UAEU Inspires the Geoscientists of Tomorrow
United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in cooperation with SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) Middle East and Dhahran Geoscience Society (DGS) commenced the 1st SEG Student Day and Challenge Bowl for students & young professionals in the Middle East, which is hosted at UAEU’s new campus in Al Ain from the 20th – 21st March. The objective of this event is to inspire the geoscientists of tomorrow and accelerate their growth.
While attending this event, participants will get a chance to advance their existing knowledge, discuss opportunities, expand their horizons and share best practices. Universities from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, and Egypt have travelled to the UAE to participate in this event. During the opening ceremony Dr. Khalid Al Bloushi, Assistant Professor (Geophysics), UAEU, thanked the participating Universities, guest speakers, partners and sponsors. He said, “This event will enable students to better understand the geological experiences taken place in the region and will place UAEU on the international map as a University committed to advancing the nation and inspiring the innovators of the future.”
This was followed by a video conference call from the US by Ms. Elsa Velasco, SEG University and Student Programs Manager who informed the students on how to become an effective student chapter and the many benefits that come with being a member of SEG such as travel grants, scholarships, networking, job opportunities, among others.
For the remainder of the first day students were enlisted in a course on Reservoir Geophysics: Applications by renowned author and internal geophysical consultant at Chevron Petroleum Technology Company, San Ramon, California, Mr. William Abriel. The objective of the course is to demonstrate how and why geophysics adds value in reservoir management using examples from multiple geological environments (deepwater turbidites, onshore fluvial, near shore deltaics, carbonates). The course is designed to examine and illustrate the dependencies of geology and engineering data on geophysical applications during reservoir management and to expose participants to the variety of geophysical tools used in reservoir work. The participants will become familiar with the application and value of geophysics for users (customers) as well as the inherent risks and uncertainties.
On the 21st March students will compete in the Challenge Bowl competition, an international contest testing students breadth and depth of knowledge about the field of Geosciences and the winners will be awarded a trip to compete at the SEG International Challenge Bowl at SEG Houston 2013.
Moza Al Salami, student at UAEU, studying a petroleum geology major said, “I would like to thank UAEU for organizing this wonderful event that will help advance our knowl¬edge and personal development.”
