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The Dead Sea is so salty that it kills most animal and plant life, but bacteria, brine shrimp, and a class of plants called halophytes that love salt water thrive there.

1970
SEG Foundation awarded US$33 900 to 50 students for 1970-71 academic year. The Geophysical Society of Alaska and the Australian SEG received charters; and the Four Corners Geophysical Society (Farmington, New Mexico/Durango, Colorado) disbanded. Emeritus status for members aged 65 who have been members for 30 continuous years was approved by the Council. "A Cumulative Index of Geophysics 1936-69," W. J. Zwart special editor, was published as a supplement to June Geophysics. Virginia Polytechnic Institute Geophysical Society was formed as a student section. New standing committees: Planning Advisory, Oceanography, Academic Liaison, and Professional Affairs. The Joint Cooperative AAPG/SEG Committee was "inactivated." Preregistration was offered for the first time at the 40th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, which attracted a total of 2553 registrants. Francis Hale appointed SEG representative to the new Instituto Panamericano de Geografia a Historia, headquartered in La Paz, Bolivia; an organizing meeting of the Committee on Geophysics (COMGEOFIS) of the instituto was held in Mexico City.

Personals: Dolan McDaniel appointed manager of northern Latin American operations for GSI ... I. A. Mamantov assumed position of assistant professor of Russian at SMU ... Carl H. Savit joined the staff of the Office of Science and Technology in Washington as assistant to President Nixon's science advisor for earth, marine, and atmospheric sciences ... W. M. Dolan is now chief geophysicist for Amax Exploration Inc., based in Toronto ... Norman E. Goldstein joined International Oil Corp. in Denver as chief geophysicist of the minerals division ... Charles G. Heil promoted to division exploration manager for Continental Oil in Oklahoma City ... B. G. Baugh and S. W. Schoellhorn named VPs of SSC ... Tom Nicol promoted to VP of Petty Geophysical Engineering's data processing division ... Francis Campbell, retired Amerada Geophysicist, was elected city auditor of Tulsa in a recent election. (Campbell was reelected eight times and died in office in 1987) ... John L. DeVault joined GTS Corp. as data bank manager in Houston. Membership: 7306

1971
3776 registered at the 41st Annual Meeting in Houston; the 125 paper technical program included six mining sessions. J. Dan Skelton presided as the third General Chairman; he succeeded James E. Harrison (who transferred to Tulsa in May) and the original chairman, Ben R. Howard, who earlier accepted a transfer to Ecuador. Nine founders of SEG who were still members of the society were honored during the Kickoff Luncheon; eight others were unable to attend. 1971 marked the 50th anniversary of the reflection seismograph; a commemorative monument was unveiled by SEG President W. B. Robinson in Oklahoma City during the 24th meeting of the Midwest Sections. Registration versus certification was the big issue in 1971; no policy was set by the society, however. Glossary of Terms Used in Well Logging, by Robert E. Sheriff, was translated into Spanish by COMGEOFIS and offered by them for purchase. The third annual OTC attracted 10 800 delegates. A proposal by the Houston Geophysical Society to move SEG headquarters to Houston was turned down by the Council. Seismograph Service Corp. donated a complete analog seismic replay center to the University of Tulsa's earth sciences department. February Geophysics was a special issue on electromagnetic scattering, edited by Stanley H. Ward. The Columbia University Geophysical Society (SEG's 10th student section) was chartered. 1971 publications included Seismic Filtering, translated by Nathan Rothenberg, R. Van Nostrand, editor; and SEG Monograph No. 1: Gravity and Magnetics for Geologists and Seismologists, by L. L. Nettleton. The Engineering, Groundwater, and Construction Geophysics Committee was formed and the Digital Recording Standards Committee was reactivated. Membership Certificates were designed and offered for purchase from the business office.

Personals: Charles C. Perry, Jr. accepted the position of operations manager for Cia. Mexicana de Exploraciones S.A., with offices in Mexico City ... J. M. Proffitt named manager of U.S. operations of GSI ... Peter R. Vail promoted to senior research associate in Esso Production Research's stratigraphic geology division ... Walter W. Hays named technical director of Environmental Research Corp. Frank Jagodits appointed chief geophysicist with Barringer Research Ltd. ... T. A. Russell elected assistant VP of SSC ... R. L. Makin transferred from London to Signal Oil & Gas's head office in Los Angeles ... Ralph A. Wiggins now an assistant professor at the University of Toronto ... A. A. Hunzicker named executive VP of newly formed International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) with headquarters in Houston ... Charles H. Andrews appointed staff geophysicist for Geocom ... Rear Admiral O. D. Waters retired as oceanographer of the Navy ... Luis Del Castillo G. named head of exploration geophysics at the Geophysics Institute in Mexico City ... John R. Bailey formed Senturion Sciences Inc. in Tulsa ... Laurie Reed joined Selco Exploration Co. in Toronto ... Emil J. Mateker appointed VP of R&D for Western Geophysical ... Frank Press, head of the department of earth and planetary sciences at MIT, awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in London ... David W. Strangway appointed chief of the geophysics branch of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston ... Former SEG President John C. Hollister retired as professor of geophysics and head of the geophysics department at Colorado School of Mines. Membership: 7507; Student Members: 439

1972
Stratigraphic Oil and Gas Fields Classification, Exploration Methods, and Case Histories, Robert E. King special editor, was published jointly with AAPG. The Mining Committee was expanded to become the Mining, Engineering, and Groundwater Geophysics Committee. The Texas A&M University Geophysical Society was chartered but the Geophysical Society of Edmonton disbanded due to a series of transfers of members. Richard Legault, professor at the University of Michigan's Willow Run Lab, served as SEG's Distinguished Lecturer. Walter English elected to Life Membership in the Society. A total of 2259 registered at the 42nd Annual Meeting in Anaheim, November 26-30; 81 companies exhibited in 138 booths; Douglas D. Barman served as general chairman and Stanley B. Jones was Technical Program chairman. A first for SEG, the Tucker brothers, Paul and Lewis, were awarded Best Presentation plaques for their (different) papers at the 1971 convention. The executive committee approved "establishment of a communications channel" with IAGC. The Employment Referral Service now available to members from headquarters in Tulsa. The SEG Council adopted an official "Certification and Registration Policy." SEG Vice President George R. Rogers died in the Fiji Islands while on assignment for his company, Phelps Dodge.

Personals: Norman Morrissey promoted to executive VP of GeoData Corp. ... Michael A. Clevenger now VP/director of international operations of United Geophysical ... William L. Baker transferred from Chevron Overseas Petroleum in San Francisco to West Australian Petroleum Ltd. in Perth ... Walt Conley joined Esso Eastern Inc. in Houston as geophysical advisor with responsibilities for Australia and Indonesia ... Norman E. Goldstein appointed project geophysicist, project development division for Cities Service's international operations in the New York office ... R. L. Sengbush and Norris R. Harris formed Petroleum Exploration Consultants Worldwide Inc. (PEXCON) in Dallas ... J. Fred Bucy elected executive VP of Texas Instruments ... Harry J. McGrew named director of geophysics of Gulf Oil Co.'s Latin American exploration and production department ... J. Lester Heath appointed president of Vector Cable Co. . . . Hugh M. Thralls, former SEG president, retired as chairman and CEO of United Geophysical. Membership: 7799

1973
Three new sections of the Society were chartered: Canadian Exploration Geophysical Society (KEGS) of Toronto, Geophysical Society of Peru (Lima), and Potomac Geophysical Society in Washington, D.C. Dues remitted for life for Craig Ferris and Frank Searcy for their long time service. New student sections chartered at the following universities: Arizona, Hawaii, Northern Arizona, Tasmania (Australia), Wright State, and Universidad Central de Venezuela (Caracas). The name of the Best Paper Award changed to Outstanding Paper in Geophysics. New SEG publications this year: Encyclopedic Dictionary of Exploration Geophysics, by Robert E. Sheriff; and Geophysical Monograph No. 2: Pitfalls in Seismic Interpretation, by Paul M. Tucker and Howard J. Yorston. All previous attendance records were shattered at the 43rd Annual Meeting in Mexico City; 3800 delegates, exhibitors, spouses, and students had registered by the end of the meeting. Cumulative Index 1936-72 was published as a supplement to October Geophysics, William J. Zwart special editor. New committees established: Geothermal, Academic Liaison, and Revision of SEG Film (ad hoc). Members of the former South Texas Geophysical Society, inactive since 1966, donated US$1230 remaining in their treasury to the SEG Foundation.

Personals: Roy O. Lindseth elected president of the Canadian Geoscience Council ... Richard E. Schneider transferred to Continental Oil's exploration office in Oklahoma City ... C. F. Wendenburg named executive VP/general manager of Rogers Explorations ... P. G. Mathieu promoted to director of Gulf R&D's exploration division in Pittsburgh ... J. Ken Morrison joined Ashland Oil Canada in Calgary ... David A. Emilia joined the staff of the Geophysical Observatory at Haile Sellassie I University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Membership: 8159

1974
A petition to change the constitution to allow for a president elect was voted down by the Council. SEG sponsored the first Academic/Industry Seminar for geophysics professors and geophysicists from industry to discuss each other's needs; Robert E. Sheriff chaired the meeting funded by 13 oil companies and 4 geophysical contractors. Frank Rollins served as general chairman of the 44th Annual Meeting in Dallas; theme was "Geophysics   Exploration's Leading Edge." Ed Stewart, Ray Krum, and Larry Mandot received the well-deserved "Honorary Doodlebugger Award" for their service "above and beyond the call of duty" for their contributions to the success of the 1973 Annual Meeting in Mexico City. Raymond A. Peterson's short course, "Through the Kaleidoscope: A Doodlebugger in Wonderland," is now available to SEG sections. In response to an invitation to members by SEG President Kidder to serve on SEG committees, a new "Committee to Cherish, Promote, and Defend Doodlebuggers," was suggested by the irrepressible Bettye Athanasiou. A new SEG career guidance film, "The Energy Seekers," was completed and previewed at the Dallas convention. Expansion of SEG headquarters was completed with the addition of a second story to the building. Charters were received by the following new student sections: Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, Akita (Japan) University, University of Texas, Michigan Tech, Oklahoma University, Cornell University, and the University of Tulsa. E. I. Gal'perin's Vertical Seismic Profiling was published; A. J. Hermont served as translator, and J. Ed White was special editor. A monthly seismic crew survey of U.S. land crews and marine vessels was authorized to be taken for the Federal Energy Administration. The Society's Employment Referral Service was offered for the first time at the Dallas convention. A brochure, "Opportunities in Exploration Geophysics," was prepared for distribution to high school students. 32 600+ registered at the 6th OTC in Houston, netting a share for SEG of US$43 784.

Personals: W. Maurice Ewing died May 4 just three days before he was scheduled to receive the 1974 Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals at the OTC in Houston ... Tsvi Meidav founded Geonomics Inc. ... Frank Levin promoted to senior research scientist at Esso Production Research ... Awards: to M. King Hubbert the GSA Penrose Medal; Frank Press, NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal; and Charles C. Bates, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's Silver Medal ... Nabil A. Morgan transferred to England as GSI's area geophysicist for the Middle East ... Melvin J. Hill named president of Gulf Oil's new division, GLOBEX ... Zeljko Zagorac now lecturer of applied geophysics and chief of the Institute for Mining Surveying and Applied Geophysics at the University of Zagreb, Yugoslavia ... GeoQuest International Ltd. founded by Norman S. Neidell, J. Pat Lindsey, and E. F. Zagst with offices in Houston ... Emile Guerin, Jr. named VP of GUS Exploration Inc. ... John A. McDonald joined the exploration division of Gulf R&D as a research geophysicist ... Jack D. Wallner promoted to director of systems for Tenneco Oil Co. ... Kenneth L. Larner named supervisor of geotechnical research for Western Geophysical ... Richard L. Fentem new chief geologist U.S. for Amerada Hess, based in Tulsa. William S. French now associate professor of geophysics at Oregon State University's school of oceanography ... Graham C. Alvey joined Occidental of Libya Inc. as chief geophysicist in Tripoli. Membership: 8465

1975
Silver Certificates awarded to 149 individuals who completed 25 years of continuous membership. New student sections (making a total of 28) established at Penn State, University of Western Ontario, Bowling Green State University, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and Stanford University. Dan Skelton, president of SEG and president elect of AGI, spoke on "Geophysics Good News/Bad News" at an AGI sponsored White House Conference on the Earth Sciences. The SEG Foundation, in its 20th year, awarded 60 scholarships for 1975-76. Former SEG President Samuel J. Allen served as distinguished lecturer. For the first time, the Index of Wells for 1975 listed offshore separate from land wells. Sharon E. Macha appointed SEG's representative to the AGI Women in Geoscience Committee. SEG pins presented to former annual meeting chairmen during the Kickoff Luncheon at the 45th Annual Meeting in Denver. "SEG" and "Geophysics" trademarks were officially registered with the U.S. Patent Office. New Committee: Ad Hoc Committee on Exchange Visits between U.S. and Mainland China Geophysicists, Stanley B. Jones, chairman. A Speakers Club was initiated to provide talks to groups outside North America by speakers traveling on company business.

Personals: Robert L. Zieve named VP, exploration for Inexco Oil ... Charles H. (Chuck) Burt is VP of marketing for Geocom ... Myron Goldstein transferred from Esso Australia to Esso Standard in Johannesburg, South Africa ... Alex Becker named managing director of Mineral Exploration Research Institute in Montreal ... Basil C. Pantin new president of GTS de Venezuela C.A. in Cara as ... Robert E. Sheriff accepted a position with Seiscom Delta as senior VP ... Lawrence C. Wood named consulting geophysicist in Amoco Production's exploration department in Houston ... D. G. (Gene) Westover named chief geophysicist for Tenneco Oil Co. ... G. Clark Davenport transferred to Madrid as manager of geophysics for the Eastern Hemisphere for Dames and Moore ... Milo M. Backus joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin as the first Wallace E. Pratt professor of geophysics ... C. G. Dahm now chief geophysicist for Texas Pacific Oil International ... E. (Woody) Hardman named VP for Trend Exploration Ltd. in Denver. Membership: 9192

1976
New student sections were chartered at the University of Adelaide (Australia), University Texas at Dallas, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, University of Washington (Seattle), North Carolina State University (Raleigh), and Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City. The AAPG/AAPL/SEG/SPE Committee on Media Symposia held its first seminar in Boston; the group was established to give the press background information on fundamentals of exploration and production of oil and natural gas. SEG's crest was registered with the U.S. Patent Office. Proceeds from the Geophysical Society of Oklahoma City's continuing education seminar provided US$1500 for SEG Foundation scholarships. An increase in seismic exploration activity was reported in May after a 10 month decline. Frank Levin served as 1976 Distinguished Lecturer. SEG President R.B. Rice submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs a statement protesting certain provisions of S1864 (Energy Information Act). An additional officer (2nd vice president) was added to the executive committee. Society accepted an invitation from the USGS to collaborate in the publication of joint USGS/SEG gravity and magnetic maps. Since the first scholarship awards in 1956-57, SEG Foundation Scholarship donations from companies, sections, and individuals have provided more than US$500 000 to students. Records again were broken at the 46th Annual Meeting in Houston: more than 6000 delegates, spouses, students, and exhibitors attended the convention; for the first time, one day registration was available. A luncheon honoring past presidents was held during the meeting and a special session honored L. L. Nettleton. An electromagnetics supplement, S. H. Ward, editor, was published in December Geophysics.

Personals: Ray E. Faudry, President of Geophysical Society of Houston, named exploration manager of Skelly's Houston district ... Robert Dyk appointed an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II of England in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of th UK offshore oil industry ... A. A. (Hunt) Hunzicker, 46-year veteran of the industry, retired as executive VP of IAGC ... David A. Hastings joined the Geological Survey of Ghana as senior geophysicist ... Two distinguished SEG past presidents, E. V. McCollum and W. B. Robinson, are teaching courses in geophysics at the University of Oklahoma. Membership: 9968

1977
Michigan Society of Exploration Geophysicists chartered but three sections requested inactive status: Ark La Tex, Coastal Bend, and Forth Worth Geophysical Societies. Student sections established at the University of Texas, El Paso; State University of New York at Fredonia; Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London; and the University of Auckland, New Zealand. A new cover was designed for Geophysics. The SEG Medal Award was renamed the Reginald Fessenden Award. Nearly 5200 attended the 47th Annual Meeting in Calgary. More than 330 SEG members registered for the "All Star" geophysical session at the 9th OTC; a total of 65,611 attended the conference and SEG's share in the proceeds was US$89 100. The Radio Facilities Committee was dissolved and two representatives were appointed to the API Committee on Radio Communications. A liaison representative to IAGC was appointed. A special issue on Remote Sensing, R. D. Regan and Ken Watson, special editors, was published in April Geophysics. Oceanography Committee name was changed to "Offshore Exploration and Oceanography Committee."

Personals: John L. Hern elected VP/director of G.J. Long & Associates ... Stanley W. Hall joined Fairfield Industries as group VP ... Charles H. Andrews appointed VP/marketing for Houston Processors ... Ralph A. Wiggins now principal geophysicist for Del Mar Technical Associates ... Sven Treitel named research consultant to Amoco's geophysical research division ... William G. Clement joined the Cities Service exploration/production research lab ... Thomas L. Dobecki now with Sandia Labs' instrumentation systems division ... Steven H. Voss joined Tomlinson Interests as division geophysicist ... C. Wayne Carrier appointed chief geophysicist for Amarex Inc., in Oklahoma City ... Guy L. Burge, Jr. now division geologist for Buttes Resources in Bakersfield ... Patricial L. Kist joined Houston Processors as production manager for seismic processing ... Michael A. Clevenger named president of United Geophysical Co. Membership: 10 762; Student Members: 1053

1978
SEG's highest honor, the Maurice Ewing Award, established and Cecil H. Green was the first recipient. SEG's Geophysics Reprint 1, Deconvolution, edited by Gerald M. Webster, was published. The society is now participating in the Copyright Clearance Center. Eight student sections were chartered: University of Iowa, Boise State University, University of Arkansas, Northern Illinois University, San Diego State University, University of Madrid (Spain) School of Mines, and the University of Wyoming. New Standing Committees: Advisory and Women in Geophysics; new ad hoc committees: Real Estate Committee to purchase land for a new headquarters building and Committee on Exchange Visits between Geophysicists from the U.S. and PRC. Silver Certificates awarded to 291 members. A campaign was started to expand the Continuing Education Program. SEG cosponsored with the U.S. Navy the first biennial two day symposium. SEG used a small (only six members) steering committee to make arrangements for the 48th Annual Meeting in San Francisco; the highly successful convention in the City by the Bay drew more than 5500 registrants.

Personals: Sheldon E. Elliott named chief geophysicist of Phillips Petroleum Co. Europe/Africa, based in London ... Francis G. (Bitts) Bryan joined C. H. Burt Inc. as manager of field operations ... Robert B. Rice retired as manager of Marathon Oil's Denver research center ... William L. Field joined Amarillo Oil in Houston ... Robert D. Regan appointed director of the earth sciences division of Phoenix Corp. ... Philip L. Work joined Tetra Tech as director of business development of the Texas energy management division ... Ben R. Howard accepted a position as division geophysicist with Williams Exploration in their Gulf Coast division ... Dallas R. (Dal) Davis retired from Indel Davis after 24 years with the company he helped found ... Richard L. Stites appointed chief geophysicist of the London office of Marathon International (GB) ... K. Helbig is now professor of exploration geophysics at the Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht, Netherlands ... Tomas Ortiz, long time head of SSC's Mexican operations, retired after 32 years with the firm ... Fritz P. Kronberger appointed VP, corporate geophysical marketing, of Seiscom Delta ... James B. Lyon accepted a position with Pexcon International Inc. as senior VP of operations. Membership: 11 728

1979
June Geophysics was a Memorial issue to John C. Karcher, the "father of the reflection seismograph." New student sections were chartered at the Universities of Saskatchewan, Calgary, Arizona, Kansas, California at Riverside, and New Mexico Tech. 80 students received SEG scholarships for 1979-80. The Sociedad Geofisica del Peru was reactivated. 961 delegates attended the 32nd Annual Midwest Meeting in Denver. According to SEG's monthly seismic crew survey, geophysical exploration reached its highest level in 20 years. Robert J. Weimer, professor at Colorado School of Mines, served as distinguished lecturer. Property was purchased for a new SEG headquarters building. John Hyden appointed executive director to succeed Howard Breck, who retired at the end of 1978. SEG's journal Geophysics became a monthly. 15 Continuing Education courses are now available and 10 more are planned. Wives of past presidents were honored at a luncheon during the Annual Meeting in New Orleans, a new tradition. The Technical Standards Subcommittee on Tape Formats approved a new family of tape formats (SEG-D), both multiplexed and demultiplexed and encompassing six different types of data words. 79 689 attended the 11th OTC in Houston and SEG's share of profits was a whopping US$135 152.

Personals: Ralph T. Ross retired after six years as SEG's representative to the OTC executive committee ... Charles H. Andrews formed Andrews Exploration ... Carl H. Savit appointed to the Energy Research Advisory Board of the U.S. Dept. of Energy ... Frank L. Jagodits joined Excalibur International Consultants Ltd. in Toronto ... John Paniszczyn accepted a position as exploration geophysicist with Enserch Exploration, based in Midland ... Douglas J. Guion and William C. Pearson established Guion & Pearson Inc. in Denver ... George M. Pavey, board chairman of Seismic Engineering, received the 1979 OTC Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals ... Howard Dingman elected president of Western Geophysical. Membership: 12 730