Growing up the son of a lawyer and a mathematician, John F. Simon sought for a way to express his creative desires while still remaining analytical. He was first attracted to drawing with software and computer programs, later reacting to his improvising subconscious through free-hand drawing. Simon renders these drawings in code with computer software. Feedback is an important element in Simon's work, as he reviews and tweaks his computerized images. His work has a living quality - the screens are constantly changing, new images constantly emerging. The large scale and precision of Channels mimics the techniques used by sign painters, which inspire Simon. He cites Paul Clay, a Bauhaus painter, as the artist who has had the most influence on him. Channels is Simon's largest work, containing six panels and its own custom software art. It is visible from the outside courtyard, extending the full length of the west hallway.

The Whitney Museum of American Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Guggenheim, among others, have collected Simon's software panel works. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts and a Masters degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Washington University in St. Louis.

Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Richard P. Nelson.