Trenity Ford

I received my B.S. in geology from Oklahoma State University. After graduation I worked in the oil and gas industry as a petroleum engineer and as a high school physics teacher. I decided to return to my alma mater for my Ph.D. in Geology. My Ph.D. research at Oklahoma State, under the advisement of Dr. Ashley Burkett, was primarily focused on geochemical and morphological variations in benthic foraminifera. In my research I have worked with geochemical proxies extracted from foraminiferal tests via laser ablation inductively-coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). This research has primarily targeted magnesium proxies for bottom water temperature as a means of paleoceanographic reconstruction. I have also worked extensively with micro computed tomography (Micro-CT) to visualize and analyze foraminiferal test morphologies. This work has been focused on assessing calcite quality through x-ray intensity and modeling bottom water oxygen changes through the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) using volumetric analysis.

As a member of the Boone Pickens School of Geology faculty, my focus is on designing, improving, and teaching the departments service level online course offerings with a focus on making online teaching engaging and interactive. I also have an interest in geoscience education research and developing new practices that leverage modern technology and tools.