An Interview with Don Steeples,
Annual Meeting Technical Program Chair

SEG recently sat down with Dr. Don Steeples, Technical Chair of SEG's 2012 Annual Meeting Technical Program, to discuss some of the salient aspects this weighty responsibility.

2012 SEG Annual Meeting Technical Program Chair, Don Steeples

SEG - Aside from taking part in the 2012 Annual Meeting as Technical Program Chairman, what is your current role in the geophysical community?
Steeples - I'm the McGee Professor of Geophysics at The University of Kansas, where I have been employed for 37 years. I also do a little bit of consulting, but only a few days per year.

SEG - What has been your experience with SEG Annual Meetings in the past?
Steeples - I attended my first one in 1974, and have been to more than 30 since then. I served on the Technical Program Committee at least four times that I can remember.

SEG - What have been some of your favorite aspects of the SEG Annual Meetings in years past?
Steeples - Mostly, it is the pleasure of seeing scores of old friends. But every year, I return home juiced to get back to work.

SEG - Can you speak to the qualities of this year's Technical Program abstract submissions as a whole? In other words, have you noticed any trends in topics, technical depth, etc.?
Steeples - We had by far the biggest number of abstracts submitted in the history of the Annual Meeting this year. This essentially guarantees a high-quality technical program, but it also means a record number of irritated authors.

SEG - With regard to this year's Technical Program, how has SEG's Annual Meeting distinguished itself as an internationally significant event?
Steeples - We have abstracts from every continent except Antarctica. I guess penguins don't tend to publish much. Seriously, the large number of international attendees at our Annual Meeting is a testament to the importance of the meeting on a world-wide scale.

SEG - What technical advances have you noticed as being prevalent in this year's research?
Steeples - I did not notice anything that shattered the mold compared to last year. But if you compare to five years ago, there is more interest in passive seismic methods, time-lapse monitoring, and non-traditional resource exploration.

To learn more about this year's research offerings, be sure to make plans to attend the Technical Program at the 2012 SEG Annual Meeting.