IDENTIFICATION is taken to the next level when David Gopurenko discusses the NSW Department of Primary Industries DNA bar-code facility.
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Dr Gopurenko works within the team of NSW Biosecurity and Food Research which is at the Wagga Agricultural Institute. He takes The Rural through a typical day in what is a complex role.
6.30am: “I wake up and very slowly emerge into the morning before enjoying my wife's freshly brewed full-strength coffee, a quick yoga stretch to remind me how unfit I am, and the usual shenanigans trying to find my glasses and getting ready for work in time,” Dr Gopurenko said.
8.30 to 10am: He arrives at work and immediately checks the diary and calendar for events. Then it’s time to check the email with a quick search for any requests for urgent or immediate actions and supervisor notices.
10am to 12.30: This time slot offers an opportunity to squeeze in a quick cup of decaf before concentrating on priority projects, research needs, including data analyses, report and publication writing.
12.30 to 1pm: A brisk walk to Charles Sturt University for lunch and another decaf…and if time (permits) a read of relevant articles in scientific journals.
1pm to 3pm: Dr Gopurenko resumes work on research project obligations, with focus on data handling, analyses and reporting.
It is an exciting time with enormous potential for researching pest issues.
- David Gopurenko
3pm to 5pm: …more decaf followed by preparations for new funding opportunities prospects, review results of any new laboratory results. “It’s also a chance for face to face meetings with collaborators,” he said. Finally he prepares a point list of proritised tasks for the next day.
5pm: In the car, and on the way home, he puts a bluegrass or Bach CD on.
5.30pm “I play some cool tunes on my vintage mandolins, walk around the block, have supper with my darling wife before contemplating the mess we just made,” he said. The early evening is also time for work in the garden.
8pm to midnight: Dr Gopurenko avoids the television and reads about Joyce or gravitational physics and later plays more tunes on the mandolin with some of the local folk musos.
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