Geophysics Society to Bestow Highest Honor on Professor

George McMechan, the Ida M. Green Professor of Geosciences at UT Dallas, has been selected to receive the Maurice Ewing Medal from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), the highest honor given by the international organization.

The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the science and profession of exploration geophysics. McMechan will receive the award at the society’s annual meeting in November.

McMechan credited his professional success and research breakthroughs in part to the innovations and efforts of his collaborators and UT Dallas geophysics graduate students, as well as to 30 years of continuing support from corporate sponsors.

“This has been very much a multifaceted group achievement,” McMechan said. “Nevertheless, it is nice that our research is recognized as being competitive with the best in the world. The value of the UT Dallas degrees earned by former students has just increased, and we should be able to attract even better students in the future with this enhanced credential.”

With more than 35 years of experience in geophysical research in academia, industry and government, McMechan has published more than 260 refereed publications. He is widely known among his peers as an expert in wave field transformations and innovations in data processing technology.

McMechan’s current research focuses on seismology and ground-penetrating radar. His work has applications in reservoir and aquifer characterization, earthquake source studies and fault mapping, and other engineering and environmental problems. At UT Dallas, McMechan is director of both the Center for Lithospheric Studies and the Geophysical Consortium, an industrial affiliates program.

“George McMechan is perhaps the most complete technical geophysicist who ever lived,” said Dr. Leon Thomsen, chairman of the SEG honors and awards committee, chief scientist at Delta Geophysics and a research professor of geophysics at the University of Houston. “He has authored over 200 SEG publications, and many of these have been foundational. More impressive than these numbers is the astonishing range of topics covered.

“Of course, this productivity is accomplished through a legion of UT Dallas students, most of whom have gone on to productive careers in the hydrocarbon industry, and some of whom have become outstanding members of the profession.”

McMechan has supervised more than 60 students through completion of their graduate degrees and has taught courses in reflection seismology, computational seismology, seismic modeling, seismic inversion, geophysical techniques and rock physics.

In 1997, McMechan received the Virgil Kauffman Gold Medal for technical achievement from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists.