John Paquet

Being an engineering student in the 1980s, John learned computer programming in FORTRAN on key punch cards. "One evening, as I was leaving the computer lab in the EE Building, I walked outside on a windy and snowy night." remembered John. "Another person was walking towards me, and they dropped their entire box of punched cards, which blew all over the place. I helped them pick up as many as we could, though we were unable to collect them all." Talk about tenacity of Michigan Tech students!

John graduated in 1986 with a BSEE. His first job after graduation was with General
Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) in Fort Worth, Texas, working on the F-16 fighter program, where he has spent his entire career. He currently is Director and Deputy, ADP Tactical Systems. He has received numerous awards, including the LM Aero Star award in 2001 for leading the Integrated Master Plan/Integrated Master Schedule (IMP/IMS) development for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) EMD proposal, and the 2018 Robert J. Collier Trophy for Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance (Auto GCAS) effort, which successfully completed a rapid design, integration, and flight test of critical, lifesaving technology for the F-35 fleet.

"Michigan Tech prepared me extremely well for my career, in that it provided the engineering
knowledge and the ability to work together with a diverse set of individuals to solve problems
together," said John.

He currently serves on the Michigan Tech College of Engineering Advisory Board. "I share my time, talent, and treasure to help Michigan Tech be a world class university, providing all
students an excellent education and preparing them for their professional careers. I owe much of my career success to Michigan Tech and by giving back, it’s a way to help the next generation of students become successful."

Updated September 2021