A Beckman Fellow receives funding, via some intermediary institution, from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, founded by Arnold Orville Beckman and his wife Mabel. The foundation supports programs at several institutions to encourage research, particularly the work of young researchers who might not be eligible for other sources of funding. People from a variety of different programs at different institutions may therefore be referred to as Beckman Fellows. Though most often designating postdoctoral awards in science, the exact significance of the term will vary depending on the institution involved and the type(s) of Beckman Fellowship awarded at that institution.
The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign offers a variety of fellowship programs, which enable researchers to work for short periods of time at the Institute.
Beckman Graduate Fellowships are awarded to students at the University of Illinois who are working at the master's or doctorate level. Students propose interdisciplinary research projects involving at least two University of Illinois faculty members, at least one of whom is associated with the Beckman Institute. The award provides 50% funding for eleven months.
Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowships are awarded to recent Ph.D.'s who receive 3-year appointments at the Beckman Institute, including both a stipend and a research budget. They must be doing interdisciplinary research in an area of research relevant to the Beckman Institute. The first Beckman postdoctoral fellows were Efrat Shimshoni (condensed matter physics) and Andrew Nobel (information theory and statistics) in 1992.
The following researchers are or have been Beckman Postdoctoral Fellows. The institution listed is the one from which the person had received a Ph.D. Fellowships were awarded as of the year listed.
Beckman Senior Fellowships are awarded to senior faculty from other institutions, who come to the University of Illinois to collaborate with researchers there, usually for a short period of three to six months. Beckman Senior Fellows include:
Beckman Fellowships administered through the Beckman Institute should not be confused with those administered through the Center for Advanced Study (CAS) at the University of Urbana-Champaign. The CAS awards a series of Beckman Fellowships and Beckman Research Awards which support faculty at Urbana-Champaign in their research activities. These awards were funded through an endowment from Arnold and Mabel Beckman, given in the late 1970's, prior to the establishment of the Beckman Institute. They are administered separately and are awarded in departments throughout the university, not just within the sciences.