To the average person, all of this sounds like jargonistic gobbledygook. But next month scientists from around the world will gather in the San Fernando Valley and turn that apparent gobbledygook into a serious discussion of the seismic future of Southern California and the rest of the planet.

Cal State Northridge's Department of Geological Sciences, along with the San Joaquin Geological Society in Bakersfield, is hosting "Geology Is Universal - a Joint Conference of Geoscientists" from Monday, April 9, through Wednesday, April 11 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City.

"The conference will bring together more than 1,000 geologists and cover a variety of topics, many of which directly affect the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles and California. These include seismic safety and earthquake prediction, groundwater issues, landslide problems and environmental issues," said Peter W. Weigand, a CSUN geology professor and coordinator of the conference.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for scientists to share research results and to network with other scientists to clarify future research direction," Weigand said. "And let's not forget the petroleum side. The conference provides an excellent opportunity for 'cross fertilization' between industrial and academic geologists."

The conference is the first joint meeting of the Cordilleran Section of the Geological Society of America and the Pacific Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Other participating organizations include the Society of Sedimentary Geology - Pacific Section, the Association of Women Geologists - Southern California Chapter, the Association of Engineering Geologists - Southern California, the California Science Teachers Association, and the Paleontological Society - Pacific Coast Section.

Among the presenters and topics during the course of three days are Caltech's Kate Hutton, who will talk about "Rockin' 'n' Rollin' in Southern California - What's Shaking and How We Measure It," and Tanya Atwater of UC Santa Barbara, who will present a paper on "Sliding and Spinning - How Our Plates Have Moved Over the Past 30 Million Years."

CSUN elementary education professor Barbara Hawkins will explain how earth sciences are incorporated in the new national science education standards and what resources are available to help teachers.

A little closer to home, CSUN geology professor Gerry Simila will give a seismic profile of the San Fernando Valley.

In all, nine CSUN faculty, 40 students and 12 alumni will be involved in various aspects of the conference,

In addition to the presentations, the conference will feature exhibitions and field trips to some of California's more interesting geological areas, including Death Valley, open trenches cut across the San Andreas fault between Wrightwood and Indio and an examination of the seismic plates from Palmdale to the San Fernando Valley. CSUN geology professor Doug Yule will lead a two-day field trip to examine the San Andreas fault.

For more information about the conference, call Peter W. Weigand at (818) 677-2564 or visit the web site http://geology.csun.edu/gsa/ .

California State University, Northridge has more than 29,000 full- and part-time students and offers 58 bachelor's and 50 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley.