Seismic Soundoff

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with David Johnston on reservoir monitoring, the featured special section in July's The Leading Edge. This conversation covers a great deal of valuable information in a short time. David shares why reservoir monitoring is the specialization for generalists, the future and value of carbon sequestration, and why he believes there is another Copernican Revolution coming. He also breaks down reservoir monitoring in an easy-to-understand way by relating it to how we control the temperature in our home. If you are considering specializing in reservoir monitoring, want to learn how to work better with other disciplines, or simply want to hear a great preview of July's the Leading Edge, this episode will meet your goals. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/9081 for the complete show notes and links to this month's special section on reservoir monitoring. BIOGRAPHY David H. Johnston is Managing Director of Differential Seismic, LLC, a geophysics consultancy. Dr. Johnston re

Getting involved in your professional association is the key to unlocking its power. And volunteering is a great way to get started. At SEG, committees serve this vital role of connecting members to the society, as well as to each other. In this conversation with Andrew Geary, Dr. Sergio Chávez-Pérez, Chair of the Research Committee, discusses what the committee does, how to get involved, and how it has impacted Sergio's career. Sergio also discusses why engaging geophysicists outside Houston, Texas is essential for the future of applied geophysics. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/9063 for Sergio's full bio and the link to read May's The Leading Edge highlighting the Committee. BIOGRAPHY Sergio Chávez-Pérez received a B.S. degree in geophysical engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM, Mexico City, MEXICO) in 1984 and an M.S. in exploration geophysics from the University of South Carolina (USC, Columbia, SC, USA) in 1987. He began his work as an exploration seismologist in Mex

On June 5, 2020, Hendratta Ali released the "Call for a Robust Anti-Racism Plan for The Geosciences" petition. In the petition, Dr. Ali and her collaborators outline 15 action steps for societies, organizations, companies, and individuals to take to strive toward anti-racism and equity. In this conversation with Andrew Geary, Dr. Ali discusses how the petition originated, what it means for a professional society to be anti-racist and equitable for all members, her personal experiences of racism in the geosciences, and concrete steps organizations can take to better support Black, Indigenous, Latinx People and other minoritized groups in the geosciences. As of June 19, over 19,000 have signed the petition. Read the petition at https://www.change.org/p/geoscientists-call-for-a-robust-anti-racism-plan-for-the-geosciences. For all the resources Dr. Ali mentions in this conversation, visit https://seg.org/podcast. BIOGRAPHY Hendratta Ali is an Associate Professor in the Geosciences Department at Fort Hays Stat

Seismic Soundoff is excited to welcome back Kurt Marfurt. Kurt joined the podcast for our second-ever episode that still remains one of the most popular episodes. For this conversation, Kurt highlights the present state of education and training in geophysics, including the value and benefits of virtual education. He shares his thoughts on the most important area of focus for geophysicists right now, why there's a need to increase your quantitative and programming skills and offers his one piece of advice to succeed in geophysics. As with our first conversation, this one is not to be missed. Join host Andrew Geary and Kurt Marfurt on "The present and future of training and education." Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/9056 for the complete show notes and links to Kurt's research articles, books, and courses. BIOGRAPHY Kurt J. Marfurt joined The University of Oklahoma in 2007 where he serves as the Frank and Henrietta Schultz Professor of Geophysics within the ConocoPhillips School of Geology and Geophysi

How can couples best navigate dual careers? How do you balance work-life throughout a career? How can dual-career couples benefit companies? Eve Sprunt answers these questions and shows how management and individuals alike can truly activate the power of dual-career couples. This is a wide-ranging conversation that touches on career development, workplace bullying, how professional societies can propel your career in downturns, and much more. This conversation with host Andrew Geary is based on Eve's recent book, A Guide for Dual-Career Couples. Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes and to buy her book. BIOGRAPHY Eve Sprunt is the author of two books that deal with the issues impacting those in dual-career couples. Her first book, A Guide for Dual-Career Couples, is based on extensive research she has done on the topic. She felt compelled to write her second book, Dearest Audrey, An Likely Love Story after she found her aunt’s letters that were written in the mid-1950s. Eve is working o

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Sarah Morton Rupert, lead author on "Time-lapse monitoring of stress-field variations within the Lower Permian shales in Kansas" in May's The Leading Edge. This conversation is a great primer on the value of near-surface geophysics to scientists and the public. Whether building a house, building a bridge, or remediating an old salt mine, Sarah provides a lot of actionable information in this episode. And if you are wondering the best way to get engaged in the Society, Sarah has you covered there as well. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/9027 for the complete show notes and links to this month's special section on near-surface imaging and modeling. BIOGRAPHY Sarah Morton Rupert currently is a Graduate Research Assistant at the Kansas Geological Survey. Her current work focuses on surface wave seismic methods to investigate how surface waves behave and interact with different geologic and engineering structures. The goal of her research is to better observe g

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with biogeophysics pioneer Estella Atekwana. Their conversation highlights Estella's upcoming virtual course called "Biogeophysics: Exploring Earth’s subsurface biosphere using geophysical approaches." Estella explains how geophysical tools helped develop biogeophysics, why microorganisms play such a key role on the Earth, how her research applies to the search for life on other planets and why flexibility is the key to a successful career. Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes and to register for Dr. Atekwana's virtual course. BIOGRAPHY Estella A. Atekwana received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Howard University, Washington DC, and a Ph.D. from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She is currently the Dean of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment at the University of Delaware. Her research uses geophysical methodologies to investigate geologic processes spanning the near to deep subsurface and from the micron t

In this episode, host Andrew Geary showcases Johan Robertsson's upcoming virtual course on generalized sampling and gradiometry. Johan spotlights the importance of mathematician Harry Nyquist to geophysics, explains the increased interest in rotational seismology, what geophysicists can learn from seismic data acquisition on Mars, and shares important advice for anyone seeking to succeed in geophysics. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/9002 for the complete show notes and to register for Dr. Robertsson's virtual course. BIOGRAPHY Johan Robertsson received an M.Sc. from Uppsala University, Sweden, in 1991 and a Ph.D. from Rice University, Houston, Texas, in 1994. He spent 1995 and 1996 as a postdoc at ETH in Zürich, Switzerland. He then joined Schlumberger in 1996, where he spent 15 years in various R&D and management positions in Cambridge (UK), London, and Oslo. In his last assignment with Schlumberger, he was the research director of geophysics and scientific advisor at Schlumberger Cambridge Research. S

In this episode, host Andrew Geary highlights Sid Misra's course on Machine Learning Techniques for Engineering and Characterization. Sid provides a great background on machine learning and the value it brings to geophysics, why the coding language Python is essential (and easy-to-learn), one action you can take today to succeed in the field, and the advantages of virtual courses over in-person events. If you want to understand machine learning better and its impact on geophysics - listen to this episode! Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8995 for the complete show notes. Note: Sid's tour is currently canceled due to COVID-19 coronavirus concerns. Sid and SEG are actively working on a virtual course to take its place. Visit https://seg.org/Education and scroll to the bottom of the page where you can sign up for the latest SEG educational opportunities by email to know when the course is ready! BIOGRAPHY Professor Siddharth Misra is an Associate Professor in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engin

In this episode, host Andrew Geary highlights Sergey Fomel's Distinguished Lecturer tour, "Automating seismic data analysis and interpretation." Sergey and Andrew dive deep into automatic picking, why humans will always be essential to data analysis and interpretation, the value of this lecture for someone not familiar with programming, and one tip to help anyone succeed as a geophysicist. Note: Sergey's tour is currently canceled due to COVID-19 coronavirus concerns. In its place, Sergey is offering two, free virtual lectures. Please learn more and register at https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8979. BIOGRAPHY Sergey Fomel is Wallace E. Pratt Professor of Geophysics at The University of Texas at Austin and the director of the Texas Consortium for Computational Seismology (TCCS). At UT Austin, he is affiliated with the Bureau of Economic Geology, the Department of Geological Sciences, and the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences. Sergey received a Ph.D. in geophysics from Stanford Universit

In this episode, host Andrew Geary highlights David Lumley's article from The Leading Edge in March called "Geophysics and Sustainability." In this timely conversation, David and Andrew discuss the future of geophysics education, areas the SEG could develop to continue to support the science, how climate change might impact the industry, and David's proposal for a new name for SEG. Read David's article at https://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/tle39030158.1. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8963 for the complete show notes. BIOGRAPHY David Lumley is noted for his pioneering work in the area of 4D seismic monitoring. He is currently the Cecil and Ida Green Endowed Chair in Geophysics and the director of Seismic Imaging and Inversion Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). His expertise is wave-theoretic Seismology, especially 3D imaging, 4D time-lapse monitoring, and Inversion estimation of physical properties in the earth. His research involves seismic wavefield data that are (continuously) rec

In this episode, host Andrew Geary previews Dave Monk's upcoming Distinguished Instructor Short Course. His tour and accompanying book are called Survey Design and Seismic Acquisition for Land, Marine, and In-between in Light of New Technology and Techniques. In this engaging conversation, Dave and Andrew discuss why now is a great time to take an in-depth look at survey design, how full-waveform inversion impacts survey design, the research breakthroughs needed for the next evolution of seismic surveys, and one group that may not realize this course is exactly for them. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8946 for the complete show notes. BIOGRAPHY Dave Monk holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Nottingham University in the UK and served as director of geophysics and as a distinguished advisor at Apache Corporation, until his retirement in October 2019. Monk started his career on seismic crews in Nigeria and has subsequently been involved in seismic processing and acquisition in most parts of the world. Throughou

In this insider's look at reservoir characterization for The Leading Edge, host Andrew Geary speaks with Ali Tura, Professor of Geophysics and Director of the Reservoir Characterization Project at Colorado School of Mines. In this conversation, Ali and Andrew discuss the historical importance of this topic, how the techniques and case studies benefit the industry, why multi-disciplinary teams are essential in today's industry, advice for current and future geophysicists, plus a look at the papers that make up this special section. Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes. Subscribers can read the full articles at https://library.seg.org/toc/leedff/39/2 and abstracts are always free. BIOGRAPHY Ali Tura is Professor of Geophysics and Director of Reservoir Characterization Project at Colorado School of Mines. His expertise is in the areas of seismic data processing, seismic analysis, time-lapse seismic, rock physics, fiber optic technology, and data analytics. He is also Chief Scientist at

In this episode, host Andrew Geary and Xinming Wu discuss the present and future on deep learning for seismic interpretation. Xinming and Andrew discuss how deep learning can improve training data sets, the importance of open software packages, the value of understanding seismic interpretation across the workflow, and what would happen if this topic reached its full potential. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8847 for the complete show notes. BIOGRAPHY Xinming Wu serves as a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, where he started the Computational Interpretation Group. Xinming received an engineering degree (2009) in geophysics from Central South University, an M.Sc. (2012) in geophysics from Tongji University, and a Ph.D. (2016) in geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines where he was a member working with Dave Hale at the Center for Wave Phenomena. He received SEG awards for Best Paper in GEOPHYSICS with Dave Hale in 2016, Best Student Poster Paper with Sean Bader and Ser

In this insider's look at The Leading Edge, host Andrew Geary speaks with Laura Chiaramonte, Technical Leader in the Advanced Generation Sector Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Group at the Electric Power Research Institute. Andrew and Laura discuss TLE's January special section on carbon dioxide in the subsurface. In this engaging conversation, Laura and Andrew discuss the importance of this topic for applied geophysics, key takeaways from each paper, and what one mystery she hopes to solve as a geophysicist. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8819 for the complete show notes. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney.

In this special episode, host Andrew Geary brings a longtime SEG member and scribe of the Interpreter Sam column - Don Herron - to the podcast to reflect on his 16 years writing for The Leading Edge. The December 2019 issue published the final Interpreter Sam column. In this back-and-forth conversation, Don shares the original idea for the column, the best feedback he received, the future of interpretation, what he's most proud of with Interpreter Sam, and so much more. This is a must-listen episode for all interpreters and geophysicists! For links to Don's favorite columns - including an interpreter's rendition of A Christmas Carol - visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8769. IS DON HERRON, SAM? One question that didn't come up in our conversation is "am I, Don Herron, Sam?" Of course, I'm the author of the column, but is the Sam character me, and are the stories I told all based on my own first-hand experience? The answer is that a majority of the stories are my own, but sometimes I was a major character an

In this episode, host Andrew Geary previews Lisa Gavin's upcoming Honorary Lecturer tour in the Pacific South on seismic azimuthal anisotropy. Lisa and Andrew discuss the 3 main reasons it's important to be aware of seismic azimuthal anisotropy, why you should account for it in 4-D seismic interpretation, who this lecture is for, and what excites her about the future of this topic. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8762 for the complete show notes and links to her upcoming tour dates. BIOGRAPHY Lisa Gavin is a geophysicist with academic and industry experience in the oil and gas industry. She has worked as a geophysicist at Fugro Seismic Imaging, Chevron, and is currently at Woodside Energy in Perth, Australia. She has interests in seismic anisotropy, quantitative interpretation, 4D seismic, and rock physics and holds a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Western Australia. Credits Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary. Thank you to the SEG

Igor Kvasov, engineering manager at Google, joins host Andrew Geary to discuss his new book, Numerical Modeling of Seismic Responses from Fractured Reservoirs by the Grid-characteristic Method. Igor and Andrew discuss just what is the grid-characteristic method and its advantages, the future of data acquisition and seismic surveys, why numerical modeling should be used more in survey planning, and Igor's challenge to the geoscience community on numerical modeling. Get your copy of Numerical Modeling of Seismic Responses from Fractured Reservoirs by the Grid-characteristic Method today at https://seg.org/shop! Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/8688 for the complete show notes. This episode is proudly sponsored by TGS. BIOGRAPHY Igor Kvasov graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Russia, in 2008 (physics and applied mathematics). Having successfully completed his thesis on numerical simulation of wave processes in heterogeneous solid elastic bodies, Kvasov received his Ph.D. in ph

In this insider's look at The Leading Edge, host Andrew Geary speaks with Kyle Spikes, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss TLE's November special section on borehole geophysics. Kyle and Andrew discuss the business value of borehole geophysics, the wide-ranging and practical methods highlighted by the papers, mitigating challenges presented by borehole geophysics, and more. In this conversation, get the inside look at borehole geophysics and the value this month's special section will bring your work. This episode is sponsored by TGS. Visit https://seg.org/podcast/Post/7657 for the complete show notes. BIOGRAPHY Kyle Spikes is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds the Peter T. Flawn Centennial Chair in Geology. His research interests include the integration of geologic inferences with rock physics and quantitative seismic interpretation. These interests have led

In this compelling episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Edward Townend, Staff Geophysicist at Shell and Associate Editor for The Leading Edge, to discuss TLE's October special section on AVO inversion. Ed and Andrew discuss why new and experienced geophysicists should take an interest in AVO, how data science and machine learning are improving the technique, the future of AVO in the industry, and much more. Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the show notes. Biography Edward Townend is a geoscientist working at the intersection of geology, geophysics, and petrophysics with core expertise in quantitative seismic interpretation (QI). He has over 10 years’ experience as an Explorer in the US GOM, UK North Sea, Norwegian North Sea, West Coast Africa, US Onshore, and Canadian Onshore. He currently works in Production and Development for Shell's ultra-deepwater GOM Paleogene assets and serves as Associate Editor for The Leading Edge. He has an MS in Geology from Imperial College London and a Ph.D. in Rock Physics