Geosciences may seem too deep a topic for most, but participants in Geosciences Daze 1996 symposium found no fault with the science.

The 24th year of the student-run geosciences symposium was held Thursday and Friday in the Arizona Ballroom of the Student Union.

Geodaze was designed to showcase University of Arizona student research and give geoscience professionals and students a chance to interact, said Erin Barger, event organizer and hydrology graduate student.

The event included speeches, project presentations, guest speakers and an awards ceremony.

Although the event was open to the public, co-organizer and geosciences graduate student Julie Lewis said the symposium naturally draws students with an interest in geosciences.

This year's events differed from those in the past because Geodaze 1996 included departments and schools other than UA's Department of Geosciences, she said.

For example, Ramon Ornelas, with the University of Sonora's Department of Geology presented his work relating mathematical fractals to natural sciences.

Other projects dealt with extraterrestrial geology. From the UA Lunar and Planetary Lab were projects on Martian crater deposits, and an examination of a fault found on Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.

Geosciences senior Brook Riley said that while the event provides a chance to make employment connections, it also lets geosciences students keep up with their peers' work.

"It's really great because I don't know of any other department that has this semi-competitive, large-turnout kind of thing."