Professor
Tel. (919) 515-7177
E-mail: ron_fodor@ncsu.edu
Fodor's Home Page
Curriculum Vitae

PhD University of New Mexico 1972

TEACHING AND RESEARCH AREAS

My research involves exploring the compositional characteristics of igneous rocks, largely basaltic and gabbroic, ultramafic rocks from the mantle, and the minerals comprising all these rock types. The analytical instrumentation that I use in the Department are x-ray fluorescence spectrometry for major- and trace-elements of rocks, and electron microprobe for mineral compositions. I also utilize outside instrumentation, such as neutron activation for rare-earth element analyses and mass spectrometry for isotope compositions. The courses I teach include Advanced Igneous Petrology, Electron Microprobe Instrumentation, Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology for our majors, and introductory Physical Geology.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Fodor, R.V., Sial, A.N, and Gandhok, G, 2002. Petrology of spinel peridotite xenoliths from northeastern Brazil: lithosphere with a high geothermal gradient imparted by Fernando de Noronha plume. Jour South American Earth Sciences 15, 199-214

Fodor, R.V., 2001. The role of tonalite and diorite in Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii, magmatism: petrology of summit-region leucocratic xenoliths. Jour Petrology 42, 1685-1704

Fodor, R.V., 2000.  Plagioclase of Hawaiian tholeiitic and alkalic magma parentages: distinctions based on REE, Sr, Ba, Hf, and Ta.  Mineralogy and Petrology 69, 213-225

Fodor, R.V. and Hanan, B.B., 2000.  Geochemical evidence for the Trindade hotspot trace: Columbia seamount ankaramite.  Lithos 51, 293-304

Fodor, R.V., Bauer, G.R., and Jacobs, R.S., 1998.  Alkalic magma modified by incorporation of diverse tholeiitic components: 'complex' hybridization on Kahoolawe Island, Hawaii.  Mineralogy and Petrology 63, 73-94

Fodor, R.V, Mukasa, S.B., and Sial, A.N., 1998.  Isotopic and trace-element indications of lithospheric and asthenospheric components in Tertiary alkalic basalts, northeastern Brazil.  Lithos 43, 197-217

Fodor, R.V., and Galar, P., 1997.  A view into the subsurface of Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii: crystallization processes interpreted through the petrology and petrography of gabbroic and ultramafic xenoliths.  Jour. Petrology 38, 581-624