Seismic Micro-Technology, a Houston-based company, donated $450,000 in software during the summer to the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences at Iowa State.

Kenneth Windom, associate chairman of geological and atmospheric sciences, said the donation will give the department a much-needed boost.

“Clearly, this software is not the kind of thing we can afford to buy. The budget just won’t stretch that far,” he said.

Eleven copies of the software were donated to ISU, but the university was not the only institution to receive these materials.

“The software was donated to half a dozen research universities with strong programs in geophysical research, especially in applied geophysics and exploration seismology,” said Igor Beresnev, assistant professor in geological and atmospheric sciences.

“It also probably helped that the president of the company is an alumnus of the department,” he said.

The software currently is not available to students, but Beresnev hopes to get it into labs by the end of the semester.

“The software arrived this summer, but it is hard to master,” he said. “I hope that in a couple of months I will be able to start doing exercises with it in class.”

Beresnev also will be using the new software to compliment a new course for graduate students.

The course will focus on exploration seismology.

“Exploration seismology uses seismic waves to discover oil and gas deposits beneath the earth’s surface,” he said. “It is the only method today used to discover deep oil reserves, and the software will really help with this.”

The software processes and interprets seismic data, giving users a three-dimensional image of a structure beneath the earth’s surface.

“It is very sophisticated, modern and on the cutting edge of technology,” he said.

“This software will help us stay competitive in the market and, of course, will be very useful.”

Windom said the software also should give the department an edge when it comes to recruiting.

“This kind of software isn’t usually found on a college campus,” Windom said.

“It is used by commercial businesses and, for us, this benefit is incalculable.”