He wrote on other subjects as well, as you'll see.

https://www.cityofoakscremation.com/obituaries/ronald-fodor/
(with photo)

Raleigh, North Carolina

Ronald V. Fodor passed away on October 22, 2021 after a long battle with metastatic prostate cancer.

Ron was born in 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio to Alex and Helen Fodor. He retired from North Carolina State University after 41 years as a Professor of Geology. Ron received his BS in Geology from Ohio University; MS in Geology from Arizona State University, and a PhD from the University of New Mexico, followed by post-doctoral research in the UNM’s Department of Geology and Institute of Meteoritics. His mentor there and life-long friend, Professor Klaus Keil, introduced Ron to the use of the electron microprobe in studying the mineral chemistry of meteorites and then in igneous rocks.

The use of this instrument was essential in the research projects that Ron undertook at UNM, and later as Professor Fodor at NCSU. Ron was proud how he kept his microprobe operational throughout the years, especially in times when budget constraints made it difficult.

His travels throughout the world from Antarctica to Hawaii (and many places in-between) resulted in extensive research and innumerable publications on petrology and mineralogy of igneous rocks, trace element geochemistry, and the application of fluorescence and electron microprobe analytical techniques to accomplish his research. His main interests were the petrology and geochemistry of Arizona and Hawaiian lavas and their inclusions which were brought to the surface by volcanic eruptions. Ron truly believed that every rock had a story to tell, and his goal was to figure it out.

The recipient of two Fulbright Scholar Awards for advanced research and teaching, Ron fulfilled both at universities in Budapest, Hungary.

Beginning in the early 1970’s, Ron began researching the petrology and geochemistry of Hawaiian volcanic rocks. This included lava flows, their deep-seated inclusions and very interesting inclusions found in Mauna Kea lavas. He worked substantially on the mineral chemistry of rock forming minerals in Hawaii. Ron and Hawaii colleague, Glenn Bauer, did extensive geological work on the little studied and hard to access Hawaiian island of Kahoolawe. This research and resulting publications contributed to the understanding of Hawaii’s volcanic history. The large collection of Kahoolawe samples now resides with Smithsonian Institution for further study by other petrologists.

Ron’s life-long love and research of the geology of Arizona began with his graduate student research. Through a 2019 GSA sponsored field trip, a capstone of his and his students’ research on the Lava and Pyroclastic Flows of the Miocene Goldfield-Superstition Volcanic Province, Central Arizona, he shared this with former students, colleagues and other geologists.

He took great pride in mentoring his graduate students to create publication-worthy research. Under his guidance, many of his graduate students contributed to understanding various aspects of the petrology and geochemistry of Kahoolawe and the Goldfield-Superstition Mountains Mountain Province. One student even accompanied Ron and Glenn to Kahoolawe to help with the research and another worked on the petrology of ultramafic inclusions incorporated in one of the Kahoolawe lava flows. All of their graduate theses work resulted in scholarly papers with the student as the first author. They will remember him as a meticulous editor.

His diverse passions, interests and avocations are documented in the publications of his books on car maintenance, weightlifting, nutrition, meteorites, the stock market and fiction to name a few. He enjoyed creating on his pottery wheel, swing dancing and restoring his first vehicle, a 1966 Jeep. Ron served on the Board of Raleigh’s Artsplosure...

(snip)

https://www.artsplosure.org/blog/thank-you-ron
(brief remembrance)

From Amazon, about his 1979 sci-fi novel, "Impact!":

"This was a good natural disaster novel with an interesting plot. I like these kind of books because I'm interested in the effects of natural disasters. This book however, doesn't give a lot of details of those effects as experienced by survivors. It's a story with characters that are more detached from the immediate effects of the disasters. I was expecting more detail on global effects such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, weather, etc., especially from the last impact. But I still give the book 4 stars because it was well written."

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22r+v+fodor%22+books&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjiqvvvtLKCAxXMMFkFHWiqBhEQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=%22r+v+fodor%22+books&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1C3B1iFMGCEMmgAcAB4AIABngGIAeEEkgEDOS4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=1XNKZaLsJ8zh5NoP6NSaiAE&bih=839&biw=1920
(book covers - some irrelevant covers are included, unfortunately)

WRITINGS:

Meteorites: Stones from the Sky (juvenile), Dodd, 1976.
What Does a Geologist Do? (juvenile), Dodd, 1977.
The Complete Do-It-Yourself Handbook on Auto Repair and Maintenance: With the Repair-O-Matic Guide, Parker Publishing, 1977.
Earth in Motion: The Concept of Plate Tectonics (juvenile), Morrow, 1978.
(Co-author) Catalog of Lithic Fragments in LL-Group Chondrites, Dept. of Geology & Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, 1978.
Competitive Weightlifting, Sterling Publishing, 1978, revised edition published as Winning Weightlifting, 1984.
What to Eat and Why: The Science of Nutrition (juvenile), Morrow, 1979.
Growing Strong, Sterling Publishing, 1979.
Impact! , Nordon Publishing, 1979.

Angry Waters: Floods and Their Control (juvenile), Dodd, 1980.
Nickels, Dimes, and Dollars: How Currency Works (juvenile), Morrow, 1980.
Frozen Earth: Explaining the Ice Ages, Enslow Publishers, 1981.
Earth Afire!: Volcanoes and Their Activity (juvenile), Morrow, 1981.
Chiseling the Earth: How Erosion Shapes the Land, Enslow Publishers, 1983.
(With G. J. Taylor) Junior Body Building Growing Strong, Sterling Publishing, 1983.
Gold, Copper, Iron: How Metals Are Formed, Found, and Used, Enslow, 1989.

The Strange World of Deep-Sea Vents, Enslow, 1991.