At the recent Society of Exploration Geophysicists’ (SEG) annual meeting, it was obvious that students of geophysics were the focus of many attending the show. Anadarko and Chevron both announced gifts to the SEG Foundation to fund scholarships, and recruiters had booths around the exhibit floor hoping to lure new-hires to their companies.

Off in a meeting room at the headquarters hotel, another student-focused event was underway. It was a little slap-dash compared to some of the other efforts, and participants were hounded by some of the “technical difficulties” that seemed to haunt SEG’s first show in New Orleans, La., since Katrina. But I’ve rarely had as much fun at a trade show as I had at this event.

Peter Duncan (center) emceed the first SEG Challenge Bowl in New Orleans. (Photo courtesy of Barchfeld Photography)


It was the first-ever SEG “Challenge Bowl,” the brainchild of former SEG President Peter Duncan. Eight teams of students from colleges around the world vied for a US $1,000 first prize and a $600 second prize by answering any number of exploration-related questions.

Duncan admitted that previous attempts to engage students during the annual conference had been less than invigorating. During his tenure as president he had the opportunity to travel around the world visiting other chapters and student sections, and it was in Hyderabad, India, that the idea hit — rather than a series of dull presentations, why not jazz it up a little?

“They told me they had this student event going on that I should come see,” Duncan said. “They had a good-sized auditorium that was just chock-a-block full of people, standing room only. They had a radio/television personality acting as a moderator. And of the nine colleges in India that teach geophysics, each had submitted a two-person team.”

He said the teams answered questions in a buzzer-type environment, and all of the questions related to geoscience topics. “The questions were challenging — I was glad they weren’t asking me some of them,” he said.

But what captivated him was the fact that everyone seemed to be having a ball. Why not borrow the model for SEG? Duncan said such a contest would meet several SEG goals, including promoting globalism and student activities and creating better bridges to the society’s affiliated and associated sections.

Duncan had hoped to have regional contests and have the winners of those meets compete in New Orleans. But he lacked the time to organize those meets this year. Instead, he encouraged students (including the team from India) to participate, and students were actively recruited at the Student Services booth during the show.

In the final mix, there were six colleges represented: the University of Houston, University of Oklahoma, Heriot-Watt, Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee, Ain Shams and Colorado School of Mines. The winners were Jesus Nunez and Fabian Domes of Heriot-Watt.

Duncan said the event was a great success despite a few surprises. “I was surprised how quickly they caught on to a flaw in my initial scoring system and exploited it to their advantage in the ‘short snapper’ category,” he said. “Clever dudes.”

The society has more than 180 student sections worldwide, and already international interest is high in future contests — the Saudi Arabia chapter has agreed to host a regional contest in the Middle East next year, and the Canadian SEG also has promised a Canada-wide contest next May. India continues to hold its contests, and the Geophysical Society of Houston is looking at a southern US contest.

“Eventually the vision is to have a global network of regional run-offs leading to an international championship with a traveling trophy,” Duncan said. “I think we can make that happen.”

Students wishing to participate in next year’s Challenge Bowl should contact Jennifer Cole at SEG, jcole@seg.org.