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Shell Canada, Calgary
I've been charged with writing a "history of the globalization of SEG." This is a tall order. The written history is sparse and scattered and while many who have been involved in this process are still young and virile, their vigor means they're too busy to respond at any length with their memoirs. Still, there is some information available and I'll make the attempt to synthesize it here.
When we talk about SEG and its globalization, a cynic might be tempted to say "too little, too late." In my opinion, a fair assessment of SEG and its relationship with the world outside of the United States has to conclude that, although SEG was founded by brave pioneers who had a vision of joining professionals with a passion for geophysics, this society envisioned itself as American from its very beginning. It took quite a while for SEG to understand that meetings and technical conventions, papers, and publications from other countries are important for geophysicists outside of the U.S. to keep themselves abreast of the latest advances in technology and theory. All of this ultimately created pressure for globalization. In recent years, SEG, to its credit, has responded as best it could.
From the very beginning of SEG there was mention, in SEG publications, of member geophysicists (mostly U.S. citizens) working outside the United States, particularly in Latin America (mostly Venezuela, Mexico, and Brazil) and the Caribbean. This was clearly a function of the nature of the U.S. oil and gas industry of the times.
However, the petroleum industry was growing in other parts of the world as well. By the late 1920s, Venezuela had become the world's largest oil exporter. Figure 1 shows the famous Venezuelan Barrosos No. 2 blow-out in 1922, which spilled 100 000 barrels a day until it was controlled after nine days (almost four times the volume of the Exxon Valdez spill). Figure 2 shows the 1925 Lake Maracaibo fire which burned for more than two months. Activity was also going on in Mexico, and later in the Middle East, so a more international society in geophysics that could address the local peculiarities was in order. Though non-U.S. citizens were certainly members before, clear mentions of what have to be "global" members did not appear until 1956.
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The Canadian SEG was formed even earlier, in late 1949, but it was another three years before it was chartered as the ninth SEG section. Again, it is an open question whether this was another lost opportunity for the globalization of SEG. Could the relationship between Canadian and U.S. geophysicists have been handled better? This is possibly a strange comment to many of my U.S. neighbors, but the point has to do with national pride and the natural desire by all to be equal partners with and not "affiliates of."
It's not surprising, or course, that one of the first non-U.S. geophysical associations was founded in Canada. Mining, petroleum extraction, and geophysics have been going on in Canada for a very long time. Petrolia, Ontario was the site of the first North American oil production (from a hand-dug well!) and the first petroleum boom in Alberta started in 1914. Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian, filed the first patent concerning seismic detection of oil and gas accumulations. Many innovations in mining geophysics were Canadian, and electrical and seismic surveys for petroleum were conducted in Alberta at least as early as 1928. Figure 3 shows Shell Canada seismic crews in the Alberta Foothills in the 1950s.
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The late 1950s and 1960s saw much growth of the global SEG. New sections were added in Edmonton (Canada), Cochabamba (Bolivia) and Caracas (Venezuela). The Latin American universities and American oil companies operating in Latin America at that time promoted affiliation to what were considered international professional societies, mainly AAPG (which has held two annual meetings every year since the 1980s, one in the U.S. and another outside, rotating all over the world!) as well as SEG.
The University of British Columbia Geophysical Society student section was created in 1961; in that same year, J. A. Jacobs, then at UBC, was SEG's Distinguished Lecturer. Also in 1961, GEOPHYSICS began printing abstracts from Russian geophysical journals, and a "Geophysics Abroad" session was convened at the Denver Annual Meeting. In 1962, Calgary was the site of SEG's 32nd Annual Meeting—the first time it was held outside the U.S. The Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain was formed in 1965 and affiliated with SEG two years later. Seven geophysicists from the Soviet Union attended the Dallas Annual Meeting in 1965. The 39th (1969) Annual Meeting was held again in Calgary with record-breaking attendance and that same year Roy Lindseth (of Calgary) and Sigmund Hammer offered their SEG short courses in Mexico City.
The SEG Japan started an official association with SEG in 1968 and became an Associated Society in 1999. This was not only a result of SEG's strong movement toward the globalization but also due to SEGJ's policy of promoting international collaboration. Toshifumi Matsuoka, Kyoto University, served as SEG vice president in 1997–98. SEGJ celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998 and SEG President Brian Russell (a Canadian) was invited to address the commemoration.
SEGJ, with cosponsorship of SEG, started an international symposium in 1990 to accelerate the exchange of new ideas and information with overseas geophysicists. The gathering was first named Geotomography Symposium, reflecting the demand for high-resolution geophysics, like tomography, in civil engineering and reservoir evaluation for oil and geothermal resources. Geophysical applications to civil engineering and environmental problems are more dominant in SEGJ than natural resource exploration. The SEGJ International Symposium is now held every two years. The circle of cosponsorship has expanded gradually, and the most recent (7th) symposium in November 2004 was cosponsored by ASEG, EAGE, KSEG, EEGS and SEG. The size of the symposium has been also growing; 76 geophysicists from 15 foreign countries (out of 173 total participants) attended the 7th symposium. SEG presidents Sally Zinke and Craig Beasley gave special presentations at the 5th and 7th symposia, respectively.
Another important event of the collaboration with SEG was the latter's publication of (as No. 12 in its Geophysical Monograph Series) The Microtremor Survey Method by Hiroshi Okada, past SEGJ president, in 2003. The microtremor method is one typical example of a geophysical technique intensively studied for civil engineering in Japan.
SEGJ has a policy of promoting cooperation with geophysical societies overseas. Recently, three geophysical societies in the Western Pacific region (Australia, Korea, and Japan) started annual joint publication of their technical journals. Such activities are in accordance with the "global" scope of SEG, and I predict will become more prevalent in the future.
Even one such as myself, who feels that that SEG's globalization was slow, finds the pace of international events from the 1970s to the 1980s dizzying. New student sections were formed in Venezuela, Tasmania and other parts of Australia, Japan, Mexico, Great Britain, New Zealand, Spain, Nigeria, and several more in Canada. SEG in 1973 chartered the Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society (KEGS) in Toronto, which primarily serves mining geophysicists. There is probably a long story to tell here about the relationship (or non-relationship?) between KEGS and CSEG.
The number of Latin American geophysicists increased very quickly during this period, and several professional societies, all related somehow to the SEG, were created. The Sociedad Venezolana de Ingenieros Geofísicos (SOVG) began in Caracas in 1978, and joined with SEG from the very beginning to promote attendance at and organization of technical events in the region. SOVG launched a biannual technical congress that has always invited SEG officers to attend. In 2004, Leon Thomsen represented SEG and his lecture drew a large audience.
The Sociedade Brasileira de Geofísica SBGf was founded in 1978 and immediately began various activities that continue to attract attendance from all over the world.
To continue the story of Latin America, we need to back-track a bit to the late 1950s.
Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) was founded as a result of the Mexican petroleum expropriation in 1938. PEMEX's geophysical department, operated by Mexican nationals, began in 1939. In-house geophysical activities, along with work carried out by contractors, resulted in the discovery of important fields in the very famous Golden Lane during the 1940s which made Mexico one of the world's largest oil exporters.
The Mexican Association of Exploration Geophysicists—La Asociacion Mexicana de Geofisicos de Exploracion (AMGE)—was founded in November 1958 and is possibly the first Latin American geophysical association. It started as an SEG affiliated society and became an SEG section in 1994 during the presidency of Michael Schoenberger whose primary focus was to increase SEG's global orientation. The Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP), associated with AMGE, was opened in 1966 to develop new technology projects and provide professional training to PEMEX. AMGE also joined with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM, established in 1945) to create that country's first academic program in geophysical engineering in 1970. In November 1961, the first National Convention of Professionals and Technicians of the Petroleum E&P Industry was held in Mexico City. This convention served as the model for all subsequent AMGE geophysical conventions. AMGE was very proud to host the 43rd SEG Annual Meeting which was held jointly with the 5th AMGE Geophysical Convention in Mexico City in October 1973. The Mexican student section at UNAM affiliated with SEG on 29 November 1976. Currently, AMGE is divided into an executive committee and eight regional sections with a combined membership of almost 800, which includes 20% of Mexico's geoscience students.
AMGE was conscious that as a section it would have an even better relationship with the SEG. Currently, SEG representatives attend the AMGE meetings and participate actively in the technical programs as either organizers or as keynote speakers. Distinguished SEG speakers are annually invited to Mexico and several SEG publications have been translated into Spanish.
Another globally significant event of the 1970s was SEG's translation (from Russian) and publication of E.I. Gal'perin's book Vertical Seismic Profiling in 1974. However, translation/publishing of Russian material has generally been slow; S.V. Goldin's Seismic Traveltime Inversion was published only in 1986.
Just four years after the Annual Meeting was held in Mexico City with record-smashing attendance, the 47th Annual Meeting was again in Calgary. However, it would take another 23 years before the annual meeting next left the U.S. (again in Calgary in 2000).
The beginning of the 1970s also brought the Australian SEG into the fold. Like their Canadian cousins, Australians also have a strong tradition in mining geophysics in addition to an important petroleum industry. ASEG grew out of the Australian Institute of Physics which held a conference in Sydney in January 1970 on the "Geophysics of the Earth and the Oceans" (ICOGEO). This gave rise to the concept of a separate geophysical association. Officially, ASEG was formed as a section of SEG on 14 May 1970. Roger Henderson, who recently researched the history of ASEG, says that it seems (since even the first committee has difficulty remembering clearly) that Ken Richards of Exxon (Esso Australia at the time) was asked by SEG to form the section. Ken requested that Robin McQueen serve as the first president. ASEG later became a society in its own right with incorporation on August 1971. The first issue of the ASEG Bulletin was published in 1970 and the first conference sponsored by the ASEG on its own (a second ICOGEO being cosponsored by the ASEG in 1973) was held in August 1979. Currently, ASEG has affiliations with EAGE, SEGJ, SAGA, and EEGS.
Probably the most important global development of the 1970s and 1980s was the growing relationship with China. It was important, besides the fact that China is the world's most populous country, because this had evolutionary implications for SEG's global future. In 1975 SEG created an ad hoc committee on exchange visits to facilitate contacts between geophysicists from the U.S. and China. Another such ad hoc committee was created (or continued) in 1977. In 1981 an SEG delegation met with the China Geophysical Society in China and in 1984 the Society of Petroleum Geophysicists of China held a joint seminar with SEG in Zhuoxian, China. That same year the (presumably still ad hoc) Committee for Communications with China was renamed and rechartered as the International Affairs Committee—the precursor to the current Global Affairs Committee, so renamed in 2000, and a clear proof of Darwinian evolution. It really does seem that the present globalization infrastructure (committees and international meetings) was built upon the needs of Chinese geophysicists.
Perhaps this is a good time to briefly mention the ongoing efforts of the Global Affairs Committee. This committee began very shyly as a way to increase global awareness and has become a skillful fighter in changing the mindset of some SEG leaders, raised in an American-biased professional society. GAC has been empowered and listened to by all recent SEG presidents, who have tried to speed up the globalization of our society. Over the last few years this committee has been chaired by SEG members from Italy, Venezuela, Egypt, Lebanon, Australia, Great Britain, and Turkey. All have pushed for a real transformation of SEG, to better serve its members and extend very valuable programs such as DISC and PCs for Students to countries never before considered. It's now the task, in the short term, for GAC to include the geographical extent of our scholarship recipients and conferences.
In 1985, the China Petroleum Society and SEG held their First Biennial Joint Meeting in Beijing; attendance exceeded 20 000 (still the record!). Was it this example, one wonders, that led to the SEG/EAEG research forums in Rome in 1986 and Dallas in 1988? Indeed, in 1988, SEG conducted an exchange of delegations with Czechoslovakian geophysicists and the 58th Annual Meeting had delegates from 47 countries outside the U.S. and Canada.
In 1991, SEG's executive committee adopted a policy of holding a midyear meeting outside of North America and in 1992 such a meeting was held in Moscow. In fact, since 1985, there have been 17 mid-year international meetings. We had meetings in Beijing in 1985, 1989, 1993, and 1998. Moscow hosted meetings in 1992, 1993, and 2003 and St. Petersburg was the site in 1995 and will be in 2006. Cairo hosted meetings in 1994, 1998, 2002 (jointly sponsored with and operated by AAPG) and 2005. Jakarta hosted a meeting in 1996, Istanbul in 1997, and Rio de Janeiro in 1995 and 1999.
Going even further afield, close collaboration had been established between SEG and the National Committee of Geophysicists of Azerbaijan (NCGA aka Azeri SEG) since the latter was established in 1993. This collaboration focused on the further development of geophysics generally and enhancement of geophysical services in Azerbaijan. The history of geophysics in Azerbaijan began in 1900 when thermal measurements were conducted for petroleum exploration. Geophysical studies continued to evolve after 1930 when Schlumberger conducted an electrical survey in one of the petroleum boreholes within Surakhany Field in the Absheron Peninsula. Azeri geophysicists will celebrate the 75th anniversary of geophysics on November 24. Subsequent integrated geophysical studies (seismic, gravimetry, etc.) to unravel geologic settings have discovered over 650 anticline structures onshore and offshore Azerbaijan. During the past decade, five international geophysical conferences have been held in Azerbaijan with SEG cosponsorship (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004).
The Azeri experience is interesting in the context of Russia's search for contacts with foreign colleagues after the breakup of the Soviet Union. This search for contacts was first initiated by seeking ties with SEG. The first business links were established in 1991 when a group of SEG leaders (including Bill French, Gordon Greve, and Yoram Shoham) met with the famous Russian exploration seismologist G.N. Gogonenkov who was on a business trip in Houston and the idea of organizing an SEG regional conference and exhibition in Russia in 1992 was discussed.
On his return to Moscow, Gogonenkov informed leading geophysicists about this meeting. Valeriy Garipov (director of the Geophysics Department of State Committee for Geology of the Russian Federation) and Nikolay Savostyanov (director of Geophysics Department of the Rosneft oil company) supported him eagerly and an organizing committee of SEG representatives and Russian geophysicists was formed. In 1992 the first SEG conference and exhibition was held in Russia. Its remarkable success was due to SEG's expertise and to the active participation of Russian geophysicists. It is notable that the plenary meeting of the conference was held in the Kremlin Assembly Palace—Moscow's most prestigious venue.
The exhibition devoted to geophysical equipment and technologies exceeded all expectations. Over 1000 professionals took part, 400 representing western oil and service companies. There were many interesting papers and discussions. Good personal contacts were made and it was decided to hold an SEG conference and exhibition in Moscow the next year. By that time, the Euro-Asian Society of Geophysics (EAGO), led by Nikolai Savostyanov, had been created in Moscow. Starting in 1993, SEG conferences and exhibitions in Russia have been held in cooperation with EAGO and (since 1995) EAGE. In the following years geophysical conferences and exhibitions of SEG/EAGE/EAGO were held regularly, usually every two to three years. The last conference and exhibition, in 2003, was a success; by then the majority of Russian service companies were privatized and took the major role in the exhibition of geophysical equipment and technologies. This growth for Russian companies was due, in part, to these international geophysical conferences.
Their pioneering efforts in establishing and strengthening cooperation between Russian geophysicists and SEG earned SEG Life Membership for Garipov, Savostyanov, and Gogonenkov.
One of the key roles in strengthening the visibility of SEG in Russia has been played by the Global Affairs Committee. Recently two Russian geophysicists, Vladimir Troyan (vice-rector of St.Petersburg University) and Kairat Sydykov (head of exploration at TNK-BP), spoke at GAC luncheons during SEG's annual meeting.
SEG now has about 200 members in Russia—just 1% of the total number of SEG members and also of the number of geophysicists in Russia. So there is big potential for growth. The key factor slowing down this growth and the whole geophysics integration process is the language barrier. In this respect, initiatives on translating SEG publications and, conversely, on helping Russian scientists to publish their papers in the West are being discussed.
For the young generation the language barrier is a lesser issue and therefore Russian students are more actively involved in SEG activities. Currently, there are three student chapters.
DISC and DL lectures are being actively promoted in Russia. Craig Beasley, the current SEG president, was a driving force behind an SEG forum in Novosibirsk scheduled for January 2006, which will be in honor of Sergey Goldin's 70th birthday. The next International Conference and Exhibition in series sponsored by EAGE, EAGO, and SEG will take place in St. Petersburg in October 2006.
The last few years have seen significant developments in serving our members all over the world. At some point in 2003 or 2004, the majority of SEG members were from outside the U.S. and Canada. Responding to these changing demographics, events followed fast upon themselves. In 2002–03 the Global Affairs Committee proposed to the SEG executive committee the creation of a new "Global Membership" category which was approved and created in 2003. This was done to encourage further members from outside North America, recognizing that this was the only place we could grow. While an inexpensive way for relatively poorly paid geophysicists outside the western mainstream to join SEG, it was thought by some to be a "ghetto" membership. This problem was alleviated in 2004 by the adoption of a tiered dues structure after thorough study by an ad hoc committee led by Brian Spies and Steve Hill.
One other initiative of the late 1990s was a program to reach out to student sections in underdeveloped areas. The GAC helped institute the PCs for Student Sections program. The program was started under the guidance of Alfred Liaw in 1999 with the SEG Foundation providing funds for the acquisition of PCs for six student sections in China. Since then the program has supplied PCs to sections in Venezuela, Egypt, Serbia, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Mexico, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and the Philippines. This program is a powerful example of how SEG can cooperate with and help the international geophysical community.
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Another perspective on the history of SEG's globalization is provided by the comments of past presidents.
Bill French (writing about his term in 1991–92 and of the late Bud Grant in 1990–91):
The period from 1990 through 1992 set the stage for the internationalization of SEG. During the February 1991 ASEG meeting in Sydney, Lee Lawyer and I set up an impromptu meeting with a delegation from the Soviet Union to discuss cooperation including the possibility of joint sponsorship of one of the Eastern European geophysical meetings.Subsequent correspondence between Bud Grant and the Soviet geophysicists revealed that 1991 would be the last of their government-funded meetings. As a result, Bud proposed that SEG fully underwrite a joint meeting to be held in Moscow in 1992. Gordon Greve, John Hyden, and I went to Moscow in September 1991 to get support from various government officials. With the backing of Valery Garipov, then the Deputy Minister, USSR Ministry of Oil Industry, the SEG group went to Kyiv to present the proposal at the plenary session of the final Eastern European geophysical meeting and an agreement was reached.
Building on this concept, Bud Grant's 1991 executive committee adopted a policy of holding a midyear meeting annually in a venue outside North America, and the successful Exposition and Technical Meeting held July 1992 in Moscow was the first of many to follow.
Michael Schoenberger (1993–94):
During my term, we formally implemented the long-expressed desire of previous executive committees to move SEG towards becoming a global society. Our approach was to establish closer relations with existing national societies. At the beginning of our term, SEG had active sections in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, with no active section having been added in the preceding 21 years (other than the nongeographic Near-Surface Geophysics Section). By the end of our term, we had active sections (or associated societies) in China, Mexico, Argentina, Great Britain, Russia, Malaysia, and Turkey. Another five societies had initiated internal discussions or petitioned to become SEG sections (or associated societies). An associated society, a term we adopted, has exactly the same relationship to SEG as does a section but perhaps identifies better the autonomous nature of a national society.
Jamie Robertson (1994–95):
The most significant event of my presidency was the establishment in December 1994 of the SEG Web site. The first home page was a primitive version of what the Web site now offers. In fact, we had to put the first Web site on Stanford University's server since the SEG office in Tulsa had neither the computer capacity nor the trained staff to host a Web site. Nonetheless, establishing the Web site was certainly a pivotal event in SEG's ability to communicate with its global members. This event was driven by Brian Spies in his capacity as chairman of the Electronic Communication Subcommittee of the SEG Research Committee.A second highlight of that period in SEG's history was a strong thrust to bring non-U.S. geophysical organizations into SEG as new sections or associated societies. The person who should be credited with initiating this thrust is Michael Schoenberger, my predecessor as SEG president. Prior to 1994, I believe the two Canadian societies (CSEG and KEGS) and the Australian SEG were the only non-U.S. sections of SEG. Through Mike's initiative and the follow-on into my and Gordon Greve's presidencies, nine non-U.S. sections/associated societies (Argentina, Azerbaijan, China, Great Britain, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Turkey) were brought into SEG in 1994 and 1995. I personally remember taking a trip with Oz Yilmaz to Turkey and Azerbaijan to present plaques to the incoming Turkish and Azeri associated societies—one of the more memorable trips of my presidency as we were very warmly received by both groups and, I imagine in the case of Baku, the first official visit of an SEG president to the Caspian region.
A third event of that era was the establishment of a fund in the SEG Foundation to pay the dues of students and their faculty advisors in emerging nations where SEG dues were a prohibitive expense. As best as I recall, this effort was also initiated during Mike Shoenberger's term, and its first full year of operation was my 1994–95 term. A generous donation (possibly from Rutt Bridges, though I don't exactly recall that detail) got the fund off the ground, which led to the establishment of several new SEG student sections outside the U.S. Other companies and individuals since then of course have made donations to keep this effort going.
A fourth event was the establishment of the International Showcase as a part of the annual meeting. The showcase first appeared as part of the 1995 meeting in Houston at the end of my term. Fred Hilterman as Annual Meeting General Chairman and Pam Moore as International Showcase Chairman were the driving forces behind this activity.
Finally, my term was the time when the SEG International Affairs Committee (chaired then by Wafik Beydoun) reorganized itself and adopted a geographically-oriented structure that continues to this day.
Gordon Greve (1995–96):
During my presidential term we tried to bring some order to overseas meetings and tried to promote two major meetings (with exhibitors) and a series of meeting events. This effort failed due to unresolved control issues. The legacy of this effort is the different levels of funding and effort the SEG uses to fund each meeting. Also, this was the beginning of the expansion of the number of overseas sections.
Brian Russell (1998–99):
I have always seen the SEG president as geophysical ambassador to the world, and tried to live up to this role during my year as president. I have many wonderful memories of that year, such as attending the 50th anniversary of SEG Japan in Tokyo, in which Elaine and I had the honor of opening the traditional saki barrel along with the first SEGJ president. Another wonderful memory is of visiting Angola and helping the local chapter and student section to initiate contact with SEG. Finally, I also remember the many enthusiastic student geophysicists that I met during the year in all parts of the world, and I am pleased to say that a large number of them are now practicing geophysicists and members of SEG. Our society is enriched by them all.
Bill Barkhouse (1999–00):
There were several key decisions made during my term of office, but the most important was the SEG council vote and approval of the new membership category of Global Membership. This clearly reflected the globalization, and future direction, of the SEG as reflected in our membership.
Sally Zinke (2000–01):
During my year as president we moved SEG forward to be the leading international applied geophysics professional society and furthered its role in resources industries, the environment and engineering. We provided a more complete understanding and focus for membership services and objectives.In that year six sections and student sections were formed and we held the 2000 Annual Meeting in Calgary, only the third time the meeting has been held outside of the United States. It was during my year as president that the increasing percentage of members outside the United States caused the restructuring and renaming of the International Affairs Committee to the Global Affairs Committee and the Global Membership category was implemented. Also during my term, there were several initiatives that helped to serve international members. These included a Virtual Global Workshop to pilot utilization of electronic conferencing to enhance content and expand meeting access, the DISC program online and CD for wider access and the online digital archive of GEOPHYSICS and TLE.
Mike Bahorich (2002–03):
The category of Global Membership helped many geophysicists in developing countries join SEG.
Peter Duncan (2003–04):
The 2003–2004 Executive Committee felt strongly that voting privileges (Active Membership) should be tied to professional stature and not one's ability to pay dues at a North American standard rate. We proposed, and the Council approved unanimously, a tiered dues structure that tied Active dues rates to the World Bank's assessment of income levels in members' home countries. Our hope is this will promote a more vibrant and active global participation in the governance of SEG.
Craig Beasley (2004–05):
The theme of my term so far has been to extend our programs to serve the growing global community. For example, we have been successful in appointing Panos Kelamis, located in Saudi Arabia, as the 2005 Fall Distinguished Lecturer. His tour will have many stops around the globe. Moreover, we have emphasized a new concept—the forum series which involves meetings that are taking place around the globe. We have also committed to holding a major event outside of North America every year to serve our global community.
Many chairmen of the Global Affairs Committee also have interesting memories.
Wafik Beydoun (1994–96):
The Global Affairs Committee (GAC), SEG's international arm, is 31 years old this year. It was created in 1974 as an ad hoc Committee for Communications with China, renamed in 1984 as the International Affairs Committee (IAC), and transformed in 2000 into GAC. Name changes and internal reorganizations were not the product of a fad, but rather were driven by the increasing global role that SEG has been having in the international arena. There are today over 22 000 SEG members in more than 100 countries, with more than 50% of them outside the U.S. Ten years ago there were less than 15 000 members.A special tribute should be given to all GAC members, who have believed on the vision of a global geophysical community. They persistently pursued the task of making SEG more visible outside the U.S. as well as bringing to the SEG a tangible international imprint. Interactions of GAC with the SEG executive committee and with Pamela Terekhova of the SEG business office should not be underestimated, as they have and are still key to the success of making GAC "in sync" with SEG's objectives. As an example, back in 1995, GAC (then IAC) worked closely with the organizing committee of the SEG Annual Meeting in Houston to initiate the first SEG International Showcase, while also preparing a special GAC preconvention workshop dedicated to introduce the audience to international business practices in petroleum exploration. It is certainly rewarding that the International Showcase is celebrating this year its 10th anniversary as a part of the 2005 annual meeting.
One way for SEG to continue to prosper internationally and sustainably would be to rely and delegate more activities to GAC regional coordinators. They are generally "in situ," know well the local culture/background, and could effectively network with regional unversities/institutes, contractors, R&D centers, government authorities and oil companies.
Samir Abdelmoaty (2001–02):
The recent success of the Cairo 2005 conference is another landmark of SEG global activities in Egypt. In 1990, I asked Bill French, then SEG president, who was attending the EGPC conference in Cairo about the possibility of an SEG conference in Egypt. It took us four years to move this idea forward and to hold the first SEG conference in Egypt in partnership with EGS. This conference was cochaired by Bill Barkhouse and Wafik Meshrif and attended by H.E. Hamdy El Banbi, Minister of Petroleum; Michael Schoenberger, the then SEG president; and the late Mohamed Fahim, founder and president of EGS.Cairo 98 was another milestone before the big event in 2002 where five societies put together Cairo 2002 as the first joint conference and exhibition that received tremendous and positive feedback. Since 1990, I believe that most, if not all, of the SEG presidents have visited Egypt. Craig Beasley attended the Cairo 2005 conference and exhibition which was organized by SEG, EGS, EPEX, and EPA and chaired by Shawki Abdine. The keynote address was given by H.E. Sameh Fahmy, Minister of Petroleum, at the opening session which was attended by more than 2000 delegates at the fabulous Cairo International Convention Center. All exhibitors had the opportunity to meet and talk with Minister Fahmy during his tour in the exhibition hall.
I believe that we could not make these successes without mutual alignment, understanding, confidence and trust between SEG and EGS. These two societies have many differences in distance, time zones, cultures, and language, but both have the same vision and objectives. Both have the same working ethics. I have personally learned a lot by working with SEG's executive committee members and the business office. I cannot forget how much I learned by working with David Yowell on the first and second SEG conferences in Cairo and how much I enjoyed the relationship and mutual trust with Mary Fleming and her team on the 2002 and 2005 conferences. It again comes down to the common vision of both societies of how we can support our membership at large.
I'd also like to say something about International Showcase. Egypt has been an active member of the International Showcase since its start. Every year a delegation from Egypt attends the IS to present new opportunities and greet and meet delegates of the annual meeting.
In 2001, in San Antonio and after 9/11, there were with 17 international delegations participating in the International Showcase, the IS committee. Pamela Terekhova and I tried to help with the logistics and arrangements to get everybody back home safe. I did not realize that I did something extra until my boss called me to show me a note sent by Leon Thomsen to him and many others in BP with an attachment of Walt Lynn's TLE article about the contribution of some individuals during that crisis.
My view of SEG is that we, as volunteers are working together with the business office to promote our society and prove that SEG is a force of good and whoever can do something, he or she should not hesitate to do it.
I am also a strong believer in the work of GAC. The global membership initiative of GAC is a great example of global teamwork. Just think about how many individuals representing how many countries worked on this issue since it started as an idea to push it through the committees to final approval by the council. I can't forget the voting on the fees for the global membership and having Mike Bahorich volunteer to sponsor the first 1000 members. It is this feeling that the society is moving in the right direction. The jump in membership was great during the first few months of this program and the largest initial increase came from Egypt.
I'm very proud that Egypt has a long history with SEG in general and GAC and IS in particular, and still cannot answer the controversial question of whether Egypt should be in the Africa region or the Middle East.
Tim Berge (2001–02):
During the 30 or so years I have worked as a geologist and geophysicist, I have met many colleagues from other, often underdeveloped, countries. I have always been consistently impressed by the quality and content of the work done by them and wished that they could join us in the SEG as equals. At the time this wish seemed doomed.In 1999 at the SAGA conference in Cape Town, in informal discussions with then SEG President Brian Russell and President-elect Bill Barkhouse, I learned that the SEG executive committee was trying to find a way to "internationalize" our membership. Bill and Brian, and Fred Aminzadeh back in Houston, convinced me that this was something might be achievable and duly inspired, I joined the GAC.
I participated in the GAC (and continue to do so) in many ways, first as Africa regional representative when there was no other native representative, and eventually as GAC chairman when the Global Membership initiative was passed by the council. It has been wonderful indeed to be able to welcome my esteemed colleagues to join SEG through Global Membership. I hope all who are eligible will take advantage of this SEG program and that the membership will continue to grow as it embraces the concept of globalization.
Figure 4 and the following description sent by Arild Haugen add to this perspective:
The first SEG continuing education course in Lillehammer, Norway, held in March 1973, was called "Recent advances in seismic interpretation." However, looking at the agenda, this was mainly a course in seismic processing. One lecture was "Direct detection of hydrocarbons from seismic data" so many key issues are the same today. The course was given by R.L. Sengbush from Pexcon in Dallas, USA.
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Figure 4. First SEG Education course held in Lillehammer, Norway, 13–15 March 1973. (front row) Svein Johansen, William Sengbush, Grete Rasmussen, Tore Sund, Bjørn Ursin, and Nils Nilsen. (middle row) Johannes Tryti, Anker Monrad Berge, Arne Øvsthus, Jon Braekhus, Torstein Sanness, Tor Arvid Ommundsen, Kristian Kolbjoernsen, Ove Øvrebø, Svein Nedland, Olve Torvanger, Jorgen B. Risum, and Ole Naess. (back row) Odd Lorentzenl, Helge Brandsæter, Oeyvind Mjoen, Kjell G Finstad, Kjell Arne Oppeboen, Atle Sindre, Ivar Aarseth, Arne Lervik, John Stangenes, and Daniel Toigo.
Most of the participants are still very active in the petroleum industry, and one of our most well known geophysicists, Bjørn Ursin, was at the University of Trondheim then and is working there now after some other engagements.The course was arranged by the newly founded geology and geophysics committee of the Continental Shelf Division of the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The chairperson of the committee was Kjell Arne Oppeboen, Norsk Hydro, who was back from a training period with Western in Houston. Øyvind Mjoen and Bjørn Ursin, who were participants, were back from training periods with Geocom, also in Houston. Oyvind was already working for the newly founded geophysical contractor GECO. Bjørn became research manager of GECO in 1975, even before having finished his PhD.
While SEG and associated and affiliated societies were wondering and worrying about globalization—or ignoring it as the case may be—there was a whole other geophysical world out there that many are still mostly ignorant of. I've already discussed the situation in Azerbaijan, one of the earliest former Soviet republics to develop close ties with SEG, and in Russia. But there was a tremendous geophysical tradition in other parts of the Former Soviet Union and Eastern and Central Europe behind the so-called Iron Curtain. Geophysicists of those countries are justifiably proud of those scientists who established these traditions totally outside the confines of our established professional societies.
Toma Bosilkovich Dobrev (Figure 5) was born on 20 December 1921 in the village of Kovachevitsa, Blagoevgrad region, Bulgaria. He received a master's in exploration geophysics (1952) from the Mining University of Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinoburg), Russia and a PhD (1958) from Gubkin University of Oil and Gas, Moscow, Russia. In 1973 he obtained a doctor of science degree from the Bulgarian Academy of Science. In 2003 the University of Mining and Geology, Sofia named Dobrev as one of the most distinguished members of staff and awarded him the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa.
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Sabba Stefanescu (Figure 6) was born in Bucharest, Romania, on 20 July 1902. He graduated with honors from one of the most prestigious French technical institutions, the Advanced Mining School, in 1923. In 1927, he joined the prospecting section of the Geological Institute of Romania as a researcher, and quickly distinguished himself and went on to pursue specialization in Paris with the Schlumberger brothers. There he developed the well known "Stefanescu's kernel" and helped develop the first correct theory of the electromagnetic response of a low-frequency dipolar source. Stefanescu, almost simultaneously, established the theory for the calculation of the DC magnetic field of a grounded wire, which is now the basis of the magnetometric resistivity method.
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Radu Botezatu (Figure 7) was born on 8 January 1921 in Iasi and died on 11 January 1988 in Bucharest. He graduated from the Faculty of Mining and Metallurgy within the Polytechnic School in Timisoara in 1945 and earned his doctorate in Technical Sciences in 1970 and was awarded the title of Docent Doctor in 1974. He was promoted successively to highly responsible positions—head of team, head of section, chief engineer of the Prospecting and Laboratories Enterprise, prime manager of the Applied Geophysics Institute, director of the Geological Prospecting Institute, and Deputy Minister of Mines, Oil and Geology. He was professor at the Bucharest University, at the Geology and Geophysics Faculty, Geological and Geophysical Engineering Section. He carried out research in geophysical surveying and research applied to geology, elaborating new methods and proceedings of analysis and physical interpretation of potential field anomalies. He worked on studies of the morphology and structure and the geologic significance of the gravimetric and magnetic anomalies in central and northern Dobrudja, the area between Olt and Dambovita Rivers, the deep geological structure of Romania, the structure of the Romanian Carpathians, and other studies. He was elected the corresponding member of the Romanian Academy on 1 March 1974. He also was corresponding member of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics and of the European Association of Geophysical Exploration.
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Volodymyr Olexandrovych Selskiy (Figure 8), a very important figure in the development of Ukrainian and Soviet geophysics, was born in the Ukrainian village of Vekhylivka on 13 October 1883 and died in Lviv on 18 February 1951. He was educated at the Physics-Mathematics Faculty of Kyiv University, graduating in 1909. He spent a lot of time all over the Russian empire and later over much of the Soviet Union researching geological interpretation of geophysical data for both mining and petroleum exploration. In 1939 he wrote his influential "Short Course in Applied Geophysics" and was instrumental in creating a Geophysical Department (and the associated curriculum) in the Geological Faculty of Kyiv University in 1944, just after the end of Nazi occupation. Just a year later, in 1945, he went to Lviv where he started geophysical programs at both Lviv University and Lviv Polytechnic Institute. He is the author of over 160 scientific papers.
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