Teaching & Speaking
Training the next generation of stratigraphers
From graduate classrooms to industry schools and international conferences, Kenn has spent four decades teaching how to read the stratigraphic record.
Current
Texas A&M University
Visiting Scholar in the Department of Geology and Geophysics (2022–present), teaching Seismic Stratigraphy Interpretation (GEOP 689) and researching stratigraphy’s impact on groundwater characterization. Berg-Hughes Center profile
2023 – 2026
SEPM IMAGE Short Courses
Instructor and coordinator of Seismic Stratigraphy and Geomorphology for Graduate Students at IMAGE ’23, ’24, ’25, and ’26 in Houston.
Keynote
GCSSEPM Perkins-Rosen Research Conference
Keynote speaker at the 39th Annual GCSSEPM Foundation Perkins-Rosen Research Conference, Houston, December 2023.
Industry teaching
Chevron, 2008 – 2024
- Applied Seismic Stratigraphy/Geomorphology Course (coordinator and lead)
- Integrated Deepwater Reservoir Characterization Classroom School
- Applied Stratigraphic Concepts School
- 40+ courses and workshops worldwide; mentored hundreds of geoscientists
Exxon, 1986 – 1994
- Clastic Facies Architecture and Sequence Stratigraphy: Active Margin/Shelf Basin Setting (course developer and instructor)
- Applied Seismic Interpretation School (instructor)
- Introductory Geology for Engineers (instructor)
University teaching
- Guest Instructor, Texas A&M University (2022–present): Seismic Stratigraphy Interpretation (GEOP 689)
- Guest Lecturer, Department of Geology, University of California, Davis (1994–2000)
- Geology Instructor (part-time), California State University, Sacramento (1984)
- Teaching Assistant, University of California, Davis (1980–1985): introductory geology, ancient environments, sedimentary petrology, and structural geology laboratories, including Bay Area field trips
Professional service
Conferences, workshops & leadership
2026
Panel Member, Groundwater Geology to Optimize Basin Characterization: A New Paradigm, Groundwater Resources Association of California Congress, Palm Springs; Session Chair Coordinator, Seismic Stratigraphy and Geomorphology, SEPM International Sedimentary Geosciences Congress II; Short Course Instructor, Crash Course in Seismic Stratigraphy and Geomorphology Interpretation, Houston Geophysical Society: The Academy
2022 – 2024
SEPM Pettijohn Award Committee
2020
Theme Co-Chair, Siliciclastic Systems, AAPG ACE, Houston
2017
Coordinator, Co-Chair, and Session Chair, SEPM Research Symposium: How Seismic and Sequence Stratigraphy Have Advanced: 40 Years after AAPG Memoir 26 and 30 Years after SEPM Special Publication 42, AAPG ACE, Houston
2014
Invited Speaker, AAPG Hedberg Conference: Interpretation Visualization in the Petroleum Industry, Houston
2007
SEPM Field Trip and Short Course Coordinator, AAPG Annual Meeting, Long Beach
2004 – 2005
Vice-President, Pacific Section SEPM; Technical Co-Chairman and Sequence Stratigraphy Workshop Instructor, Pacific Section AAPG 80th Annual Meeting, San Jose
2002 – 2003
Sequence Stratigraphy Workshop Coordinator and Instructor, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park; Symposium Co-Chair, Stratigraphic Applications to Solving Groundwater Resource Issues, Pacific Section AAPG-SEPM-SEG, Long Beach
1998 – 1999
Symposium Co-Chair on stratigraphic controls in groundwater investigations and contaminant remediation (GSA Cordilleran Section; Pacific Section AAPG-SEPM-SEG-SPWLA); Ridge Basin Field Trip Leader; Workshop Coordinator, Application of Sequence Stratigraphy in Environmental and Groundwater Resource Assessments, Groundwater Resources Association of California