Photo courtesy of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau
The SEG Annual Meeting Technical Program is a world-renowned resource consisting of extensive oral presentations, poster sessions, and e-posters, as well as additional workshops held on the Thursday and Friday after the close of the official Annual Meeting. Expanded abstracts from the SEG Annual Meeting Technical Program are made available to members and attendees during the course of the meeting via the web and on USB thumb drives, and on DVD-ROM storage.
Meet 2013 Technical Program Chair James Schuelke
Aside from taking part in the 2013 Annual Meeting as Technical Program Chairman, what is your current role in the geophysical community?
I am a Senior Geophysical Advisor with Apache Corporation's Exploration & Production Technology group in Houston, Texas. I am also the Past President of the Geophysical Society of Houston.
What has been your experience with SEG Annual Meetings in the past?
I have been on the Technical Program Committee and I have reviewed papers, organized workshops and sessions. I have been fortunate to have employers that consider attending the SEG to be a big part of my job duties. As a result, I have attended the Annual Meeting every year for as long as I can remember.
What have been some of your favorite aspects of the SEG Annual Meeting in years past?
The technical program has always been very important for me. I want to stay abreast of the latest ideas and applications, as that is a large part of my job and my passion. I also enjoy meeting up with friends and colleagues, the social aspects of the meeting.
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.?
We had over 1,400 submissions this year, which is the second largest in history for the SEG. We added sessions to accommodate that increase. The Annual Meeting tends to reflect the interests and strengths of the city that hosts the event. Houston has a very strong geophysical community with most of the major oil & gas and service companies from around the world represented. The papers submitted reflect that emphasis. Sessions on seismic data processing & acquisition, inversion, reservoir characterization, rock physics, passive seismic and interpretation are very strong.
With regard to this year's Technical Program, how has SEG's Annual Meeting distinguished itself as an internationally significant event?
A good indication of the international reach of the SEG and this year's event in Houston are the number of international papers submitted and the number of the international reviewers and members of the Technical Program Committee. Our web-based TPO review system makes reviewing papers possible from almost anyplace in the world. In addition, the SEG is exploring new ways to make technical talks available online to all members in the future. I think future SEG meetings will be both virtual and actual.
What technical advances have you noticed as being prevalent in this year's research?
There has been a lot of activity in the area of imaging, which is reflected in the number of papers. Full waveform inversion is using what was previously considered noise. The new emphasis on "oil shale plays" is highlighting our need to understand the physics and geophysics of fracturing.
Aside from taking part in the 2013 Annual Meeting as Technical Program Chairman, what is your current role in the geophysical community?
