Gordon Pennycook asked how far people have moved in pursuit of their academic careers. I’d never added it up before. I found an online distance calculator, and off I went.
From my high school town of Pincher Creek, Alberta to the University of Lethbridge for my bachelor’s degree: 100 km
From Lethbridge to the University of Victoria for my graduate work: 1,268 km (driving)
From Victoria to Montreal for my first post-doc: 4,732 km (driving)
From Montreal to Melbourne, Australia for my second post-doc: 16,755 km
From Melbourne to Pincher Creek, for a brief period of unemployment: 13,874 km
From Pincher Creek to Edinburg, Texas to start my tenure-track position: 3,476 km
And from Edinburg to an undisclosed location, where I am on leave: 3,090 km
Grand total: 45,295 km! For comparison, the circumference of the Earth is 40,075 km.
You may now judge me on my carbon footprint. I would hate to start adding in the miles for conferences on top of that.
Update, 5 October 2020: Refreshed link to distance calculator.
How about research trips to South Padre Island!
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