Geosciences’ Christopher L. Liner Named Interim Associate Dean for Fulbright College

Christopher L. Liner has been named an interim associate dean in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, after serving as chair of the college’s Department of Geosciences since 2016.

Liner has been a University of Arkansas faculty member for more than 10 years, holds the Maurice F. Storm Chair of Petroleum Geology, and is a U of A alumnus.

“We’re excited to have Chris join the Fulbright College Dean’s Office team as an interim associate dean and to work with him in this new capacity,” said Kathryn Sloan, interim dean of Fulbright College. “He’s been a dedicated leader and advocate for our students, faculty and staff in the college for years.”

“With his extensive administrative, academic and professional experience, he’s bringing excellent skills and vision to the college at this pivotal time,” she added.

In his new role as interim associate dean, Liner will serve as the administrative liaison between the Fulbright College Dean’s Office and several academic departments, programs and research centers primarily in the natural and social sciences, including the Departments of Anthropology, Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Geosciences, Mathematical Sciences and Physics, as well as the General Education, Global Campus, Pre-dental areas and more.

“It’s a great honor to be able to give back and serve the U of A and Fulbright College in this new role,” Liner said. “My career started here back in the 1970s when I earned my degree in geology, and it felt like I’d come full circle when I returned to the Department of Geosciences in 2012, and even more so when I became department chair.”

“But now, the opportunity to help and have a positive impact on even more of the college’s outstanding students, faculty and staff is just wonderful and I’m very much looking forward to it,” he said.

Liner’s research interests center on reflection seismology theory, acquisition, processing and interpretation for hydrocarbons and carbon sequestration, as well as carbonate geophysics and near surface geophysical methods.

In addition to his research and academic experience at the U of A, and previously at the University of Houston and the University of Tulsa, Liner has extensive field and professional experience. He previously worked for Conoco, Golden Geophysical Corp. and Saudi Aramco, and also served as an industry consultant for various companies around the world, including in Iraq, Oman, Tunisia and Indonesia.

Liner has authored dozens of articles in journals and industry magazines including Oil and Gas Journal, The Leading Edge, World Oil and more, additionally serving as the author of the Seismos column in the geophysics journal The Leading Edge. He also maintains the Seismos blog, which examines the history and culture of geophysics.

Previously, Liner served as editor of the journal Geophysics and as president of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).

He has presented his research at dozens of conferences around the world, authored book chapters, co-authored The Art and Science of Seismic Interpretation and authored Elements of Seismic Dispersion: A somewhat practical guide to frequency-dependent phenomena and Elements of 3D Seismology, which is now in its third edition.

Liner is also a member of SEG, the American Geophysical Union, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Seismological Society of America and the European Academy of Sciences.

He has also been active in giving back to the U of A. In 2021, Liner established the Christopher Lee Liner Rare Book Collection in Mullins Library, and in the School of Law he and his wife Dolores Proubasta founded the Proubasta-Liner Endowed Distinguished Speaker Award in Animal Rights Law.

Liner holds a B.S. in geology from the U of A, an M.S. in geophysics from University of Tulsa and a Ph.D. in geophysics from the Colorado School of Mines.

Get to know Liner further in this Fulbright REVIEW Q&A.