FROM GIMMICK TO MAINSTREAM WORK FLOW – TRENDS IN APPLIED COMPUTING

I still recall the session where Roger Kaesler advised a new graduate student determined to do a paleoecology thesis on the importance of having a gimmick to help find employment after graduation. We decided that computing and statistics would be an appropriate gimmick. That was a time when few geoscientists were applying the new technology of computing to solve geologic problems. Roger's impact as an advisor, colleague, and friend extends well beyond the community of practicing paleontologists.

Today computing technology is integral to most work flows in the petroleum business, to the point that software has nearly become a commodity. The uptake of computing technology by geoscientists was driven largely by the need for efficiency gains that facilitate rapid interpretation and integration of large quantities of data. Often the scientific and statistical algorithms incorporated into applications are secondary to visual interaction with data. Even more efficiency gains remain to be harvested as barriers to integration, ease of use, and data access are reduced.

While efficiency is critical, the impact of effectiveness and new technology should not be overlooked. Most quantitative tools, such as statistical methods, are now embedded in discipline-specific software solutions. This approach allows geoscientists to focus on solving specific geologic problems rather than learning statistical software packages, but may reduce overall familiarity with the data and other perspectives. Certainly more advances will be made in the areas of geophysical imaging, construction of numerical models, forward modeling of processes, and other new concepts. Nor is the impact of computing technology restricted to custom geoscience tools. Modeling organizational behavior through agent-based methods, data mining, and Bayesian belief networks are examples of technologies finding application in the Petroleum business.