April 15th had me getting an early start, well, early for me. I was at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, by 8.30am. I am coordinating the World-Wide Day in Science (WWDS) project, and 15 April is the Day in Science; so it is big day for me. My early start and the prospect of a long day in the office convinced me to drive my classy, 30-year-old Mercedes to work instead of riding my bicycle the 25 minutes to the university, which I usually do. In fact, I have never had a job and home where I could not bicycle to work. Landing the job as director of the Science Communication Program at UNSW as well as finding a place to live within six kilometres with rent that I could afford has provided a happy balance 'between mind and body'.

You will see in my account below that being a university academic means spending a lot of time managing people and answering e-mails. One's expertise is brought to bear in key moments during the day and in planning how projects will unfold. As a result, although my undergraduate degree is in physics and masters degree in energy and environmental studies, my PhD in sociology of science and technology seemed more useful on 15 April 2005.

On reaching the university, I made last minute preparations for three high school students who were going to shadow three UNSW students for the day. The high school students would then report back to their classmates on their experience, and they would each create a web page describing what they had observed. The high school students were due at 9am, and I needed a little time to do things, such as post a sign on my office door so that the students would know where 'home base' was. Plus, I had some handouts for them that I completed the evening before, but when I went to copy them at 7pm, the copier room was closed and locked. I really need to get a key to that room, although not having a key deters me from becoming more of a workaholic.

Not only were the high school students coming, but university students in one of my classes were organised in reporting teams that were spreading out across the university and across Sydney to shadow scientists and scientific professionals for the day. So, the Day in Science now has three modes of participation that I was trying to keep track of, high schoolers following university students, university students following scientists, and scientists keeping diary entries on their own day. Three students from my university Day in Science class came by during the day, and they left me with the impression that I had successfully delegated responsibility for their class project. The student planners seemed to be trusting the student team managers, and the managers seemed to trust the efforts of the student reporters and producers. That was one less thing to worry about for me on 15 April.

The three high school students, who were to be my focus for the day, all showed up early, and the teacher for two of them came along as well to see what the day was about and to learn more about the study of science at university, as she had graduated years earlier. I had the students with me from 9am to 10am helping them to plan what to photograph and from what angle and to develop questions to ask their student hosts. At 10am, the three UNSW student hosts showed up with their 'duty of care' and health and safety papers prepared, and they briefed the high school students on what they would see during the day. One year 8 student went to chemistry to shadow her big sister while two year 12 students accompanied university students in the biomolecular science area, one an honours student working in a research lab and the other a third-year student who faced lab work and a lecture that morning.

From 10.15am to 1pm, I had my day 'to myself' and spent time taking care of the 50 e-mails a day that I get, chatting with a couple of students from one of the Day in Science reporting teams, preparing materials for the return of the high school students at 1pm, and sending out more invitations for scientists and science communicators to write diary entries for the Day in Science. I tried reading an e-mail attachment sent by a colleague, and my Mac could not open it. I need to update my software, but that seems like a complicated process, so I will try to find a Mac expert to do it for me.

I also received a call from a science communicator arranging for a tour of young inventors. She wanted a lecture room at the university for the set of inventors to each give a 5 minute talk on their development. The previous year, the inventions had included a high speed hydrofoil sailboat and an electronic boxing suit that kept score by registering each punch landed.

A lecture room available for three hours on a day just two weeks from now was found rather quickly, given how busy classrooms get during the session. So, my science communication colleague seemed pleased; then, she asked about arranging for catering. Feeling overwhelmed, I urged her to contact the engineering faculty to arrange that, as an investment on their part, at least an investment of time, would stimulate them to get their own students on to the event, an event that the students would probably enjoy.

At 1pm, the Day in Science high school students with their hosts returned. They all seemed full of energy, except for one host who had stayed up late the night before studying for an exam. The remaining two hosts accompanied the students to find lunch among the array of cafes and lunch spots on the UNSW campus, while I nervously checked my watch hoping that we could wrap up by 3pm, before the young people ran out of interest and energy. My worries proved to be unfounded, and all were back at work soon after 1.30pm, finishing by 3pm. I was pleasantly surprised that the two hosts stayed the whole time, helping the high schoolers to assemble their reports. The hosts had been students in the university Day in Science class in its inaugural year, 2003, and so they had a good idea of what was involved in completing reports. By the end, the report outlines created by the high school students were impressive, and I am looking forward to seeing the digital photos captured during the day. I am confident that the reports will come across well on the web, and in presentations at each school. One high school student is quite adept at creating websites, and the other two appear to be growing in confidence and willing to rely on the third for advice.

During the day, I also monitored my two e-mail accounts to see how the Day in Science was unfolding elsewhere in the world. I received a diary submission from a doctoral student in materials science and one from a physics student at an observatory in the Antarctic. There was also a submission from a science communicator in Perth, Australia.

At 3.30pm, I took off for the half-kilometre walk to the downhill end of the campus for a meeting of academic staff in the Faculty of Science. The meetings occur only every six months, and my responsibilities reach across the Faculty, so it seemed important to attend. The meeting addressed teaching policies and developments as well as formulas for figuring out how much money the Faculty would get from the University administration for teaching each student, undergraduate and postgraduate, local students and international students. That meeting finished soon after 5pm, and then a quarter of those present took up the invitation to gather in the Dean's conference room for refreshments. Some say that such informal conversation is where the important 'political' work of the university - or any organisation - really gets done. Discussion extended until nearly 8pm, and things were said that I am not to reveal.

Then, it was back to my office at the other end of the campus, the uphill end, to spend most of the next hour checking for more Day in Science e-mails and thanking the scientists who had sent us something. My womanfriend called to see how the Day in Science had gone and to report on her day developing a marketing strategy for the high school where she is principal.

I was home by 9.30pm, another long day. My cat seemed quite happy to see me and pleased to get some dried fish and pistachio nuts. A mushroom and capsicum omelet for dinner and a little television watching, and then my day was over. I sank into bed at 11.30pm.

Thinking back, did I imagine that I would be engaged in these sorts of activities when I was in high school? I think not. My older sister claims that, in high school, I had stated that I aimed to be a university professor. Although I have some vague memory of such a desire, I must have been nuts.

When I was young, I spent many hours reading magazines about science and technology, from Aviation Week to Hot Rod magazine. One summer, I had what I thought would be a dream job, lawnmower mechanic. I loved to read about and work on mechanical things, as you might guess, but I had underestimated the pleasures of being soaked in grease and oil all day. Having a rag hanging out of my back pocket made me feel that I was a member of a profession. I was paid minimum wage, and I was just about worth it. I always fixed the machines that I worked on, but it often took at least twice as long as it did for the professional mechanics. In any case, I relished the experience and to this day pride myself in being able to connect the theoretical, the things that I read, with the practical, the things that I experience and work on.

I enjoy being a kind of applied sociologist who understands the scientific and technical side of things. I foresee continuing in this science communication field and building the World-Wide Day in Science project. I will also continue to design and coordinate training workshops for businesses and government agencies. Plus, I have ideas for inventions that I would like to develop, including several schemes for public artwork, meaning artwork created by the public. For example, I would like to develop 'light graffiti', graffiti art drawn on the sides of buildings in public spaces by lasers controlled by digitising pads that members of the public can sketch and write on. So, there are other modes of communication and participation to pursue.

That has been my Day in Science, 15 April 2005.

Wondering what I look like? Here is a photo below taken last year.