Mrinal Sen, UTIG interim-Director, Professor and Jackson Chair in Applied Seismology, has been awarded the Virgil Kauffman Gold Medal by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) at their annual Honors and Awards Ceremony.
The award which was announced in May, is given to the person who in the unanimous opinion of the SEG Honors and Awards Committee and the Board of Directors has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the science of geophysical exploration during the previous five years.
According to SEG the medal recognizes Professor Sen’s pioneering work on geophysical inverse problems and applied seismology. The following is an excerpt of the many contributions and achievements described by SEG’s Honors and Awards Committee.
Mrinal Sen is the Virgil Kauffman Gold Medal recipient for his body of work advancing the science of exploration geophysics. He has made significant contributions in applied seismology on elastic anisotropic wave propagation, computational seismology, full-waveform inversion, seismic imaging, inversion of seismic data for fracture analysis, fluid content, rock properties and improved resolution, reservoir characterization, and CO2 sequestration. Mrinal’s work on these topics continues to be on the leading edge of seismic technology. With more than 8200 citations, his work is followed and recognized by many over a wide spectrum of contributions. While his most cited papers are his earliest, within the last five years he has coauthored one widely cited book and over 50 papers. His most current contributions represent ventures in new areas of applied mathematics. In addition to Mrinal’s research achievements, he has an outstanding record as an educator. A countless number of his former students permeate the industry and are making their own contributions. He has taught and continues to teach short courses throughout the industry and at SEG meetings. As an active professor, he continues to mentor a full complement of students currently under his guidance, and he shows no sign of letting up.
Past winners of the Kauffman Gold Medal include Cecil Green, a founder of Texas Instruments, and Lucien LaCoste, a UT Austin alumni and physics professor prior to founding his own company. SEG is a global non-profit dedicated to the advancement of applied geophysics.