The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) is a learned society dedicated to promoting the science and education of exploration geophysics in particular and geophysics in general. The Society fosters the expert and ethical practice of geophysics in the exploration and development of natural resources, in characterizing the near-surface, and in mitigating earth hazards. SEG has more than 14,000 members working in more than 114 countries. SEG was founded in 1930 in Houston, Texas but its business office has been headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma since the mid-1940s. While most SEG members are involved in exploration for petroleum, SEG members also are involved in application of geophysics methods to mineral exploration as well as environmental and engineering problems, archaeology, and other scientific endeavors. SEG publishes The Leading Edge (TLE), a monthly professional magazine, Geophysics, a peer-reviewed archival publication, and Interpretation, a peer-reviewed journal co-published by SEG and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. SEG's Technical Standards Committee develops and maintains specifications for geophysical data. Most familiar of these standards are the SEG Y data format for storing seismic data. History SEG was founded in 1930 by 30 men and women who felt that the use of geophysical technology for petroleum exploration had matured to the point that a professional society was needed in order to facilitate the transfer of technical knowledge. The Society started its own journal, Geophysics, in 1936. Membership grew significantly in the late 1930s and early 1940s and this required hiring a permanent staff to conduct the Society's day-to-day operations. As a result, a business office was opened in Tulsa. Further growth necessitated commissioning permanent office space for the staff. One was opened in the 1960s and another, the Cecil and Ida Green Tower, in the 1980s. SEG has always held an annual meeting but it was in conjunction with the AAPG convention until 1955. SEG began sponsoring an independent annual meeting in that year and it quickly became the world's premier showcase for state-of-the-art geophysical instrumentation. Membership SEG memberships include several types to fit different needs. Members get full access to the SEG Digital Library, which includes Geophysics, The Leading Edge, SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts, and Robert E. Sheriff's Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Geophysics, fourth edition. All members also receive the SEG Yearbook on a CD that also includes the previous year's articles from Geophysics and TLE. Most members receive TLE in print, and Geophysics in print