Geosciences Professor Assumes Presidency of International Scientific Organization

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Christopher Liner and his wife, Dolores Proubasta, at the presidential reception in Denver, Colorado

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Christopher Liner, professor of geosciences since 2012 and the Maurice F. Storm Chair in Petroleum Geology in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, advanced from his role as president-elect of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists to president at the annual meeting held Oct. 26- 31 in Denver.

Liner now leads a global organization with offices in Tulsa, Dubai and Beijing, more than 100 staff and annual budget of $25 million. One of his goals is to promote University of Arkansas student involvement in the organization.

“For the first time, an Arkansas graduate student participated in a three-day ExxonMobil/SEG education program that accepts only 30 students  on a competitive basis,” Liner said.

A member of the society for more than 35 years, Liner has served as president-elect (2013-14), editor of the journal Geophysics (1999-2001), a 2012 distinguished instructor (Elements of Seismic Dispersion: A Somewhat Practical Guide to Frequency-dependent Phenomena) and long-standing author of the Seismos column for The Leading Edge (the society’s research journal) and the Seismos blog (with more than 70,000 visits since 2008). He is currently writing the third edition of his book, Elements of 3D Seismology, which has been praised for its informative and easily understood content.  

Liner is a University of Arkansas alumnus (B.S. ’78) whose academic experience includes faculty positions at the University of Houston and the University of Tulsa. He has also for Conoco in Oklahoma City, Golden Geophysical in London and Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia and served as an industry consultant for various companies in countries around the world, including Iraq, Oman, Tunisia and Indonesia.

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1930 to promote the science and education of applied geophysics in hydrocarbon exploration, development of natural resources, near surface characterization and earth hazard mitigation. With more than 33,000 members in 138 countries, the society fulfills its mission through publications, conferences, forums, websites and educational opportunities.

Incorporating the University of Arkansas into his latest role in the organization is important to Liner.

“I take every opportunity to explain what the university is about, people are invariably impressed and unexpected windfalls can occur,” Liner said. “For example, discussions at a recent SEG meeting in Argentina resulted in a $225,000 software donation for geoscience research. In a sense, I am planting seeds across the entire world about the University of Arkansas.”