Trevor D. Ford, OBE is a British geologist

Geologist

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...

, specialising in speleology

Speleology

Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form and change over time...

, and an author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

. He was a Senior Lecturer in the Geology Department of the University of Leicester

University of Leicester

The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....

, and also Associate Dean of Science.

Ford has made a detailed study of Precambrian

Precambrian

The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...

 rocks and fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s, and was instrumental in the recognition of the Precambrian fossil Charnia masoni

Charnia

Charnia is the genus name given to a frond-like Ediacaran lifeform with segmented ridges branching alternately to the right and left from a zig-zag medial suture. The genus Charnia was named after Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, England, where the first fossilised specimen was found.- Diversity...

, discovered in Charnwood Forest

Charnwood Forest

Charnwood Forest is an upland tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough, and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; its elevation is generally 600 ft and upwards, the area...

 by Roger Mason

Roger Mason (professor)

Roger Mason was the discoverer of Ediacaran fossils. He is now a professor at the China University of Geosciences at Wuhan.Mason grew up in the British Midlands city of Leicester, where he attended Wyggeston Boys Grammar School. In April 1957, while rock climbing with friends in Charnwood Forest...

.

He has written several popular introductions to Peak District

Peak District

The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....

 geology, a definitive study of the local fluorite Blue John

Fluorite

Fluorite is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon...

, as well as numerous cave guides. He served as the editor of Transactions of the British Cave Research Association, renamed Cave Science (later Cave & Karst Science), from 1973 until 1993.

Ford was awarded the OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

in 1997 for services to geology and cave science.

Selected publications

• Ford TD. Rocks & Scenery of the Peak District, Landmark Publishing, 2002
• Ford T. Sediments in Caves, BCRA Cave Studies Series 9, 2001
• Ford TD. Derbyshire Blue John, Landmark Publishing, 2000
• Ford T, Gunn J. Caves and Karst of the Peak District BCRA Cave Studies 3, 1992
• Ford TD. Limestones and Caves of Wales, Cambridge University Press, 1989
• Ford TD, Gill DW. Caves of Derbyshire, Dalesman, 1984
• Ford TD, ed. Limestones and Caves of the Peak District, Geo-Books, 1977
• Ford TD, Rieuwerts JH, eds. Lead Mining in the Peak District, Landmark Publishing for the Peak District Mines Historical Society, 1975
• Ford TD (1958). Pre-Cambrian fossils from Charnwood Forest. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 31: 211-217