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| Program
Description |
| Geophysicists
study and explore the earth's interior through physical measurements
collected at the earth's surface, in boreholes, from aircraft, and
from satellites. Using a combination of mathematics, physics, geology,
chemistry, hydrology, and computer science, a geophysicist analyzes
these measurements to infer properties and processes within the earth's
complex interior. Non-invasive imaging beneath the surface of earth
and other planets by geophysicists is analogous to non-invasive imaging
of the interior of the human body by medical specialists.
The earth supplies
all material needed by our society, serves as the repository of
our used products, and provides a home to all its inhabitants. Therefore,
geophysics and geophysical engineering have important roles to play
in the solution of challenging problems facing the inhabitants of
this planet, such as providing fresh water, food, and energy for
earth's growing population, evaluating sites for underground construction
and containment of hazardous waste, monitoring non-invasively the
aging infrastructures (natural gas pipelines, water supplied, telecommunication
conduits, transportation networks) of developed nations, mitigating
the threat of geohazards (earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, avalanches)
to populated areas, contributing to homeland security (including
detection and removal of unexploded ordnance and land mines), evaluating
changes in climate and managing humankind's response to them, and
exploring other planets.
Energy companies
and mining firms employ geophysicists to explore for hidden resources
around the world. Engineering firms hire geophysical engineers to
assess the earth's near-surfce properties when sites are chosen
for large construction projects and waste-management operations.
Environmental organizations use geophysics to conduct groundwater
surveys and to track the flow of contaminants. On the global scale,
geophysicists employed by universities and government agencies (such
as the United States Geological Survey, NASA, and the National Oceanographic
and Atmospheric Administration) try to understand such earth processes
as heat flow, gravitational, magnetic, electric, thermal, and stress
fields within the earth's interior. For the past decade, 100% of
CSM's geophysics graduates have found employment in their chosen
field, with about 20% choosing to pursue graduate studies.
Founded in
1926, the Department of Geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines
is the largest department in the U.S. specializing in applied geophysical
research and education. Even so, with 20 active faculty and small
class sizes, students receive individualized attention in a close-knit
environment. Given the interdisciplinary nature of geophysics, the
undergraduate curriculum requires students to become thoroughly
familiar with geological, mathematical, and physical theory, in
addition to exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of the
various geophysical methodologies.
Traditionally,
the resource industry has been, and continues to be, the largest
employer of CSM geophysics graduates. Within this industry, graduates
find employment with the major oil companies, contractors involved
in seismic and borehole logging surveys, and mineral exploration.
Graduates also find employment in the emerging engineering and geotechnical
industries with positions offered by government agencies and the
myriad of small contracting firms specializing in shallow subsurface
characterization for environmental, water management, and civil
engineering applications.
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| Research
Groups |
| The
Department conducts research in a wide variety of areas mostly related,
but not restricted, to applied geophysics. Candidates interested in
the research activities of a specific faculty member are encouraged
to obtain a copy of the Department's view book and to contact that
faculty member directly. To give prospective candidates an idea of
the types of research activities available in geophysics at CSM, a
list of the recognized research groups operating within the Department
is given below.
The Center
for Wave Phenomena (CWP) is a multi-disciplinary research group
with a total of five faculty members, four from the Department of
Geophysics and two from the Department of Mathematics and Computer
Sciences. With research sponsored by some 26 companies worldwide
in the petroleum-exploration industry, plus U.S. government agencies,
CWP emphasizes the development of theoretical and computational
methods for imaging of the earth's subsurface, primarily through
use of the reflection seismic method. Researchers have been involved
in forward and inverse problems of wave propagation as well as data
processing for data obtained where the subsurface is complex, specifically
where it is both heterogeneous and anisotropic.
The Reservoir
Characterization Project (RCP) integrates the acquisition and
interpretation of multicomponent, three-dimensional seismic reflection
and downhole data, with the geology and petroleum engineering of
existing oil fields, in an attempt to understand the complex properties
of petroleum reservoirs. Like CWP, RCP is a multidisciplinary group
with faculty members from Geophysics, Petroleum Engineering, and
Geology.
The Rock
Physics Laboratory conducts research on the physical properties
of rocks having varying porosity, permeability and fluid content.
These properties are measured at various temperatures and pressures
to simulate reservoir conditions.
The Near Surface
Seismic (NSS) Group is involved in research activity related to
using surface and borehole, multi-component observations in an attempt
to quantify the upper 100 meters of the subsurface.
The Environmental
Geophysics Group investigates the uses of complex resistivity and
ground-penetrating radar for the characterization of contaminated
soils.
The Gravity
and Magnetic Research Consortium carries out industry sponsored
research in modeling, processing, and inversion of gravity and magnetic
data. The emphasis is to develop efficient methods for imaging subsurface
structures by inverting surface, airborne, and borehole observations
to infer the below-ground distributions of density or magnetization,
together with their structural boundaries. Developing fast forward-modeling
techniques for calculating the gravity, gravity gradient, and magnetic
fields from a given distribution of density or magnetization is
an integral part of the research.
The Center
for Petrophysics (CENPET) is an interdisciplinary facility that
performs state-of-the-art research and education in all aspects
of petrophysics ranging from acoustic measurements on core material
for the calibration of seismic surveys to the design of new borehole
instruments to measure climatological parameters in the ice of the
Antarctic. CENPET is dedicated to understanding the properties of
the materials in the earth and how geophysical observations can
be used to predict these properties. Several departments (Geology,
Chemistry, Petroleum Engineering, Mathematics and Geophysics) cooperate
in the center.
Students may
also work on projects related to one or more of the research groups,
but not necessarily within them. Such projects may include datasets
or problems in which a student's sponsor company has a certain interest,
and for which the expertise is available among the faculty. Another
example is projects in earthquake seismology.
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| Consortia
Meetings |
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Reservoir Characterization Project, the Center for Wave Phenomena,
and the Gravity and Magnetics Project are industry-funded consortia.
In addition to presentations at professional meetings, such as the
SEG, these groups present their research results to their respective
consortia periodically. RCP has a meeting in the Fall and one in the
Spring, held on campus. CWP has its Annual Project Review Meeting
just after the end of the Spring semester and a smaller meeting that
coincides with, and is held at, the SEG Annual International Meeting.
GMP also holds its expanded Annual Meeting coincident with the SEG
Annual International Meeting.
These meetings
present an impressive exchange of ideas between the researchers
and the industry representatives. Because of agreements between
the groups and their sponsors, the information remains confidential
for a certain period of time, so as a student you will have to ask
for permission to attend, and respect this confidentiality agreement.
This is a valuable resource available to those students who do not
belong to the participating groups.
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| Degrees
Offered in Geophysics and Geophysical Engineering |
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The Department
offers both traditional, research-oriented graduate programs and
a non-thesis professional education program designed to meet specific
career objectives. The program of study is selected by the student,
in consultation with an advisor, and with thesis committee approval,
according to the student's career needs and interests. Specific
degrees, have specific requirements as detailed below. For detailed
requirement information for a particular degree, see the CSM
Graduate Bulletin.
To review the overall requirements for a master's degree in the Department of Geophysics, read the pdf file MS At A Glance .
Professional
Masters in Mineral Exploration and Mining Geosciences
This is a non-thesis,
masters degree program jointly administered by Geology and Geological
Engineering, Geochemistry, and Geophysics. Students gain admission
to the program by application to any of the sponsoring departments
and acceptance through the normal procedures of that department.
Professional
Masters in Petroleum Reservoir Systems
This is a multi-disciplinary,
non-thesis masters degree for students interested in working as
geoscience professionals in the petroleum industry. The Departments
of Geophysics, Petroleum Engineering, and Geology and Geological
Engineering share oversight for the Professional Masters in Petroleum
Reservoir Systems program through a committee consisting of one
faculty member from each department. Students gain admission to
the program by application to any of the three sponsoring departments.
Students are administrered by that department into which they first
matriculate.
Master of
Science Degrees: Geophysics and Geophysical Engineering
Students may
obtain a Master of Science Degree in either Geophysics or Geophysical
Engineering. Both degrees have the same coursework and thesis requirements,
as described below. Students are normally admitted into the Master
of Science in Geophysics program. If, however, a student would like
to obtain the Master of Science in Geophysical Engineering, the
course work and thesis topic must meet the following requirements.
Note that these requirements are in addition to those associated
with the Master of Science in Geophysics.
- Students
must complete, either prior to their arrival at CSM or while at
CSM, no less than 16 credits of engineering coursework.
- Within the
opinion of the Geophysics faculty at large, the student's dissertation
topic must be appropriate for inclusion as part of an engineering
degree.
Students wishing
to receive the Master of Science in Geophysical Engineering should
first discuss the possibility with their advisor and thesis committee.
After having done this, a formal request should be submitted to
the Department's Graduate Advisory Committee (GAC) that fully documents
how the student meets, or intends to meet, the above two criteria.
The GAC will review this material and make a recommendation to the
Geophysics faculty at large, who will ultimately decide whether
or not the candidate is eligible for the Master of Science in Geophysical
Engineering degree.
Doctor of
Philosophy Degrees: Geophysics and Geophysical Engineering
Students may
obtain a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in either geophysics or geophysical
engineering. Both degrees have the same coursework and thesis requirements.
Students are normally admitted into the Ph.D. in Geophysics program.
If, however, a student would like to obtain the Ph.D. in Geophysical
Engineering, the course work and thesis topic must meet the following
requirements. Note that these requirements are in addition to those
associated with the Ph.D. in Geophysics.
- Students
must complete, either prior to their arrival at CSM or while at
CSM, no fewer than 16 credits of engineering coursework.
- Within the
opinion of the geophysics faculty at large, the student's dissertation
topic must be appropriate for inclusion as part of an engineering
degree.
Doctor of Philosophy Degrees: Qualifying Process
To review the overall requirements for a PhD degree in the Department of Geophysics, read the pdf file PhD At A Glance .
To review the specifics of the two-part PhD qualifying process in the Department of Geophysics, read the pdf file PhD Qualifying Process .
To find answers to frequently asked questions about the Geophysics PhD qualifying process, read the pdf file PhD FAQ .
Your questions are always welcome. Please contact the Department Head, Terry Young.
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