About the Author

John earned his B. A. in geology at Harvard (1952), M. S. at the University of Colorado (1954), and Ph. D. at the Pennsylvania State University (1958). After teaching 12 years at the University of Missouri at Columbia, John moved to UMass in 1970, retiring in 2005. Over the years he supervised 59 graduate students and wrote more than 60 publications. Now Professor Emeritus, John reflects on the many changes during his 45 years at UMass Amherst.