#9: Mentoring geoscience leaders

SEG President Anna Shaughnessy discusses the major challenges and decisions facing the SEG and the geosciences in the years ahead. In this episode, Anna discusses the recently formed Strategic Options Task Force addressing possible collaboration with other societies. She also highlights the new JEDI Committee (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee), offers words of wisdom to young geoscientists, and showcases the Geophysical Sustainability Atlas and the upcoming Geoscience Sustainability Atlas. Anna also shares what it means to represent SEG in this role and offers what she thinks is the most important question facing SEG. This conversation offers an important look into the meaningful events impacting the SEG and the greater industry. RELATED LINKS * Contact the Strategic Options Task Force at sotaskforce@seg.org * Read Anna Shaughnessy's article in The Leading Edge (https://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/tle40110790.1) * Listen to the episode on the Geophysical Sustainability Atlas (https://seg.org/podcast/Post/11307/) * Listen to the episode with Hendratta Ali on a geosciences' anti-racism plan (https://seg.org/podcast/Post/9062) BIOGRAPHY Anna Shaughnessy joined in 1980 and has advanced to become a seasoned volunteer leader, driving positive progress within the Society. Previously, she was vice-chair of the SEG Foundation, secretary and treasurer of SEG's Executive Committee, chair of the Finance Committee, founding member of the Women's Network Committee, and member of the Distinguished Lecture, SEG Global Inc., and SEG/SEAM Audit committees. In 2019, Shaughnessy was asked by the SEG Board to step in and serve as an interim executive director while SEG was searching for a new executive director, allowing for continuity and a smooth transition. Shaughnessy received her BS from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and MS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her professional career has shaped her into a well-rounded leader by merging managerial and corporate practices with an academic in-depth experience. In summary, Shaughnessy has led complex projects and multicultural teams around the world for Mobil Oil, Saudi Aramco, Texaco, and Kerr-McGee. She has held positions as manager of reservoir characterization, geostatistics, new ventures, and international exploration, to name a few. Her academic insights were developed during her six years as executive director of the Earth Resources Laboratory at her alma mater, MIT. Her combined experience of working in industry and academia has given her a unique perspective regarding key drivers, enablers, and challenges in applied geophysics. SPONSOR This episode is brought to you by CGG. When you’ve been a part of the geoscience community for over 90 years, you learn a few things - including the importance of sharing ideas and experiences. CGG is proud to support the SEG and our industry as we apply our geoscience and data science expertise to natural resource, energy transition, infrastructure, and environmental challenges. As the world’s energy needs continue to evolve and grow, and we face new challenges, CGG will help you see things differently. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary at 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis. You can follow the podcast to hear the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

18 Nov 202123min

Mark Zoback discusses his Honorary Lecture, "Geomechanical Issues Affecting Long-Term Storage of CO2." In this episode, Mark highlights how oil and gas companies are best positioned to address the needs for large-scale carbon storage. He discusses the role of depleted oil and gas reservoirs for CO2 storage, as well as the geomechanical issues that have to be considered. Mark also shares what is most essential to unlocking long-term CO2 storage and how government officials and companies can work together. This is a timely conversation that addresses real-world needs with the geophysical knowledge to solve problems. Visit https://seg.org/podcast to find the link to listen to Mark's lecture. BIOGRAPHY Mark D. Zoback is the Benjamin M. Page Professor of Geophysics at Stanford University, Director of the Stanford Natural Gas Initiative, and Co-Director of the Stanford Center for Induced and Triggered Seismicity, and the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage. Zoback conducts research on in situ stress, fault mechanics, and reservoir geomechanics with an emphasis on shale gas, tight gas, and tight oil production as well as CO2 sequestration. He is the author of two textbooks and the author/co-author of approximately 400 technical papers. Zoback has received a number of awards and honors, including election to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2011 and the Robert R. Berg Outstanding Research Award of the AAPG in 2015. He was the 2020 chair of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Technical Committee on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage. SPONSOR This episode is brought to you by CGG. Question: What is key to safe, long-term CO2 storage? Answer: A good understanding of subsurface site integrity. Making more-informed decisions while developing your sub-surface storage calls for the kind of integrated geoscience expertise CGG can provide. Our multi-discipline approach delivers assessments of containment risks such a cap rock failure, fault reactivation and surface deformation. Our coupled reservoir, geomechanics and fracturing simulations can incorporate thermal effects and a full range of non-linear material models to ensure a rigorous assessment of injection and storage risks. With CGG, gain greater insight for your carbon and energy storage projects with our unique range of geoscience expertise that helps you see things differently. Visit https://www.cgg.com/ to learn more. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary at 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis. You can follow the podcast to hear the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

11 Nov 202130min

Vemund Thorkildsen discusses his paper, "Revisiting holistic migration," published in October's The Leading Edge. In this episode, Vemund discusses questioning the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem, mining gaps in past research, and examining the applicability of holistic migration to seismic field data. He also shares how he connected with Enders Robinson to serve as co-author on the paper. Vemund Thorkildsen is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Oslo studying passive and active electromagnetics in the Barents Sea. Visit https://seg.org/podcast to find the link to Vemund's article, as well as the rest of the special section on quantitative interpretation in October's The Leading Edge. RELATED LINKS * Vemund S. Thorkildsen, Leiv-J. Gelius, and Enders A. Robinson, (2021), "Revisiting holistic migration," The Leading Edge 40: 768–777. (https://doi.org/10.1190/tle40100768.1) * Read the special section: Quantitative interpretation (https://library.seg.org/toc/leedff/40/10) SPONSOR This episode is brought to you by CGG. At CGG, we have a positive outlook for the future - an optimism that drives us to constantly push the boundaries of what’s possible. Blending new thinking and advanced technologies, we help you understand and solve the world’s most complex natural resource, environmental and infrastructure challenges. Let CGG help you to see things differently. Visit https://www.cgg.com/ to learn more. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary at 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis. You can follow the podcast to hear the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

4 Nov 202113min

Michael Burianyk discusses his new book, Understanding Amplitudes: Basic seismic analysis for rock properties. In the book, methods and techniques used to estimate rock properties from seismic data, based on an understanding of the elastic properties of materials and rocks and how seismic reflection amplitudes change, are described. Using AVO and other techniques, we can characterize rocks and the reservoirs inside them with a degree of qualitative, and even quantitative, detail. In this episode, Michael explains why Newton's ideas still matter despite Einstein, how to approach machine learning with healthy skepticism, why real data can be a hindrance to learning, and why he took the time to discover who was R. Hill. This is a conversation that scientists of all experiences will benefit from and learn. Visit https://seg.org/podcast to find links to Michael's books and past podcasts. RELATED LINKS * Check out the book, Understanding Amplitudes (https://seg.org/shop/products/detail/351710806) * Listen to Michael's podcast on Understanding Signals (https://seg.org/podcast/Post/7301) * Check out his first book, Understanding Signals (https://seg.org/shop/products/detail/114405237) BIOGRAPHY Michael Burianyk was born and raised on the Canadian Prairies. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a BSc in physics and geophysics, and later received from the same institution an MSc in geological sciences, writing his thesis on seismic data he helped collect on an Arctic ice station. Next, he earned a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Alberta, studying the crust and lithosphere of western Canada, planning and participating in several LITHOPROBE field programs. After spending time in academic research, he moved to the petroleum industry where he gained expertise in amplitude vs. offset methods, seismic inversion, rock physics, and seismic petrophysics with Core Labs and later Shell Canada. He lived in The Netherlands for a decade, working with Shell’s R&D group in gravity and magnetics and later in their software development division as a geoscience subject matter expert directing the development of software applications and creating associated workflows for gravity and magnetics, EM, QI seismic, seismic balancing, surface gridding, and geodetics. Currently, he lives in France, creating geophysical educational material and pursuing other writing projects. SPONSOR This episode is brought to you by TGS. TGS offers a wide range of energy data and insights to meet the industry where it’s at and where it’s headed. TGS provides scientific data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. In addition to a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, TGS offers specialized services such as advanced processing and analytics alongside cloud-based data applications and solutions. Visit https://www.tgs.com/ to learn more. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary at 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis. You can follow the podcast to hear the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

19 Okt 202118min

Henning Hoeber discusses a new tool for rock physics in his recent paper published in September's The Leading Edge. In this episode, Henning explains the theory of omitted variable bias (OVB) and its connection to rock physics, why OVB hasn't appeared before in the geoscience literature, how OVB helps geophysicists understand biases in models, the real-world implications for improving a bias model, and how he will apply OVB to his future research. Visit https://seg.org/podcast to find links to Henning's article, as well as the rest of the special section for September's The Leading Edge. RELATED LINKS * Henning Hoeber, (2021), "Model misspecification and bias in the least-squares algorithm: Implications for linearized isotropic AVO," The Leading Edge 40: 646–654. (https://doi.org/10.1190/tle40090646.1) * Agnibha Das and Madhumita Sengupta, (2021), "Introduction to this special section: Rock physics," The Leading Edge 40: 644–644. (https://doi.org/10.1190/tle40090644.1) * Read the special section: Rock physics (https://library.seg.org/toc/leedff/40/9) BIOGRAPHY Henning Hoeber is Research Principal at CGG and Visiting Professor at Heriot-Watt University. He has over 20 years of experience in seismic imaging, i.e. time-lapse and reservoir physics. He works with Ph.D. students as a Visiting Professor at Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh. He is the co-author of Compendium of Theoretical Physics (Springer) and 3 SEG reprint volumes on elastic wave theory and diffraction imaging. SPONSOR This episode is brought to you by TGS. TGS offers a wide range of energy data and insights to meet the industry where it’s at and where it’s headed. TGS provides scientific data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. In addition to a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, TGS offers specialized services such as advanced processing and analytics alongside cloud-based data applications and solutions. Visit https://www.tgs.com/ to learn more. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary at 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis. You can follow the podcast to hear the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

14 Okt 202120min

Bill Harbert highlights his SEG course, "Petrophysics and Geophysics Relevant to CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery." In this forward-looking conversation, Bill shares why it's the right time to discuss enhanced oil recovery (EOR), the geophysical method that will have the greatest impact on EOR, one of the biggest pitfalls when geophysical methods are applied to CO2 monitoring and EOR, and what will happen when CO2 enhanced oil recovery reaches its full potential. Visit https://seg.org/podcast to find links to sign up for Bill's course. BIOGRAPHY Dr. William Harbert received his MS in Exploration Geophysics and Ph.D. in Geophysics from Stanford University. He is a lifetime member of SEG, a registered professional petroleum geophysicist, and a member of AAPG and SPE. He has been a DOE ORISE Research Associate and a Resident Institute Fellow of the NETL-Institute for Advanced Energy Solution (IAES). He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the In Salah CO2 Injection Project facilitated by British Petroleum and is presently on the Altarock Review Board, which focuses on an enhanced geothermal power project funded by the United States Department of Energy. SPONSOR This episode is brought to you by TGS. TGS offers a wide range of energy data and insights to meet the industry where it’s at and where it’s headed. TGS provides scientific data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. In addition to a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, TGS offers specialized services such as advanced processing and analytics alongside cloud-based data applications and solutions. Visit https://www.tgs.com/ to learn more. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary at 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis. You can follow the podcast to hear the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

7 Okt 202124min

Myrto Papadopoulou and Farbod Khosro Anjom spotlight the recent advances in surface-wave tomography for near-surface applications from August's The Leading Edge. In this episode, Myrto and Farbod discuss why surface-wave tomography has not been applied regularly to near-surface applications, highlight more efficient models they developed, explain how automatic data screening allowed for their breakthroughs, and imagine what future advances in surface-wave tomography will occur. Myrto and Farbod are both postdoc researchers at the Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering at Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy. Visit https://seg.org/podcast to find links to Myrto and Farbod's article, as well as the rest of the special section for August's The Leading Edge. SPONSOR This episode is brought to you by TGS. TGS offers a wide range of energy data and insights to meet the industry where it’s at and where it’s headed. TGS provides scientific data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. In addition to a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, TGS offers specialized services such as advanced processing and analytics alongside cloud-based data applications and solutions. Visit https://www.tgs.com/ to learn more. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary at 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis. You can follow the podcast to hear the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

16 Sep 202116min

Jack Dvorkin highlights his upcoming Honorary Lecture, "Modern Rock Physics – Challenges and Solutions." Jack explains why some scientists have embraced unnecessary complexity, the best way to generate new scientific questions, the first step to embrace simplicity, and possible consequences if rock physics continues to trend towards complexity. Visit https://seg.org/podcast to find links to all the episodes mentioned in this conversation. BIOGRAPHY Jack Dvorkin is the program leader of the Rock Science Program at the College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He earned his Ph.D. in Continuum Mechanics from Moscow State University in the USSR. Between 1989 and 2017, Jack worked at the Stanford Rock Physics Program. He has developed many of the rock physics theoretical models currently in use. Jack is an SEG Honorary Member and has published more than 170 technical papers, 5 books, and 9 U.S. patents. He has supervised more than 30 Ph.D. and MS students. Jack’s current interests are in experimental and theoretical rock physics; wireline data analysis for predictive analytical models; seismic data interpretation for physical properties of the subsurface; and digital rock physics. SPONSOR This episode is brought to you by TGS. TGS offers a wide range of energy data and insights to meet the industry where it’s at and where it’s headed. TGS provides scientific data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. In addition to a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, TGS offers specialized services such as advanced processing and analytics alongside cloud-based data applications and solutions. Visit https://www.tgs.com/ to learn more. INTERVIEWEE NOTE Disclaimer: All opinions voiced here are strictly personal and do not reflect those of the author’s current employer, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, or those of SEG. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary at 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis. You can follow the podcast to hear the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

9 Sep 202122min