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Radioactive nuclei are ever so slightly different from the stable ones. As a consequence, they shine with a different colour. The difference is so subtle that your eyes could not tell them apart but a laser certainly can! At CERN, we produce and clean radioactive elements to study their properties, and I work on a team that checks that aspect in particular. With the information we gather, we are able to extrapolate the information to the very very radioactive nuclei, i.e. those that are so radioactive that we have never seen them. We know, however, that they are produced in giant stars and supernova explosions. By combining our powers with astrophysicists, we are trying to understand where the elements in the universe come from. A bit like the Avengers Assemble!

Academic research is a tricky balance between teaching, research and management. Like everything in life, you can draw a triangle and hope that you are fair in your treatment of each task. But it never works! There is even no need to kid yourself! I come everyday with a plan for the day but, like every plan you make, it only lasts until you begin, and then it is a free for all.

Here is how it goes…

9:15am. Arrive at work, turn on computer. 10 new messages, let’s sort through that and then I can tackle that to-do list. I’m slightly late, but I left late yesterday so that I do not really feel guilty about that…

9:30 am. My student arrives. Long time no see, Dr T! Would you have some time later today to discuss my progress? — Sure, let’s do that after lunch…

10:00 am. Time to get some tea. I’ve skipped breakfast again and now regret it (again). At least some tea to keep warm and fuzzy will be good… On the way there, I bump into Prof SJF and start talking about that new project we are writing about. It was not really in my plans but he needs my help checking some numbers out. I guess I shall do that first and tackle that to-do list later.

11:30 am. The phone rings. It’s Dr J from that laser company. You said you’d be interested in a laser. Can I pass by tomorrow? Can you give me some more info? Let me write that down and I’ll get back to you. No matter how fast you speak and how fast they write, 20-30 minutes have just flown by… a probably another hour tomorrow!

1:00 pm. That costing spreadsheet has no end! I have been turning it upside down and inside out for hours (literally. 3 hours to be precise) and it is still not clear to me that we got it right. Well. I have had enough and I need food, so I pass on my comments to our partners in that project and get a walk (fresh air, sun/rain) and joins in with the rest of the group. When I get back from lunch, I shall get on with that to-do list.

2:00 pm. Time for my first task (the one I had planned for 10am…) My student knocks on the door. Right. Chose promise, chose due! Let’s have a quick chat.

3:30 pm. Quick is relative, I guess. But I have the feeling that it was a good catch up and I had fun sharing with my student. Now for that to-do list. Wait. What!? It’s that time already? Quickly, I have to check that everything is fine in the teaching lab! I am taking that over next month and need to be up to speed. Not a minute to spare. To-do, later!

4:00 pm. I have had a quick look at the setups, but I think I need to clear an afternoon in my schedule next week to check it out… Well. Time for tea.

4:15 pm. Back at my desk. Skype rings. It’s CERN this time. Let’s talk about the status of the work there and what is needed. Feedback from the laser hunt and new ideas flying from all directions. It is super exciting and we are all in there 100%. The 10 minute discussion seem to go slightly overtime, but that’s how it goes when you have fun, right?

6:00 pm. Meeting adjourned. I guess it was closer to 100 minutes… Time dilation or something? Now to task number 1: send e-mails. Well. Too late, I might as well do that tomorrow. My brain is busing anyways from all that chatter and excitement and some numbers float before my eyes, I should try to do something not so brain demanding: my research website! And in 30 minutes, I go home.

8:00 pm. Time flies when you have fun? When you do computer stuff too (programming, blogging, …) This does not mean that you are having fun, just that you get that craving to get it done. Anyways, it’s not perfect yet but it’s online and I’m gone!

8:30 pm. I bumped into a colleague on my way out (yes, I’m not the only one left on my floor, even at 8pm!). He had that new toy just arriving for a demonstration to his class tomorrow. I could not resist and went through it with him! It was quite fun and I am thoroughly exhausted. I have to walk home, and the sun is nowhere to be seen (but the rain surely falls). That’s it. Tomorrow, I tackle that to-do list!