For the past eight years or so, I've been using my expeditions as teaching tools, exposing students to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). I've also tried to use my expeditions creatively to improve fitness and encourage young people to live healthy and active lifestyles. For example, in my last underwater habitat project I attempted a Guinness World Records for the most electricity generated by pedalling underwater! Another good example is Mission X’s ‘train like an astronaut’ program.

People often ask me I how prepare for living underwater. It can be quite physically and mentally demanding at times, especially when you're alone in a relatively small and isolated space. My last habitat had a floor space of just 4m2 which included a bike, bed, toilet and kitchen!

I find the best way to prepare myself is by training for and running marathons and ultramarathons. Going for a run every day or so keeps the grumpy grumps away and allows me to focus on the task ahead. I'm a very visual person so I spend a lot of my time when out on training runs just visualising how things will work and imagining the end product. Marathons and Ultras give me the chance to push the bounds of my capabilities. The best part though is that many of my best friends, my wife, our son, Oliver, and our dog, Biskotouli, all love running so I'm never short on great company and motivation :)

The past couple of weeks have been exciting to say the least! I’ll start with the news that I have been selected for the Ocean Exploration Trust’s STEAM Communication Fellowship (SCF) Program. As an informal educator, I’ll be immersed in the Nautilus Corps of Exploration and empowered to bring ocean exploration – specifically in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) – to a global audience via the Nautilus Live website. Fellows share accounts of ocean science, expedition operations and daily life with audiences through live audio commentary and question-and-answer sessions from aboard the ship.

Through participation in live interactions with student groups and public audiences, Fellows also engage people of all ages in real-time exploration. STEAM Communication Fellows then bring their expedition experience back to their own classrooms, organisations and communities in the form of engaging lesson plans and activities centred around their time at sea aboard Nautilus and other vessels.

What makes this opportunity even cooler is that as a teenager my dad gave me a book called Explorations: A Life of Underwater Adventure authored by Dr. Robert Ballard. I couldn’t put it down! I have followed his ground breaking work with The JASON Project ever since and have tried to emulate his Education through Exploration model with my own projects. Dr. Ballard (best known for his 1985 discovery of the RMS Titanic) founded the Ocean Exploration Trust in 2008 and acquired his present ship of exploration, EV Nautilus, which began a voyage around the world in 2013. I’m thrilled to be a part of the journey!

Next up I flew to Brisbane to attend the Australian Science Communicators National Conference. But before that, I took a boat out to Tangalooma Island Resort to meet with the Resort Director Trevor Hassard. We discussed the idea of placing my new underwater habitat adjacent to the Tangalooma Wrecks and linking in with their Eco Marines program. The location seems to be a very promising one so stay tuned for more about that later.

Back in Brisbane I did two live interviews at the ABC studio in South Bank (RN Drive and 612 ABC Brisbane) before delivering my ASC14 keynote presentation. I got some great feedback via Twitter and a very warm reception and am now busy following up on leads. I have a meeting with the Australian National Maritime Museum this Wednesday about possible collaborations so fingers crossed the momentum continues in such a positive way :)

Seven years ago, I was preparing to live underwater for the 1st time. It was a dream of mine to live underwater, and something that I never gave up on thanks to my Dad's support. He always encouraged me to take risks, be creative and stand out from the crowd. He was the eternal optimist and never gave up on anything or anyone.

While I was living underwater, my dad was undergoing chemotherapy for brain cancer. He was sick and weak, but came to visit me every day without fail and did his best to utter words of encouragement through the intercom. It brought tears to my eyes every time he came to visit, but I knew I was making him proud and that is what kept me going. He even managed to row out in a canoe with his good friend Des Walters to welcome me back to dry land. We embraced each other in a way that I will never forget. It was as if time slowed down. I wanted it to last forever.

In a way it has though. I am about to undertake my biggest and boldest challenge yet. Whenever the task ahead starts to overwhelm me, I remember my dad's story about the mouse eating the elephant (one bite at a time). I also remember him scratching my back every night when I was a little boy and asking me what I wanted to do when I was older. He would always finish with, "If you dream it, you can do it"!

Dad managed to make it to the Australian Geographic Society annual awards night in Sydney when I was named the Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year. This was one of the best moments of my life and I was so grateful to be able to share it with him. He hung on while I flew to Greece to run the Athens Classic Marathon, my first marathon. I called him afterwards to tell him I had finished and then flew straight home to be by his side and show him my medal. He had introduced me to the sport and it was another proud father - son moment.

Dad passed away just a couple of weeks later while my wife, mum, brother, sister and uncle sat there holding his hands. Thank you dad for everything you gave us. I will do my best to keep on living a life less ordinary, taking risks, pushing boundaries, encouraging creativity and making people smile :)