University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

The art of William Blake has inspired me since I was young. His poetry and lithographs demand that we look beyond the surface and use our imaginations to explore the unknown. A particular favorite is the lithograph of Newton intently studying his geometric figures while a dark void looms behind him—beckoning us to explore outside the boundaries of what is currently understood. Way ahead of his time, Blake was not appreciated until a century later when quantum mechanics replaced classical mechanics—demonstrating the non-deterministic nature of the universe which demands an acceptance that we will never truly "know" anything. The joy found in exploration of nature without pre-judgment and without certainty is what makes science so much fun and so rewarding.