Julian Chenin calls IMAGE “Disneyland for geoscience,” and after walking the exhibition floor it is easy to understand what he means. But for ROGII, the real value is what happens when people stop at the booth, pull out a notebook, and start sketching an idea together. Julian describes it as innovation happening in real time, with people from different parts of the subsurface workflow suddenly in the same conversation.

Those conversations have mattered as ROGII has grown from a company focused mainly on geosteering into a much broader part of the subsurface workflow. This year Julian is hearing renewed interest in older assets, northern Brazil, Guyana, Africa, the Gulf of Mexico, and underdeveloped unconventional plays. His point is that exhibiting is not simply about showing what you already built. Sometimes the conversations on the floor help determine what you should build next.

Companies have spent years storing more and more data, but Amii Rozell and Hana Kabazi make an important distinction: saving the final answer is not the same as saving why you made the decision. Three years later, the interpretation may still be there while the lease problem, environmental concern, rejected idea, meeting discussion, or uncertainty behind it has disappeared. AI can help recover that context, but it can also sound very sure of itself when the record has holes.

That leads to one of the most useful AI conversations I heard at IMAGE. Amii says companies are doing plenty of explaining about what AI is, but not enough training on how employees should actually use it. Hana’s advice is essentially the same thing teachers have always asked for: prove it. Ask where the answer came from, ask what the model does not know, understand the difference between public tools and protected enterprise systems, and do your own research before turning an AI inference into an operational decision.

This one is personal for me. I worked with Reinaldo Michelena, Lucía Torrado, and Sergio Chávez-Pérez on this project for years, and after more than a decade of effort, seeing a printed Spanish edition of Robert Sheriff’s Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Geophysics at IMAGE was genuinely moving.

More than 140 volunteers helped turn thousands of technical terms and hundreds of figures into a book for geoscientists who work in Spanish every day. And this was intentionally human work. No AI translation. People from across the Spanish-speaking world debated terminology, challenged regional bias, redrew figures, wrote code, and kept showing up until the book was real.

Some of the people who helped make it possible, including Sven Treitel, Héctor Alfonso, and Susan Stamm, did not live to see the finished book. That gives this accomplishment a weight that goes far beyond publishing a dictionary. By the end of the conversation, Reinaldo, Lucía, and Sergio are reflecting on friendship, professional growth, and what it means to spend years working on such a meaningful project.

Geoscientists Without Borders starts with a simple idea: geoscience can improve someone’s life. Jim Funk has seen what access to clean water can mean in African communities, while Craig Beasley talks about projects that help people prepare for earthquakes and volcanoes, recover forgotten burial sites near Houston, and give students the experience of using geoscience for something deeply human.

Twenty years in, GWB does not have a shortage of ideas or need. Craig and Jim say dozens of proposals can arrive when only a handful can be supported. That makes funding one of the central challenges now. More money could mean larger grants, longer projects, and work capable of reaching far more people. GWB has already shown what geoscientists can do. The question is how much more becomes possible if the profession and industry chooses to back it.

The SEG & AAPG Women’s Network brought together six leaders for a conversation on technical leadership and decision-making in complex energy environments. The panel focused on what happens as technical experts take on greater responsibility, where decisions cannot wait for perfect information and leadership increasingly depends on understanding people as well as the work.

A few ideas that stood out from the panel:

• Patricia de Lugão: Good managers are people who know the subject.
• Rachael Moreland: Even a degree in neuroscience has helped shape her path in geoscience.
• Lorena Moscardelli: Procrastinate. Sometimes what first looks like noise becomes signal.
• Marianne Rauch: You cannot get to 100 percent certainty. At some point, you have to say, “Enough.”
• Allison Kennedy Thurmond: Be intentional. Be ready with Plan B and Plan C.
• Tai Prince: Not everyone thinks like you. Remember that when dealing with a difficult challenge or colleague.

After the panel, I continued the conversation with Patricia de Lugão and Allison Kennedy Thurmond. This is a true Inside IMAGE episode, as Patricia, Allison, and I built on what was shared on the panel in real time. Even with that impromptu feel, there are meaningful tips and well-earned wisdom throughout.

For the full description of the Women’s Network Executive Panel and biographies of all six panelists, visit the IMAGE website. And a special thanks to the moderator of the panel, Maria Angela Capello.

Tom Ewing and Mike Forrest join me ahead of the AAPG and SEG Honors and Awards ceremonies for a conversation that quickly becomes less about the awards and more about what kept them engaged for so many decades.

Tom talks about the career turns that moved him from tectonics into the Texas subsurface, consulting, regional geology, and a long habit of publishing work other geoscientists could actually use. Mike keeps coming back to something even simpler: seismic interpretation is still fun, curiosity still matters, and he still enjoys learning alongside students and colleagues.

What gives the conversation its energy is that neither sounds finished. They talk about saying yes, giving back, staying useful, and making room for the next generation in a profession that looks very different from the one they entered.

As IMAGE 2026 gets underway, we return to two conversations from last year that feel even more relevant now.

Peter Duncan explains why asset turnover can create openings for smaller oil and gas companies. In today’s opening address, ExxonMobil’s John Ardill said the company is quicker to sell acreage it no longer plans to pursue rather than hold onto it. Peter described the opportunity on the other side of that process: experienced people leave or form new companies, acquire properties the majors no longer want, and become a new group of customers looking for geophysical technology and expertise.

Peter also shares a very different example of how unexpected opportunities emerge. A company approached MicroSeismic at IMAGE about monitoring sinkholes after a costly event in Florida. That conversation became several million dollars a year in ongoing work, in a market MicroSeismic would never have thought to pursue on its own.

Susan Nash picks up that theme from another direction. She sees growing need for subsurface knowledge across natural gas, geothermal, lithium, produced water, and energy storage. She also left IMAGE thinking differently about AI after hearing an approach that starts with rocks and geologic data rather than only the language geoscientists have already written, raising questions about how much interpretation and bias may already be built into training material.

Together, these 2025 conversations offer a useful way into IMAGE 2026: opportunity can emerge when assets change hands, when familiar technology finds an unexpected application, and when people put ideas next to each other that they would not have connected otherwise.

Karelia La Marca shares how her passion for geophysics has taken her from the classroom to exciting fieldwork around the world. She offers an encouraging tip for first-timers while explaining the skills and teamwork that make science stronger.

Adriana reflects on the power of connection across science, industry, and academia, as well as the importance of listening to the needs of its members. She explores how geoscientists can expand into new energy solutions, support students’ career paths, and use storytelling to engage the public and strengthen the community’s impact.

Adriana reflects on the power of connection across science, industry, and academia, as well as the importance of listening to the needs of its members. She explores how geoscientists can expand into new energy solutions, support students’ career paths, and use storytelling to engage the public and strengthen the community’s impact.

Structural geologist Molly Turko shares why she loves the diversity of ideas and people at IMAGE, from AI applications to new fault-picking methods. She highlights how collaboration across disciplines sparks fresh insights and why these conversations make geoscience both motivating and fun.

Geoscientist Lars Koehn shares how his journey from student to young professional fuels his passion for clean energy and carbon storage. He reflects on the power of networking, mentorship, and collaboration at IMAGE, where new technologies and ideas shape the future of geoscience.

Alison Malcolm, SEG’s incoming VP for Publications, joins us to share why IMAGE’s mix of academia and industry, along with its broad technical themes, makes it a vibrant space for connection and idea‑sharing.

As Vice Chair of the IMAGE 2025 Technical Program, Bunmi Elebiju highlights the event’s multidisciplinary and global nature, with over 1,100 presentations, interactive exhibits, and strategic networking opportunities, as a catalyst for shaping the future of the energy industry.

“Geoscientists without Borders shows how geophysics isn’t just for oil and gas; it’s for helping people and communities.”

In this episode, Shuhab Khan and David Bartel share how the SEG Foundation and Geoscientists without Borders are helping build resilient coastal communities through the Matagorda Bay Field Trip at IMAGE ‘25. Shuhab explains how students and professionals will get hands-on experience using cutting-edge tools to monitor coastal erosion and habitat stability while learning to apply geophysics for societal impact. David highlights how the SEG Foundation’s support makes these initiatives possible, encouraging listeners to support and join this important mission.

“We want attendees to walk away saying they learned something new, made a new connection, or heard a crazy idea that just might change how they work. That’s the success we hope IMAGE brings.”

In this episode of Seismic Soundoff, Julien Chenin and Paula de Oliveira share what makes IMAGE 2025 the premier geoscience event you won’t want to miss. From global collaboration and interactive pavilions to fostering the next generation of geoscientists, they reveal how IMAGE is shaping the future of energy and applied geophysics. Whether you’re looking to learn, network, or discover a new idea, this conversation will inspire you to get the most out of your IMAGE experience.