After a first degree in Mexico, Adriana Citlali Ramirez completed a physics PhD at University of Houston, since worked in the US and for the last 10 years in Europe, and is now chief geophysicist, Eastern Hemisphere, TGS with significant volunteer work for SEG and EAGE. Her professional career belies her parallel life as a recognized painter, photographer, and poet.
Your main childhood influences?
Books – most genres and encyclopaedias.They provided knowledge and experiences beyond my time and space. In art, my dad was a big influence. He has always been working on a creative writing project. He was a tough and motivating critic of my writings. Moreover, he taught me how to paint and how to use a reflex camera. At times, he held Sunday painting workshops where other kids would join. I also took graphical design classes and went on summer school with a local painter.
Your career choice was science not arts?
I was truly passionate about literature and physics. Literature almost won. In my last high school year, I got a certificate in creative writing at Claustro de Sor Juana’s University. Some of my classmates were journalists and a published writer, who were there because they never got the chance to study the basics. They made me realise that a writer does not need to study literature. I studied physics with several extra credits in literature, plus extra-academic writing and painting lessons.
Explain your career-long fascination with multiples?
They are non-linear. The most interesting ones are tricky to catch with visual inspection but can determine the success of drilling a well. The math to uncover them is complex and beautiful. The theory holds. Associated methods work on real data even if some remain too costly in practice.
What is your role at TGS?
My team is responsible for geophysical advice, project management, and deliv-ery to clients. As chief geophysicist and technology adviser, I provide technical leadership to TGS’s Eastern Hemisphere business, while facilitat-ing the effective implementation of new technology into projects. My goal is to use technical expertise, business acumen, and intuition to address data-related challenges whose solutions have the most positive impact in the decisions that our clients take with the data and services we provide.
What inspires your visual art?
It reflects a personal interpretation of the world, life experience and emotions. I allow myself the luxury of exploring different styles, techniques, and media. Through photography, I aim to create images that inspire. They either share some essence of the places I visit, the emotions and physical baggage evoked by people I encounter or provide a new poetic perspective of the real world. Through painting, I tell stories that transport my audience - from the celebration of Day of the Dead in Mexico to a mythic world, via a philosophical coloured abstraction.
Your poetry seems personal and romantic?
All art is personal but that does not mean autobiographical. Some is. Some is simply inspired by books, nightmares, or the flutter of a dragonfly. The Romantics focused on the individual self and experience, using art to convey emotion and did not abide by established rules from academia and the Enlightenment. They often used nature as an image of the inner person, evoking a foggy day when a character is confused or a storm when heartbroken. I work to create my own images, breaking with the obvious. The Romantics inspired the Avant Garde movement. This is the one I identify with more, though I understand why my poetry can be called romantic.
How do science and arts combine for you?
A scientist must demonstrate creative thinking: the ability to pose and answer a question that has not been asked or provide a new answer to a known question. While studying physics there is a moment when one touches the limits of humanity’s knowledge. Beyond relativity there is quantum mechanics. From there on, nothing is deterministic. Suddenly, no one has all the answers, the microscopic is disconnected from the macrocosms with no perfect unifying theory. Answers that we have are incomplete or a probability. We keep on questioning, trying to answer. This is when physics collides with philosophy, as art often does.
Any advice for young geoscientists?
Give, expect, and demand respect. If you ever witness or experience something drastic as discrimination or sexual harassment, seek help and speak out. Don’t shy away from the larger challenges. Be curious and follow your passions. Explore the idea of being paid for what could be your hobby.
