Wahrhaftig was largely responsible for paleomagnetist Allan Cox entering the field of geology, and considered this to be one of his major accomplishments in the field. In 1950 and 1951, Wahrhaftig hired Cox (then an undergraduate chemistry major) to be a field assistant in Alaska. Cox later described the rock glacier research as "one of the most interesting and exciting projects" he'd ever worked on; the rock glacier work also brought Cox's attention to the issue of rock dating. After 2 years of army service (during which Wahrhaftig continued to send him geology books), Cox returned to the university and changed his area of study to geophysics. The rock glacier work was published as Wahrhaftig and Cox (1959).