by Tim Gott, Academy Director
What will the future look like? I have been asking myself that question a lot these last few days. It has been quite a week. I have had the pleasure of meeting with peers from Vanderbilt, of discussing opportunities with leaders and decision makers from other state universities, of exploring potential partnerships with a leading industry in the Commonwealth, and of viewing a sample of the incredible scientific legacy of one of our finest national laboratories. Each experience has fueled a fire within me to spread a gospel of hope. We are living in one of the greatest times in history. The accumulation of knowledge, the depth of resources, and the amazing creativity of the human mind have never been more primed than this moment in time. Yet, we as a society have allowed ourselves to be distracted or discouraged from embracing this phenomenal opportunity.
As I walked through the offices of Lexmark and the labs of Oak Ridge, alongside students and colleagues, I was able to glimpse how far we have come in terms of technology and innovation in just the short span of my lifetime. Simultaneously, I envisioned what the future will hold in the hands of these students. I saw the light of promise in their eyes as they viewed the most powerful computer ever created and heard them discuss the next generation of possibilities. I was moved by the passion I saw in the present leaders of these organizations and how it infused the lives of these future world changers, inspiring them to believe in the abundance of potential before them.
With this bold vision, comes a responsibility. We who have seen the power of the present environment must convince those who have lost hope that the best is yet to come. We must equip this generation of young people to engage in creative and critical thinking, to ask the insightful questions, and to persevere through challenges and setbacks. We need to encompass them with a spirit of support and encouragement which will allow them to explore, to dream, to experiment, and yes, to stumble and fall. For it is in the arena of trial and error, failed attempts, and renewed efforts that we will find those concepts, ideas, and creations that will impact our lives in the days ahead.
What will our future look like? Cures for cancer and other illnesses? What new forms of communication and transportation will arise? What deeper understandings of our universe or the atom will we grasp? If we will take the time to learn from our past, we can see that the rate of change in our lives is exponential. In a relatively short time, we have embraced cell phones, internet, space travel, MRIs, and microwaves as common place. The next ten years will be mind-boggling. But the time is now, the place is here, and we are the ones who will do it. The challenge is before us. We have a choice: we can invest our time and energy in the meaningful work before us or we can waste our resources and the gains of our predecessors. Let’s choose wisely and pass a bright torch forward to the ones ahead.