********************************************************************** Ed Palmer November 25, 2014 ********************************************************************** Ed Palmer graduated from Liverpool University in 1975 with a degree in geophysics. He spent his first three years in the industry working for the RSA Department of Minerals, and over a beer, he would fondly recall his early adven- tures wandering about the most remote parts of sub-Saharan Africa. In 1979 Ed joined GSI in Bedford to begin his long and well respected career in geophysics. He started in the velocity analysis group in the days when a fledgling geophysicist gained experience by picking velocities day after day, year after year. He became group leader and by 1986 DP supervisor. Ed held a number of supervisory positions through various company mergers, including GSI into HGS, Western Geophysical and finally WesternGeco. In recent years he ran the integrated solutions group and the survey design and modeling group for WesternGeco in Gatwick. Throughout his career, Ed had a number of guiding principles: Integrity – He would not waver from what he believed to be the right thing to do. Honesty – He would always provide honest feedback, even though the recipient might not like what he had to say. He called this “tough love”. Sharing – He was always willing to share his knowledge, and he had that enviable talent of being able to pitch at precisely the right level. He gave a talk on seismic to a local school and called his talk the “Bat and the Onion”, the bat’s echo location symbolizing seismic exploration and the onion an analogy for the rock layers in the earth. Mentoring – In recent years Ed accepted an invitation to lecture for NexT on geophysics, and numerous individuals within the industry were the benefactors of his depth of knowledge. Ed would willingly proofread abstracts and papers for colleagues for industry publications, and he would be more than happy to revise, suggest, and direct the content of PSEs for SETC applications for anyone who asked for his help. Ed was a very sociable person, and very easy to get along with. He was the ideal fellow traveler on any business trip, always calm and collected no matter what. All that have had the privilege of traveling with Ed have humorous stories to tell. He was the embodiment of the professional geophysicist and a consummate gentleman. Ed leaves behind his wife Bernadette, son John and daughter Kate. Our hearts go out to them at this tragic time. Ed will be deeply missed by us all. -- Dave Hill **********************************************************************