84: An Insider's Look at the SEG Research Committee

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 Mexico City at the Mexican Petroleum Institute in 1987. Later, he was appointed a research associate of engineering seismology at the Center for Seismic Research (1987-1992) and an adjunct professor of exploration seismology at UNAM (1987-1992). Sergio went back to the USA in 1992 to pursue his Ph.D. in exploration seismology at the Seismological Lab of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR, Reno, NV, USA). He obtained his Ph.D. in December 1997 and since January 1998 is a Research Geophysicist at the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP), following technology for IMP and PEMEX. He has also been an adjunct professor of exploration seismology at UNAM (1999-2014; 2016- ) and adjunct professor at the University of Utah, USA (2004-2014). His areas of professional interest are seismic imaging (migration, modeling, tomography, and inversion), data processing and wavefield transformation, interpretation of seismic data for structural, stratigraphic, and reservoir and site characterization targets, and seismic wave propagation. He became an SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) member in 1981 during his undergraduate years in Mexico City, was a candidate for Vice-President in 2007, and currently serves as an associate editor for GEOPHYSICS (Case Histories, Interpretation Methods), reviewer for Interpretation, member of the Global Affairs, Latin America Advisory (past Chair), Research (Chair), and Translations committees (past Chair), and reviewer, and session and workshop organizer during SEG Annual Meetings. Sergio is also a member of AAPG, AGU, AMGE (serving as foreign relations liaison), EAGE (serving as a workshop organizer), GCSSEPM, GSA, and GSH. In addition, he is also a reviewer for the Journal of Applied Geophysics, Geofísica Internacional, and Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics (NPG). 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.