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DGS
Dallas Geophysical Society
PO Box 801808
Dallas, TX 75380
Ph 972.818.2550
Fx 972.818.2553

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10-Jun-10 6:00 PM CST

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Scholarship Recipients 2010-2011

Scholarships funded by the Dallas Geophysical Society were among the 118 selected and announced by the SEG Foundation in May 2010.

Meet some of the DGS recipients below:

"Dallas Geophysical Society" Scholarship:

Xinfa Zhu is a PhD candidate at UT - Dallas.

"I came to UTD from China in 2009 Fall. I got my bachelor degree in Geophysics from TONGJI University in Shanghai, China. I am in the first year of doctoral study now. I love to study new ideas and solve new problems. My research interest is in post-critical reflection migration and full wavefield inversion. I am diligent and plan to complete PhD study using four years. After graduation, I hope to find a job in one of the big oil companies, and work on seismic migration and inversion."

"Karen Kellogg Shaw / Dallas Geophysical Society" Scholarships:

Bryce Mathis is a junior at Texas Tech.

"I will soon be 20 years old. I was born and raised in Odessa, Texas (smack-dab in the Permian Basin). Last year, I graduated from Permian High which you may have seen or heard about do to the novel/movie "Friday Night Lights." While in high school, I also took advantage of the dual credit program at my local community college to get my first year of basics out of the way. I have also just completed my first year at Texas Tech University, so by this upcoming Fall I will technically be considered at Junior level. So far, I have really enjoyed going to Texas Tech, and I plan on continuing my education all the way towards a Master's Degree in Geology. My main goal and focus in my geological studies is going to be towards petroleum exploration. The reason I chose to study the oil exploration aspect of geology is because, for one, I've grown up around Permian Basin oil and natural gas production my whole life. I also have a lot of family members and friends that are affiliated with this field. By the time I'm ready to graduate, I'm looking forward to attaining a job with a well known petroleum company to help with the never-ending search for more crude."

Emily Graham is a Masters candidate at UT Austin.

"At the age of 5, I decided that I wanted to be a geologist. By this time, I had already accumulated a respectable rock and mineral collection from family geology vacations, and had developed a love for the outdoors. It wasn’t until “take your daughter to work day” though, that I realized my true calling was geophysics. My father is a geophysicist and has worked for numerous oil companies throughout my life. I still remember my first trip to his office when I was 7. I walked into a room that was full of long sheets of paper with squiggly lines and the best colored pencils and markers I had ever seen. It was then that I realized that my dad had the coolest job a 7 year old could want; he colored for a living.

It has been many years since my first trip to the office, but I’m still perusing my dream of being a geophysicist. I graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BS in geophysics. There I was able to work on the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of a 2D seismic reflection profile across the Tien Shan mountain range of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. I’ve since moved to Austin, TX and have completed my first year of Masters Research at the University of Texas at Austin. I have the opportunity to work on a 3D ultra high resolution dataset over South Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon. This area is a topographic high with both massive methane hydrate formations in the shallow subsurface to seafloor as well as active methane gas venting. The objective of my research is to locate and map the gas migration system beneath the ridge to better constrain how free gas is migrating through the gas hydrate stability zone without forming into methane hydrate. This research will involve seismic interpretation and attribute analysis. If all goes according to plan, I will be completing my Masters Thesis and graduating in May of 2011.

I’ve already had the wonderful experience of three summer internships in the oil industry and I am looking forward to starting my industry career after graduation. I’d like to thank the Dallas Geophysical Society again for sponsoring my education through the SEG scholarship foundation. This is the second year you have supported me through scholarships and I am very grateful!"

Ernesto Oropeza is a PhD candidate at UT - Dallas

     "I am a PhD student in UTD. I am about to complete my third year. My project is Migration Velocity Analysis in Anisotropic Media and I am developing it in the UTD Geophysical Consortium with George A. McMechan.
     I am from Caracas, Venezuela and I studied Geophysics in Central University of Venezuela. There I shared my studies with playing rugby on the university team. Although I am now retired from this sport, I like to watch it and play for fun.
     I worked in the Venezuelan national oil company for four years in seismic acquisition and seismic data processing. I had the opportunity to work in challenging area for seismic imaging what made me get special interest in this research area.
     After finishing my PhD I would like to keep working in research."