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Preface . . . . . xvii PreFaCe A rnold and Mabel Beckman’s $40 million gift to the University of Illinois for creation of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at UrbanaChampaign was an extraordinary event in the history of the university.By a wide margin,it was the largest single gift ever to the university, and in fact represented the largest gift made to any public university till that time.This book is a look back at the origins of the Beckman Institute, partly in celebration of the first twenty years of its operation.I tell the story from a personal perspective; for many years I virtually lived and breathed the Beckman Institute project.But because I do not fully trust my memory,my limited records,or my freedom from biased recall after more than twenty years, I have asked others to read and comment on my drafts. Many additions and other changes have been made in response to the suggestions I have received. That said, I xviii . . . . . Preface take full responsibility for any errors that may be found—including,I’m sure, some errors of omission. The old saw that every success has a thousand fathers applies to the Beckman Institute, and in this instance it is literally true of the many, if not quite a thousand, who have contributed in one way or another to making the institute what it has become.Among them,the contributions of Professors Karl Hess and Bill Greenough stand out.Their leadership and dedication, from the outset and through many years that followed, were indispensable, and I will be forever grateful to them. I am indebted to Patricia Beckman, Audrey Brown, Paul Dixon, Ned Goldwasser, Bill Greenough, Karl Hess, Stanley Ikenberry, Steve McGaughey, Sarah Wasserman, and Mort Weir for reading and commenting on draft versions. Pierre Wiltzius, director of the Beckman Institute, and Chancellor Richard Herman have generously supported the publication. I want to thank Joan Catapano, editor in chief at the University of Illinois Press,for seeing this project through to completion and all others at the University of Illinois Press who helped produce this attractive book. ...

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