Seismic Soundoff

“I think that for geophysicists out there, people need to realize that it's an integrated career path. You can't separate the geophysics from the HPC anymore, if we ever did to begin with.” High-performance computing is becoming more important as seismic data grows in size and complexity. This episode highlights the January The Leading Edge special section on high-performance computing. Guest editors Madhav Vyas and Elizabeth L’Heureux share their perspective on GPUs, CPUs, AI tools, and better algorithms in geophysics, and they stress that future success depends on combining geophysical knowledge with strong computational skills. KEY TAKEAWAYS > Modern seismic imaging depends on both advanced physics and powerful, well-chosen computing hardware. > Data movement and system architecture can limit performance as much as raw processing speed. > Geophysicists increasingly need programming and computational science skills alongside domain expertise. LINKS * Read the January 2026 special section, High-performanc