The objective of this course is to provide earth scientists and engineers with a common understanding of the practice of exploration geophysics in a way that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries. By doing so, it hopes to provide them with a common language and cultural framework which will enhance their ability to work on multi-disciplinary earth-science teams. It is based on the following principles:

• The users of geophysical data (geologists, engineers, lawyers, accountants) need to know how geophysics should be done and what can be expected of the results. Geophysicists, in turn, need to know what the users will expect of them.
  
  
• The basis for a common understanding between geophysicists and the users of geophysical data lies in the formalization of the exploration process based on the scientific method.
  
  
• With the advent of modern computing technologies, it has become possible to use realistic modeling and simulation of the exploration process to teach by doing.
  
  
• The use of modeling and simulation software in a game-playing environment (as illustrated by popular games such as Sim City) is an effective learning tool.
  
  
• The internet, high-level, hardware-independent programming languages, and the World Wide Web have made it possible to provide learning materials to a world-wide audience.
  
  

The design of the course is based on the codification of the basic structure of the exploration process. Each step in the process is described in decision-making flow charts with increasing levels of detail. By guiding students through the process of conducting simplified surveys, the program will illustrate how those decision-making concepts can be used in all surveys, from a simple civil-engineering application to the most-complex 3-D survey for reservoir characterization.

The content modules are developed to demonstrate and test the concept. The prototyping process has created a number of questions that will need to be addressed as the program moves forward:

• Which high-level languages should be used to provide algorithms?
• Can we develop standards that will allow earth scientists around the world to develop and contribute modules?
• Should we provide the text and figures using several different languages?
• Is it desirable or practical to offer modules for exploration disciplines other than geophysics?