To remember and to honor Dr. Manik Talwani and to celebrate his life and accomplishments, the SEG Gravity and Magnetics Committee is holding a special post-convention workshop at the SEG / AAPG international meeting IMAGE’24, the “Manik Talwani Memorial Workshop”. The Workshop invites and solicits contributions in marine geophysics, extra-terrestrial gravity, sensors, and terrestrial gravity and magnetic methods with applications in mineral and hydrocarbon exploration for both oral and poster presentations.

Dr. Manik Talwani was an internationally recognized pioneer of modern applied marine geophysics. His scientific exploration reached from deep beneath the ocean bottoms up to the moon, and his research in seismology, gravity, and magnetics has influenced the course of both science and petroleum exploration for decades, contributing greatly to human understanding of the Earth's crust, plate tectonics, continental margins, and ocean basins. He was a pioneer in the acquisition of marine gravity and geomagnetic data and developed research methods that were adopted by both industry and academic researchers. Computer algorithms he wrote to analyze data 70 years ago is still in use with little change today. Manik was known for his restless inquisitiveness, his scientific leadership, mentoring of many geophysicists, and his care for his students, friends, and colleagues.

Manik received a wide range of honors that came from Asia, Europe, and North America. He was the first recipient of the Krishnan Medal of the Indian Geophysical Union and received the IGU's Dr. Hari Narain Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. He received the Macelwane Award from the American Geophysical Union, the Woollard Award from the Geological Society of America, the Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award from NASA, the Alfred Wegener Medal from the European Geosciences Union, and the Emile Wiechert Award from the German Geophysical Society. He was a member of the Russian and Norwegian Academies of Science.

In 2015, the SEG bestowed its highest honor, the Maurice Ewing Medal, on Manik, a very well-deserved award. Manik was awarded the American Geophysical Union’s Maurice Ewing Medal in 1981, and with this SEG award, Manik became the first, very worthy, and only recipient of the two Maurice Ewing Medals.