GEDCO News
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Joel Kotkas
Calgary, Alberta (January 28, 2010) – Joel Kotkas, student of Geophysics at the University of Calgary, recently received a $2,000 award presented by the CSEG and sponsored by GEDCO. We recently met up with him to learn more about him and his ambitions.
GEDCO (G). What year and program of study are you in?
JOEL KOTKAS (JK). I’m in my 4th year of study in Geophysics at the University of Calgary. I will be graduating in April.
G. What interested you in Geophysics in the first place?
JK. When I was younger one of the professions I thought would be interesting would be geology. As I got older I learned more about geophysics, mainly through my uncle Perry Kotkas, and I soon realized it would be good fit as I was mainly interested in sciences at school.
G. How did you come to be considered for a CSEG scholarship?
JK. I applied for the CSEG scholarship and was awarded one of the 20 scholarships across Canada. The award was not only based on grades but also on volunteer activities and financial need. GEDCO and John Peirce kindly donated $2000 to the CSEG scholarship foundation and I was lucky enough to be awarded the bursary donated on their behalf.
G. How has the CSEG Scholarship helped you?
JK. The bursary has helped me be providing the means to focus more strongly on my studies so that upon graduation I can have a deeper and broader knowledge of geophysics and other related topics.
G. What are your post graduation plans?
JK. After graduation I plan on becoming a full time employee at Tundra Oil and Gas. Here I want to expand the depth and breadth of my knowledge so I can become the most successful geophysicist I can and be a valuable member to both my company and the geophysical community.
G. In addition to being a full-time student, you also work part-time at Tundra Oil and Gas. What is your role there? Have you worked on particularly interesting projects?
JK. Currently, I interpret data from Saskatchewan and Manitoba and look mainly for shallow channels. When I graduate in April I will start a reservoir characterization project for Tundra where I will try to interpret data that was shot over one of our fields that is currently undergoing a water flood and CO2 injection.
G. How has the transition from student to employee been for you?
JK. For me it has been very easy. Tundra has let me come in during school on off days or in the evenings/weekends. So while I have been completing my degree I have still been involved with the operations here at Tundra.
G. You come from a family line of geophysicist. Can you tell us a bit more about who those positive professional influences are?
JK. My Uncle Perry Kotkas was a successful geophysicist here in Calgary and it is through him that I became interested in geophysics. I also have a cousin, Stephen Kotkas, who is a seismic broker at Sigma Exploration. Both of these people have introduced me to many new faces that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
G. In your opinion, what does the future of Geophysics looks like?
JK. I believe that the future is very bright! As the baby boomers begin to retire new doors will open for all the younger geophysicists in the industry. Also, as conventional plays start to become more rare we will have a very important role in reservoir characterization and unconventional plays that will force us to stretch our minds.
ABOUT THE CSEG SCHOLARSHIP
INFORMATION
Marie-Hélène Thibeault
Marketing Manager
GEDCO
Tel.: (403) 303-8690
info@gedco.com
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