In the spring of 1967, I was in Ann Arbor, Michigan writing my Ph.D. dissertation. Unexpectedly, I received a phone call from Dr. John D. Kraus. He told me that he had an job opening at the Ohio State University Radio Observatory and he asked me if I was interested. Although I hadn't thought much about employment because I wanted to get my dissertation written and approved, I definitely was interested. He invited me down to Radio Observatory. We set a date and time. When I arrived I was given a tour of the "Big Ear" by John Kraus and Bob Dixon and later I talked to them about my dissertation (radio observations of planetary nebula using the University of Michigan's 85-foot dish). John then told me about the position, offerred it to me, and I accepted on the spot. The position was half-time teaching in the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Ohio State University (OSU) and the other half-time working at the OSU Radio Observatory as a member of the Ohio Sky Survey team which was surveying the entire sky visible to the "Big Ear". I began in the Fall of 1967.

Although I enjoyed teaching electrical engineering courses, I enjoyed even more working on the Ohio Sky Survey. While working on that survey, I wrote several computer programs and helped analyze the data coming from the radio telescope. John asked me to be the lead author on the publication of the results for the 4th installment (1970) and the 6th installment (1974) and included me also as a coauthor for the 5th installment (1971); John listed himself as the last coauthor for those installments. During the process of acquiring and analyzing the data, and then preparing an article for publication, I got to see firsthand how it is done. John was very knowledgeable about publishing papers. He had published about 120 of them at OSU by the time of the 4th installment. By paying attention to how John wrote a technical paper, that helped me later on whenever I was writing a technical document. Of course, John was also very knowledgeable about almost all aspects of acquiring and analyzing the data. When he didn't fully understand something at the beginning, he would ask someone immediately to explain it to him. It didn't take long for him to understand.

By using our data and the results obtained by other observatories, John discovered several sources with unusual spectra (strength vs. frequency). He led us in the discovery of many unusual objects, including the most distant object known in the universe at the time. Several times a team of us (including myself) went to other observatories to use their equipment to obtain measurements of more accurate positions and strengths at higher frequencies that could not be obtained with our "Big Ear". Those observations led to the optical identification of many of our radio sources. I was fascinated as John and the team would work together to find new results. John displayed his enthusiasm quite frequently as these results came out, which, in turn, caused a high level of enthusiasm by every member of the team who realized that they were making a significant contribution to the team and to the knowledge in the field of radio astronomy.

In addition to the good times listed above, I also had the good fortune to see how John Kraus handled a few bad times. Some of those bad times were: (1) failure of one of the winches on "Big Ear" causing a partial collapse of the flat reflector; (2) a land developer proposing a large housing development near the "Big Ear" that would cause radio frequency interference (RFI); (3) a proposal to install a tall TV tower and transmitter a few miles south of the "Big Ear" that would cause interference to our observations; (4) the publication of the magazine "Cosmic Search" for which only 13 issues were printed due to insufficient sales; and several more. By creative thinking, personal contacts, community support, and diplomacy, John handled each of those situations in an exceptional manner. These situations were each unique, but John provided great leadership in determining the best approach to solve each problem.

After the funding from the National Science Foundation was cut off (through no fault on John's part), the entire team had to eventually find new employment. However, many of us stayed on as part-time volunteers to continue operating the "Big Ear". Other volunteers joined us periodically, either for a short time or for a longer time. The electronics were modified to search for narrowband signals and the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intellligence (SETI) program was begun. This involved writing new computer programs, many of which I did or else contributed to. John Kraus encouraged us all along the way.

I had volunteered to look at the computer printouts that were being generated by our computer inferfaced with our narrowband receiver at the "Big Ear". Those printouts were being delivered to my home, typically once a week, by Gene Mikesell, our mechanical technician. In mid August 1977 I was looking over the data taken during the evening of Monday, August 15, 1977 when I saw the strongest narrowband signal I had ever seen on the computer printout. It didn't take me long to realize what the "Big Ear" had detected: it was a narrowband signal that increased then decreased in signal strength just as we would expect for a signal from an extraterrestrial civilization that was purposely trying to get our attention. I was so astonished that I wrote "Wow!" in red pen in the margin of the computer printout. After I finished analyzing the printout (I continued looking at the printout just in case there was another occurrence of that strong signal) I telephoned John Kraus and later Bob Dixon to tell them both of this signal. That started a fascinating process of looking at the printout, discussing what the signal could be or could not be, and then John and Bob looking up information about the planets, satellites, and other possible sources of the signal. John started calling this signal the "Wow!" signal, and I was very pleased at that choice of its name. John displayed a very strong curiosity about this event; again, it was fascinating for me both to be a part of this adventure and to watch John do various analyses, lead others in the discovery process, and publish the results.

I have been greatly influenced by John Kraus' books. His book "Big Ear" and the followup book "Big Ear Two" were very valuable reading for me. I have read "Big Ear Two" three times. It not only was an autobiography of John Kraus and was a very interesting and easy-to-read story, but it gave me considerable insight into how he made decisions and how he overcame roadblocks along the way. Also, I learned many details about the construction and operation of the "Big Ear" radio telescope itself and of the radio telescopes preceding the "Big Ear" at the Ohio State University. "Big Ear Two" is a book that can be enjoyed by the public, but scientists from every field can benefit from it as well.

I also read with interest "Our Cosmic Universe". This was clearly written for the public. I noticed how John was able to communicate some technical information at a level understandable to the public. That is sometimes difficult to do, but John did it well in this book.

He has written three textbooks, each in several editions: "Electromagnetics"; "Antennas"; and "Radio Astronomy". Many students have benefitted from these texts. I have studied each of those texts, sometimes studying successive editions. I had the good fortune for John to ask me to do critical proofreading of his last two revisions: "Electromagnetics, 5th edition"; and "Antennas, 3rd edition". I read each page of the proofs very carefully looking for either errors or else phrasing that I thought could be improved. Usually, I would write in red pen any errors or notations. Then typically I would call John (or, on occasion, his coauthor) and we would discuss what I found. John was receptive to my findings. He noted that some of the errors were not his fault, but rather errors made by the publisher's editors, and that was a frustration to him. I had to proofread relatively quickly due to the limited time given by the publisher's deadlines, and that was a frustration to me and to John as well. This experience was very valuable to me because I gained further insight in the material John was presenting. I was also able to see how he simplified complicated situations to obtain an easier and more useful formula, even though it might be an approximation (John was careful in describing when the approximation could be used). In general, John's textbooks have been best sellers because they contained useful and relevant information written in a way that undergraduate and graduate students could use.

John would periodically call me to either help him with his computer or to assist him in the preparation of a document he wanted to publish or otherwise distribute. Since I lived only two miles from his house, I would sometimes go there to help him with his problem (frequently his computer). We would chat about various topics, which I often found very interesting. Even towards the end of his life his mind remained sharp, although his mobility was deteriorating.

In conclusion, I will long remember John Kraus as a boss that I admired, and as a colleague, a mentor, and a good friend. I will miss him.

(Jerry Ehman)