Fresh insights from biology and from the functioning of the human brain provide new opportunities for uncovering the basis for a large array of mental functions — from feeling, consciousness, and decision-making to the creativity expressed in the arts, sciences and technology. The design of the Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI) reflects its mission. It sits next to the modern laboratories of the Dornsife Neuroimaging Center (DNI), which are dedicated to the scientific investigation of mind and brain, and to one of the oldest instruments dedicated to the exploration of the human mind: a classical auditorium devoted to music and theater performances, literary readings, and scientific presentations.