Career Profiles
Vicki Cowart
Geophysicist
Vicki Cowart was attracted to earth science because she could combine math and physics, subjects she had always liked, with outdoor activity. She focused on math and physics in college. Her first contact with earth science was between her junior and senior years, when she worked for a small mining exploration company. She worked on data collected in gravity surveys, made and ran computer programs and had great fun. She went to graduate school for a M.S. degree in geophysics. A summer job during graduate school included working with a portable seismic field effort in the Tetons in Wyoming; after several days in the Rockies on horseback and in helicopters, she was hooked.
After graduate school, Vicki joined the oil industry. She specialized in the seismic method, using sound waves to explore for oil and gas, by making maps of the subsurface based on seismic measurements. She spent several years interpreting seismic data before joining Schlumberger Well Services. After an oil company drills a well, Schlumberger tests and measures the well to determine how much oil is present and how best to develop or extract it. Vicki is involved in the seismic tests that occur in the well, or borehole seismic testing. Borehole seismic measures the velocity with which sound, or seismic energy, travels through rocks. The reflections of the seismic waves are used with other information to make images of the rocks around the well. Vicki explains how to use borehole seismic tests, teaches people about the technique, and solves problems related to it. It's her job to make sure the tests are done correctly and that the oil company client understands the information.
Vicki travels a lot, both to cities and to field locations, and talks to people all the time. Technical knowledge and interpersonal skills are important in her job. In a typical day, she meets clients to talk about a future test or discuss results from a recent test. She spends some time working with the people who actually run the equipment and those who process the data. She learns of new developments in her field by reading or talking to other experts.
Vicki likes the variety of her work. She likes the math and physics involved and loves to come up with answers that help her clients understand their well. She likes working with people, both conducting the tests as a member of the team and teaching new ideas. She particularly likes being involved with a technology in which new developments occur every day.
She advises all secondary school students to take as much math, science and English as you can. The math and science courses will help you become a critical thinker and the English courses will help you communicate effectively. Take hard courses and challenge yourselves.
Vicki is married to a lawyer. She and her husband work long hours, but make opportunities to be together. They travel around the U.S. and abroad, often as a result of Vicki's job. Vicki and her husband do not have children, but have many good friends and family with whom they often do things. They ski, fish, garden, attend opera, and give dinner parties. They are involved in local politics, work with local charities and volunteer for non-profit groups.
