San Antonio Annual Meeting
ends on upbeat note 10 October 2007—San Antonio’s Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center was the nexus of more than 8500 participants and 348 exhibitors in the recent 2007 SEG International Exposition and 77th Annual Meeting. But perhaps the most notable achievement this year was the quantity and quality of student participation.  The 2007 SEG Annual Meeting icebreaker crowd packed the exhibition hall on Sunday, 23 September. (Photo courtesy Barchfeld Photography) SEG’s fourth largest exhibition floor ever extended 440 000 square ft through four halls and a bridge. The convention center was named the “Best Convention Center in the industry” for 2003 and 2004 by Meetings South magazine. New expansions have given the facility 1.3 million square ft of total space. By all accounts, this was a fitting venue for the second largest overall attendance in the last eight years and an SEG membership that reached 26 265 at the end of the fiscal year 2007 and is growing rapidly. The total attendee list represented an amazing 99 countries. Ralph Bridle, Membership Committee chairman, noted the great diversity of attendees in San Antonio, commenting, “now SEG is not just a U.S. Society but is evolving into a truly global society.” His report, “Message for the future: Remember SEG San Antonio,” is available as part of the SEG Annual Meeting news coverage. Presidential Address
Leon Thomsen gave the 23 September Presidential Address, which followed the Honors & Awards program. "SEG leaders have been fiscally cautious in an atmosphere of growth for several years, which has enabled them to make long-range plans for the continued success of the Society," Thomsen said. He described several major new projects designed to help SEG reach more members, even across oceans. New ways of serving SEG members have become necessary because of what Thomsen terms the Great Crew Change—the wider geographic distribution of SEG members. Read more about his address in the article, “Thomsen paints upbeat picture of SEG.” Major gifts announced
The SEG Foundation announced the start of the Major Gifts Campaign, in which initial commitments of US$9.7 million already have been made toward an overall goal of $15 million. The investments, made by many individuals and companies, will benefit SEG’s estimated 7000 student members, the Distinguished Lecturer, Distinguished Instructor, and Regional Lecturer programs, and new projects for SEG Online (www.seg.org). Read the full article, “SEG Foundation launches $15 million campaign.” The San Antonio meeting probably was most successful for the student members. According to the latest available registration statistics, 504 students were registered as delegates to the 2007 Annual Meeting. Jyoti Behura, a Student Member and a scholarship recipient:
“On the flight from Denver to San Antonio, I was eagerly looking forward to attending the technical sessions and was excited about learning the new developments in geophysics. On my return flight after the meeting, however, I was more happy about the major strides made by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists in ensuring a brighter future for its members.” Read Behura’s full comments in the article, “Annual Meeting makes great strides for students.” Student Leadership Symposium
Forty-one students from 16 countries representing 36 universities met on 22–23 September for the first SEG/Chevron Student Leadership Symposium. These students were selected from a pool of applicants as “… the future, and the brightest young geophysical minds in the world today,” according to Gary Servos, SEG Foundation chairman. SEG Online has the full article, “Engaging the Future: SLS 2007.” Nicole Wilson, a Student Member and participant in the Student Leadership Symposium, was impressed by the coming together of undergrad and grad students from around the world and from different areas of geophysics (i.e., energy, global, environmental, mining, volcanology). Students in the SLS also met with professional geophysicists, including SEG elected leaders and staff, to discuss the past, present, and future of the industry and SEG. “I am truly honored and awed to have been chosen to be a part of this group—to have been able to participate uniquely this early in my career,” Wilson said. “I attended the conference last year also and experienced a hint of this joining. However, I was involved as a passive observer, not as an active observer as I have been this year. This year I feel the full jubilation.” Challenge Bowl
The second Challenge Bowl on 24 September pitted winning regional teams against each other for a cash prize. This year’s Challenge Bowl champions, the University of Houston, took home a plaque and the $1000 cash prize ($500 per person). Runners up from the University of Oklahoma received a plaque and a $600 prize ($300 per person). Read the full report, “Houston team wins second SEG Challenge Bowl.” SEG Forum VII
SEG Forum VII on 24 September brought together four distinguished speakers representing petroleum companies, service companies, and governments to discuss the future of unconventional energy sources and the role technology will play. The speakers included Larry Lunardi, vice president of Geophysics of Chesapeake Energy Corporation; Sverre Strandenes, group president, Data Processing and Technology for Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS); J. M. Massett, senior vice president, Exploration and Reservoir in the Total group; and Ray Boswell, manager of research and development programs in natural gas hydrates, U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. The discussion was moderated by Bob Tippee, editor of the Oil and Gas Journal. The message from all four panelists seemed to be this: Unconventional energy sources will almost certainly be part of the mix for the future, and improvements in technology already are making it easier and less expensive to find and use these resources. Read the full article, “SEG Forum VII: Unconventional energy sources and the technology race.” Technical Program
Bob Hardage, chairman of the 2007 Technical Program Committee, reported a 34% jump in attendance at workshops in San Antonio. With 1200 workshop registrations, several of the meeting rooms reached their occupancy limits as established by the fire marshal. More details can be found in Hardage’s report, “Postmortem of the 2007 Technical Program.” Applied Science Program
The Applied Science Program on 26 September led area science teachers and students grades 9–12 on a journey to the center of the Earth with noted professor of Earth and planetary sciences Michael E. Wysession, an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Wysession is perhaps best known for his work in modeling the Earth’s mantle. In February 2007, he and Jesse Lawrence completed a model which points to an area of water saturation beneath the Earth’s crust, an area thought to be impossible for water to exist. Read the full article, “Applied Science program plumbs depths of earthquakes and tsunamis.” | 
