist Harry B. Gray. He was succeeded as director in 2001 by Barbara Wold. As of 2012 David A. Tirrell became Director of the Beckman Institute at Caltech.

Within the institute were nine resource centers, each focusing on a different area of research. A tenth resource center has since been added. As of 2016, the resource centers and their principal investigators and directors were as follows:

  • Center for Computational Regulatory Genomics: Eric H. Davidson, Principal investigator; R. Andrew Cameron, Director
  • CLOVER (CLARITY, Optogenetics, and Vector Engineering Research Center): Viviana Gradinaru, principal investigator; Ben Deverman, director
  • Functional Genomics Resource Center: Barbara Wold, principal investigator; Brian Williams, director
  • Laser Resource Center: Harry B. Gray, principal investigator; Jay R. Winkler, director
  • Mass Spectrometry Resource Center: Jack Beauchamp, principal investigator
  • Molecular Materials Resource Center: Nate Lewis, principal investigator; Bruce S. Brunschwig, director
  • Molecular Observatory: Douglas C. Rees, principal investigator; Jens Kaiser, director
  • Programmable Molecular Technology Center: Niles Pierce, principal investigator; Harry M. T. Choi, director
  • Proteome Exploration Lab: Raymond Deshaies, principal investigator; Sonja Hess, director
  • Transmission Electron Microscopy: Grant Jensen, principal investigator; Alasdair McDowall, director

    • References

    Beckman Institute at Caltech Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA