Bert Bally is an internationally known geologist/explorationist. Raised in Indonesia, Italy and Switzerland, he studied at the University of Zürich. Interrupting his PhD project in Central Italy, Bert mapped for Gulf Oil an area in southeastern Sicily, a project that eventually led to the discovery of Ragusa Field. In 1952, Bert joined Shell Canada in Calgary. He became Chief Geologist of Shell Canada in 1961. In 1966, Bert was the lead author of a seminal paper on western Canada’s Rocky Mountains and foothills. Bert became Chief Geologist for Shell Oil in the U.S in 1968. After a long and successful career with Shell, he joined the Earth Science Department at Rice University in 1981. He trained many outstanding graduate students from around the world. The six AAPG seismic atlases that Bert edited in the1980s set the standard for future publications of seismic profiles. He received the AAPG Sidney Powers Memorial Award and served as President of the GSA.