Executive Message

The CSEG, like so many organizations, is highly dependent on volunteer labour. Most of the volunteers are unsung heroes, whose efforts are not, unfortunately, usually brought to the attention of the general membership. Behind the high-profile executive there are many committees working hard to provide quality services, advice and social activities. The first annual volunteer's night, held on June 7th, was the CSEG executive's way of saying that we appreciate greatly the time, effort and commitment the volunteers dedicate to our society. A report on this event can be found on page 99 of this issue.

We all strive to improve the way things are done. With better procedures and by being more efficient or cost-effective we can offer enhanced or new services to our members and also make life easier for our successors. Feed-back is important to us - whether negative or positive. If you can see an area for improvement or have any ideas please let us know. You won't necessarily find yourself heading a committee to address the issue!

Helen Isaac

Helen Isaac was born and raised in Nottingham, in the English Midlands. At school she excelled in Mathematics and was hopeless at sports. She belonged to the Brownies, Guides and Rangers, took piano lessons, played the violin in the school orchestra and sang in school choirs. She received her BSc. (Honours) in Mathematics in 1973 from Imperial College, London. Careers as a mathematician did not inspire her so she looked for an M.Sc. to do at Imperial, and Geophysics looked interesting. Helen found that plate tectonics was the most exciting subject she had ever studied. International travel beckoned and she went to work in 1974 as a geophysicist for Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and Denver before being returned to London. In 1980 she came to Canada with her first husband, a taciturn Welshman, and joined Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas Co. Ltd., where she worked for its international arm, Hudbay Oil International, until the take-over by Dome. The attractions of Canada were not only the professional and outdoor recreational opportunities but the statutory holiday and fireworks on her birthday, July 1st.

1983 was a year of great change, as she disposed of both husband and company, joining Canterra Energy Ltd. She stayed with Husky Oil Operations Ltd. after the merger with Canterra until experiencing the same fate as many colleagues - that of termination - in 1991. This took place 5 weeks after the lay-off of her new husband, the garrulous Scot, Alasdair. Helen grabbed the opportunity to return to university to get that Ph.D. she always wanted, receiving it in 1996 from the University of Calgary, where her supervisor was Don Lawton. University life (relaxed working environment, casual clothing, walking from home) and the chance to disseminate her knowledge to students appeals to her and she now works as a research scientist with the Fold-Fault Research Project.

Her main professional interests are the processing, interpretation and modelling of seismic data in areas of complex geology and the imaging and interpretation problems associated with velocity anisotropy. She served on the technical committees for Geotriad'98 and SEG2000, was a co-author of the CSEG best paper in 1998, has chaired technical sessions at CSEG, CSEG/CSPG and SEG conventions and is currently Director of Educational Services for the CSEG. Helen has many outside interests. She has sung as a soprano in the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus for 15 years and currently takes private voice lessons. Thanks to Alasdair, she has become involved with cross-country skiing and is a Level 2 race official (fancy name for volunteer who stands in the snow) for Cross-Country Alberta. She helps organize the Lake Louise Loppet ski race and the New and Used Ski Sale. In the summer Helen is a keen gardener, spending pots of money on pretty things that die, and likes to hike and ride her bike.