198: How to chart a successful career in 2023 w/ Kurt Marfurt

Seismic Soundoff

Kurt Marfurt reflects on his career and the recent award of SEG's highest honor, the Maurice Ewing Medal. In this engaging conversation with host Andrew Geary, Kurt shares his reaction to learning about receiving the Maurice Ewing Medal. He offers his major takeaways from various career stops along his path and how his volunteer roles at the SEG advanced his career. Kurt provides wisdom on what's changed and hasn't changed in building a successful geophysical career and what he's most proud of when looking back at his accomplishments. It's a privilege to hear from geophysicists at the top of their profession, and Kurt provides actionable advice with a fun and insightful look back at his long career. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * (2023), "Honors and Awards: SEG 2023 Honors and Awards Citations," The Leading Edge 42: 526–538. (https://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/tle42080526.1) CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS The Early Career Subcommittee of the SEG Research Committee is receiving nominations of new members to serve the term 2023-2025. This subcommittee is open to graduate students active in research or early-career professionals up to three years post-graduation. As part of the SEG Research Committee, the Early-Career Subcommittee provides their opinion, advice, and vision to the research direction and goals of SEG from the perspective of career starters. If you are passionate about contributing to shaping the future of applied geophysics, please indicate your interest by sending a resume and cover letter to Xiaolei Tu at [e-mail] before 30 September. SEISMIC SOUNDOFF WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU! The podcast will celebrate 200 episodes on 5 October, and we want to hear from our listeners on this special milestone. * What's the most valuable thing you've learned from the show? * What surprised you? * What episode do you most share with others? Record your message today at https://www.speakpipe.com/SeismicSoundoff if you have answers to these questions and want to be showcased. Everyone who leaves a message will be automatically entered to win a free online subscription to the SEG Library (everything except e-books) for one year. BIOGRAPHY Kurt J. Marfurt is the recipient of SEG's highest honor, the Maurice Ewing Medal, awarded to a person deserving of special recognition for making major contributions to the advancement of the science and profession of exploration geophysics. Marfurt is a remarkably productive geophysicist, author, and educator with a distinguished career in academia and the oil and gas industry. After completing his Ph.D. in applied geophysics at Columbia University in 1978 and teaching there, he joined the Amoco Research Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a research geophysicist. During his tenure at Amoco, Marfurt made significant contributions to several processes and patents, particularly the development of seismic attributes. In 1999, Marfurt joined the faculty at the University of Houston, where he served as director of the Allied Geophysical Laboratories. He continued to research seismic imaging, interpretation, and data simulation, notably generating well-used synthetic data sets for the Marmousi model. In 2007, Marfurt joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma, where he served as the Shultz Professor of Geophysics and is now professor emeritus. He has been involved with SEG as a short course instructor, associate editor of GEOPHYSICS, editor-in-chief of Interpretation, director at large on the SEG Board of Directors, and coauthor of more than 800 papers and abstracts. CREDITS Zach Bridges created original music for this show. Andrew Geary hosted, edited, and produced this episode at TreasureMint. The SEG podcast team is Jennifer Cobb, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis.