SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Two New Mexico Tech graduate students won competitive travel grants to attend the Society of Exploration Geophysicists Annual Meeting in San Antonio this week.

Isaac Foli, graduate student in geology, was awarded one of 30 travel grants to attend the highly-competitive SEG/ExxonMobil Student Education Program. Bryan Thomas, graduate student in geology, was awarded one of 50 travel grants for the SEG/Chevron Student Leadership Symposium.

Foli and Thomas began their programs Friday evening, September 13, and continued with all-day sessions over the weekend, Sept. 14 and 15. Their travel grants also included registration for the SEG Annual Meeting, which continues through September 20.

Foli said, “The short course was very good, enlightening. I learned a lot and talked to a lot of people.”

A graduate of the University of Illinois, Foli said the Exxon/Mobil short course introduced students to the workflow in an upstream, fully-integrated oil-and-gas company.

“The exercises went from exploration to drilling and producing hydrocarbons,” he said. “We had several exercises from dating rocks to analyzing seismic lines to other geologic data. We also calculated risk factors and pitched mock presentations to management in selling prospects and identifying drilling targets.”

Both of the short courses preceded the Society of Exploration Geophysicists 89^th Annual Meeting, which takes place from September 16 to 20. The companies provided the course materials, team exercises, and networking opportunities. The travel grants cover travel expenses, lodging, and registration fees for the SEG Annual Meeting.

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists is a not-for-profit organization committed to connecting the world of applied geophysics. With more than 14,000 members in 114 countries, SEG provides educational and technical resources to the global geoscience community through publications, books, events, forums, professional development courses, young professional programs, and more. Founded in 1930, SEG fosters the expert and ethical practice of geophysics in the exploration and development of natural resources, characterization of near surface, and mitigation of earth hazards.  For more information visit www.seg.org.

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