Dr. John Towers (BS MTU MY 1943, MS METE U Notre Dame, Hon PhD MTU 1978). John Towers completed his career as the president and chief operating officer of AMAX, Inc. Prior to joining AMAX as an assistant metallurgist in 1946, he served with the US Army Corps of Engineers during WWII. He was promoted to foreman of the smelting department and then to general superintendent of smelting and refining. In 1959 he was promoted to general manager and in 1963 to director of AMAX's domestic copper activities. He was elected corporate vice president in 1966 and assumed duties as Base Metals group executive in 1967. John was elected to the Board of Directors in 1969. He became executive vice president in 1975 and was elected president in October 1977. He was with AMAX for more than 36 years. After retiring from AMAX in 1982, he worked for several years as an independent mineral consultant. He also served as a director of several mining companies.

During his career, Dr. Towers was recognized with the University of Notre Dame’s Honorary Award (1980) and with AIME’s William Lawrence Saunders Award.

In 2001, John and his wife Virginia established the John and Virginia Towers Endowed Fund. Its purpose is to fund travel expenses of academic colleagues presenting seminars in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Michigan Tech.

John, now deceased, was inducted into the Academy of Metallurgical and Materials Engineers in the inaugural class of 1996.