The privileges and opportunities of a research sabbatical

Abstract

As the title may suggest, I am currently undertaking a sabbatical – this time at Pennsylvania State University in the town of State College (Pennsylvania, USA). This sabbatical is the fifth that I have had the privilege to take during my 30-year academic career. The first was in 1994 at Iowa State University in Ames (Iowa, USA), the second at CSIRO in Canberra (Australia), the third at Murdoch University in Perth (Australia) and the fourth at the University of California, Davis in Davis (California, USA). They have all been very different and have without question added to my science, often in ways that I had not anticipated. I am reminded how important sabbaticals can be and take this opportunity to share some thoughts, particularly with my younger colleagues who might have doubts in this regard.