W. Kent Ford, Jr. was an astronomer involved with the theory of dark matter

Dark matter

In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...

. He worked with scientist Vera Rubin

Vera Rubin

Vera Rubin is an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She is famous for uncovering the discrepancy between the predicted angular motion of galaxies and the observed motion, by studying galactic rotation curves...

, who used his advanced spectrometer in her studies of space and matter. This spectrometer allowed the pair to drastically change the way dark matter was viewed, by analyzing the various spectrums of light galaxies give off in different parts of their spirals. He received the 1985 James Craig Watson Medal

James Craig Watson Medal

thumb|right|400px|James Craig Watson MedalThe James Craig Watson Medal was established by the bequest of James Craig Watson, and is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for contributions to astronomy.The recipients have been:-External links:*...

for his work on image enhancement and galactic dynamics.