Dr. Robert Harding

I have a multitude of interests outside of my academic life. In no particular order, my main things are music, astronomy, racquetball, and reading.

Music

From a very young age I was infected with the music bug. At 7 years-old I began classical piano lessons, which I continued with a couple of short interruptions until I was 20 years-old. But at 11 years-old, I was introduced to the guitar by a friend and there began my sojourn into the world of rock music.

Within a year, I had my first rock band (the first song I ever played live was Foghat’s “Slow Ride”). Over the next 10 years I played in several different bands, at increasing degrees of public exposure. While in my last band, I played both guitar and keyboards and played a concert in front of about 8,000 when we opened for Henry Lee Summers in Louisville. However, my academic pursuits finally won out, and I hung up my guitar, as it were, in 1987.

As far as tastes in music, I enjoy a wide variety of musical genres. Of course, from my classical formation, I love classical music (Chopin is great). Also, I still like rock’n'roll, especially the subgenres called “progressive rock” and its more recent inheriter, “neo-progressive rock.” Some of my favorite progressive rock bands are Kansas, Rush, and Saga, and some of my recent neoprogressive favorites are Dream Theater and Tony MacAlpine.

Lastly, I have always enjoyed jazz, especially the subgenre jazz-rock fusion (e.g., Al di Meola). Lately, I have become immersed in “smooth jazz,” which is a very melodic, lyrical offshoot of traditional jazz.

Astronomy  

For my sixth birthday, my parents gave my a small, K-mart telescope. From that moment began a lifelong passion for astronomy, which included being a presenter one summer at the University of Louisville planetarium. Today, I own a 10 inch Dobsonian telescope and try to get out in “the sticks” during the winter (lower humidity, better viewing) to take in some deep sky viewing. I love to share my interest with students.

Racquetball

Like most Hoosiers, I was introduced to basketball at an early age. Along with baseball, and a little bit of football, I played sports, mostly just adequately. But as an undergraduate, I was introduced to racquetball, which included everything I sought in a sport. It’s vigorous, demanding, strategic, and just plain fun. I’ve been playing now for 20 years and I’m a decent B-level player.

Reading

As a young boy, I reveled in Stephen King’s books as well as anything I could read on dinosaurs, astronomy, and history (during my four years of high school, I read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica).

Nowadays, my interests have broadened a bit. In fiction, I particularly enjoy the subgenres of alternate history and science fiction, such as the work of Kim Stanley Robinson and Robert Harris. In non-fiction, I enjoy popular science (e.g., Carl Sagan) and, of course, most anything that deals with international politics and world history. This past summer I read Niall Ferguson’s War of the World (which is a real doorstopper).