Evaluation of new geophysical methods

Last March when you did me the honor of selecting me as President, I hoped I would have the privilege in my Presidential Address of telling part of the story of the contributions of geophysicists to the war effort, and of attempting some prophecies concerning the contributions of the war to geophysicists’ future prospecting efforts. For a time last fall, official optimism reached the point where it seemed that it would be possible to secure the release of some of the story; however, in December, I realized that someone else would have that pleasure. But, in looking forward to the day when we can turn away from our wartime activities, I have had my interest rekindled in an old problem, a problem which, with our present prospecting organizations, is the mutual responsibility of geophysicists, geologists and management. It is the problem of evaluating proposed new geophysical prospecting procedures and the somewhat simpler but still extremely difficult problem of evaluating modifications of existing methods.