Dirk Smit is the Vice President, Research Strategy and Chief Scientist at Shell, and has been a visiting scientist in EAPS. He obtained his PhD in mathematical physics from Utrecht University in 1989 for work in string theory. After a postdoctoral appointment at UC Berkeley, Smit joined Shell in 1992, where his roles have included Chief Geophysicist for Shell UK and Technology Manager for Global Exploration. He was awarded the Ludwig Mintrop Award in geophysics by the European Association of Geophysicists and Engineers in 2002, and has been a member of the EAPS Visiting Committee to the MIT Corporation since 2014. His research interests include seismic acquisition, processing, and imaging; and more broadly the advancement of geoscience in industry. In 2018 he was named as one of the first three ERL Fellows.