An Introduction to Careers in Geophysics

Event Date:
2024-11-18T12:00:00
2024-11-18T13:30:00
Event Location:
HENN 318
Speaker:
Devin Cowan, UBC Research Associate in Geophysics, UBC Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Related Upcoming Events:
Physics and Astronomy Education
Intended Audience:
Undergraduate
Local Contact:

Kirsty Dickson (communications@phas.ubc.ca)

All are welcome to this in-person career presentation!

Event Information:

 

Hey students! Did you know that geophysics careers include more than working the Oil & Gas industries? Join us with UBC Phd student Devin Cowan, who will present on a variety of lesser-known careers for physics students in the Geophysics spectrum. From data and computational sciences to climate change, physics students are in demand for their mathematics, problem-solving and technical skill-sets. 

Presentation:

While physicists develop governing equations for understanding matter, energy and their interactions, geophysicists apply these governing equations to image planetary structure and understand geological processes. Some well-known applications include: earthquakes, glaciers, plate-tectonics and mineral exploration. Despite having its roots in Earth science, geophysics requires a strong background in physics, engineering and/or applied math. Unfortunately, many undergraduate physics, engineering and applied math students are never exposed to geophysics and will never consider it as a career. This presentation aims to provide a high-level overview of geophysics. By the end of the presentation, we hope the audience will gain a fundamental understanding of geophysics, the problems geophysicists solve, how geophysicists solve these problems, and the range of careers available.

Bio:

Devin Cowan is a computational geophysicist at the University of British Columbia Geophysical Inversion Facility (UBC-GIF). Devin obtained a BSc. in physics and Earth sciences from the University of Victoria in 2012. He then spent some time working in industry before joining the UBC-GIF group and obtaining an MSc. in geophysics in 2016. Following his Master's, Devin remained with the UBC-GIF group as a research scientist where he had the opportunity to lecture undergraduate geophysics courses, participate in geosciences without boarders projects, collaborate with industry professionals, write geophysics software and perform scientific research. In 2024, Devin enrolled as a PhD student to complete his scholastic journey. Devin's research is focused on the inversion of airborne natural source electromagnetic and time-domain electromagnetic data to recover geologically representative distributions of subsurface conductivity. Devin is also heavily involved in the development of SimPEG; an open-source Python-based package for forward simulation and inversion of geophysical data.

Learn More:

Add to Calendar 2024-11-18T12:00:00 2024-11-18T13:30:00 An Introduction to Careers in Geophysics Event Information:   Hey students! Did you know that geophysics careers include more than working the Oil & Gas industries? Join us with UBC Phd student Devin Cowan, who will present on a variety of lesser-known careers for physics students in the Geophysics spectrum. From data and computational sciences to climate change, physics students are in demand for their mathematics, problem-solving and technical skill-sets.  Presentation: While physicists develop governing equations for understanding matter, energy and their interactions, geophysicists apply these governing equations to image planetary structure and understand geological processes. Some well-known applications include: earthquakes, glaciers, plate-tectonics and mineral exploration. Despite having its roots in Earth science, geophysics requires a strong background in physics, engineering and/or applied math. Unfortunately, many undergraduate physics, engineering and applied math students are never exposed to geophysics and will never consider it as a career. This presentation aims to provide a high-level overview of geophysics. By the end of the presentation, we hope the audience will gain a fundamental understanding of geophysics, the problems geophysicists solve, how geophysicists solve these problems, and the range of careers available. Bio: Devin Cowan is a computational geophysicist at the University of British Columbia Geophysical Inversion Facility (UBC-GIF). Devin obtained a BSc. in physics and Earth sciences from the University of Victoria in 2012. He then spent some time working in industry before joining the UBC-GIF group and obtaining an MSc. in geophysics in 2016. Following his Master's, Devin remained with the UBC-GIF group as a research scientist where he had the opportunity to lecture undergraduate geophysics courses, participate in geosciences without boarders projects, collaborate with industry professionals, write geophysics software and perform scientific research. In 2024, Devin enrolled as a PhD student to complete his scholastic journey. Devin's research is focused on the inversion of airborne natural source electromagnetic and time-domain electromagnetic data to recover geologically representative distributions of subsurface conductivity. Devin is also heavily involved in the development of SimPEG; an open-source Python-based package for forward simulation and inversion of geophysical data. Learn More: View Devin's LinkedIn here: Devin Cowan - PHD Student - University of British Columbia - Geophysical Inversion Facility | LinkedIn Find out more about the UBC Geophysics Inversion Facility: About Us | UBC Geophysical Inversion Facility Read up on Geophysics: Geophysics | UBC Science and UBC's Geophysics Research & Partnerships: Research and Partnerships | UBC Science Event Location: HENN 318