Michal Ruder received her AB cum laude from Bowdoin College with a joint major in
geology and physics in 1979. In 1986, she was awarded a PhD in geophysics from The Pennsylvania State University. Her work experience spans government, academic, and industrial research and exploration laboratories. Michal joined the (nonseismic) Other Geophysical Methods Group at Exxon Production Research Company in 1986. Her research emphasized integration of seismic, gravity, magnetic, and electromagnetic techniques. In 1988, Michal was invited to be a visiting professor at the Institut de Geodynamique at the Universite de Bordeaux III in Bordeaux, France, where she designed and taught a curriculum of remote sensing and image processing. Upon returning to the United States, Michal founded Wintermoon Geotechnologies, a value-added consulting firm that performs state-of-the-art integrated analysis of geophysical and GIS data for exploration purposes. Michal continues to design new techniques for modeling, interpreting, and integrating gravity, magnetic, and remote sensing data with seismic and well log information for industry clients in geologic settings around the world. Her professional affiliations include SEG, where she is a member of the CE and Gravity and Magnetics Committees as well as a past-Second Vice President, and several local geoscience organizations. Michal has been an active member of the SEG Continuing Education faculty since 1994. She designed the Gravity and Magnetics for Explorationists course at the request of the Society, and she continues to update and enhance the material annually, presenting both in-house and public courses every year.