To create new and exciting ideas that push the boundaries of research a bit "beyond"
To conduct research that transcends traditional subject categories
To answer foundational questions in science, and explore their philosophical ramifications - what might be called "the big questions"
To present science to the public as a key component of our culture and of significance to all humanity

Mission statement:

For thousands of years, people have gazed in wonder at the world about them and asked the big questions: How did the universe come to exist? What is it made of? Where do human beings fit into the great cosmic scheme? Is there a meaning to it all?

Such questions have mostly been restricted to religion and philosophy. Now scientists are addressing them too, following spectacular advances in cosmology, subatomic particle physics, molecular biology, genetics and neuroscience. Physicists are busy seeking a ‘theory of everything’ – a way to meld the disparate laws of physics into an all–embracing mathematical scheme. Biochemists are on the verge of making life in the laboratory, while astrobiolgists are looking for signs of a second genesis on Mars. On every front, science is transforming our world view and challenging age–old assumptions about the nature of the physical universe and our place within it.

BEYOND is a pioneering international center at Arizona State University specifically dedicated to confronting the big questions of existence raised by these stunning scientific advances, and facilitating new research initiatives that transcend traditional subject categories.