Gary Servos
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| Membership | Life Member |
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SEG Life Membership Award 2008
Gary G. Servos is being awarded Life Membership for meritorious service to SEG and the SEG Foundation. Gary, 2007-2009 Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SEG Foundation and a Trustee Associate, has made the SEG Foundation his cause for over 20 years and has been instrumental in the success of its programs and the growth of its funding. Gary has been and continues to be a tireless worker for our Foundation. The Honors and Awards Committee is pleased to recommend that the Society recognize his immense contribution of time and energy to this very important effort.
Biography Citation for the Life Membership Award
This award for meritorious service offers our geophysical community a rare opportunity to pause and learn more about Gary Servos, a tireless and most generous geophysicist who happens to successfully dedicate a lot of time, personal energy, personal wealth, and a ton of business experience and leadership for the benefi t of the Society.
I often wonder if Gary is a passionate geophysicist or a geophysicist with passion. He is amazing in his personal ability to stir passion within others. Fortunately, there are other pioneers who have left some trail markers to help us follow Gary’s geophysical path. Heraclitus said, “The only constant is change ...” and that fi ts Gary, the geophysicist, to a tee. Always mentoring, Gary will cry out, “Who moved my cheese?”—leaving a few of us scratching our heads, too slow in recognizing another gift generously offered from Gary.
Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel Corporation said, “An inflection point occurs where the old strategic picture dissolves and gives way to the new.” This is a key marker and insight into Gary’s outstanding leadership which is practiced with nuance and substance and mixed in with globalization and a deep understanding and appreciation for future challenges. Gary will say, “Lorene and I are committed to the important work of the SEG Foundation. We believe passionately in the critical role that applied geophysics has played and will continue to play in meeting the challenges faced by society.” And, ergo, because of that simple and elegant philanthropic gesture, many future geophysicists and geoscientists are inspired by the commitment of the Servos family via an endowed scholarship with a priority emphasis to hydrology (something about “Advancing Geophysics Today, Inspiring Geoscientists for Tomorrow”)!
In the 1960s, Gary was an SEG student member in Kansas. He earned a PhD in geophysics from Michigan State and started a research career with Pan American Research, a forerunner of the famous Amoco Research Center in Tulsa. There are many additional career posts along Gary’s geophysical journey with impressive titles that offer evidence of his successful infl uence with the titans of industry, many personally recruited by Gary early in their respective careers.
It is Gary’s later markers that are of particular interest to our SEG community. In the 1980s, Gary joined the Trustee Associates of the SEG Foundation. This became, for him, an additional “labor of love,” and the Trustee Associates and the SEG Foundation underwent a favorable transformation because of the impact of Gary’s business experience and leadership which culminated in his meritorious service as Chairman of the SEG Foundation Board of Directors. A few key markers selected along this trail highlight the signifi cant performance and accomplishment during Gary’s “watch” as Foundation Chairman and the resulting excellent teamwork among many SEG members, the Tulsa business offi ce, and the SEG Foundation. The number of scholarship recipients increased by 50%. The number of travel grants to the SEG Annual Meeting awarded to students and professors increased by 1000%. The number of summer geophysical fi eld camps supported increased by 300%. The new Geoscientists Without Borders program will provide grants for students and professors working in developing nations. Gary will be the fi rst to say that these signifi cant SEG accomplishments are due to the efforts of many and from great teamwork.
As another lifelong geophysics student studying “cause and effect,” I feel honored to observe and interpret the meaning and signifi cance of this award of Life Membership to Gary Servos. At this time, I will conclude my observations while noting this “inflection point” has a significant impact and bearing upon our geophysics community. I am glad to extend grateful recognition and appreciation on behalf of our global Society as a whole.
Biography for 2012-2014 SEG Treasurer
Gary Servos earned dual bachelor’s degrees in geology and geophysics from Kansas State University in 1961 and a PhD in geophysics from Michigan State in 1965. For the first 24 years of his career, he was involved in geophysical research, exploration geophysics and senior management with Pan American Petroleum (Amoco), TransOcean O & G, Citation O & G and Wolverine Exploration. The past 23 years have been spent as founder, CEO and majority owner of Ovation Data Services, Inc. (a family-owned business). Serving the geophysical community with seismic digital tape services has kept him close to the activities of SEG and geophysics.
Gary has been a member of SEG for 50 years (1962-2012) and served on numerous committees. Currently, he is the Chair of the SEG Real Estate Corporation that is managing and evaluating the potential value of additional development of the property in Tulsa where the business office is located. The most rewarding service to SEG has been serving on the SEG Foundation Board of Directors in a variety of positions, from member to Vice Chairman and Chairman. During this period, the Foundation evolved into a major contributor to SEG and successfully raised over US$17 million to usher in a new era for the Foundation’s support of SEG. In 2008, Gary received SEG Life Membership. He is also a member of the EAGE.
Position Statement
As a member of the Board of Directors of the SEG Foundation from 2002–2011 and liaison to the SEG Executive Committee for six of those years, I was in a unique position to observe the operations of the SEG over several Executive Committee terms. Much has changed over the past decade. Importantly, the Society has adjusted to change, continues to respond to our membership and remains a successful and viable business.
As a result of my years of experience with the Foundation, observing the finances and operations of SEG, and having started and managed a successful business for the past 23 years, I feel I am qualified to manage SEG’s financial requirements. Any aspect of our Society that is important to the membership is important to me. I believe the Society should be actively working to develop and implement additional streams of sustainable revenue. Financial stability will result when good business practices are maintained and a solid financial plan will benefit the membership by continuing existing programs and allow development of new programs that support geophysical excellence.
As Treasurer, I would work hard to maintain the current success and expand our potential for the future.
SEG Foundation Volunteer of the Year Award 2012
Gary Servos, a long-standing volunteer, donor, and great friend of the Foundation, received the Volunteer of the Year Award.
SEG Gary and Lorene Servos Scholarship
In 2009 the SEG/Gary and Lorene Servos Scholarship was created. This scholarship has provided academic merit-based scholarships and study grants to Juniors, Seniors, and Graduate students studying geophysics. As of 2025, 20 students have received this scholarship (20 students, 14 universities, 8 countries).
SEG Volunteer Service
SEG Member since 1962, Gary Servos was instrumental working with the SEG Real Estate Corporation to define and bring forward the opportunity to build a second office building on SEG’s property in Tulsa. Under his leadership as chair (2011-2012), a new SEG building project was initiated to accompany the existing SEG building completed in 1986. The new building, along with financing, was completed in 2015 including a 150-vehicle parking garage. The combined office space for lease is approximately 180,000 sq. ft., which is on 11 acres of prime commercial Class A real estate property in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Gary's volunteer service to SEG includes:
- Foundation Board of Directors
- Director 2002 – 2011
- Chair 2007-2009
- Vice Chair 2010
- SEG Global, Inc. Board of Directors; Director 2008
- SEG Real Estate Board of Directors; Chair 2011-2012
- SEG Board of Directors; Treasurer 2012-2014
- Foundation Ruby Trustee Associate (2009-2025)
- Youth Education Committee; Member 2003-2009
- Trustee Associate Steering Committee; Member 2003-2004, Chair 2005-2006
- SEG 75th Anniversary Committee; Member 2005
- Strategic Finance Policy Committee; Member 2007-2009
- SEG/AAPG Cooperation Committee; Member 2007-2010
- Search Committee; Member 2009-2010
- Property Development Task Force; Chair 2010-2011
- Compensation Committee; Member 2010-2014
- Foundation Development Committee; Member 2010-2017
- Finance Committee; Member 2012-2018, Chair 2014-2016
- Historical Preservation Committee; Honorary Member 2014-2016