#9: Mentoring geoscience leaders

Since episode 72, host Andrew Geary has been asking his guests one question - "What is one piece of advice you would offer someone that would like to succeed in this field?" To celebrate 100 episodes of Seismic Soundoff, Andrew has selected the top 10 responses. In reviewing the responses, common themes repeated throughout. These themes included keeping an open mind and staying flexible. Another common lesson was to continue developing your skills and collaborate with others (especially across disciplines). As 2021 begins, the producers hope the advice offered by these top geoscientists provides clarity and insight for your professional career. Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes. INTERVIEWS (in order of appearance) * Dave Monk * Aria Abubakar * Patricia de Lugão * Anna Shaughnessy * Sid Misra * Kurt Marfurt * Steve Sloan * Estella Atekwana * Rick Miller * Andrea Crook 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, Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney.

30 Dec 202014min

Dr. Lucy MacGregor highlights her 2021 Distinguished Lecturer talk, "Multi-physics analysis: extracting the most from diverse datasets." In this incisive conversation, Lucy shows how combining datasets can compensate for weaknesses in each, how utilizing gravity data improves the seismic image, the biggest obstacle in utilizing datasets, and more. This episode will get you excited to start working with multiple datasets to improve your results. Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes and the link to Lucy's upcoming tour. BIOGRAPHY Dr. Lucy MacGregor is a leading researcher in multi-physics analysis with particular expertise in the integration of electromagnetic methods into reservoir characterization workflows. She served as SEG Honorary Lecturer in Europe in 2011. Lucy has a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge for research in the field of controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) methods and over 25 years’ experience in marine EM surveying and its application to the detection and characterization of fluids in the earth. Following her Ph.D., she was a Green Scholar at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography working on marine electromagnetic methods, before returning to Cambridge as a Leverhulme Trust/Downing College research fellow. In 2000 she moved to the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton as a NERC research fellow to continue her work, and took part in the first survey targeting CSEM at hydrocarbon reservoirs. In 2002, Lucy co-founded OHM and joined the company as CTO. She remained with the company, through its merger with Rock Solid Images, until December 2018, leading the company’s technical group which specialized in rock physics driven quantitative reservoir characterization and multi-physics analysis. Lucy co-founded Edinburgh Geoscience Advisors in 2019. 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, Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney.

17 Dec 202017min

Dr. Saleh A. Al-Dossary highlights his 2020 Honorary Lecturer tour, "Improving reservoir characterization using four innovative seismic technologies." In this intriguing conversation, Saleh explores four new techniques to extract new geologic information from seismic data and to enhance the understanding of geologic features in a reservoir. This episode will inform you of the latest technology with a goal to improve hydrocarbon exploration and data processing. Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes and the link to Saleh's upcoming lecture tour. BIOGRAPHY Saleh A. Al-Dossary began his work at Saudi Aramco in the Dhahran Geophysical Research Group, contributing to edge-preserving and smoothing developments. He now works in the Exploration Application Services Department developing new seismic processing and attributes algorithms. Al-Dossary received his B.S. degree in computer science with a minor in geophysics from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM. He received his M.S. degree from Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, and he received his Ph.D. from the University of Houston, Houston, TX, both in geophysics. Al-Dossary holds seven patents and is an applicant for five additional patents in seismic edge-preserving and detection technology. He is the author and co-author of several articles published by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG). He also published two books titled Seismic Data Interpretation Using Digital Image Processing and Attenuation of Incoherent Seismic Noise. Al-Dossary received the Distinguished Employee Award in Saudi Aramco’s Exploration Application Services Department in 1999, the Outstanding Student Award from the University of Houston in 2003, and the Saudi Aramco Excellence Award in 2015. 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, Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney.

8 Dec 202016min

Andrea Crook, President of OptiSeis Solutions Ltd., joins the podcast to discuss how to take full advantage of online learning and continuing education. Andrea shares the learning resources supporting her professional development, the activities she considers essential for all geophysicists, how her company has adjusted during the pandemic, and the future of geophysical software. This is a helpful conversation on taking full advantage of the online resources and virtual learning widely available to help you start 2021 on your best path. Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes and the links to learning resources. BIOGRAPHY Andrea Crook, President of OptiSeis Solutions Ltd., graduated from the University of Manitoba in 2002 with a B.Sc. in Geophysics. She began her career as a seismic processor at Shell Canada and later moved into the Geophysical Operations group where she designed and implemented 2D, 3D, 4D, and experimental seismic acquisition projects. Building on the knowledge she gained at Shell, in 2008 she joined RPS Boyd PetroSearch and consulted on a variety of seismic programs for both oil and gas and Potash exploration. In 2011, Andrea co-founded OptiSeis Solutions Ltd., a geophysical acquisition software and survey design company focused on developing innovative acquisition solutions for acquiring high-resolution seismic data. In her initial role as Chief Geophysicist at OptiSeis, she was responsible for the acquisition design and sub-surface modeling for both Canadian and international seismic surveys. As President, she currently oversees both seismic acquisition design projects and software development. Andrea Crook is a Professional Geophysicist (P.Geoph.) registered with APEGA and is an active member of the SEG, CSEG, EAGE, and APEGA. She currently teaches seismic acquisition courses for the SEG, the CSEG Doodletrain, and privately upon request. In addition to teaching seismic acquisition, Andrea is an experienced piano teacher registered with the R.C.M. (Royal Conservatory of Music). CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary of 51 features, LLC. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney.

26 Nov 202015min

SEG President-Elect Anna Shaughnessy joins the podcast to highlight her 2020 Honorary Lecturer tour, "Developing a successful career in geophysics today." In this timely discussion, Anna shares her insights on navigating your career in a transitional industry, how to stay relevant no matter your discipline, actions to take to set up for a successful career, and offers the key to choosing your career field. It doesn't matter if you are a student, early career, or experiencing a career transition, Anna's valuable perspective will offer support and guidance for your professional path. Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes and the link to Anna's upcoming lecture tour. BIOGRAPHY Anna Shaughnessy received her undergraduate from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and her MSc. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her industry career started as a geophysical interpreter and quickly moved to management of technical teams within the energy industry. She has held leadership roles in exploration and advanced technology at Mobil, Saudi Aramco, Texaco, and Kerr-McGee. After 30 years in the energy industry, she transitioned to the academic sector. In 2011, she became the executive director of MIT’s Earth Resources Laboratory (ERL). She retired from ERL in 2018 and is currently a consultant. Shaughnessy and her husband, Dan, are both geophysicists and have lived and worked in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Scandinavia. They successfully managed six relocations with employment opportunities for both in each new location. Currently, Shaughnessy is the vice-chair of the SEG Foundation Board (SEGF). The SEGF supports many of the SEG student programs and actively raises funds for existing and future programs. She also has served on many SEG teams including as secretary/treasurer for the Executive committee and on the Women’s Network Committee. In 2019, Shaughnessy acted as interim executive director for SEG for three months while SEG was searching for a new leader. Mentoring young scientists have been a life-long passion for Shaughnessy. She thrives on sharing her enthusiasm for science and technology and guiding others in directions that suit their particular talents and interests. Her wide work experience has offered her a great appreciation of geophysics’ role during the past 40 years. Her unique background and experience provide her with unusual insights into the role of applied geophysics in industry, academia, and society today and in years to come. CREDITS Original music by Zach Bridges. This episode was hosted, edited, and produced by Andrew Geary. Thank you to the SEG podcast team: Ted Bakamjian, Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney.

19 Nov 202018min

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Ariel Lellouch and Tieyuan Zhu on distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), the featured special section in November's The Leading Edge. Ariel and Tieyuan highlight new developments in algorithms impacting microseismic, new findings for hydraulic fracturing, and discuss their disagreement for the current rate the geophysics industry is adopting and utilizing DAS. This is an exciting conversation on technology that has a wide range of applications for geophysics. Hear the latest in research in 20 minutes! Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes and links to this month's special section on smart city geophysics. BIOGRAPHIES Ariel Lellouch is a research geoscientist and post-doc at Stanford Exploration Project. He is passionate about seismic wave propagation, and more importantly, what we can infer from these waves regarding subsurface properties. Currently, he's working on applications of DAS data to all sorts of geophysical problems: properties of guided waves, earthquake seismology, microseismic monitoring, and more. Tieyuan Zhu obtained a Bachelor's degree from China University of Geosciences (2005) and an M.S. degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2008) and a Ph.D. degree in Geophysics from Stanford University (2014). His main research interests are in seismic attenuation, true-amplitude seismic imaging and inversion, time-reversal theory, and carbon dioxide monitoring. He is a recipient of a Jackson Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship (2014-2016) from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a recipient of the award of Best Paper Presented by a student at the SEG 2013 and the J. Clarence Karcher Award from SEG 2018. 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, Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney.

12 Nov 202021min

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Mehdi Aharchaou on machine learning and AI, the featured special section in October's The Leading Edge. Mehdi shares his expertise in machine learning as we explore the potential and limitations of this cutting edge research. Mehdi highlights how these papers can improve the industry and why he views explainable AI and machine learning as the key to the future. He also explains why he believes the industry needs to do more to adopt and adjust to the digital revolution. This conversation covers important ground essential for all geophysicists and businesses - do not miss it! Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes and links to this month's special section on smart city geophysics. BIOGRAPHY Mehdi Aharchaou is a research geophysicist at ExxonMobil. During his 7 years with the company, he has worked on various cutting-edge signal processing and inversion technologies, on topics such as deghosting, noise suppression, Q compensation, source designature, trace interpolation, sparse Radon and multiple attenuation; and he has presented on some of these topics at the SEG. Prior to joining the oil and gas industry, he graduated from Georgia Tech, Rice University and INP-ENSEEIHT (Toulouse, France) with three Masters degrees in Geophysics and Electrical Engineering, and he worked on multiple real-world problems in oceanography, borehole geophysics, in addition to earthquake and exploration seismology. His interests lie in the processing, imaging, and inversion of geophysical data. Recently, his interests evolved towards the integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence to automate the geophysical exploration workflow. 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, Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney.

29 Okt 202029min

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with author Vladimir Grechka on his latest book, Anisotropy and Microseismics: Theory and Practice. Vladimir highlights why anisotropy and microseismics are a great pairing, how the shift from P-waves to shear waves changed the industry, and reflects on what we will find in seismology books in the next decade. Each chapter of the book starts with a question, followed by what's exciting about it, where the mystery might lie, and what could be the potential value of answering the question. Vladimir shares what question he was most excited to explore and what has yet to be fully answered. This is a conversation not to miss! Visit https://seg.org/podcast for the complete show notes. BIOGRAPHY Vladimir Grechka received an MSc degree (1984) in geophysical exploration from Novosibirsk State University, Russia, and a Ph.D. (1990) in geophysics from the Institute of Geophysics, Novosibirsk, Russia. He worked in the same institute from 1984 to 1994 as a research scientist. He was a graduate student at the University of Texas at Dallas from 1994 to 1995. Then, Vladimir joined the department of Geophysics at Colorado School of Mines, where he was an associate research professor and a co-leader of the Center for Wave Phenomena. From 2001 to 2012, Vladimir was a senior staff geophysicist at Shell, and from 2012 to 2019 a senior technical consultant at Marathon Oil. Since 2019, Vladimir has been a senior adviser at Borehole Seismic, focusing on novel uses of microseismic and VSP for reservoir characterization. He received the East European Award from the European Geophysical Society (1992), the J. Clarence Karcher Award (1997) from SEG, Honorable Recognition Award from EAGE (2010), and the Best Paper in The Leading Edge Award (2013) from SEG. Vladimir teaches courses on seismic anisotropy for SEG and EAGE. BOOK ABSTRACT Downhole microseismic monitoring of stimulation and production of unconventional reservoirs has resulted in renewed industry interest in seismic anisotropy. This occurred not only because anisotropy of hydrocarbon-bearing shales is among the strongest in rocks but also because of downhole microseismics shifts the focus from the standard exploration of P-waves to shear waves. The consequences of the difference in wave type are profound for geophysicists because everyone involved – from theoreticians to developers and users of microseismic data-processing software – must be aware of shear-wave splitting, singularities, and multivalued wavefronts, which have been largely irrelevant for P-waves propagating in relatively simple geologic settings. Anisotropy and Microseismics leads readers on a path of discovery of rarely examined wave phenomena and their possible usage. Most of the chapters begin by formulating a question, followed by explanations of what is exciting about it, where the mystery might lie, and what could be the potential value of answering the question. Importantly, the findings entail useful applications, as showcased by the unmistakably practical flavor of the chapters on microseismic event location, moment tensor inversion, and imaging. As an investigation of microseismic methodologies and techniques is conducted, it often yields unexpected results. 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, Jennifer Crockett, Ally McGinnis, and Mick Swiney.

22 Okt 202028min