2018 USO Recap

In 2018, the University Student Outreach (USO) committee organized a variety of events and programs for university students across Canada. In January Elizabeth Ramsey and Shelby Perreault represented the CSEG at the 54th annual Western Inter-University Geoscience Conference (WIUGC) in Regina. Over 150 students from Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan attended. Shelby hosted the Western Regional Challenge Bowl that Darby Desrosiers and Alex Patterson from Mount Royal University won. Elizabeth presented a talk on the Value of Integrated Geoscience. We are looking forward to attending the 55th WIUGC, taking place January 9 – 12th, 2019 in Brandon, Manitoba.

In March, Johnny Wentzel represented the CSEG at the 18th annual Advances in Earth Science Research Conference (AESRC) at the University of Ottawa. We are looking forward to attending the 19th AESRC, March 29 – 31st, 2019, at the University of Toronto. Quebec City also hosted a Regional Challenge Bowl at the University of Laval for the first time, organized by Cecilia Dip.

In May, at GeoConvention 2018 we held the 12th annual Canadian National Challenge Bowl, hosted by the ever-entertaining Peter Duncan. Over 130 people witnessed the intense competition between students from the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, Université Laval, Memorial University and St. Francis Xavier University. Katie McLean and Jesse Hilvo brought home the win and represented Canada at the SEG Annual Meeting’s Global Challenge Bowl in Anaheim, California where they placed fourth.

In June, the 10th annual Geophysics Industry Field Trip (GIFT), chaired by Eric Rops took place in Drumheller and Calgary. Forty students engaged in a series of workshops all tied to a real seismic dataset obtained from Drumheller, covering the acquisition, processing, interpretation and inversion of that data set. We are excited to announce that the 11th annual GIFT, chaired by Stefan Djordjevic, will take place May 29th to June 1st, 2019.

Mentorship 2017/2018 offered opportunities for students to connect, build community and seek inter-generational technical guidance. Our focus this year was on long-standing meaningful relationships and mentorship. We had the privilege of building ~30 formal pairings. We held workshops, lunch and learns and leaned on partnerships to progress student learning opportunities.

Mentorship 2018/2019 kicked off in October with the annual Junior Geophysicists Forum, jointly organized with the Emerging Professionals Program (EPP). This year’s event format flipped the script on its participants, who were transformed from event attendees to idea-sharers. Four topics of discussion were: New Data Tools, Canadian Energy Policy, The Future of Work, and Economic Value in Geophysics. The smaller group interaction overflowed with discussion points, challenges to be addressed, and unique solutions to many of the problems facing our industry today. The EPP group plans to build on these ideas with more focused events in 2019.

In November, Chelsea Squires and Matthew Drew represented the CSEG at the Atlantic Universities Geoscience Conference (AUGC), hosted by Dalhousie. Students and faculty from St. Mary’s University, St. Francis Xavier University, Memorial University, Dalhousie University, University of New Brunswick and Acadia University were all in attendance. Chelsea hosted the Eastern Regional Challenge Bowl where Memorial won and will move on to Nationals at GeoConvention 2019.

The CSEG also supports individual universities and students through a variety of means. The 2018/2019 CSEG Distinguished lecturer is David Gray, presenting “An Unconventional View on Geoscience”. David visited over 15 schools in 2018 and will continue his tour in 2019. The scholarship committee was able to allocate $27,000 to 14 post-secondary students across Canada. In addition, we awarded two $500 scholarships to high school students entering a science-based university program in the fall of 2018. Travel Grants and Learning Subsidies (TGLS) provided $6000 to 13 of 21 applicants allowing attendance to AME Round Up, PDAC, GeoConvention, GIFT, EAGE, SEG and two international field trips. To apply for funding visit cseg.ca/foundation/apply-for-funds. We also support individual student groups in a variety of ways. Interested groups are encouraged to email us at csegf.uso@gmail.com.

These events were possible thanks to the persistent efforts of USO volunteers and Foundation donors. We are extraordinarily grateful for the immense support our group receives. The enthusiasm, determination and ingenuity of Canadian geoscience students continues to inspire and motivate me.

Elizabeth Ramsey, CSEGF – USO Chair