# Henry Rowan
**Henry Madison "Hank" Rowan Jr.** (December 4, 1923 – December 9, 2015) was an American electrical engineer and industrialist who founded Inductotherm Corp. According to Inductotherm Group, he founded Inductotherm Corp. in 1953 and built it into a world leader in induction melting furnaces. In 1992 he and his wife Betty gave $100 million to Glassboro State College in New Jersey, the largest gift to that date to a public college or university in the United States; the college was renamed Rowan College of New Jersey and later [Rowan University](https://www.edgepedia.org/rowan-university).[1](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/) • [2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/nyregion/henry-m-rowan-industrialist-who-gave-record-gift-to-university-dies-at-92.html) He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1998.[3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html)
| | |
|---|---|
| Born – died | December 4, 1923 – December 9, 2015, aged 92[1](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/) |
| Field | Induction melting and heating of metals[3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html) |
| Training | Williams College, then MIT, BS in electrical engineering on the G.I. Bill after Army Air Corps service[4](https://inductothermgroup.com/our-history/) • [5](https://williamson.edu/news-events/2015/12/11/tribute-to-henry-m-rowan-1923-2015/) |
| Company | Inductotherm Corp., founded 1953; grew into the Inductotherm Group of sister companies employing thousands worldwide[4](https://inductothermgroup.com/our-history/) • [3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html) |
| Signature gift | $100 million to Glassboro State College in 1992, given in $10 million annual installments, on the condition that it build an excellent engineering school[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/nyregion/henry-m-rowan-industrialist-who-gave-record-gift-to-university-dies-at-92.html) • [6](https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/rowan-university/) |
| Honors | National Academy of Engineering (1998); AFS William J. Grede Award (1995); ASM International William Hunt Eisenman Award (1997); George Washington Medal Award (1992)[3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html) |
## Early life and training
His birthplace is reported differently: the Inductotherm company history gives Raphine, Virginia,[4](https://inductothermgroup.com/our-history/) while Rowan University's obituary release calls him a native of [Ridgewood, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/ridgewood-new-jersey).[3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html)
He enrolled in 1941 in a dual-degree program leading to a bachelor of arts from [Williams College](https://www.edgepedia.org/williams-college) and a master of science from MIT.[1](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/) His studies were interrupted by World War II: according to a tribute by Williamson College of the Trades, he served more than two years in the Army Air Corps beginning in 1943, training as a bomber pilot on B-17s and B-29s.[5](https://williamson.edu/news-events/2015/12/11/tribute-to-henry-m-rowan-1923-2015/) • [3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html) According to Rowan University, he returned to MIT and completed his undergraduate degree with honors in electrical engineering on the [G.I. Bill](https://www.edgepedia.org/g-i-bill), supporting his wife and two young children.[1](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/) • [5](https://williamson.edu/news-events/2015/12/11/tribute-to-henry-m-rowan-1923-2015/)
His first job, in 1947, was at Ajax Electrothermic Corporation of Trenton, New Jersey, then a premier manufacturer of induction melting furnaces; he resigned in 1952 to apply his own ideas to induction furnace design.[4](https://inductothermgroup.com/our-history/) • [7](http://www.electric-history.com/~zero/TheFireWithin.htm)
## Inductotherm and induction melting
An induction furnace melts metal by passing an intense alternating current through a water-cooled copper coil around a refractory crucible; the alternating electromagnetic field induces currents that heat the charge, melting nonferrous metals such as nickel, copper, silver, and gold.[7](http://www.electric-history.com/~zero/TheFireWithin.htm)
Rowan founded Inductotherm Corp. in 1953, and its first order, a 60-pound beryllium copper furnace, was built in his garage.[4](https://inductothermgroup.com/our-history/) Rowan University's memorial page and the Los Angeles Times describe the 1954 start of operations: he sold the family home, moved into a rental, and used the equity as starting capital, building his first manufactured furnace with his wife Betty in their cellar, heating the copper over a bonfire in the backyard.[1](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-07-mn-1696-story.html) • [3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html) • [16](https://inductothermgroup.com/brands/inductotherm/)
The firm closed its first year with $71,000 in revenue, reached $239,700 in 1956 and $1 million in 1958.[4](https://inductothermgroup.com/our-history/) Its later size is reported differently: Rowan University's memorial page describes 80 subsidiaries across six continents with about 5,000 employees and annual sales in the hundreds of millions;[1](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/) the Williamson College tribute describes about 30 companies in 17 countries;[5](https://williamson.edu/news-events/2015/12/11/tribute-to-henry-m-rowan-1923-2015/) and the university's obituary release gives more than 3,500 employees in more than 20 nations.[3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html)
## Representative work
**The Philadelphia Mint installation.** Rowan's own account describes furnaces for the Mint.[7](http://www.electric-history.com/~zero/TheFireWithin.htm)
**The solid-state VIP power supply.** In October 1966 in Rancocas, New Jersey, the Foundry Trade Journal records what it calls the most significant event in induction furnace history since the original invention of the induction furnace: two engineers proposed a solid-state inverter for furnace power supplies, and Rowan ordered a 50 kW, 3,000 Hz unit. Eleven months later the first Mk 1 VIP (variable induction power) ran in Inductotherm's R&D laboratory, and the range was launched at the 1968 American Foundry Show in [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland); the first 50 kW VIPs used 64 silicon controlled rectifiers in a series-parallel configuration, with coil power controlled by varying frequency.[10](https://www.foundrytradejournal.com/features/past-present-future-induction-technology) Building on that line, Inductotherm obtained a 1993 worldwide patent for a dual-output power supply that can raise utilization of available power to as high as 95 percent, against the 50 to 70 percent typical of a foundry melting eight tonnes of iron to 1,460 °C in 35 minutes with a 7,000 kW supply.[10](https://www.foundrytradejournal.com/features/past-present-future-induction-technology)
## The Rowan gift and Rowan University
On July 6, 1992, Rowan, then 68, donated $100 million to Glassboro State College, a school of 9,800 students offering 25 majors in four schools. It was the largest single donation ever to a public college in the United States and the second-largest ever in the country, behind a $105 million gift to [Emory University](https://www.edgepedia.org/emory-university) in 1979.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-07-mn-1696-story.html) The New York Times reports it was the biggest individual cash gift to any public college or university at the time, given in $10 million annual installments and directed toward an engineering school, endowed professorships and scholarships for his company's employees.[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/nyregion/henry-m-rowan-industrialist-who-gave-record-gift-to-university-dies-at-92.html) According to the *Los Angeles Times*, Rowan had considered several schools before choosing Glassboro State, and he made the gift on the condition that the college establish an excellent engineering school.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-07-mn-1696-story.html) • [6](https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/rowan-university/) He and his wife said it expressed gratitude to the state where he grew up and where they built the company.[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/nyregion/henry-m-rowan-industrialist-who-gave-record-gift-to-university-dies-at-92.html) At the announcement he said, "Education is the foundation of society."[11](https://www.deseret.com/1992/7/7/18993245/100-million-says-thanks-in-a-big-way/)
The college was renamed Rowan College of New Jersey in September 1992 and became Rowan University in 1997; its first engineering class entered in 1996.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-07-mn-1696-story.html) • [3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html) The Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering graduated its first class in 2000 and pioneered first-year hands-on engineering clinics, an approach now widely emulated, and [U.S. News & World Report](https://www.edgepedia.org/u-s-news-and-world-report) ranks it among the top 20 in the nation in its category.[12](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/gift/) In December 2014 the Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation committed a further about $12 million to the College of Engineering; in total, Rowan, the foundation, and Indel Inc. donated close to $126 million to programs at the university.[3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html)
## Honors and recognition
According to the National Academy of Engineering's *Memorial Tributes: Volume 19* (2015), Rowan was elected to the Academy in 1998, and that volume carries his memorial tribute.[13](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/21785/chapter/61) He received the AFS William J. Grede Award in 1995, the William Hunt Eisenman Award from [ASM International](https://www.edgepedia.org/asm-international)'s Philadelphia chapter in 1997, and the George Washington Medal Award in 1992. A seven-foot bronze sculpture of him was unveiled on the Glassboro campus in December 2012.[3](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html)
## Death and legacy
According to *The New York Times*, Rowan died on December 9, 2015, at 92, in [Bucks County, Pennsylvania](https://www.edgepedia.org/bucks-county-pennsylvania).[1](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/) • [2](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/nyregion/henry-m-rowan-industrialist-who-gave-record-gift-to-university-dies-at-92.html) The Inductotherm Group's R&D practice continued, and in January 2026 Rowan University launched a formal co-op program with Inductotherm and its sister company Consarc, extending a training relationship with Rowan engineering students that has lasted more than 30 years; the dean of the College of Engineering described it as building on the legacy established by Henry Rowan.[14](https://today.rowan.edu/news/2026/01/rowan-university-introduces-new-co-op-program-with-inductotherm-and-consarc.html)
The gift's effect reached beyond one campus. The university's rise included a chemical-engineering program ranked third in the country and the first new medical school in New Jersey in more than a generation.[6](https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/rowan-university/)
## References
1. [Henry M. Rowan (Dec. 4, 1923 – Dec. 9, 2015) – Rowan University](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/)
2. [Henry M. Rowan, Industrialist Who Gave $100 Million Gift to University, Dies at 92 – The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/nyregion/henry-m-rowan-industrialist-who-gave-record-gift-to-university-dies-at-92.html)
3. [Rowan University Mourns Passing Of Benefactor Henry M. Rowan – PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rowan-university-mourns-passing-of-benefactor-henry-m-rowan-300191615.html)
4. [Our History – Inductotherm Group](https://inductothermgroup.com/our-history/)
5. [Tribute to Henry M. Rowan 1923–2015 – Williamson College of the Trades](https://williamson.edu/news-events/2015/12/11/tribute-to-henry-m-rowan-1923-2015/)
6. [Rowan University – Philanthropy Roundtable Almanac](https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/rowan-university/)
7. [The Fire Within – Electric History (Rowan's own account)](http://www.electric-history.com/~zero/TheFireWithin.htm)
8. [US6999496B2 – High efficiency induction heating and melting systems – Google Patents](https://patents.google.com/patent/US6999496B2/en)
9. [Small New Jersey College Receives Record $100-Million Donation – Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-07-mn-1696-story.html)
10. [Past, Present, Future – Induction Technology – Foundry Trade Journal](https://www.foundrytradejournal.com/features/past-present-future-induction-technology)
11. [$100 Million Says Thanks in a Big Way – Deseret News](https://www.deseret.com/1992/7/7/18993245/100-million-says-thanks-in-a-big-way/)
12. [The Rowan Gift – Rowan University](https://sites.rowan.edu/henryrowan/gift/)
13. [Memorial Tributes: Volume 19 – National Academy of Engineering](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/21785/chapter/61)
14. [Future ready: Rowan University introduces new co-op program with Inductotherm and Consarc – Rowan Today](https://today.rowan.edu/news/2026/01/rowan-university-introduces-new-co-op-program-with-inductotherm-and-consarc.html)
15. [25 years ago, a $100M gift changed higher education, and giving – The Chronicle of Higher Education](https://www.chronicle.com/paid-content/rowan-university/25-years-ago-a-100m-gift-changed-higher-education-and-giving)
16. [Inductotherm (inductothermgroup.com)](https://inductothermgroup.com/brands/inductotherm/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineers and computer scientists › Engineers and materials scientists › Automotive and manufacturing executives*
*Initially written Sep 21, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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