Steve Hill

Steve Hill has a long record of SEG contributions. He authors the Geophysics Bright Spots column in TLE, is the Special Editor on the TLE Editorial Board, an Associate Editor of GEOPHYSICS, and serves as editor of SEG’s Geophysical Developments Series. He chairs the Publications Policy Committee and is a member of the Strategic Finance Committee and Governance Review Committee. Steve is also an instructor in SEG’s Continuing Education program. Steve was SEG’s Secretary-Treasurer in 2003-04, and in that role is proud that his white paper, coauthored with Brian Spies, became SEG’s three-tiered dues structure. Steve served on the SEG Finance and Audit Committee, as chair of SEG’s Ad Hoc Election Procedures Committee, as chair of the Tellers Committee, as Section Representative to the Council, on the Seismic Interpretation Pitfalls Subcommittee, and as publicity chair for an SEG Midwestern Exploration meeting in Tulsa. In 2000, SEG honored Steve with its Special Commendation Award.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics (Iowa State University) and a doctorate in physics and astrophysics (University of Colorado), Steve became a tenured faculty member at Michigan State University. In 1976, he received the MSU Teacher-Scholar Award for his public service, teaching, and programming work in telescope automation. Steve was a member of Conoco geophysics organizations from 1978 until 2002—as a processing geophysicist, manager of Conoco Seismic Processing, an interpreter of Oklahoma and Gulf of Mexico seismic data, and technology consultant for Conoco management. Steve is currently an active adjunct associate professor at Colorado School of Mines.

Position statement

SEG fulfills its mission of promoting subsurface geophysics under the dual constraints of funding and members’ time. In fulfilling its mission, our Society becomes the center for our profession through its electronic and paper publications, meetings, forums, lectures, and scholarships. Our active members give it strength in a myriad of dimensions through unselfish contributions of time, energy, and thoughts. A key to our continued progress is capitalizing on the potential contributions of all members in a geography-blind fashion by aligning their passion with our collective needs. A second key is the continued flattening of our geophysical world, with worldwide participation contributing to SEG’s continued success. I applaud the previous officers’ efforts in increasing the breadth of the organization through the appropriate application of geophysics for the betterment of humanity by encouraging a broad, international footprint, and in their work in augmenting SEG’s traditional funding sources.

If you are not already actively contributing to SEG, I encourage you to start. You and SEG will benefit in all dimensions. We receive from SEG that which we collectively contribute.

I will be delighted to serve you as a member of your Executive Committee.

Panos G. Kelamis

Panos Kelamis obtained a BSc (Honors) in physics from the University of Athens, Greece (1977), an MSc and DIC in geophysics from the Imperial College of the University of London (1978), and a PhD in geophysics from the University of Alberta (1982). He worked with the Research and Development group of Western Geophysical in Houston and for Dome Petroleum in Calgary before joining Saudi Aramco in Dhahran. He has held various technical and management positions in Geophysical Research, Processing, and Technical Services. Currently, he is the chief technologist for Geophysics at the EXPEC Advanced Research Center of Saudi Aramco.

A 30-year member of SEG, Panos has served the Society in several capacities, including Geophysics Associate Editor, representative of the Africa and Middle East region, 75th Anniversary Distinguished Lecturer, and Vice President. He was and continues to be instrumental in the Society’s efforts to become global. To this end, he has organized and cochaired several technical meetings and workshops worldwide (First Balkan Geophysical Conference in Athens in 1995; 2001 SEG workshop in San Antonio; 2003 SEG/EAGE summer workshop in Trieste; and 2005 SEG Land Seismic Forum in Bahrain). Panos is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Seismic Exploration, the Journal of Geophysics and Engineering, and the Journal of the Chinese Geophysical Society. He received the Best Paper Award for the CSEG’s 1982 meeting and Honorable Mention for Best Paper at SEG meetings in 1990, 1995, and 1999.

Position statement

In today’s unprecedented times of increasing energy demand, the role of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists is crucial. Not only are geophysicists expected to work toward increasing the world’s hydrocarbons reserves, but to balance their efforts with profitable economics and the protection of the environment. During these times, SEG must focus on the following strategic actions: 

• Promote and disseminate the science of geophysics via the Web, publications, conferences, and workshops worldwide
• Build on the Society’s strong North American traditions while continuing globalization efforts
• Seek the active involvement and feedback from all members regardless of geographical location
• Develop strategic collaborations with affiliated societies (AAPG, EAGE, SPE) and champion multidisciplinary programs while maintaining SEG’s unique identity
• Strengthen the relationship between industry and academia, create new business paradigms for technological innovation, and attract new students to our profession
• Enhance public awareness of geophysics and its vital role in today’s world

I am honored to be nominated as President of our society. I believe that my international, diverse background and experience will be valuable assets for an even stronger and more successful global SEG, ready to face the exciting challenges that lie ahead.

Bob Hardage

Bob Hardage holds a PhD degree in physics from Oklahoma State University. He worked 23 years at Phillips Petroleum Company, three years at WesternAtlas, and is now at the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. His 42-year career has been a combination of industry research, executive management, and academic research. He has written three books, authored many technical papers, and taught numerous short courses and workshops at a wide range of international venues.

Bob has performed several duties for SEG, including serving as Associate Editor and Editor of GEOPHYSICS, chairman of the Technical Program Committee for the Annual Meeting (twice), chairman of the D&P Forum, and CE instructor.

Position statement

I have viewed the geophysical industry from three employment perspectives in my career: major oil company, major service contractor, and major university. These three diverse working environments have broadened my perspective of the issues that are important to SEG and to our profession. I believe in and will support:

• Steady, but controlled, expansion of SEG membership and services across international venues 
• Focusing on improved demographics within the SEG membership, with attention given to attracting students to geoscience and to reducing the costs of retiree participation in SEG activities
• Exploring options by which SEG can benefit society by promoting and supporting education and technology efforts that lead to alternate sources of energy (particularly unconventional gas) and to reduction of adverse environmental conditions (with particular attention given to CO² sequestration)

Rebecca B. Latimer

Rebecca Latimer has been an SEG member since 1980. She received a BS in earth science and mathematics from Framingham State College in Massachusetts (1974) and an MS in geology and geophysics from Boston College (1980). Rebecca began her career in the oil industry in 1980 and has held various positions with different companies during the past 28 years. Rebecca has worked with Amoco (New Orleans and Houston) and Enterprise Oil (Stavanger, Norway) as a geophysical interpreter and seismic sequence stratigrapher. After leaving Amoco in 1995, she worked for five years as an inversion specialist and chief geoscientist for Jason Geosystems in Houston. In 2000, she joined Texaco’s Upstream Technology Group working in inversion and geostatistics. After the Chevron-Texaco merger, she became the team leader for stratigraphy and geostatistics services for Chevron’s Energy Technology Company. She currently serves as manager of Business Development, assisting in identifying and developing new opportunities for the company.

Rebecca’s interests include the integration of seismic data, inversion, rock properties and well data, combined with quantification of the uncertainty inherent in interpretation of these data. Rebecca has authored numerous papers on this topic and has utilized these techniques successfully in exploration and development. Rebecca has served as a joint AAPG/SEG Distinguished Lecturer, on the Editorial Board of The Leading Edge, and as coordinator of TLE’s “Interpreter’s Corner.” She currently serves as chairman of the TLE Editorial Board and also volunteers as an editor for the Chinese Applied Geophysics Journal.

Position statement

Having worked for SEG on The Leading Edge Editorial Board for nearly seven years, I realize how important these volunteer positions are to the societies. The industry’s demographics have changed, and the recruitment of young SEG members as volunteers who will contribute to the growth and build upon the successes of the Society is critically important. Early in my career, I did not understand that the societies would want the opinions of someone so young. Today, after 28 years of traveling for work and pleasure, I realize the value of diverse thought. If elected, I would work to:

• Encourage student members and early career geophysicists to become active volunteers to help meet the needs of the Society’s future
• Promote active participation from our international offices by expanding the participation of the local workforce in our international business
• Expand the dissemination of technology through the Distinguished Lecturer program to include speakers new to the program but recognized as experts in their region
• Continue promoting SEG journals as educational venues for both geophysicists and geologists
• Increase collaboration between AAPG and SEG at conferences, Distinguished Lectures, and local society lectures

Mary M. Poulton

Mary M. Poulton is a professor and head of the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona. She received her PhD in geological engineering from UA in 1990. Poulton has published numerous papers on the application of computational neural networks to problems in geophysics, mining, mineral and petroleum exploration, hydrology, and atmospheric science. She is the author of a book on the use of neural networks for geophysical data analysis. She is cofounder and vice president of a water and energy management company, NOAH, LLC, and holds a U.S. patent for the coupled use of neural networks and optimization algorithms for water management. She is currently chair of the Mine Safety Research Advisory Committee for NIOSH, secretary of the American Geological Institute, and chair of the Board on Natural Resources for the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. Poulton was appointed to serve on three National Research Council committees and was coauthor of a recently released report on critical minerals and the U.S. economy. She briefed House and Senate committees on the findings from this study. Poulton has testified before Congress on workforce issues in mining and petroleum engineering and helped develop the Energy and Mineral Schools Reinvestment Act, which will provide workforce development and research support for mining and petroleum schools. Poulton has served as the treasurer and vice president of SEG’s Near-Surface Geophysics Section and as chair of the Mining and Geothermal Committee.

Position statement

We are experiencing a nearly unprecedented demand for energy and mineral resources as a large middle class emerges in many countries. Geophysics technologies can make major contributions to the health, safety, and productivity of our mineral and energy workforces. As the secretary of the American Geological Institute (of which SEG is a member), I know the activities to increase the workforce in the energy and minerals sectors could be better communicated to the SEG membership. One of my priorities is to make sure AGI activities are more widely disseminated in SEG and vice versa. I would like to see SEG create an education task force that could develop a virtual geophysics university with the best content available for distance delivery to undergraduate and graduate programs. Another priority is to help plan a special session and publication of the contributions of geophysics to safe and efficient mineral production. The United Nations has declared 2007-2009 as the International Year of Planet Earth, and we have the opportunity to make the contributions of geophysics to a safer and more prosperous planet known to the public. My fourth goal would be to publicize the activities of the international year and find ways for SEG to promote its contributions to society.

Klaus Holliger

Klaus Holliger received MSc (1987) and PhD (1990) degrees in geophysics from ETH Zurich and a postgraduate degree in economics (2000) from the University of London. After an extended postdoc at Rice University, he joined ETH Zurich’s new Applied and Environmental Geophysics Group as a lecturer in 1994. He became senior lecturer in 1996 and professor in 2002. Klaus also worked at the U.S. Geological Survey, Imperial College, and the University of Cambridge. Three years ago, he accepted a chaired professorship at the University of Lausanne and is currently vice-dean of research.

Klaus, an SEG member since 1995, was secretary of the Near- Surface Geophysics Section (2003-2005), and has been an Associate Editor of Geophysics since 2005. He has also been on the editorial boards of Geology, Journal of Applied Geophysics, and Water Resources Research. Klaus has broad scientific interests, has worked and published in several fundamental and applied research domains, and maintains fruitful collaborations with the exploration and environmental industries. To date, he has co-authored some 90 peer-refereed papers, including 18 in GEOPHYSICS. Together with John Goff from the University of Texas he has also published a book on the nature and scaling properties of petrophysical heterogeneity in the Earth.

Currently, his main research interest is the emerging and inherently interdisciplinary field of hydrogeophysics. He co-organized SEG’s first and hugely successful workshop on this topic in 2006 and currently serves as a guest editor for a joint EAGE-SEG hydrogeophysics special issue. Klaus is married and has a toddling son. He enjoys back-country skiing, various mountaineering activities, and working the land of his small farm.

Position statement

Exploration geophysics is a rapidly growing and increasingly globalized endeavor, and the majority of SEG members now live outside North America. Seemingly well-defined boundaries between industry and academia are becoming blurred, and the backgrounds of those involved in the field are more diverse than ever. SEG plays a pivotal role in nurturing the creation and dissemination of cutting-edge geophysical knowledge and must therefore rise to the challenge and take advantage of opportunities linked to these changes.

In my view, some of the key questions that need to be addressed are: How can we accommodate growth and diversity to become an integrated global society while maintaining the benefits of local-scale awareness and responsiveness? What is the right mix of physical presence and virtual connectivity to best serve our worldwide membership? How should we interact with sister societies and affiliated sections?

I do not claim to have ready answers, but as a European academic who has spent formative years in the United States and who collaborates with the exploration and environmental industries, I am keenly aware of the issues at stake. I am flattered to have been nominated for this position, and it would be a great honor to serve SEG.

Paulo Johann

Paulo Johann, currently reservoir geophysics manager for Petrobras and based in Rio de Janeiro, has more than 27 years of experience in the petroleum industry. He graduated with a degree in geology in 1980 from UNISINOS University, Brazil. He started with Petrobras in 1981. Paulo received his DEA and PhD degrees in reservoir geophysics from Paris VI University, France, in 1994 and 1997, respectively. His career has included activities in geophysical acquisition, geophysical interpretation, and reservoir geophysics. Since 1985, he has been involved with an internal Petrobras training program for new geophysicists and geologists. Paulo is also a frequent lecturer at Brazilian universities. He was appointed the coordinator for improved oil recovery geophysical technology research for Petrobras in 2001. Paulo became active in the Brazilian Geophysical Society (SBGf ) in 1997, and he has served in many positions, including the vice presidency from 2003 to 2005. He currently serves the Society of Exploration Geophysicists as a member of the Council, representing Latin America. He has published and presented several technical papers at SEG, EAGE, SPE, OTC, and SBGf meetings. In 2008, Paulo was appointed SEG’s first Honorary Lecturer for Central and South America.

Position statement

Since the early days of my geophysical career, which started in 1981 at Petrobras in Brazil, I have recognized the global importance of SEG in promoting the science of geophysics and the education of the professional geophysicist. Furthermore, SEG provides a unique and stimulating environment which encourages sharing geophysical knowledge between members. In promoting meetings and forum series, organizing publications and training programs—and making all of this available to more than 30 000 members in 129 countries—SEG faces a constant and major challenge: namely, to maintain high levels of excellence and innovation. SEG’s technical publications are undoubtedly the most important source of applied geophysics knowledge in the petroleum industry. By recognizing the cultural diversity of its worldwide membership base, and by promoting a highly ethical environment, SEG plays an essential role for our global community. I am, thus, highly honored to be nominated for this position and would like to collaborate to promote geophysics and to recognize contributions toward the progress of the geophysical science and its related technologies. I plan to help foster a sense of community amongst geophysicists by providing opportunities for local and regional meetings and by stimulating professional interest and exchange of ideas. I also expect to generate opportunities for students to constantly discuss scientific and career issues. My best efforts will then be dedicated to help SEG grow bigger and better and to become even more international. This way I hope to be honoring the confidence and trust bestowed on me by those responsible for this nomination.

Hermes Malcotti

Hermes Malcotti received a BS in physics (1991) from Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela and an MSc in geophysics (1998) from Stanford University, USA. He has been, since 2005, senior geophysicist for Seismic Attribute Analysis with Tricon Geophysics in Houston. Previously, he was senior geophysicist, 3D Depth Imaging at 3DGeo, in Houston. In the period 2002-05, he was a consultant for PEMEX and ENI-Venezuela in seismic processing and seismic hydrocarbon indicators. He was a cofounder of IGS Services and Consulting (Venezuela) in 2003 and worked there until 2005. From 1999 to 2002, he was senior geophysicist at INTEVEP, the R&D company of PDVSA.

He has been active in several professional organizations. He was technical chairman for the 2002 Venezuelan Congress and technical forums. He received the best technical paper award from the Venezuelan Geophysical Congress in 2006. He is currently serving as the executive secretary and general coordinator of ULG (Latin- American Geophysical Association) and was its general coordinator from 2004 to 2006. He is a member of SEG’s Global Affairs Committee and was a coordinator of the Global Theater at SEG’s 2007 Annual Meeting in San Antonio. He served as a country representative for Venezuela (2003-04) and was vice-president of the Venezuelan Geophysical Society, SOVG, in 2002-04.

Position statement

As a member of the Global Affairs Committee, I had the opportunity to share ideas, make friends, and work for a more proactive global SEG that takes care of the requirements of its members. While working for this committee, I saw how “words” turn into SEG actions. As SEG vice president, I would concentrate on the following three areas:

• Promote synergy among US and international technical societies: I will continue working on synergies and joint projects with other technical associations in order to encourage technological innovations and best practices in geophysics. I will work on increasing the number of international R&D workshops in conjunction with affiliated societies or student sections, with topics focused on each region’s technical challenges.
• Promote geosciences among US youth: Encourage student sections to define and execute local activities and to participate actively in SEG’s Youth Education and Global Affairs committees. I will work, for example, to establish an SEG program to promote among members, professionals, and graduate students to develop technical lectures and Webcast them.
• Increase the technical information at seg.org. The Web is the perfect vehicle for SEG to be available around the world at any time, and to have geoscience technology and best practices on-line! I will promote Webcast presentations and technical communities on seg.org. For example, an e-Community established by the experts on the panel of SEG’s R&D Forum would gather conclusions and summarize discussions and continue any specific activity proposed.

Pat Peck

Pat Peck received a BS in geology from the University of Akron in 1973. After graduation, he joined Western Geophysical as a geophysical technician. Pat advanced to junior analyst, geophysical analyst, and then supervisor of four marine seismic processing groups before his transfer to Dallas as project manager in 1982. He returned to Houston in 1985 and was promoted to center manager for Onshore Data Processing in 1986. In 1993 Pat was transferred to Australia as area manager for Data Processing Far East and Australia. He returned to Houston as area manager for Land Data Processing in 1996. In 1998 he was made manager in North and South America for Data Management. In 2001, he left WesternGeco and joined Hays Oil Data as an integration manager. In 2003, Hays IMS was purchased by Iron Mountain, where he served as director of Energy Sales. He recently joined Kelman Technologies as vice president for U.S. Seismic Data Processing. Pat is an active member of SEG and the Geophysical Society of Houston (GSH) and an associate member of AAPG. He served as a member of the Continuing Education Committee for the Dallas Geophysical Society from 1983 to 1985, and chaired the GSH Continuing Education Committee from 1985 to 1988. He was elected treasurer for the GSH and served from 1988 to 1989. He was elected first vice president of the GSH in 1993 and served until his transfer to Australia cut short his term. He was elected first vice president of the GSH again and served from 2002 to 2003. He was president elect of GSH in 2004 and served as president in 2005. He has also served as an SEG section representative.

Position statement

As indicated in my biography, I served as treasurer for the Geophysical Society of Houston, which is the largest SEG section. This experience led me to a far better appreciation of how critical the treasurer of a professional society is and how necessary it is for each committee chairman to provide a detailed budget and adhere to it. This experience is one of the reasons I believe I’m qualified to serve as secretary-treasurer of SEG.

I’ve always been a champion of continuing education and believe this is one of the most important services our society provides. I plan on working closely with SEG’s Tulsa staff to ensure continuing education courses are made available to as many of our members as possible and to endeavor to keep the costs down; SEG already does this very well. My second priority will be to ensure monies are made available to enhance our efforts of partnering with other societies when appropriate to increase services to our members.

Ray Vogler

Ray Vogler received his BS degree in geology from Colorado State University in 1981. After graduating, he began his career with Western Geophysical in its Denver data processing center. In 1985, Ray worked in Western Geophysical’s Calgary office, processing 3D surveys from Alberta and Saskatchewan. He returned to the Denver office later that year to continue processing 3D surveys there. In 1992, Ray joined Advance Geophysical and began implementing and supporting ProMAX 3D. Ray returned to Western Geophysical in 1994 as assistant manager of the Denver center. In 2001, he moved to Calgary as country processing manager. Ray transferred to Houston in 2004 as a manager for Team Processing and North American Q Processing. Ray returned to Denver in 2005 as the supervisor of Reservoir Services. In 2007, he was transferred to Rio de Janeiro as South American area geophysicist to provide technical support to WesternGeco’s five centers.

Ray has been a member of SEG since 1991. He has served on the Annual Meeting Steering Committee on three occasions (1996, 2002, and 2004)—once as Arrangements Chairman and twice as Special Programs Chairman. He is also a member of CSEG and Denver Geophysical Society. He served as DGS secretary in 1998, vice president in 1999, and president in 2000.

Position statement

SEG’s principal objective is to promote the science of geophysics and the education of applied geophysicists. To meet this objective, the Society has to constantly adapt to effectively serve the membership as it has done so admirably over the past several years in many areas. I suggest placing emphasis on the following four areas:

SEG Online is an important tool for members to obtain new geophysical insights, and it can be easily accessed almost anywhere in the world. The expansion of this Web site to include more technical content should not only make SEG membership an indispensable requirement for today’s geophysicist but also provide information on higher-quality geophysical practices worldwide.

Continued global expansion of the membership needs to remain a priority. Programs such as the tiered global membership levels have had a significant positive impact.

SEG is also poised to engage the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Society of Petroleum Engineers in meaningful joint efforts. We are constantly expanding the depth of knowledge in our particular fields, but we need to investigate how to expand our breadth of understanding to include associated sciences.

Long-term financial planning is essential for building a solid foundation that enables the Society to prosper despite economic fluctuations and to continue its fine tradition of funding scholarships for geophysics students around the world. Fiscal responsibility and accountability to the membership are important for maintaining a healthy Society.