Junior Geophysicists Forum (JGF)

The 5th Junior Geophysicists Forum (JGF) was held on Tuesday, May 2, 2007. It is hard to believe that the first JGF (then called the YGF) was only 2.5 years ago. Since then we have had approximately 1000 geophysicists participate in the event. There have been some changes over that time, from the venue, the menu, to some of the organizers.

The 5th JGF was held at Quincy’s on Seventh. Approximately 180 geophysicists or soon to be geophysicists attended, all there to network, some to seek advice and some to dispense it.

We were pleased to have two speakers at the last JGF. Oliver Kuhn (Divestco/Geo-X Processing Division), the outgoing president of the CSEG, was our first speaker. Oliver talked about the importance of networking. He emphasized how much networking has helped him and others during their careers and encouraged people entering the industry to develop networking skills and take advantage of networking opportunities. One of the things that Oliver said that stands out was, “I have seen some brilliant geophysicists who did not network and their careers did not go as far as they could have and I have seen some mediocre geophysicists that were great at networking go all the way”. Oliver related some of his experiences with volunteer positions he has held with the CSEG and how each of these positions benefited him and gave him an appreciation for the amount of work involved in running the organization. Oliver pointed out that one of the easiest and most effective ways to begin networking within the geophysical industry is by getting involved with the CSEG. This is a point that the JGF committee is certainly in agreement with! Thank you Oliver, you gave a great talk.

John Peirce of GEDCO was our second speaker and spoke to the attendees in his capacity as a member of APEGGA. John explained the value of APPEGA and the reasons APEGGA is important to the geophysical industry and to each geophysicist as an individual. It is important for geophysicists to become members of APEGGA and it is legally required for companies that provide geophysical services to have registered members. Thank you John, we appreciate you taking the time to address the JGF.

The purpose of the JGF is to facilitate networking between the established geophysicists, junior geophysicists and students. It can be a daunting task to attend a function with 180 plus people and network on your own. An integral part of the JGF events is the Icebreaker game, which strives to make networking less intimidating. As the geophysicists and students checked in at the registration desk they were asked to take as many squares from a roll of toilet paper as they liked, but were not told why. Each person was given a nametag with a number on it. People were told to find others that had the same number on their nametag and form groups. Then everyone found out what the toilet paper was for! For each square of toilet paper taken you had to share something about yourself with your group. We are sure some people will never trust anyone again when they say take as much as you want.

Once again we gave away six $50 gas gift certificates. There was a random draw and as luck would have it all the winners were juniors. The winners were: Alex Campbell (Encana Corporation); Matthew Pronk (Devon Canada); Allan Hung, (Memorial University); Andrea Costello, (Shell Canada); Nathan Dahlby, (University of Calgary) and Mark Jeroncic (Talisman Energy Inc.).

We had a couple of new additions to the organizing committee for this event. Katarina Rothe (CNRL) joined us on the committee this year. Her planning expertise was invaluable and responsible for the upgraded menu for the event. Amanda Nicholls (University of Calgary) joined in fall of 2006 to help us as a student representative. Amanda was extremely helpful with her ideas and views from a student’s point of view. But sadly we are losing her already. Amanda graduated this past May and has accepted a job with CGGVeritas. Amanda will be leaving Calgary for a one-year training program and traveling the world. Have fun Amanda. Jolene Goring (Real Resources) has also resigned from the committee. Jolene has been with the committee since its inception and we value her contributions. She will be missed!

Carmen Swalwell (Swalwell Resource Consulting) and Mark Noble (GX Technology) have stepped down as Co-Chairs of the JGF. As the founders of the JGF, Carmen and Mark will be staying on the committee to help out the new Chair. Doug Colvin (Talisman Energy) will continue to advise the guide the committee. Katarina Rothe will also be continuing on with the committee. Jeff Gautreau (GEDCO) has been with the JGF committee since its inception and will be taking on the position of Chair of the JGF.

We would like to invite geophysicists to share their feedback with us. Please send any comments to jgf@cseg.ca or visit the Facebook group. We would appreciate feedback on the following:

• Topics and speakers for the next event
• Icebreaker games
• Getting information about the JGF to new geophysicists
• How to make the JGF more effective
• Suggestions on other events the JGF committee can organize
• Personal comments on the JGF and how effective it has been for you

Last but certainly not least, we would like to thank our sponsors: Apache Canada Ltd., EnCana Corporation, Canadian Natural Resource Limited, ConocoPhillips Canada, Husky Energy, Nexen Inc., Penn West Energy Trust, Petro-Canada, Suncor Energy Inc., Talisman Energy Inc. and Compton Petroleum Corporation. The JGF committee and the geophysical community appreciate your financial support and belief in the value of this event.

After consultation with the Outreach committee and the Chief Geophysicists Forum the JGF committee has made the decision to make the JGF an annual event. The next JGF will be the week before the CSEG/CSPG 2008 Joint Convention. We will finalize the date in the New Year. If you know of someone that will be new to the industry please make sure the check the CSEG website for more details.

See all of you next year!

Your JGF Committee

Carmen Swalwell, Swalwell Resource Consulting Inc.
Mark Noble, GXTechnology
Doug Colvin, Talisman Energy Inc.
Jeff Gautreau, GEDCO
Jolene Goring, Real Resources
Amanda Nicholls, CGGVertias
Katarina Rothe, CNRL