Alumni who went on to become members of the faculty are listed only in this category.
Physics and Astronomy
Eric Adelberger, BS 1960, PhD 1967; Professor of Physics, Emeritus at University of Washington; member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Charles R. Alcock, PhD 1977
Berni Alder, PhD 1951; National Medal of Science recipient
Carl D. Anderson, BS 1927, PhD 1930, faculty – Nobel laureate in physics (1936) for proving the existence of positrons
Roger Angel, MS 1966; Kavli Prize laureate; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Horace W. Babcock, BS 1934
James M. Bardeen, PhD 1965
Eric Becklin, PhD 1968
Edmund Bertschinger, BS 1979
Eric Betzig, BS 1983, co-recipient of 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
J. Richard Bond, PhD 1979; Gruber Prize in Cosmology winner
Ira Sprague Bowen, PhD 1926
Robert Brode, PhD 1924
Paul Chaikin, BS 1966
Chung-Yao Chao, PhD 1930
John Clauser, BS 1964; Wolf Prize winner
Bernard Cohen (physicist), PhD 1950
Sidney Coleman, PhD 1962
H. Richard Crane, BS 1930, PhD 1934; National Medal of Science recipient
Roger Dashen (physicist), PhD 1964; former faculty; former Professor of Theoretical Physics at Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ; former Professor of Physics at UC San Diego; member of National Academy of Sciences
Jesse DuMond (physicist), BS 1916, PhD 1929; (former faculty) Professor of Physics, Emeritus at Caltech; member of National Academy of Sciences
Robley D. Evans (physicist), BS 1928, PhD 1932
Alexei Filippenko, PhD 1984
James C. Fletcher, PhD 1948
William A. Fowler, PhD 1936, faculty; Nobel laureate in physics (1983) for his studies of the nuclear reactions in stars; National Medal of Science recipient
Edward Fredkin, undergraduate studies (1952), early pioneer of digital physics with contributions in reversible computing and cellular automata
Neil Gehrels, PhD 1982; Dan David Prize winner
Andrea M. Ghez, PhD 1992; Crafoord Prize Laureate in Astronomy, 2012; Sackler Prize winner; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Donald A. Glaser, PhD 1950; Nobel laureate in physics (1960) for the invention of the bubble chamber
James E. Gunn, PhD 1966; Crafoord Prize Laureate in Astronomy, 2005; Gruber Prize in Cosmology winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Robert N. Hall, BS 1942, PhD 1948
James Hartle, PhD 1964
Jeffrey A. Harvey, PhD 1981
Lars Hernquist, PhD 1985
John Huchra, PhD 1976
Vernon W. Hughes, MS 1942
Kamaloddin Jenab, PhD 1936
David C. Jewitt, PhD 1983; Shaw Prize laureate; Kavli Prize laureate;
J. R. Jokipii - PhD 1965; Regents’ Professor Planetary Sciences and Astronomy, University of Arizona; member of National Academy of Sciences
Kenneth Kellermann, PhD 1963
Robert Kirshner, PhD 1975; Wolf Prize winner
Steven E. Koonin, BS 1972; seventh provost of Caltech; current Undersecretary for Science, Department of Energy
Charles Christian Lauritsen
Thomas Lauritsen, BS 1936, PhD 1939; former Professor of Physics at Caltech; member of National Academy of Sciences
Robert B. Leighton, BS 1941, PhD 1947
Tom Lubensky, BS 1964
Hideo Mabuchi, PhD 1998; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Arthur B. McDonald, PhD 1969; Nobel laureate in physics (2015) for work in neutrinos; Breakthrough Prize laureate
William B. McLean, BS 1935, PhD 1939
Dimitri Mihalas, PhD 1963
Mark M. Mills, PhD 1948
Seth Neddermeyer, PhD 1935
Jerry Nelson (astronomer), BS 1965; Kavli Prize laureate
Gerald Neugebauer, PhD 1960 (former faculty)
Frank Oppenheimer, PhD 1939; Manhattan Project physicist; founder of the Exploratorium
Douglas D. Osheroff, BS 1967; Nobel laureate in physics (1996) for discovering the superfluidic nature of 3He; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky, PhD 1942; National Medal of Science recipient
Eugene Parker, PhD 1951; Kyoto Prize laureate; National Medal of Science recipient
Joseph Polchinski, BS 1975; Breakthrough Prize laureate
William H. Press, PhD 1973
Charles Prescott, PhD 1966; Professor of Physics, Emeritus at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC); member of National Academy of Sciences
David E. Pritchard, BS 1962
Leo James Rainwater, BS 1939; Nobel laureate in physics (1975) for finding the shapes of certain atomic nuclei
Wade Regehr, PhD 1988
Howard Percy Robertson, PhD 1925 (former faculty)
Malvin Ruderman, PhD 1951; Centennial Professor of Physics at Columbia University; member of National Academy of Sciences
Allan Sandage, PhD 1953; Crafoord Prize Laureate in Astronomy, 1991; Gruber Prize in Cosmology winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Anneila Sargent, PhD 1967 (faculty)
Paul Schechter, PhD 1975
Stephen A. Shectman, PhD 1973; staff member, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science; member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Robert J. Schoelkopf, PhD 1995
David Schramm (astrophysicist), PhD 1971
Bernard F. Schutz, PhD 1972
William Shockley, BS 1932; Nobel laureate in physics (1956) for invention of the transistor
Paul Steinhardt, BS 1973
Guyford Stever, PhD 1941; National Medal of Science recipient
Saul Teukolsky, PhD 1973
William G. Tifft, PhD 1958
Kip Thorne, BS 1962, (faculty) Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus at Caltech; Shaw Prize laureate; Kavli Prize laureate; Breakthrough Prize laureate; Gruber Prize in Cosmology winner
Alvin V. Tollestrup, PhD 1950; (former faculty); National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient
Charles H. Townes, PhD 1939; Nobel laureate in physics (1964); National Medal of Science recipient
George Trilling, BS 1951, PhD 1955; Professor and Chair of Physics at UC Berkeley, Emeritus; temporary President of American Physical Society; Director of Physics Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab; member of National Academy of Sciences
Alvin Trivelpiece, PhD 1958
Michael Turner (cosmologist), BS 1971
George Wallerstein, PhD 1958
William Ward, PhD 1973, Institute scientist in Department of Space Studies at Southwest Research Institute. Elected member of National Academy of Sciences. Known for major contributions to planetary science and satellite dynamics.
Clifford Martin Will, PhD 1971
Olin Chaddock Wilson, PhD 1934
Kenneth G. Wilson, PhD 1961; Wolf Prize laureate (1980), Nobel laureate in physics (1982) for his theory of phase transitions in matter
Robert W. Wilson, PhD 1962; Nobel laureate in physics (1978) for discovering the cosmic microwave background radiation (shared medal)
Bruce Winstein, PhD 1970
Jack Wisdom, PhD 1981; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Stephen Wolfram, PhD 1979; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
George Zweig, PhD 1964; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Barton Zwiebach, PhD 1983
Norman J. Zabusky, PhD 1959
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
David T. Allen, PhD 1983; Melvin H. Gertz Regents Chair in Chemical Engineering at University of Texas, Austin. Known for contributions to improving air quality and for developments in sustainable engineering education and practice. Elected member of National Academy of Engineering.
Fred C. Anson, (former faculty) BS 1954; Elizabeth W. Gilloon Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus at Caltech; Member of National Academy of Sciences. Known for pioneering work on the electrochemistry of polymers, on the catalysis of electrode reactions, and on electrochemical reactions that involve ultrathin coating of molecules on electrode surfaces.
Peter B. Armentrout, PhD 1980
Jesse L. Beauchamp, BS 1964
Arnold Beckman, PhD 1928; inventor of the pH meter, founder of Beckman Instruments and financier of the first "silicon" company in Silicon Valley, Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory; National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient; National Medal of Science recipient
Richard D. Braatz, PhD 1993
Leo Brewer, BS 1940
Richard G. Brewer, BS 1951; pioneer in quantum optics and nonlinear laser spectroscopy, particularly advanced techniques in the study of laser induced steady state and transient phenomena; researcher at IBM Almaden research laboratories; IBM fellow, elected member of National Academy of Sciences.
Emily A. Carter, PhD 1987
Christopher Chang, BS/MS 1997
Robert N. Clayton, PhD 1955; National Medal of Science recipient
Robert E. Cohen, PhD 1972; Raymond A. (1921) and Helen E. St. Laurent Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT; member of National Academy of Engineering. Leader in field of polymer science and engineering
William H. Corcoran, (former faculty) BS 1941, PhD 1948; Institute Professor of Chemical Engineering at Caltech. Known for research in biomedical engineering (particularly fluid flow and design of artificial heart valves), chemical engineering kinetics, engineering design, pharmaceutical process engineering and development design, rocketry, and transport processes. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
Charles D. Coryell, BS 1932, PhD 1935
Paul Hugh Emmett, PhD 1925
David A. Evans, PhD 1967
Gary Felsenfeld, PhD 1955, Distinguished Investigator and Chief of the section on physical chemistry in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Widely recognized for research on the physical chemistry of nucleic acids and proteins and their interactions with each other and with small molecules; structure of DNA and synthetic polynucleotides; structure and function of chromatin, particularly as it relates to eukaryotic gene expression; and regulation of globin gene expression during development. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
Gerald Fuller, PhD 1980
Jacqueline G. Gish, PhD 1976; Northrop Grumman Technology Fellow; recognized for significant contributions to the development of high-energy lasers, development of diagnostics for plasma and laser programs. and leadership of efforts on chemical lasers and solid state lasers. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
William A. Goddard, III, PhD 1965; faculty, theoretical chemist
Wilson Ho, BS/MS 1975; Donald Bren Professor of Physics & Astronomy and Chemistry, University of California, Irvine. Renowned physical chemist known for, among other things, development of single-molecule scanning tunneling microscopy methods and instrumentation and investigation of nanoscale materials, surfaces, and phenomena. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
James L. Hoard, PhD 1932
Brian M. Hoffman, PhD 1966; Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University; known for major contributions to electron paramagnetic resonance and electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) of metalloenzymes; long-range electron transfer within protein complexes; and new porphyrazine metallomacrocycles. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
James A. Ibers, BS 1951, PhD 1954; Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor (Emeritus) of Chemistry at Northwestern University. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
Harold 'Hal' Johnston, PhD 1948; pioneering atmospheric chemist and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at UC Berkeley; National Medal of Science recipient; winner of Tyler World Prize for Environmental Achievement; member of National Academy of Sciences
Christopher W. Jones, PhD 1999
Eric W. Kaler, BS 1978
Martin Karplus, PhD 1953; Nobel laureate in chemistry (2013)
Chaitan Khosla, PhD 1990; Alan T. Waterman Award winner;
Nathan Lewis, BS/MS 1977
William Lipscomb, PhD 1946; Nobel laureate in chemistry (1976)
Stephen L. Mayo, PhD 1987; (faculty) Bren Professor of Biology and Chemistry at Caltech
Joseph Edward Mayer, BS 1924
Harden M. McConnell, PhD 1951; Wolf Prize winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Edwin Mattison McMillan, BS 1928, MS 1929; Nobel laureate in chemistry (1951); National Medal of Science recipient
Matthew Meselson, PhD 1957; Lasker Award recipient; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Kurt Mislow, PhD 1947; Professor Emeritus of chemistry at Princeton University; known for major contributions to physical organic chemistry. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
Milan Mrksich, PhD 1994; Henry Wade Rodgers Professor in Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, and Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
Daniel G. Nocera, PhD 1984
José Onuchic, PhD 1987
Dinshaw J. Patel, MS 1963; Member and Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Chair in Experimental Therapeutics, Structural Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center + Professor, Graduate Program in Biochemistry & Structural Biology, Weill School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University; member of National Academy of Sciences
Linus Pauling, PhD 1925; faculty, two-time sole Nobel laureate in chemistry (1954) and peace (1962); National Medal of Science recipient
Nikola Pavletich, BS 1988
Cornelius J. Pings, BS 1951, PhD 1955; (former faculty in chemical engineering and chemical physics) Former provost and professor of chemical engineering at University of Southern California; former president of Association of American Universities (AAU); Member of National Academy of Engineering
Kenneth Pitzer, BS 1935; National Medal of Science recipient
Dana Powers, BS 1970, PhD 1975; senior scientist, nuclear energy and fuel cycle programs, Sandia National Laboratories. Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for contributions to commercial nuclear power plant safety worldwide and to radioactive source-term processes.
Danny D. Reible, PhD 1982; Donovan Maddox Distinguished Engineering Chair at Texas Tech University. Formerly Bettie Margaret Smith Chair of Environmental Health Engineering and Director, Center for Research in Water Resources at the University of Texas, Austin. Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for contributions to development of widely used approaches for the management of contaminated sediments.
Michael Rosbash, BS 1965; Shaw Prize laureate; Wiley Prize recipient; Gruber Prize in Neuroscience winner
Melanie Sanford, PhD 2001; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
George C. Schatz, PhD 1976
Richard Scheller, PhD 1980; Kavli Prize laureate; Alan T. Waterman Award winner; Lasker Award recipient
Warren G. Schlinger, BS 1944, PhD 1949; Renowned philanthropist and former chemical engineer at Texaco, Inc. noted for over 60 patents and decades of work on chemical processes involving syngas and cleaner energy recovery from fossil fuels. Elected member of National Academy of Engineering.
Peter G. Schultz, BS 1979, PhD 1984; Alan T. Waterman Award winner; Wolf Prize winner
Howard A. Stone, PhD 1988
Scott Strobel, PhD 1992
Yongkui Sun, PhD 1990; Executive Director of Business Development and Licensing, etc. at Merck & Co. Known for contributions to green, economical processes for pharmaceuticals and for developing business strategies in emerging markets. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
Kenneth S. Suslick, BS 1974
Timothy M. Swager, PhD 1988
Holden Thorp, PhD 1989
Margaret Tolbert, PhD 1986; Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at University of Colorado, Boulder; member of National Academy of Sciences; prominent researcher in field of atmospheric chemistry
Donald Truhlar, PhD 1970
Michael Tsapatsis, PhD 1994, Amundson Chair Professor in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota. Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for contributions to design and synthesis of zeolite-based materials for selective separation and reaction.
Nicholas Turro, PhD 1963
John S. Waugh, PhD 1953; Wolf Prize winner
George M. Whitesides, PhD 1964; Dan David Prize winner; Kyoto Prize laureate; King Faisal International Prize winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Edgar Bright Wilson, PhD 1933; National Medal of Science recipient
Saul Winstein, PhD 1938; National Medal of Science recipient
K. Dane Wittrup, PhD 1988; Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT; member of National Academy of Engineering
Peter T. Wolczanski, PhD 1981
Mark S. Wrighton, PhD 1972; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Oliver R. Wulf, PhD 1926
Ajit Yoganathan, PhD 1978; Regents’ Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Chair in Biomedical Engineering, and director, Center for Innovative Cardiovascular Technologies, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for improvements in the biomechanics of prosthetic heart valves and the development of heart repair devices.
Yannis C. Yortsos, PhD 1979
Don Merlin Lee Yost, PhD 1926; (faculty) former professor of chemistry at Caltech; pioneering physical chemist who worked on nuclear magnetic resonance, electron spin resonance, and the microwave spectroscopy of gases, among other things; Member of National Academy of Sciences
William Gould Young, PhD 1929
Robert Zwanzig, PhD 1952
Biology, Biological Engineering, and Medicine
David Agard, PhD 1980
Bruce Ames, PhD 1953; Japan Prize laureate; National Medal of Science recipient
Thomas F. Anderson, BS 1932, PhD 1936
Utpal Banerjee, PhD 1984
Howard Berg, BS 1964
Andrew Benson, PhD 1942
Steven Block, PhD 1983
James F. Bonner, PhD 1934; former faculty
Frank Brink, MS 1935; former professor and President of Rockefeller University; made major contributions to the understanding of neuronal activity through his targeted research on the cycle of excitation, response, and recovery in nerve fibers; member of National Academy of Sciences
Edward M. Callaway, PhD 1988; Audrey Geisel Chair in Biomedical Science and Professor in Systems Neurobiology Laboratories at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Pioneered novel molecular, genetic, and viral tools for revealing the detailed structure and function of neural circuits including a method that allows the tracing of a single neuron's connections to its neighbors, particularly in the visual cortex as it relates to perception and behavior. Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Louise Chow, PhD 1973
David A. Clayton, PhD 1970; former professor at Stanford University and former Vice President for Science Development of Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Known for significant research contributions to understanding of mitochondrial genes and interplay between mitochondrial genetic mutation and human genetic disease. Member of National Academy of Medicine.
David P. Corey, PhD 1980; Bertarelli Professor of Translational Medical Science at Harvard Medical School and director of Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering at Harvard Medical School. Renowned for research into molecular and biophysical basis of sensory transduction in the inner ear, basic processes of mechanosensation in biology, leading to better understanding and treatment of hereditary deafness. Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Horace W. Davenport, BS 1935, PhD 1939; William Beaumont Professor Emeritus of Physiology at the University of Michigan. Pioneered the study of gastroenterology and laid a foundation for more effective ulcer treatments by revealing how gastric acid works in digestion without consuming the stomach itself. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
Mark M. Davis, PhD 1981; King Faisal International Prize winner; Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. Prize winner;
Ronald W. Davis, PhD 1970; Gruber Prize in Genetics winner
Sean Eddy, BS 1986
Michael D. Ehlers, BS 1991; Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer of the Neuroscience Research Unit, Pfizer
Sarah Elgin, PhD 1972
Gerald D. Fasman, PhD 1952; Rosenfield Professor of Biochemistry, Brandeis University; major contributor to fundamental studies of protein structure-function relationships; Member of National Academy of Sciences
Edwin Furshpan, PhD 1955; Robert Henry Pfeiffer Professor of Neurobiology (Emeritus) at Harvard Medical School. Member of National Academy of Sciences
Michael Gazzaniga, PhD 1964
James L. Gould, BS 1970
Leland H. Hartwell, BS 1961; Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (2001); Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. Prize winner; Lasker Award winner
Stephen F. Heinemann, BS 1962, former Professor of Neuroscience at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and former President of the Society for Neuroscience. Well known for major contributions to study of molecular neurotransmission between synapses. Member of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine.
Sterling B. Hendricks, PhD 1926; National Medal of Science recipient
Ira Herskowitz, BS 1967; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Leonard Herzenberg, PhD 1955; Kyoto Prize laureate;
Steven A. Hillyard, BS 1964; Professor (Emeritus) of Neuroscience at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Widely recognized for investigations in the area of human cognitive processes and is a leading figure in the electrophysiological study of human attention using the event-related potential (ERP) technique. Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
David Ho, BS 1974
David Hogness, BS 1949, PhD 1953
Leroy Hood, BS 1960, PhD 1968; former faculty; Kyoto Prize laureate; Russ Prize winner; Lasker Award winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Norman Horowitz, PhD 1939, former faculty
Clyde A. Hutchison III, PhD 1968
Harvey Itano, PhD 1950
Lily Jan, PhD 1974; Wiley Prize recipient; Gruber Prize in Neuroscience winner
Yuh Nung Jan, PhD 1974; Wiley Prize recipient; Gruber Prize in Neuroscience winner
Tan Jiazhen, PhD 1937
A. Dale Kaiser, PhD 1955; Lasker Award winner
Lawrence C. Katz, PhD 1984
Alfred G. Knudson, BS 1944, PhD 1956; Kyoto Prize laureate; Lasker Award winner
Monty Krieger, PhD 1976; Whitehead Professor of Molecular Genetics at MIT; member of National Academy of Sciences
Quynh-Thu Le, BS 1989, Katharine Dexter McCormick and Stanley McCormick Memorial Professor and Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine. Medical doctor known for her research on the management of head and neck cancers. Elected member of National Academy of Medicine.
Edward B. Lewis, PhD 1942; former faculty – Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1995); Lasker Award winner; Wolf Prize winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Leonard Lerman, PhD 1950
Dan L. Lindsley, PhD 1952; Research Professor (Emeritus) of Biology at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). World leading geneticist, particularly the study of chromosome structure and function in Drosophila. Member of National Academy of Sciences
Sharon R. Long, BS 1973; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
John Maunsell, PhD 1982; Albert D. Lasker Professor of Neurobiology at University of Chicago and Director of the Grossman Institute for Neuroscience, Quantitative Biology, and Human Behavior. Former professor at Harvard Medical School and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences and known for fundamental advances in understanding of neurobiology of vision and perception.
Robert Metzenberg, PhD 1955
William Newsome, PhD 1979; Dan David Prize winner
Baldomero Olivera, PhD 1966
Maynard Olson, BS 1965; Gruber Prize in Genetics winner
Arthur Pardee, PhD 1947
John Quackenbush, BS 1983
Charles M. Rice, PhD 1981; Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Professor in Virology, Rockefeller University; Member of National Academy of Sciences
Arthur Riggs (geneticist), PhD 1966
Gordon H. Sato, PhD 1955
Michael Sheetz, PhD 1972; Wiley Prize recipient; Lasker Award recipient
Donald C. Shreffler, PhD 1962, former Professor and Chairman of Department of Genetics at Washington University, St. Louis Medical School. Widely known for contributions to immunogenetics, paving the way for detailed studies of MHC genes. Elected member of National Academy of Medicine and member of National Academy of Sciences.
Frederick J. Sigworth, BS 1974; Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University School of Medicine. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
Folke K. Skoog, BS 1932, PhD 1936; National Medal of Science recipient
Howard M. Temin, PhD 1959, co-recipient of 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; Lasker Award winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Albert Tyler (biologist), PhD 1929; former faculty
Christopher Voigt, PhD 2002
Sam Wang (neuroscientist), BS 1986
Ned Wingreen, BS 1984
Mathematics and Computer Science
Ian Agol, BS 1992; Breakthrough Prize laureate
William Arveson, BS 1960
Michael Aschbacher, BS 1966; faculty, winner of the Cole Prize in Algebra (1980) and [Wolf Prize] in Mathematics (2012)
Pierre Baldi, PhD 1986
Mihir Bellare, BS 1986
Walter Bright, BS 1979
Lawrence D. Brown, BS 1961
Robert Calderbank, PhD 1980
Tony F. Chan, BS/MS 1973
Matthew Cook, PhD 2005
Fernando J. Corbató, BS 1950; recipient of the 1990 Turing Award
Bill Dally, PhD 1986
James Demmel, BS 1975
Robert Dilworth, BS 1936, PhD 1939, former faculty
Bradley Efron, BS 1960; recipient of 2005 National Medal of Science; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Solomon Feferman, BS 1948
Edward Felten, BS 1985
Hal Finney, BS 1979
Athanassios S. Fokas, PhD 1979
Leonidas J. Guibas, BS/MS 1971
John Gustafson (scientist), BS 1977
Juris Hartmanis, PhD 1955; recipient of the 1993 Turing Award
Chandrashekhar Khare, PhD 1995
David Kirk (scientist), PhD 1993
Donald Knuth, PhD 1963; creator of TeX typesetting language; author of The Art of Computer Programming; recipient of the 1974 Turing Award; Kyoto Prize laureate; Harvey Prize recipient; National Medal of Science recipient
Harold W. Kuhn, BS 1947
Alfred W. Hales, BS 1960, PhD 1962
Philip J. Hanlon, PhD 1981
Serge Lang, BS 1946
Benoît Mandelbrot, MS 1948, Eng 1949; pioneer of fractal geometry; Japan Prize laureate; Harvey Prize recipient; Wolf Prize winner
John McCarthy, BS 1948; inventor of the Lisp programming language and recipient of the 1971 Turing Award; Kyoto Prize laureate; National Medal of Science recipient
Carl Morris (statistician), BS 1960
Eugene Myers, BS 1975
Andrew Odlyzko, BS/MS 1971
Lior Pachter, BS 1994
John Platt, PhD 1989
Irving S. Reed, BS 1944, PhD 1949; co-inventor of Reed-Solomon error correction
John R. Rice (professor), PhD 1959
Neil Risch, BS 1972
Paul W. K. Rothemund, BS 1994; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Tsutomu Shimomura, undergraduate studies, computational physicist and computer security expert; tracked down and helped the FBI arrest hacker Kevin Mitnick
Peter Shor, BS 1981; King Faisal International Prize winner; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Stanislav Smirnov, PhD 1996; recipient of Fields Medal in 2010
Richard P. Stanley, BS 1966
Harold Stark, BS 1961
Ivan Sutherland, MS 1960; computer scientist and internet pioneer; recipient of the 1988 Turing Award for the invention of Sketchpad, an early predecessor to the graphical user interface; (former faculty); Kyoto Prize laureate
Peter Swerling, BS 1947
Peter Szolovits, BS 1970, PhD 1975; Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Health Sciences and Technology at MIT; known for work on application of AI methods to problems of medical decision making and design of information systems for health care institutions and patients; elected member of National Academy of Medicine
Robert Tarjan, BS 1969; recipient of the 1986 Turing Award
Clifford Truesdell, BS 1941, MS 1942
Lloyd R. Welch, PhD 1958; co-inventor of the Baum-Welch algorithm
Erik Winfree, PhD 1998; faculty; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Rohan Abeyaratne, PhD 1979
Allan J. Acosta (engineer), (former faculty) BS 1945, PhD 1952; Richard L. and Dorothy M. Hayman Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Emeritus at Caltech; well known for contributions to the understanding of turbomachinery, particularly cavitation and rotor dynamics. Member of National Academy of Engineering
Mihran S. Agbabian, MS 1948; Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) and President Emeritus of the American University of Armenia; member of National Academy of Engineering. Known for fundamental contributions to the application of advanced methods of applied mechanics to structural design, and contributions to the field of structural response to blast and shock and the reduction of seismic hazards to existing structures.
George E. Apostolakis (engineer), PhD 1973, Korea Electric Power Corporation Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Professor of Engineering Systems Emeritus, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; former Commissioner of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Known for innovations in the theory and practice of probabilistic risk assessment and risk management, particularly with regards to nuclear safety. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
William F. Ballhaus, Sr., PhD 1947
Michael I. Baskes, BS 1965, PhD 1970; Member of National Academy of Engineering. Prominent materials engineer known for contributions to the embedded atom method for predicting the structure and properties of metals and alloys.
Robert L. Behnken, PhD 1997 – NASA astronaut, flew on STS-123
Jacobo Bielak (engineer), PhD 1971, Hamerschlag University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University; Distinguished Member of American Society of Civil Engineers and member of National Academy of Engineering.
Maurice Anthony Biot, PhD 1932
Frank Borman, MS 1957; NASA astronaut, commanded Gemini 7 and Apollo 8 space missions
Robert W. Bower, PhD 1973
Norman H. Brooks, PhD 1954; (former faculty) James Irvine Professor of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Emeritus at Caltech; Member of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering; expert in hydraulic engineering, environmental fluid mechanics, and water resources and technology.
Arthur E. Bryson, PhD 1951
Sébastien Candel, PhD 1972, Professor at Ecole Centrale Paris. Renowned for significant contributions to solving multidisciplinary problems in the fields of combustion, fluid mechanics, aeroacoustics, and propulsion. Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Institute of Physics (IOP), and the AAAF. Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Sciences, founding Member of the Academy of Technology, and elected as a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering of the United States.
Brian J. Cantwell, PhD 1976; Edward C. Wells Professor of Engineering (Aeronautics and Astronautics) at Stanford University; Member of National Academy of Engineering. Particularly known for studies of the space-time structure of turbulent flows and for the development of fast-burning fuels for hybrid propulsion.
Gregory Chamitoff, MS 1985; NASA astronaut, flew on STS-124 and staying on Expedition 17 on the International Space Station
Slobodan Ćuk, PhD 1977; inventor of Ćuk switched-mode DC-to-DC voltage converter, former professor of Electrical Engineering at Caltech.
Francis H. Clauser (engineer), BS 1934, PhD 1937; (former faculty) Clark Blanchard Millikan Professor of Engineering, Emeritus at Caltech; pioneer in the study of boundary layer theory, turbulent flows, guided missiles, spacecraft, magnetohydrodynamics, and partial differential equations. Member of National Academy of Engineering
Ray W. Clough, MS 1943; National Medal of Science recipient
Julian Cole, PhD 1949 (former faculty)
Donald E. Coles (engineer); (former faculty) PhD 1953; Professor of Aeronautics, Emeritus at Caltech; contributed to study of supersonic and turbulent boundary layer flows, Couette flows, and fluid flow instrumentation design. Member of National Academy of Engineering
Robert Conn (engineer), PhD 1968; President of The Kavli Foundation and Zable Professor and Dean, Emeritus, of the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. Leading researcher in plasma physics, fusion energy, energy policy and materials science. Member of National Academy of Engineering and recipient of E.O. Lawrence award from Department of Energy.
Stanley Corrsin, PhD 1947
John Dabiri, PhD 2005; (former faculty); awarded MacArthur Fellowship
James Wallace Daily, PhD 1945; Professor of Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Engineering Emeritus, at University of Michigan; former professor at MIT. Known for contributions to fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering, especially in the areas of cavitation, hydraulic machinery, the flow of suspensions, and the design of fluid-mechanics laboratories. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
Satish Dhawan, PhD 1951
Paul Dimotakis, BS 1968, PhD 1973; (faculty) John K. Northrop Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Applied Physics at Caltech and senior research scientist at JPL. Former chief technologist at JPL. Known for contributions to the fluid mechanics of jet propulsion and other processes involving turbulence, mixing, and transport. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
James Duderstadt, PhD 1967; National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient
Regina E. Dugan, PhD 1993; 19th Director of DARPA, first female director
Charles Elachi, PhD 1971; (former faculty)
Nader Engheta, PhD 1982
Richard G. Folsom, BS 1928, PhD 1933
Gerald Fuller, PhD 1980
C. Gordon Fullerton, BS 1957, MS 1958; Space Shuttle astronaut and test pilot
Yuan-Cheng Fung, PhD 1948; Russ Prize winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Morteza (Mory) Gharib, PhD 1983; (faculty) Vice Provost for Research and Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and Bioinspired Engineering at Caltech. Fellow of National Academy of Inventors, member of National Academy of Engineering, fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and known for contributions to fluid flow diagnostics and imagery, and engineering of bioinspired devices and phenomena.
Edward Gibson, MS 1960, PhD 1964; NASA astronaut, flew on Skylab 4
Roy Gould, BS 1949, PhD 1956; (former faculty) Simon Ramo Professor of Engineering, Emeritus at Caltech; made several important contributions to field of plasma physics; member of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering
Meredith Gourdine, PhD 1960
Wallace D. Hayes, PhD 1947
George W Housner, PhD 1941; (former faculty) Carl F Braun Professor of Engineering, Emeritus at Caltech; National Medal of Science recipient
Tsien Hsue-shen, PhD 1939; Father of China's rocket program
Donald Hudson (engineer), (former faculty) BS 1938, PhD 1942; Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Emeritus at Caltech; leader in dynamic measurements in the field of vibrations and experimental stress analysis, general analysis in structural dynamics and vibrations, and analytical and experimental methods in earthquake engineering and engineering seismology. Member of National Academy of Engineering
Arthur T. Ippen, PhD 1936
Wilfred D. Iwan (engineer), (former faculty) BS 1957, PhD 1961; Professor of Applied Mechanics, Emeritus at Caltech; major contributor to theory of vibrations, modeling of structural systems, nonlinear system identification, machinery dynamics and vibration, earthquake response of structures, earthquake response of nonstructural components, engineering seismology, offshore drilling, and public policy for earthquake risk mitigation. Member of National Academy of Engineering
Ali Jadbabaie, PhD 2000
William L Johnson, PhD 1975; (faculty) Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at Caltech; made major contributions to study of bulk metallic glasses. Member of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering.
Leon Keer (engineer); BS 1956, MS 1958; Walter P. Murphy Professor of Civil Engineering at Northwestern University. Known for research on application of elasticity to design problems involving contact and fracture. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
Jack Kerrebrock (engineer), PhD 1956; Richard Cockburn Maclaurin Professor Emeritus and former head of the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department and former Dean of School of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Known for work on nuclear rockets, space propulsion and power, magneto hydrodynamic generators, and fluid mechanics of turbomachinery for aircraft engines. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
Wolfgang G. Knauss (engineer), (former faculty) BS 1958, PhD 1963; Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics, Emeritus at Caltech; world leading researcher in fracture mechanics and engineering work on time-dependent fracture of polymers, at interfaces and under dynamic loading. Member of National Academy of Engineering (USA) and Russian Academy of Engineering.
Thomas L. Koch (scientist/engineer), PhD 1982; Dean of the College of Optical Sciences and Professor of Optical Sciences and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona. Former senior researcher at Bell Labs. Known for contributions to optoelectronic technologies and their implementation in optical communications systems, exploring the fundamental performance limits of lasers used for telecommunications, and for the design and demonstration of semiconductor photonic integrated circuits. Member of National Academy of Engineering, fellow of IEEE, and fellow of OSA.
Mark Kryder, PhD 1970
Thomas F. Kuech, PhD 1981; Milton J. and A. Maude Shoemaker and Beckwith-Bascom Professor and Chair, Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Member of National Academy of Engineering. Particularly known for contributions to chemical vapor deposition of compound semiconductors.
Stelios Kyriakides, PhD 1980; Cockrell Family Chair Professor in Engineering, University of Texas-Austin. Known for contributions to micro- and macro- mechanical behavior of solids, particularly understanding of propagating instability phenomena in structures and materials and its use for technological applications. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
Paul C. Jennings (engineer), (former faculty) PhD 1963; Professor of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Emeritus at Caltech; authority on earthquake engineering and dynamics of structures, including high-rise buildings, offshore drilling towers, and nuclear power plants; member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Sidney Leibovich, BS 1961; Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University. Known for seminal contributions to theory and application of stability, wave propagation, vortices, and the ocean surface layer. Member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Anthony E. Leonard (engineer), (former faculty) BS 1959, PhD 1963; Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics, Emeritus at Caltech; well known for contributions to simulation of turbulence, new vortex methods of flow simulation, and understanding of flow-induced vibration. Member of National Academy of Engineering
York Liao, BS 1967
Chia-Chiao Lin, PhD 1944
Fred Lindvall (engineer), PhD 1928; (former faculty) Professor of Electrical Engineering at Caltech and Chair of Division of Engineering & Applied Science; President of Sigma Xi; President of American Society for Engineering Education; Member of National Academy of Sciences and member of National Academy of Engineering; fellow of ASME and fellow of IEEE. Known for research and development of equipment for transportation and underwater ordnance.
David Luenberger, BS 1959
Paul MacCready, PhD 1952; father of human-powered flight; invented the Gossamer Condor and the Gossamer Albatross
Frank Malina, PhD 1940
Frank E. Marble, PhD 1948; (former faculty) Richard L. and Dorothy M. Hayman Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Jet Propulsion, Emeritus at Caltech; made major fundamental, theoretical, and experimental contributions to the fields of internal aerodynamics, combustion, and propulsion; Member of National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences
Max Mathews, BS 1950
Frank A. McClintock, PhD 1950
Robert McEliece, BS 1964, PhD 1967; (former faculty) Allen E. Puckett Professor of Electrical Engineering, Emeritus at Caltech
Carver Mead, BS 1956, PhD 1959; (former faculty) Gordon and Betty Moore Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, Emeritus at Caltech; National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient
Chiang C. Mei, PhD 1963
John W. Miles, BS 1942, PhD 1944
Richard Miller, PhD 1976; President of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Clark Blanchard Millikan, PhD 1928 (former faculty)
Richard S. Muller, PhD 1962
Richard M. Murray (engineer), BS 1985; Thomas and Doris Everhart Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems and Bioengineering at Caltech; known for contributions in control theory and networked control systems with applications to aerospace engineering, robotics, autonomy, and biological circuits; member of National Academy of Engineering
Roddam Narasimha, PhD 1961
Bernard M. Oliver, PhD 1940; National Medal of Science recipient
James F. Pankow, PhD 1979; leading researcher in atmospheric chemistry and pollution; member of National Academy of Engineering
William Hayward Pickering, BS 1932, PhD 1936 (former faculty); Japan Prize laureate; National Medal of Science recipient
John R. Pierce, BS 1933, PhD 1936 (former faculty); Japan Prize laureate; Charles Stark Draper Prize winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Andrea Prosperetti, PhD 1974
Allen E. Puckett, PhD 1949; Contributed greatly to the delta-winged airplane, the guided missile, and the communications satellite. Chairman and CEO of Hughes Aircraft who helped develop its predominance in radar systems and defense electronics during his career. Past president of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and elected member of National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences. Won Lawrence Sperry award of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient
Simon Ramo, PhD 1936; co-founder of TRW; developed ICBMs; National Medal of Science recipient; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
W. Duncan Rannie, (former faculty) PhD 1951; Robert H. Goddard Professor of Jet Propulsion, Emeritus at Caltech; known for contributions to three-dimensional flow, stall and distortion in turbomachinery and to turbulent heat transfer. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
Gabriel M. Rebeiz, PhD 1988
Garrett Reisman, MS 1992, PhD 1997; NASA astronaut, flew on STS-123 and was part of expedition 16 on the International Space Station; returned to Earth on STS-124
Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe, MS 1965
Harold Rosen, MS 1948, PhD 1951; developer of Syncom family of communication satellites; winner of National Medal of Technology 1985
Anatol Roshko, PhD 1952; Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics, Emeritus at Caltech (former faculty)
Darrell G. Schlom, BS 1984; Herbert Fisk Johnson Professor of Industrial Chemistry at Cornell University. Particularly known for molecular-beam epitaxy 'Materials-by-Design' of complex oxides impacting the integration of high dielectric oxides in semiconductor devices. Elected member of National Academy of Engineering.
Richard A. Searfoss, MS 1979; NASA astronaut, flew on STS-58 and STS-76, commander of STS-90
William R. Sears, PhD 1938
Ernest Edwin Sechler, BS 1928, PhD 1933 (former faculty)
Edward E. Simmons, BS 1934, MS 1936
Pol Spanos (engineer), PhD 1976; Lewis B. Ryon Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering at Rice University. Known for pioneering research into the development of methods of predicting the dynamic behavior and reliability of structural systems in diverse loading environments; research has studied statics, dynamics, and vibrations of systems for aerospace, biomedical, forensic, marine, petroleum, seismic, and structural engineering applications. Member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Adam Steltzner, MS 1991
David W. Thompson, MS 1978; National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient
Stephen Trimberger, BS 1977, PhD 1983
Milton Van Dyke, PhD 1949
Vito Vanoni (engineer), (former faculty) BS 1926, PhD 1940; Professor of Hydraulics, Emeritus at Caltech. World leader in study of sediment transport in streams and rivers. Elected to National Academy of Engineering for leadership in developing the science of hydraulic sedimentation mechanics and applying it to construction and maintenance of engineering structures.
Ian Waitz, PhD 1991; Dean of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Forman A. Williams (engineer), PhD 1958; Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department, UCSD; former Robert H. Goddard Chair professor at Princeton University; member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Known for research contributions to the advancement of combustion and flame theory.
Max L. Williams, (former faculty) PhD 1948; Professor of Aeronautics at Caltech; leader in fields of fracture mechanics, adhesion, solid propellant rockets; founder of International Journal of Fracture; Member of National Academy of Engineering
Victor Wouk, PhD 1942
Theodore Y. Wu, PhD 1952 (former faculty)
Vigor Yang, PhD 1984; William R.T. Oakes Professor and Chair of the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for contributions to combustion physics in propulsion systems and to aerospace engineering education.
Zheng Zhemin, PhD 1952
Geology and Planetary Science
Thomas J. Ahrens, MS 1958; former faculty
Clarence Allen (geologist), PhD 1954; faculty
Don L. Anderson, PhD 1962; former faculty; Crafoord Prize Laureate in Geosciences, 1998; National Medal of Science recipient
Hugo Benioff, PhD 1935; former faculty
Francis Anthony Dahlen, BS 1964; pioneering theoretical seismologist and professor at Princeton University; member of National Academy of Sciences
Donald J. DePaolo, PhD 1978
Gordon P. Eaton, PhD 1957
R. Lawrence Edwards, PhD 1988; eminent geochemist; Regents, Gunn, & Distinguished McKnight University Professor Chair of Earth Systems Science at University of Minnesota; Member of National Academy of Sciences
Thomas C. Hanks, PhD 1972
Stanley R. Hart, MS 1957; Senior Scientist, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; former professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences at MIT. Former President of Geochemical Society; member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Thomas H. Heaton, PhD 1978
Raymond Jeanloz, PhD 1979; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Thomas H. Jordan, BS 1969, PhD 1972
Barclay Kamb, BS 1952, PhD 1956; former faculty
Susan Kieffer, PhD 1971; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Leon Knopoff, BS 1944, PhD 1949; former faculty
Thorne Lay, PhD 1983; prominent seismologist and Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at University of California, Santa Cruz; member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Laurie Leshin, PhD 1994
Jonathan Lunine, PhD 1985
Michael C. Malin, PhD 1975; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Mark Meier, PhD 1957
H. Jay Melosh, PhD 1972
Henry William Menard, BS 1942, MS 1947
François M. M. Morel, PhD 1971; prominent geochemist, member of National Academy of Sciences and Albert G. Blanke Professor of Geosciences at Princeton University and director of Princeton Environmental Institute. Winner of ENI environmental award, 2010.
Walter Munk, BS 1939, MS 1940; Crafoord Prize Laureate in Geosciences, 2010; Kyoto Prize laureate; National Medal of Science recipient
Richard J. O'Connell, BS 1963, PhD 1969
Tullis Onstott, BS 1976
Richard J. Reed, BS 1945; Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Sciences at University of Washington; member of National Academy of Sciences.
Paul G. Richards, PhD 1970
Charles Francis Richter, PhD 1928; former faculty, creator of the Richter scale
Harrison Schmitt, BS 1957; astronaut and US Senator, the only geologist to have ever walked on the moon
Robert P. Sharp, BS 1934, MS 1935; former faculty; National Medal of Science recipient
Eugene Merle Shoemaker, BS 1947, MS 1948; former faculty – co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, National Medal of Science recipient
Leon Silver, PhD 1955; former faculty
Sean Solomon, BS 1966; National Medal of Science recipient
Hugh P. Taylor, Jr., (former faculty) BS 1954, PhD 1959; pioneering geochemist and Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology, Emeritus Caltech. Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Donald L. Turcotte, BS 1954, PhD 1958
John Vidale, PhD 1987
Sabeer Bhatia, BS 1989; co-founder of Hotmail
Chester Carlson, BS 1930; inventor of electrophotography, the foundation of Xerox
John S. Chen, MS 1979
Roger Curtis, founder of Associated Electrics
Adam D'Angelo, BS 2006; former CTO of Facebook and current founder and CEO of Quora
Jim Fruchterman, BS, MS 1980; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Bill Gross (entrepreneur), BS 1981; founder of business incubator Idealab
Eddy Hartenstein, MS 1974
Ruben F. Mettler, BS 1944, PhD 1949; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TRW Inc., 1977-1988
Cleve Moler, BS 1961; Inventor of MATLAB, co-founder of MathWorks, influential in the field of numerical analysis
Gordon E. Moore, PhD 1954; co-founder of Intel Corp. and author of Moore's law; Dan David Prize winner; National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
Charlie Munger, undergraduate studies (did not graduate); investor and vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation
Benjamin M. Rosen, BS 1954; former chairman of Compaq
Dean Wooldridge, PhD 1936
Economics, Finance, and Social Science
Robert Barro, BS 1965
Gary W. Cox, BS 1978, PhD 1982; William Bennett Munro Professor of Political Science at Stanford University; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Willard G. Manning, Jr., BS 1968; Professor Emeritus, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and Department of Health Studies, Biological Science Division/Medical School - University of Chicago. Elected member of National Academy of Medicine. Distinguished researcher in field of health insurance research and healthcare economics.
Robert C. Merton, MS 1967; Nobel laureate in economics (1997)
Stephen Ross, BS 1965
Mark Satterthwaite, BS 1967
Vernon L. Smith, BS 1949; Nobel laureate in economics (2002)
Barry Weingast, PhD 1978
Government and Politics
Mustafa A.G. Abushagur, PhD 1984; interim Deputy Prime Minister of Libya from 2011
Moshe Arens, MS 1953; former Israeli defense minister and foreign minister
Joseph V. Charyk, National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient
William Colglazier
France A. Córdova
Steingrímur Hermannsson, MS 1952; former Prime Minister of Iceland
Erdal İnönü, PhD 1951; Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, 1991-1993
David J. C. MacKay
Jessica Mathews
Raymond L. Orbach
John M. Poindexter, PhD 1964; Director of DARPA Information Awareness Office; National Security Advisor to Ronald Reagan
Arati Prabhakar
Eberhardt Rechtin, BS 1946, PhD 1950; Director of DARPA; Assistant Secretary of Defense; chief engineer of Hewlett-Packard; president of the Aerospace Corporation
Joseph Rhodes, Jr.
Ted Taylor (physicist)
Victor Veysey
Ellen D. Williams (chemist)
Bert Acosta, undergraduate studies, early aviator
David Brin, BS 1973; science fiction author
Frank Capra, BS 1918; filmmaker, director of such classics as It's a Wonderful Life, winner of six Academy Awards
Pierre Clostermann, undergraduate studies, French WW2 flying ace, author
Jess Collins, BS 1948; visual artist
L. Sprague de Camp, BS 1930; science fiction author
Virgil Griffith, graduate student, computer hacker, affiliated with the Santa Fe Institute
Su Guaning
Jim Hall, BS 1958; race car driver and founder of the Chaparral racing team
Kristy Hawkins, PhD 2008; professional female bodybuilder
N. Katherine Hayles, MS 1966; critical theorist
Herman Kahn, graduate studies; futurist and military strategist
Robert J. Lang, PhD; physicist and renowned origami master
Alan Lightman, PhD 1974; physicist and novelist
Sandra Tsing Loh, BS 1983; writer, performer, musician, humorist
Arthur Lupia
Tyson Mao, BS 2006; Rubik's Cube solver, TV star
Harold McGee, BS (EN) 1973; pioneer in science-based approach to cooking
Larry Niven, undergraduate studies, science fiction writer
Dean Oliver (statistician)
Aza Raskin, graduate studies, design expert, interface guru, and entrepreneur
Huck Seed, undergraduate studies, professional poker player, winner of the main event of the 1996 World Series of Poker
Mark Serrurier
Joe Trela, third contestant to win $1 million Grand Prize on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Harry Turtledove, undergraduate studies, historian and fiction writer
Telle Whitney
Members of the faculty are listed under the name of the academic division to which they belong.
Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy
Tom M. Apostol
Robert Bacher - nuclear physicist and member of the Manhattan Project
John N. Bahcall - former faculty
Barry Barish
Harry Bateman
Eric Temple Bell
Roger Blandford - former faculty
Felix Boehm - (former faculty) leading nuclear physicist who made major contributions to study of neutrinos also; Member of National Academy of Sciences
Harold Brown - physicist, president of Caltech (1969–77), U.S. Secretary of Defense (1977–81)
Danny Calegari - former faculty
John Carlstrom - former faculty; Gruber Prize in Cosmology winner; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Robert F. Christy
Marshall H. Cohen - (former faculty) Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus at Caltech; Member of National Academy of Sciences
Ronald Drever - Shaw Prize laureate; Kavli Prize laureate; Breakthrough Prize laureate; Gruber Prize in Cosmology winner
Lee Alvin DuBridge
James P. Eisenstein
Arthur Erdélyi - former faculty
Richard Ellis - extragalactic astronomer and cosmologist
Paul Sophus Epstein - former faculty
Richard Feynman - Nobel laureate in physics (1965); National Medal of Science recipient
David Gabai - former faculty
Murray Gell-Mann - Nobel laureate in physics (1969) and co-founder of Santa Fe Institute
Marvin Leonard Goldberger - former faculty and President Emeritus
David Goodstein - director of The Mechanical Universe
Jesse L. Greenstein
George Ellery Hale - astronomer
Marshall Hall (mathematician) - former faculty
Fiona A. Harrison
William Vermillion Houston - former faculty
Marc Kamionkowski - former faculty
Samuel Karlin - former faculty
Nets Katz
Alexander Kechris
H. Jeff Kimble
Alexei Kitaev - Breakthrough Prize laureate; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Shrinivas Kulkarni - Alan T. Waterman Award winner; Dan David Prize winner
Andrew E. Lange - Dan David Prize winner; Balzan Prize recipient;
Wilhelmus Luxemburg
Matilde Marcolli
Vladimir Markovic
Robert A. Millikan - Nobel laureate in physics (1923)
Rudolf Mössbauer - Nobel laureate in physics (1961); former faculty
Guido Münch - former faculty
Hirosi Ooguri - theoretical physicist
Robert Oppenheimer - physicist, director of the Manhattan Project
Rahul Pandharipande - former faculty
H. David Politzer - Nobel laureate in physics (2004)
John Preskill - physicist
Anthony C. Readhead - Barbara and Stanley Rawn Jr. Professor of Astronomy; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Thomas Felix Rosenbaum
Herbert John Ryser - mathematician, leading figure in Combinatorics
Wallace L. W. Sargent
Maarten Schmidt - discovered quasars; Kavli Prize laureate;
John H. Schwarz - physicist, string theory pioneer; Breakthrough Prize laureate; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Frank Sciulli (physicist) - (former faculty) Pupin Professor of Physics, Emeritus at Columbia University; member of National Academy of Sciences
Barry Simon - mathematical physicist
Maria Spiropulu - particle physicist
Frank Spitzer - former faculty
Charles C. Steidel - astronomer, MacArthur Fellow (2002); Gruber Prize in Cosmology winner
Edward C. Stone - National Medal of Science recipient
Richard C. Tolman - mathematical physicist
R. M. Wilson
Mark B. Wise - theoretical physicist
Fritz Zwicky - astronomer, produced the first evidence of dark matter
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Frances Arnold - Millennium Technology Prize winner; Charles Stark Draper Prize winner; National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient
Jay Bailey - former faculty
John D. Baldeschwieler - National Medal of Science recipient
Jacqueline Barton - bioinorganic chemist, MacArthur Fellow (1991), and winner of National Medal of Science (2011); Alan T. Waterman Award winner;
John E. Bercaw
Robert Bergman - (former faculty) now a professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley; member of National Academy of Sciences; Wolf Prize winner
Mark E. Davis - Alan T. Waterman Award winner;
Peter Dervan - Harvey Prize recipient; National Medal of Science recipient
Richard E. Dickerson - former faculty
Dennis A. Dougherty
Richard Flagan - major contributor to aerosol science and technology and atmospheric chemistry; Member of National Academy of Engineering
Sheldon K. Friedlander - (former faculty) renowned researcher in aerosol science and technology; later a professor of chemical engineering at UCLA; Member of National Academy of Engineering
Greg C. Fu - Pioneer in organometallic chemical catalysis and synthesis; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Harry Gray - inorganic chemist, winner of National Medal of Science (1986), Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2004), and Priestley Medal (1991); founding director of the Beckman Institute; Harvey Prize recipient;
Robert H. Grubbs - Nobel laureate in chemistry (2005)
George S. Hammond - former faculty
James R. Heath - Sackler Prize winner
Barbara Imperiali - (former faculty) Class of 1922 Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
John Gamble Kirkwood - former faculty
L. Gary Leal - former faculty
Howard J. Lucas (scientist) - (former faculty) Professor of organic chemistry; member of National Academy of Sciences; Lucas' reagent named after him
David MacMillan - former faculty
Rudolph Marcus - Nobel laureate in chemistry (1992); Wolf Prize winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Manfred Morari - former faculty
Carl Niemann - former faculty
Arthur A. Noyes - chemist
Doug C. Rees - Eminent X-ray crystallographer and structural biochemist specializing in membrane proteins and metalloproteins, especially involved in bioenergetics; HHMI Investigator; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
John D. Roberts - physical chemist, one of the pioneers of NMR as a tool to study organic compounds, winner of the National Medal of Science (1990) and the Priestley Medal (1987)
Brian Stoltz
John H. Seinfeld - chemical engineer
David A. Tirrell
W. Henry Weinberg - (former faculty) Member of National Academy of Engineering; co-founder of several startup companies
Ahmed H. Zewail - Nobel laureate in chemistry (1999); King Faisal International Prize winner; Albert Einstein World Award of Science winner; Wolf Prize winner
Biology and Biological Engineering
John Abelson
Richard A. Andersen
David J. Anderson - neurobiologist, member of the National Academy of Sciences
Giuseppe Attardi
David Baltimore - virologist; Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1975); President of Caltech (1997–2006); National Medal of Science recipient
George Wells Beadle - geneticist; Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1958); President of the University of Chicago (1961–1968); Lasker Award winner
Seymour Benzer - geneticist, Crafoord Prize Laureate in Biosciences (1993); Harvey Prize recipient; Albany Medical Center Prize winner; Lasker Award winner; Gruber Prize in Neuroscience winner; Wolf Prize winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Pamela J. Bjorkman - L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science winner;
Marianne Bronner
Eric H. Davidson
Norman Davidson (biologist) - National Medal of Science recipient
Max Delbrück - biophysicist and pioneering molecular biologist, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1969)
Ray J. Deshaies - Professor of Biology; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator; member of National Academy of Sciences
Michael Dickinson (biologist) - awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Theodosius Dobzhansky - former faculty
William J. Dreyer
Renato Dulbecco - virologist, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1975); Lasker Award winner
Michael Elowitz - awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Sterling H. Emerson (former faculty) - Member of National Academy of Sciences
Scott D. Emr - former faculty
Scott E. Fraser - former faculty
Arthur Galston - former faculty
Arie Jan Haagen-Smit - National Medal of Science recipient
John Hopfield - former faculty; Albert Einstein World Award of Science winner; awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Christof Koch - neuroscientist; former faculty
Masakazu Konishi - Gruber Prize in Neuroscience winner
Tom Maniatis - former faculty
Elliot Meyerowitz - Balzan Prize recipient
Thomas Hunt Morgan - pioneering geneticist, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1933)
Wheeler J. North - marine scientist
James Olds - neuroscientist; former faculty
Ray D. Owen - (former faculty) pioneering immunogeneticist, particularly in immunological tolerance; Member of National Academy of Sciences and American Philosophical Society
Mel I. Simon - (former faculty) Anne P. and Benjamin F. Biaggini Professor of Biological Sciences; pioneering geneticist; Member of National Academy of Sciences
Robert L. Sinsheimer - (former faculty); distinguished biophysicist and genetic researcher involved in human genome sequencing effort, phage virus genetics, etc.; Member of National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences; recipient of California Scientist of the Year Award
Roger W. Sperry - neuroscientist, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1981); Lasker Award winner; Wolf Prize winner; National Medal of Science recipient
Paul Sternberg - leading C. elegans geneticist; HHMI Investigator; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Alfred Sturtevant - former faculty; National Medal of Science recipient
Kenneth V. Thimann - former faculty
Jerome Vinograd - former faculty
Alexander Varshavsky - King Faisal International Prize winner; Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. Prize winner; Albany Medical Center Prize winner; Lasker Award winner; Breakthrough Prize laureate; Wolf Prize winner
Frits Warmolt Went - former faculty
William Barry Wood - (former faculty) Distinguished Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Emeritus, at University of Colorado, Boulder; member of National Academy of Sciences
Engineering and Applied Science
Harry Atwater
John F. Brady (engineer) - Chevron Professor of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering; pioneer in rheology of complex fluids and transport phenomena; Member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
William B. Bridges
Jehoshua (Shuki Bruck - Gordon and Betty Moore Professor of Computation and Neural Systems and Electrical Engineering
Emmanuel Candès - former faculty; Alan T. Waterman Award winner;
Jean-Lou Chameau - former faculty and President Emeritus
K. Mani Chandy
Slobodan Ćuk - inventor of Ćuk switched-mode DC-to-DC voltage converter, former professor of Electrical Engineering at Caltech.
John Doyle
Pol Duwez
Thomas Eugene Everhart - former faculty and President Emeritus
Ali Hajimiri
Babak Hassibi
Janet Hering - (former faculty) Director of Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag); Professor at ETH Zurich and EPFL; Member of National Academy of Engineering
Michael R. Hoffmann (engineer) - Leading environmental scientist whose research has spanned atmospheric chemistry, chemical kinetics, catalytic oxidation and reduction, photochemistry, photocatalysis, nanotechnology, sonochemistry, photo-electrochemistry, pulsed-power plasma chemistry, environmental water chemistry, and microbiology. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
Hans G. Hornung
Jim Kajiya - former faculty
Herbert Keller
Lester Lees - (former faculty) Professor of Aeronautics, known for pioneering contributions in hypersonic aerodynamics and environmental quality science, notably in boundary layers and heat transfer, flow-over blunt bodies, and the development of reentry vehicles. Member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Mary Lidstrom - (former faculty) Jungers Professor of Microbiology and Chemical Engineering, University of Washington; Howard Hughes Medical Investigator; Member of National Academy of Sciences
Hans W. Liepmann - National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient; National Medal of Science recipient
Jerrold E. Marsden
James W. Mayer (engineer) - (former faculty) Carried out research on implantation that identified the damage and the epitaxial regrowth phenomena crucial to the semiconductor industry, and pioneered the use of ion beam techniques for materials analysis (citation for Von Hippel Award). Member of National Academy of Engineering.
Jack McKee (engineer) - (former faculty) Professor of Environmental Engineering; leading researcher in fields of water quality and waste treatment: including water quality criteria, sewage disinfection, membrane filtration and analysis, and wastewater disposal and reclamation; member of National Academy of Engineering
James J. Morgan (engineer) - (former faculty) Marvin Goldberger Professor of Environmental Engineering Science; world leader in chemistry of natural water systems; acid rain; wastewater and drinking water treatment; coagulation processes in aqueous systems; rates of oxidation processes in water; adsorption and surface chemistry; chemistry of water purification; transport of metals and other substances in water; and water quality modeling. Member of National Academy of Engineering
Michael Ortiz (engineer) - Frank and Ora Lee Marble Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering; pioneer in computational mechanics; Member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Milton S. Plesset - former faculty
Demetri Psaltis - former faculty
Stephen Quake - former faculty
Fredric Raichlen (former faculty) - Professor Emeritus of Mechanical and Civil Engineering; made major contributions to hydraulics and coastal engineering, particularly in the areas of tsunamis, ship dynamics, and breaking waves. Member of National Academy of Engineering
Guruswami (Ravi) Ravichandran - John E. Goode, Jr., Professor of Aerospace, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Director of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT); member of National Academy of Engineering. Known for contributions to the mechanics of dynamic deformation, damage, and failure of engineering materials.
Ares J. Rosakis
Michael Roukes
Philip Saffman
Axel Scherer
Keith Schwab
Ronald Scott (engineer) - (former faculty) Dotty and Dick Hayman Professor of Civil Engineering, Emeritus; made major contributions to mechanics of deformation and yielding in soils, soil behavior in earthquakes, the physical chemistry and mechanics of ocean-bottom-soil, and freezing and thawing processes in soils; consultant to several NASA missions; member of National Academy of Engineering
Theodore von Kármán – National Medal of Science recipient
Gerald B. Whitham
Amnon Yariv - Harvey Prize recipient; National Medal of Science recipient
Geological and Planetary Sciences
Michael E. Brown - Kavli Prize laureate
Harrison Brown - former faculty
John M. Eiler - Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology and professor of geochemistry; world leading researcher in isotope geochemistry. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
Samuel Epstein (geochemist)
Kenneth Farley
Peter Goldreich - Shaw Prize laureate, National Medal of Science recipient
John P. Grotzinger
Beno Gutenberg - former faculty
Don Helmberger - pioneering seismologist; Member of National Academy of Sciences
Andrew Ingersoll
Hiroo Kanamori - Kyoto Prize laureate
Heinz A. Lowenstam - former faculty
Bruce C. Murray
Clair Cameron Patterson - determined the age of the Earth, exposed lead pollution
Frank Press - former faculty; Japan Prize laureate
Kerry Sieh - former faculty
David J. Stevenson
Chester Stock - (former faculty) eminent paleontologist; Member of National Academy of Sciences and American Philosophical Society; Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Ed Stolper - Pioneering geochemist specializing in igneous petrology; Member of National Academy of Sciences; fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Fellow of Royal Society of London
Gerald J. Wasserburg - Crafoord Prize Laureate in geochemistry (1986)
Paul Wennberg - awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Peter John Wyllie
Yuk L. Yung
Humanities and Social Sciences
Robert Bates (political scientist) - (former faculty)
John F. Benton - (former faculty) awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Jed Buchwald - awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Bruce E. Cain - (former faculty)
Colin F. Camerer - awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Nicholas Dirks - (former faculty)
John Ferejohn - (former faculty) Samuel Tilden Professor of Law at New York University (formerly a professor at Stanford University and Hoover Institution fellow); Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Morris P. Fiorina - (former faculty)
Matthew O. Jackson - (former faculty)
Abraham Kaplan - (former faculty)
Daniel Kevles - (former faculty)
J. Morgan Kousser
Preston McAfee - (former faculty)
Richard McKelvey
Peter Ordeshook
Charles Plott
