Volunteer Spotlight

Geophysics Lunchbox and MUG Talks

Both the Geophysics Lunchbox and the Microseismic Users Group (MUG) talks are ‘brown bag’ lunchtime talks to which you bring along your own lunch and enjoy the presentation with fellow geophysics enthusiasts – no costs involved.

Aside from learning from the experience of your colleagues they provide a valuable networking opportunity in an informal setting. This is in contrast with the more formal Technical Luncheon that we will showcase in the upcoming RECORDER issue.

Paige Snelling and Shawn Maxwell have both been involved in the MUG since the onset and are committed to facilitating high quality talks for the 60-70 members who attend. There has been a recent hiatus but talks are planned for December, January and February. Aside from planned presentations, they often schedule last minute talks to capitalize on speakers visiting Calgary on other business so it pays to keep an eye on the CSEG newsletter sent out regularly.

The first CSEG Lunchbox was an adhoc affair organised by Penny Colton and Satinder Chopra to accommodate a last minute visiting speaker in 2003. Richard Gray and Jason McCrank have been running the Lunchbox talks for two years since taking over the reins from Rob Holt and Julie Latter. The setting provides a great opportunity for showcasing work to the community in a more casual environment than the Technical Luncheon or GeoConvention and the potential for discussion and development of ideas makes this a venue that all geoscientists should consider. Interpreters interested in a peer review of a current or old project, processors with ideas for collaboration or a problem to solve, acquisition experts with an interesting observation or case study, geoscientists new to Canada wanting to showcase your skills and ideas, graduate students wanting a dry run of their thesis or to tag team consortia presentations to bring research to a greater audience are all welcome to sign up.

Shawn Maxwell is well known to many of the CSEG membership through his Doodle- Train courses and SEG Distinguished Instructor Short Course (DISC) that he has recently concluded but few may know that he stepped up his involvement in the CSEG after proposing the Microseismic Users Group (MUG) to the executive. Like many initiatives at the CSEG, if you have an idea you will end up leading the charge and Shawn found himself chairing the MUG committee and then serving as the Education Director on the executive. Shawn has enjoyed seeing MUG come together but comments that the
success of MUG is in the hands of the microseismic community to deliver quality speakers.

Organising the first MUG talk in 2012 was Paige Snelling’s first volunteer position with the CSEG and she is enthusiastic about all aspects of the group. Microseismic usage continues to grow and consequently the need for knowledge sharing increases so whilst there have been debates over the focus of the talks there is no shortage of speakers willing to share their experiences. Volunteering on the committee allows Paige to support learning while providing her with a
great opportunity to learn as well.

Jason McCrank has been volunteering with the CSEG since joining the DoodleTrain Committee in 2006 while still working on his MSc at the University of Calgary. He has been on the Lunchbox Committee for the past two years and admits that it has been a struggle to find presenters for these informal luncheons. The variety of talks keeps the Lunchbox interesting but often people are tentative to present. Jason feels that involvement with the CSEG Lunchbox Talks is important to promote the exchange of ideas through discussion and encourages potential speakers to
raise your profile by presenting.

When he was “asked if he was interested” in joining the Lunchbox Committee, Richard Gray said yes. His three years of CSEG volunteering has included Student Outreach and Seismic In Motion (SIM) and he finds that volunteering is a rewarding way to get out of the day to day routine and to meet new people. But it can be a challenge, and while the thing Richard enjoys most about working on the Lunchbox Talks is the opportunity to identify topics that will be of interest to the community, he also laments that fewer people seem to have time or are able to present a good technical talk with case histories.

So, although only two volunteers run the Lunchbox Talks, Richard suggests that
everyone should volunteer to look for speakers, or consider speaking, as we all have something interesting to share.