Executive Message

The CSEG is in its 51st year of operation. The original purpose of the Society is still somewhat the same as the original Executive had in tended, however the methods have drastically changed over time. In 1949 geophysics was done using analogue methods, whereas today everything is in digital format, including methods of communication. You can now read the Recorder on your computer, from anywhere that you have access to a computer. The CSEG Executive currently has e-mail debates on certain issues to save time in meetings and those meetings are booked more easily when you can simply send out the message to everyone at once. The telephone is being used less and less as time goes on, and even then you usually leave a digital voice mail message for the person to phone your answering machine back. A geophysicist can sit in front of his workstation, in his office, for days without having to interact with a real person. Over time the person to person interaction between geophysicists has become a practice of the past and therefore the social events of the CSEG have become more important for our members than they were just 10 years ago. For this reason the Executive will be looking for ways to sponsor more social events, where our members can come and enjoy some time with old friends and network with new acquaintances. The first of the se events will be the night we honor all our volunteers in June. Look for more of these events through the year.

The CSEG will also be run more as a business. Each committee will be regarded as a business unit. Reports will be submitted each month to the appropriate representative on the Executive and a budget will be submitted for Executive approval each year. Once the budget is approved, the committee will have the authority to conduct their business as they wish. The Convention committee has been working by this method for years. This will help keep our finances in check and everyone will be knowledgeable about the events going on in every committee.

The CSEG is also striving to become a truly Canadian society. Through our representation on the Canadian Geoscience Council and through the efforts of our Continuing Education committee the CSEG is trying to have a voice across Canada to promote both the petroleum industry and geophysics. Giving new graduates a look at what the CSEG and Calgary has to offer can only be beneficial in the long run.

If the first president and the first executive of the CSEG, back in 1949, could see what their efforts have brought forward today, 51 years later, I know they would be proud of the organization they created and they would be amazed at how far the science of geophysics has come. The future has only more to offer in the way of technology and innovations. The CSEG will strive to keep pace.