As a lecturer you spend a lot of time talking to people. With a bit of practice most lecturers can easily fill 50 minutes with facts, figures and opinions. I enjoy talking to students (and enjoy it more when they talk back!). One thing that is a little novel is being interviewed. David Fisher is collecting interviews from staff at Lincoln University and putting them up on a website. David basically guides the conversation along in an attempt to find out about the research that is done at Lincoln University.

David interviewed me on Monday and I gushed forth for about 50 minutes. The interview is available here to listen to or download (click on Adrian Paterson research). David starts by asking how I ended up having a louse named after me (Myrsidea patersoni). My answer takes me back to my PhD days when I started researching feather lice on seabirds and then leads through to research on the Chathams that looked at the age and origin of its plants and animals. We also discuss the drowning of New Zealand before moving into better ways to count and kill pest species like possums.

Sitting on the Chathams ready to chat!

The scary thing is that when I say at the end “But I’ve only just started”, I am actually stating the truth. I’ve had over 60 post grads and many colleagues to do science with over the last 20 years and there are lots of interesting research projects I never got anywhere near touching. I guess that is one of the reasons that I helped to start this blog as so much interesting stuff is down around this department that does not get out to the public eye. Anyway, if you want to hear more from me, have a listen.