February 2006 ISSUE

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Marc Boulet

STUDENT COLUMNS

Geophysics Students Head South For Convention

BY MARC BOULET
University of Calgary
Student Contributor (Geosciences)

SEG-WAY Sarah Cutten, second from right, is shown with other attendees from the University of Calgary. The group went to the SEG convention in Texas.

“That’s right, you’re not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway…”
– Lyle Lovett

With only six weeks’ notice, Sarah Cutten, a fourth-year geophysics student and executive member of the Geophysics Undergraduate Student Society at the University of Calgary, organized and fundraised a trip for eight senior undergraduates to the annual SEG convention, which took place in Houston last November. Here is her report:

“This year GUSS sent eight geophysics students to the annual Society of Exploration Geophysics convention in Houston. This trip was a memorable opportunity to take a short ‘educational’ break from the semester, and it allowed us to attend a large scale international geophysical event. This year’s convention was also the 75th anniversary of SEG, adding an extra dimension to the experience.

“Our reason for attending the SEG convention was to investigate research and career opportunities. By attending technical presentations, poster sessions, and talking with many of the other attendees, profs, and students from other universities, we were able to obtain a greater appreciation of what work is being done in various areas in geophysics.

“It was also interesting to get an international perspective on some of the future issues in geophysics, as there were many sessions on the future of petroleum, and the role that geophysicists will have in this dynamic field.

“My personal highlight was taking an afternoon tour of the Veritas Vantage, a seismic acquisition boat that was in Galveston for an afternoon. This was definitely an opportunity that doesn’t come along regularly in Calgary.

“We would like to thank the sponsors for their generosity. Without their support, the entire experience would not have been possible — thank you very much!”

Congratulations to Sarah and the other attendees for their hard and tireless work! As a result, GUSS is hoping to make the SEG conference an annual experience for graduating students.

List of Sponsors
Earth Signal Processing Ltd.
Sigma Explorations Inc.
Associated Mining Consultants Ltd.
The University of Calgary Students Union
The Geology and Geophysics Department
The Dean of Science at the University of Calgary