ABSTRACT This presentation focuses on what we felt are the three most important foundational concepts of the SEG Advanced Modeling Consortium (SEAM). In the our view, these three issues form the basis not only of SEAM, but to a considerable degree the geophysical road ahead. The first is on the emerging techniques for generating models of the Earth's subsurface with realistic geologic styles. The second discusses the actual algorithms for simulation of seismic acquisition over such models. The third is directed toward the kind of existing and emerging mathematical, physical, and computational technologies that enable extraction of the kind of information required to improve the entire exploration industry's success rate. We argue that solution of the first leads naturally to application of the second, followed by successful verification of the validity of the techniques of the third. Finally, we suggest reasons for why the technological infrastructure that should emerge from a successful integration of the three basic topics can have a significant impact on more successful exploration with substantially reduced risk.