Professor Virginia Maryland is a dutch professional bronze sculptor and architecture enthusiast originally from Wyoming, Delaware. She has a deep passion for all things from the middle ages. She has written a plethora of books dealing with a number of topics, including “The Black Hole: My Obsession with the Dark Ages and Why You Should Have One Too”, “A Short History of Paper Mache Sculptors and Their Importance to the World” and “Iconography for Dummies”. She has gained fame through her use of inspirational dance and water guns in her lectures to, quote, “enhance the experience for my students and keep them awake”. Most recently she gained much attention through her lecture on why gargoyles give us a lens into the past and might be the key to unlocking the secret of light speed. Currently she teaches at the School of Hard Knocks in Utrecht, in the Netherlands. She lives with her dog, Thomas Mcalister, and two hamsters, Roy and Gilbert, in Amsterdam.