To step from the security of an executive position in an established company to pursue your own vision takes courage and daring. To make that vision a reality and, through it, to contribute to the economic and scientific vitality of an industry takes knowledge, intelligence, diligence, and self-sacrifice. To build at the same time both a successful company and a worldwide reputation as a great teacher of geophysics, a major contributor to SEG, and one of the most pleasant dinner companions in our industry requires a singular love for our science and the people who practice it. Brian Russell has achieved all these things while building Hampson-Russell Software.
     Brian was brought up in Vancouver, British Columbia. A move in his senior year of high school brought him to Saskatchewan where he entered the university as a physics major. Hearing some inner callSperhaps to help his fellow man or perhaps simply to see the worldSBrian joined CUSO in 1973 and spent two years teaching high school in the back country of northern Zambia. When he returned to Canada in 1975, Brian was ready to improve his standard of living. He remembered that an uncle, who happened to be a bit of a dabbler in mining stock, had told him "geophysicists make lots of money" and his career path was set. He completed his honors degree in geophysics at the University of Saskatchewan and was immediately hired on by Chevron Standard to be an interpreter in their Frontier Division which was then working the Northwest Territories out of Calgary.
     Brian remained at Chevron from 1976 to 1981, moving to Houston with Chevron Geoscience and then back to Calgary. During that time he also took a one-year leave of absence to get a master's in geophysics from the University of Durham in England, choosing that location largely because Durham had an excellent program and was close to his mother's home town.
     In 1981 Brian left Chevron to join Teknica Resource Development as a senior explorationist. He moved to Veritas Seismic in 1982 as a research and training geophysicist, eventually becoming vice president of Marketing and Training for Veritas Software. In 1987 he and Dan Hampson formed their now well-known partnership which Brian serves as vice president.
     In the last nine years, Hampson-Russell Software has grown from a start-up to a company of 27 employees with offices in Calgary, Houston, London, and Hong Kong. Their products cover highly specialized niches within the processing and interpretation systems. Their productsScovering such areas as refraction statics, AVO modeling and analysis, zero offset inversion, and geostatisticsSare known not only for being mathematically rigorous but also for being flexible, user friendly, and almost intuitively obvious in their user interface. Hampson-Russell has a gift for creating software relating to complex, even esoteric subjects, that is approachable by the non-specialist. In areas where complexity and confusion abound, they create a clear and correct path to practical and useful solutions. This has been the key to their acceptance by both majors and independents around the world.
     Despite the energy he has invested in growing a company, Brian has continued to build upon his reputation as a luncheon speaker, teacher, and advocate for SEG. He has spoken and lectured around the world at regional, national, and international meetings. His courses for the SEG Continuing Education Program are consistently rated among the best. He has served as president of CSEG, Vice-President of SEG, Chairman of the TLE Editorial Board, and Co-Chairman of the Technical Program for the 1996 SEG Annual Meeting.
     In the remaining hours of the day, Brian finds time to be a devoted husband to Elaine and father to Michelle and David. He shares with David a particular love for playing the guitar. In fact, although Elaine travels with him whenever possible, Brian is never on the road without his Martin guitar and never misses an opportunity to sit in with musical friends.
     To Brian, I say a hearty well done on the enterprises of your past. I look forward to your leadership in the future.

      Peter M. Duncan