Roberta Thompson is a geosciences master’s student in the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences and a veteran.
Thompson’s research project is the Finch 3-D dataset in Hartley County, Texas, where some unusual and interesting geologic structural styles occur in the subsurface.
“I’ll be exploring this area’s structural geology and rock properties via seismic and well data while trying to learn industry software,” she said. “I’m excited to explore the depth of the Woodford Shale formation in an abrupt basin toward the central northwest area of the dataset. The Woodford Shale is an unconventional oil and gas resource and, to date, there is not an active play-bed in this region.”
“I envision continued opportunities for learning, traveling and continuously figuring out geophysical challenges in the field and in the office,” she said.
Choosing TU
When Thompson began looking for the right school to complete her bachelor’s degree, she chose The University of Tulsa.
“I’ve attended other universities where classes were so large professors didn’t know I was in their course. Attending TU as an undergraduate, I appreciated the fact that I was known by name within the first week of the semester, even by department professors I had not had for a course,” Thompson said. “As a non-traditional student, continuing my graduate studies at TU only made sense.”
Thompson said the size of her department and courses create an atmosphere for inherent growth. Following the completion of her degree, she hopes to work in the petroleum industry as an exploration geophysicist.
After she leaves TU she said she will always remember the camaraderie of the TU Student Veteran Association, especially the tailgating parties. Thompson became involved in the organization while working on her undergraduate degree but continued to stay involved once she began graduate school.
TU has a very involved population of student veterans. In addition to the Student Veteran Association, the university offers a wide variety of services for our student veterans through the C. McKee Student Veterans Success Center.