John came to work in the Department of Geological Sciences in 1970 as an Electrical Engineer. He assisted in the design and implementation of countless instrumentation systems, including ultrasonic modeling, to help faculty and students study seismic wave propagation in the field and in the laboratory. His contributions were not only related to classroom instruction, but also to several major outside-funded research programs, including the DOE-sponsored Geothermal Program under the direction of Drs. John Costain, Lynn Glover, III, Cahit Coruh, and A. K. Sinha. John made major contributions to the design of the temperature logging system that was essential to the success of the geothermal program. The geothermal data are now being archived as a World Wide Web site, so that they can be downloaded from anywhere in the world by accessing the Virginia Tech Geothermal Web Site. He very early predicted the future dominance of the IBM-compatible desktop computer, and was designing and assembling components for PCs long before they were available as off-the-shelf, fully assembled systems. It is difficult to say if Mr. Wonderley's involvement with geophysics was more related to teaching or research; the Department of Geological Sciences has been fortunate in having such superb excellent State-funded employees such as John Wonderley to carry out its teaching and research obligations. The geophysics program would not have succeeded without him. John Wonderley retired from Virginia Tech in 1996.

There have been countless graduate students who John has helped with their data in the field and in the laboratory. On the occasion of his retirement in 1996, it is fitting to quote some expressions of appreciation taken directly from the acknowledgement pages of their Theses and Dissertations. Some of these students are referenced below, in chronological order of graduation, and include Mike Bahorich (1981), Eileen Bielanski (1981), Paul Dysart (1981), Tom Pratt (1982), Andy Marangakis (1983), Steven Belcher (1984), Berkan Ecevitoglu (1984), Rob Bryan (1985), Rick D'Angelo (1985), Steven Miller (1985), Tom Pratt (1986), Greg Schorr (1986), Ron Luongo (1987), Dan Needham (1987), Stephen Scott (1987), Ken Laughlin (1988), Emin Demirbag (1990), Susan Hubbard (1990), Ashok Sen (1991), Laura Lampshire (1992), Phil Pappano, Jr. (1992), Mu Guo (1994), Debbie Hopkins (1995), Sara Minnich (1996), Jennifer Cyrnak (1997), Leslie Moore (1997), and Sam Peavy (1997).

Epilogue. A geophysicist's life can be a lonely one, with countless days spent in the field collecting seismic data that can only be evaluated after leaving the field. You do not get a second chance to collect reflection seismology data in or even near the same area. It's too expensive. John Wonderley's readiness to offer assistance in the field and when we returned from the field assured us that, if we did our job in the field, then our data and our students would be secure and cared for during and after the extensive computer processing that follows data collection.