I am Regents Professor of History and Dean of the Honors College at New Mexico State University, where I have taught history of science and European history for almost 30 years. I’m a specialist in the history of science and medicine in Renaissance Italy and Spain, and most of what I write is about the origins of modern science. I have written and edited 3 books and more than 50 articles, essays, and book chapters. My book, Science and the Secrets of Nature: Books of Secrets in Medieval and Early Modern Culture, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and was the winner of the History Book Award from the American Publishers Association. That book introduced the scholarly world to the “books of secrets” tradition and has received a lot of attention and commentary among historians of science and early modern culture. My most recent book, The Professor of Secrets: Mystery, Medicine and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy, will be published in July 2010. I am currently writing a book about science and everyday life in early modern Europe and have just begun a new book project on discovery and the origins of science.