Huyen Bui
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SEG Special Commendation 2024
Huyen Bui, a geoscience professional who was formerly the geology and interpretation manager at WesternGeco (Schlumberger) and is now a senior geophysicist at Shell, has provided many years of dedicated service to SEG and the profession. In 2012, while serving as both vice chair of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Geophysical Integration Committee and member of SEG’s IQ Earth Committee, she played a pivotal role as one of the initiators to bring together SEG and AAPG with the establishment of the SEG/AAPG journal Interpretation. She has served on the Interpretation Editorial Board since its commencement. She was cofounder of the Vietnamese Student Association in Japan and chair of the AAPG Geophysical Integration Committee from 2014 to 2022. Additionally, she has been a driving force as the vice chair and chair of the AAPG/OTC subcommittee since 2016. One former SEG Board member indicates, “I wholeheartedly endorse Dr. Huyen Bui for SEG’s Special Commendation Award in recognition of her exceptional contributions to SEG and the geosciences.” Another comment echoes this in saying, “I strongly support the nomination of Dr. Huyen Bui for SEG’s Special Commendation award to recognize her exceptional contributions to SEG and the geosciences because of her unparalleled expertise and unwavering commitment to support geoscientist and to advance the field of geoscience.”
Biography Citation for the Special Commendation Award
by Jack Dvorkin, Arthur B. Weglein, and Rocco Detomo
Huyen Bui’s career in geophysics spans many productive years and many continents. Huyen received her BSc degree in geophysics and in petroleum engineering from Hanoi University of Mining and Geology in her native Vietnam. She went on to receive a postgraduate certificate in environmental geophysics from Technical University of Munich and the Vietnamese Academy of Sciences and Technology (VAST). While in Vietnam, she worked for Petro Vietnam, CGG, and the VAST. Her educational aspirations led her to Kyoto University in Japan where she joined the famous professors Yuzuru Ashida and, later, Toshifumi Matsuoka, a leader in seismic exploration and pore-scale numerical simulations. There she earned her MSc in exploration geophysics and her PhD in geological engineering. Huyen went on to her postdoctoral assignment at the Rock Physics Group at Stanford where one of us (J.D.) had the privilege of working directly with her. There, she actively participated in the scientific program, as well as in the social life at the Department of Geophysics.
During her postdoctoral tenure at Stanford, she was hired by Schlumberger/WesternGeco and spent a year at the UK office working on integrating wireline data and geology, as well as anisotropy estimation from sonic scanner data. She was transferred to the Schlumberger Houston office as a senior research geophysicist and, later, a geology and interpretation manager working on combined seismic and electromagnetic inversion and pore-pressure prediction for seismic velocity model building, imaging, and seismic-guided drilling. Huyen continued her career at Shell/Houston as a senior geophysicist on multiple projects in North Sea, Nigeria, Brazil, and the Gulf of Mexico. There, she worked in quantitative interpretation and then led geohazard and risk assessment and real-time operation for safe well placement, integrating multidisciplinary teams and approaches. She supported safe riser-less planning for almost 60 wells in offshore Brazil and in the Gulf of Mexico. Since March 2023, she has been the well delivery lead for a near-field exploration project in the Greater Mars-Ursa Area in the Gulf of Mexico. In this role, she ensures integration of all critical input data and integration of multidisciplinary teams and manages internal and external stakeholders and partners to plan and deliver safe wells. At Shell, Huyen has combined her successful industrial career with mentoring and coaching colleagues for geohazard and real-time operations. She also works with Shell’s contractors to help them learn internal company procedures in shallow geohazard projects.
Huyen is an active SEG member and serves on the editorial board of the journal Interpretation. Huyen is also an active AAPG member where she is part of the Geophysical Integration Committee.. She is also an Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Program Committee member and chair of an AAPG OTC subcommittee since 2022 as well as a member of the Geological Society of Houston and Houston Geophysical Society. She is an active participant in professional meetings as an author and organizer and has published more than 50 papers and expanded abstracts in OTC, SEG, and American Geophysical Union proceedings and in Interpretation. Huyen's dedication to the profession extends well beyond her immediate duties. She actively mentors and coaches other geoscientists both internally and externally. She contributes broadly to industry associations, such as SEG and AAPG, and she serves on editorial boards and committees, contributing to the advancement of her field.
Huyen Bui’s significant contributions to our profession and the scientific community are many. Her mentoring and organizational activities reflect her meritorious service to SEG and its membership. Huyen has earned and richly deserves the honor of SEG’s Special Commendation Award.