Geosciences students congregate at OU for 2012 Expo

For some students, spring break is a chance to take a break from studying and spend a few days in alternative pursuits. However, 295 geosciences students spent their spring break immersed in their chosen field during the 2012 AAPG/SEG Spring Break Student Expo held March 14-16 at the University of Oklahoma.

The 295 students, who came from 67 universities across the United States, spent their time at the expo in poster sessions on geology and geophysics; participating in a field trip; brushing up their skills in short courses, and networking with their peers. For some lucky students, the Expo resulted in interviews with potential employers.

This year, a record number of posters were entered in the poster session. The 68 entries were divided into two categories: geophysics and geology. In the geophysics category, the winners were: Cerda Ibrahim, the University of Texas at El Paso (first place, $500); Luis Castillo, the University of Oklahoma (second place, $250); and Sumit Verma, the University of Oklahoma (third place, $100).

In the geology category, the winners were Rob Barker, Kansas State University (first place, $500); Stephanie Ewald, Western Michigan University (second place, $250); and Carlos Ceron, University of Oklahoma (third place, $100).

As with each year, the highlight of the event was the Sixth Annual Sooner Challenge Bowl. This year, eight teams competed against each other in the event, which was emceed by Peter Duncan, past SEG president and director on the SEG Foundation Board. The Challenge Bowl is a contest testing students' breadth and depth of knowledge about the field of geoscience. The quiz show format features intense competition as the contestants attempt to buzz in first with the answers to challenging geoscience questions. When the dust settled and all the scores were tallied, the team of Daniel Sigward and Sumit Verma of the University of Oklahoma took first place and received an all-expenses paid trip to the SEG Challenge Bowl Finals to be held at SEG's Annual Meeting in Las Vegas this November. Finishing in second place was Danford Moore and Joshua Richardson of Michigan Technological University.

This year's Expo was a success thanks to the 26 company sponsors: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Chesapeake Energy, Chevron, Cimarex Energy, Concho Recourses, ConocoPhillips, Continental Resources, Core Laboratories, Devon Energy, Encana, EOG Resources, EXAD, Geosearch Logging, MAP Exploration, Mewbourne Oil Company, Newfield Exploration, Noble Energy, Oxy, Pioneer Natural Resources, Samason Resources, SandRidge Energy, Schlumberger, SEG, AAPG, OK Geological Survey, and the University of Oklahoma ConocoPhillips School of Geology & Geophysics.

For more information on upcoming events and activities, please visit www.seg.org/students.