This page lists notable alumni and students of the University of California, Berkeley. Alumni who also served as faculty are listed in bold font, with degree and year.
Notable faculty members are in the article List of UC Berkeley faculty.
See also: List of Nobel laureates associated with UC Berkeley
Thomas Cech, Ph.D. 1975 – Nobel laureate (1989, Chemistry), for the "discovery of catalytic properties of RNA"
Steven Chu, Ph.D. 1976 – Nobel laureate (1997, Physics), for the "development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light"; Secretary of Energy in the Obama administration
Robert Curl, Ph.D. 1957– Nobel laureate (1996, Chemistry), for the "discovery of fullerenes"
Joseph Erlanger, B.S. 1895 – Nobel laureate (1944, Physiology or Medicine), for "discoveries relating to the highly differentiated functions of single nerve fibres"
Andrew Fire, B.A. 1978 – Nobel laureate (2006, Physiology or Medicine), for the "discovery of RNA interference – gene silencing by double-stranded RNA"
William F. Giauque, B.S. 1920, Ph.D. 1922 – Nobel laureate (1949, Chemistry), "for his contributions in the field of chemical thermodynamics, particularly concerning the behaviour of substances at extremely low temperatures"
Carol W. Greider, Ph.D. 1987 – Nobel laureate (2009, Medicine) "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"; Daniel Nathans Professor and the Director of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Johns Hopkins University
David Gross, Ph.D. 1966 – Nobel laureate (2004, Physics), "for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction"
Alan Heeger, Ph.D. 1961 – Nobel laureate (2000, Chemistry), "for the discovery and development of conductive polymers"
Daniel Kahneman, Ph.D. 1961 – Nobel laureate (2002, Economics), "for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty"
Lawrence Klein, B.A. 1942 – Nobel laureate (1980, Economics), "for the creation of econometric models and the application to the analysis of economic fluctuations and economic policies"
Willis Lamb, B.S. 1934, Ph.D. 1938 – Nobel laureate (1955, Physics), "for his discoveries concerning the fine structure of the hydrogen spectrum"
Robert Laughlin, B.A. 1972 [1] – Nobel laureate (1998, Physics), for the "discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations"
Yuan T. Lee, Ph.D. 1962 – Nobel laureate (1986, Chemistry), for "contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes"; Professor of Chemistry; Principal Investigator, Materials and Molecular Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory;
Willard Libby, B.S. 1931, Ph.D. 1933 – Professor of Chemistry, Nobel laureate (1960, Chemistry), "for his method to use carbon-14 for age determination in archaeology, geology, geophysics, and other branches of science"
John C. Mather, Ph.D. 1974 – Nobel laureate (2006, Physics), for the "discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation"
Mario Molina, Ph.D. 1972 – Nobel laureate (1995, Chemistry), for "work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone"
Kary Mullis, Ph.D. 1973 – Nobel laureate (1993, Chemistry), "for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method"
Douglass North, B.A. 1942, Ph.D. 1952 – Nobel laureate (1993, Economics), "for having renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change"
Saul Perlmutter, Ph.D. 1986 – Professor of Physics at UC Berkeley; co-discoverer of Dark Energy as head of the Supernova Cosmology Project; Nobel laureate (2011, Physics) "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae"
Thomas J. Sargent, BA 1964 – William R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Business at New York University, Nobel laureate (2011, Economics) for "empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy"
Thomas Schelling, B.A. 1944 – Nobel laureate (2005, Economics), "for having enhanced our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis"
Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D. 1937 – University Professor of Chemistry; Associate Director, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory; Chancellor, Berkeley campus (1958–1961); Nobel laureate (1951, Chemistry), for "discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements"
Hamilton O. Smith, B.A. 1952 – Nobel laureate (1978, Physiology or Medicine), "for the discovery of restriction enzymes and their application to problems of molecular genetics"
Otto Stern, L.L.D 1930 – Nobel laureate (1943, Nobel Prize in Physics), "for his contribution to the development of the molecular ray method and his discovery of the magnetic moment of the proton"
Henry Taube, Ph.D. 1940 – Nobel laureate (1983, Chemistry ), "for his work on the mechanisms of electron transfer reactions, especially in metal complexes"
Harold Urey, Ph.D. 1923 – Nobel laureate (1934, Chemistry), "for his discovery of heavy hydrogen"
Selman Waksman, Ph.D. 1918 – Nobel laureate (1952, Physiology or Medicine), "for his discovery of streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis"
David J. Wineland, BA Physics 1965 – Nobel laureate (Physics, 2012) "for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems"
The Turing Award is considered to be the "Nobel Prize" of computer science.
Leonard Adleman B.A. 1968 (mathematics), Ph.D. 1976, – the "A" in the RSA encryption algorithm for computer security, co-recipient of the Turing Award in 2002 for the "ingenious contribution for making public-key cryptography useful in practice.".
Douglas C. Engelbart, B.Eng. 1952, Ph.D. 1955 – Inventor of the computer mouse, recipient of the National Medal of Technology in 2000, pioneer in hypertext and networked computers, recipient of the 1997 Turing Award "for an inspiring vision of the future of interactive computing and the invention of key technologies to help realize this vision."
Shafi Goldwasser, MS 1981, Ph.D. 1983 – co-recipient of the 2012 Turing Award (with Silvio Micali, PhD 1982) "for transformative work that laid the complexity-theoretic foundations for the science of cryptography and in the process pioneered new methods for efficient verification of mathematical proofs in complexity theory"; RSA Professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, professor of computer science and the mathematical sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science; recipient of two Gödel Prizes (1993, "for the development of interactive proof systems" and 2001 "for the PCP theorem and its applications to hardness of approximation")
Jim Gray, B.S. 1966, Ph.D. 1969 – Recipient of the 2001 Turing Award "for seminal contributions to database and transaction processing research and technical leadership in system implementation."
Butler Lampson, Ph.D. 1967 – computer scientist, founding member of Xerox PARC, major contributor to the development of the personal computer, and recipient of the 1992 Turing Award "for contributions to the development of distributed, personal computing environments and the technology for their implementation: workstations, networks, operating systems, programming systems, displays, security and document publishing."
Barbara Liskov, B.A. 1961 – first woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science (in 1968 at Stanford), creator of CLU, professor at MIT; recipient of the 2008 Turing Award "for contributions to practical and theoretical foundations of programming language and system design, especially related to data abstraction, fault tolerance, and distributed computing."
Silvio Micali, Ph.D. 1982 – co-recipient of the 2012 Turing Award (with Shafi Goldwasser, MS 1981, Ph.D. 1983) "for transformative work that laid the complexity-theoretic foundations for the science of cryptography and in the process pioneered new methods for efficient verification of mathematical proofs in complexity theory"; recipient of the Gödel Prize in 1993 "for the development of interactive proof systems"; Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT
Dana Scott, B.S. 1954 – computer scientist, co-recipient of the 1976 Turing Award with Michael O. Rabin, for "the joint paper (with Rabin) "Finite Automata and Their Decision Problem", which introduced the idea of nondeterministic machines, which has proved to be an enormously valuable concept. Their (Scott & Rabin) classic paper has been a continuous source of inspiration for subsequent work in this field"; former Associate Professor of Math at UC Berkeley, professor emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University
Charles P. Thacker, B.A. (physics) 1967 – Microsoft Technical Fellow, chief designer of the Alto computer at Xerox PARC, co-inventor of Ethernet, recipient of the IEEE John von Neumann Medal in 2007, recipient of the Draper Prize in 2004; recipient of the 2009 Turing Award "for the pioneering design and realization of the first modern personal computer—the Alto at Xerox PARC—and seminal inventions and contributions to local area networks (including the Ethernet), multiprocessor workstations, snooping cache coherence protocols, and tablet personal computers."
Ken Thompson, B.S. EE 1965, M.S. EE 1966 – Co-creator of the Unix operating system and co-recipient of the 1983 Turing Award for the "development of generic operating systems theory and specifically for the implementation of the UNIX operating system."
Niklaus Wirth, Ph.D. 1967 – computer scientist, creator of the Pascal programming language, recipient of the 1984 Turing Award "for developing a sequence of innovative computer languages, EULER, ALGOL-W, MODULA and Pascal."
Mark Berger, B.A. 1964 – recipient of four Academy Awards for sound mixing and adjunct professor at UC Berkeley.
Paul E. Debevec, Ph.D. 1996 – Associate Director of Graphics Research at the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies, recipient of a Scientific and Technical Academy Award in 2010 for work used on the James Cameron film Avatar, the Sam Raimi film Spider-Man 2, and the Peter Jackson film King Kong.
Tony DeRose, Ph.D. 1985 – Senior Scientist and leader of the Research Group at Pixar Animation Studios, recipient of a Scientific and Technical Academy Award in 2006 for work on surface representations
Charles H. Ferguson, B.A. 1978 – recipient of an Academy Award for Best Documentary for Inside Job (2010), Academy Award nomination for the documentary film No End in Sight (2007), former fellow at the Brookings Institution, lifelong member of the Council on Foreign Relations, co-founder of Vermeer Technologies Incorporated (acquired by Microsoft for $133 million), founder and president of Representational Pictures
Edith Head, B.A. in French 1918 – costume designer, recipient of eight Academy Awards and nominated for 34 Academy Awards
Chris Innis, B.A. (film studies) – recipient of the Academy Award for Best Film Editing (for The Hurt Locker (2010))
Joe Letteri, B.A. 1981 – recipient of four Academy Awards for Best Visual Special Effects in films directed by James Cameron (Avatar) and Peter Jackson (King Kong, The Two Towers and The Return of the King).
Freida Lee Mock, B.A. 1961 – documentary filmmaker, recipient of the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1995 (for Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision)
Megan Mylan, MJ and MA 1997 – recipient of an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short for Smile Pinki (2009)
Gregory Peck, B.A. 1942 – actor, recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), nominated for the Oscar four other times; served as president of the Screen Actors Guild
Walter Plunkett, B.A. 1923 – costume designer, recipient of the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the 1951 film An American in Paris starring Gene Kelly
Loren L. Ryder, BA (physics and math)1924 – audio sound engineer, recipient of six Academy Awards, nominated for another twelve more Academy Awards
Will Vinton, B.A. Architecture 1971 – pioneer of Claymation® (clay animation), co-recipient of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1974 (Closed Mondays), namesake and founder of Will Vinton Studios (known for The California Raisins and the Domino's Pizza Noid), recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animation programs (A Claymation Christmas Celebration and A Claymation Easter )
Petro Vlahos, BS Eng 1941 – pioneer in traveling matte (blue-screen and green-screen) visual effects technology (used in films such as Ben-Hur, Mary Poppins, and the first Star Wars trilogy), recipient of five special Academy Awards and an Emmy Award
Michael Wilson, BA 1936 – screenwriter, recipient of two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay ( for the 1951 film A Place in the Sun and the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai); nominated for the Academy Award for three other films (for the 1953 film 5 Fingers, the 1956 Academy Award nominated film Friendly Persuasion, and the Academy Award winning 1962 Best Picture film Lawrence of Arabia); also co-screenwriter for the 1968 Academy Award winning film Planet of the Apes
Jon H. Else, B.A. 1968 – Prix Italia recipient (The Day After Trinity), recipient of four Emmy Awards, nominated twice for the Academy Award (for the documentaries The Day After Trinity and Arthur and Lillie), cinematographer on the Academy Award-winning Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?, 1999 winner of the Sundance Film Festival Filmmaker's Trophy, MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow, professor of journalism at UC Berkeley
Melissa Mathison, B.A. – screenwriter, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; known also for the Francis Ford Coppola film The Black Stallion and the Martin Scorsese film Kundun
David Peoples, BA English – screenwriter (the Ridley Scott film Blade Runner and the Terry Gilliam film 12 Monkeys), nominated for the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for the Clint Eastwood film Unforgiven (which did win the Academy Award for Best Picture); collaborator with Jon Else (BA 1968) on the Academy Award winning documentary Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? and the Academy Award nominated documentary The Day After Trinity
James Schamus, BA, MA, PhD– screenwriter, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and Academy Award for Best Original Song for the Ang Lee movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; producer; co-founder and inaugural CEO of movie studio Focus Features
Alexandra Berzon, M.A. 2006 – Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist in 2009
Rube Goldberg, B.S. 1904 – cartoonist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1948
Marguerite Higgins, B.A. 1941 – journalist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1951, honored on a commemorative postal stamp issued by the United States Post Office
Leon Litwack, B.A. 1951, PhD 1958 – professor emeritus of history at UC Berkeley, Pulitzer Prize for History for his book Been In the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery.
Sonia Nazario, M.A. 1988 – journalist at the Los Angeles Times; recipient of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing
Viet Thanh Nguyen, B.A. 1992 and PhD 1997 – winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his first novel The Sympathizer
Matt Richtel, B.A. 1989 – winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, co-author of the comic strip Rudy Park under the pen name of "Theron Heir"
Robert Penn Warren, M.A. 1927 – novelist and poet; received the Pulitzer Prize three times; author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel All the King's Men (1946), later made into a movie of the same name which won three Academy Awards
Kathy Baker, B.A. 1977 – three-time recipient of the Emmy Award, actress (Picket Fences [TV series, 1992–1996)]; The Right Stuff [1983], Edward Scissorhands [1990], The Cider House Rules [1999], Cold Mountain [2003])
Christine Chen, BA 1990 – journalist, former news Anchor for KSTW and KCPQ-TV (both in Seattle, Washington), recipient of two Emmy Awards (1996 and 2002); principal of marketing communications consulting company Chen Communications
Carrie Ching, M.A. 2005 – journalist; recipient of an Emmy Award for New Approaches to News & Documentary
Liz Claman, B.A. 1985 – journalist, current Fox Business anchor (Countdown to the Closing Bell), former CNBC Morning Call co-anchor, recipient of two Emmy Awards for broadcast production and journalism
Diane Dwyer, BS Finance 1987 – journalist, member of the faculty at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, recipient of two Emmy Awards in broadcast journalism
Jon H. Else, B.A. 1968 – Prix Italia recipient (The Day After Trinity), recipient of four Emmy Awards, nominated twice for the Academy Award, 1999 winner of the Sundance Film Festival Filmmaker's Trophy, MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow, cinematographer on the Academy Award-winning Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?, professor of journalism at UC Berkeley
Jonathan Jones, MA 2005 – 2015 Emmy Award in Outstanding Long Form Investigative Journalism, 2015 Emmy Award in Outstanding Research
Elisabeth Leamy, BA – Consumer Correspondent for ABC's Good Morning America, recipient of 13 Emmy Awards in broadcast journalism
Ken Milnes, B.S. EECS 1977 – Senior Vice-President of television technology company Sportvision, recipient of four Emmy Awards in broadcasting technology
Linda Schacht, B.A. 1966, M.A. 1981 – journalist, recipient of two Emmy Awards for broadcast journalism; lecturer at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
Margret Schmidt, BS EECS 1992 – Vice President of Design & Engineering and Chief Design Officer at NASDAQ-listed digital video recorder company TiVO; recipient of the 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television; Industry Faculty lecturer at UC Berkeley
Andrew Schneider, B.A. 1973 – screenwriter and executive producer, recipient of two Emmy Awards (for Northern Exposure and The Sopranos)
Leroy Sievers, B.A. – news journalist, executive producer of news program Nightline, recipient of 12 national news Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, and two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards
Bret Sigler, MA 2003 – recipient of the Emmy Award for Outstanding News Editing in 2015
Jason Spingarn-Koff, MA 2001– recipient of the Emmy Award in Arts, Lifestyle, and Culture in 2015
Lisa Stark, B.A. 1978 – ABC News correspondent, recipient of two Emmy Awards for broadcast journalism, recipient of the Peabody Award and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.
Kristen Sze, B.A. – journalist, TV news anchor for KGO-TV (in the San Francisco Bay area), former New York correspondent for Extra, recipient of two Emmy Awards for broadcast journalism
Will Vinton, B.A. Architecture 1971 – pioneer of Claymation® (clay animation), co-recipient of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1974 (Closed Mondays), namesake and founder of Will Vinton Studios (known for The California Raisins and the Domino's Pizza Noid), recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animation programs (A Claymation Christmas Celebration and A Claymation Easter ) (also listed in Academy Awards section)
Petro Vlahos, BS Eng 1941 – pioneer in traveling matte (blue-screen and green-screen) visual effects technology (used in films such as Ben-Hur, Mary Poppins, and the first Star Wars trilogy), recipient of five special Academy Awards and an Emmy Award (also listed in Academy Awards section)
Michael Freedman – mathematician, recipient of the Fields Medal in 1986
William Thurston, Ph.D. 1972 – 2012 mathematician, recipient of the Fields Medal in 1982
Shing-Tung Yau, (Chinese: 丘成桐), Ph.D. 1971 – mathematician, recipient of the Fields Medal in 1982, winner of the United States National Medal of Science in 1997
Paul Alivisatos, Ph.D. 1986 – recipient of the 2012 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, for the development of "the colloidal inorganic nanocrystal as a building block of nanoscience making fundamental contributions to controlling the synthesis of these particles, to measuring and understanding their physical properties, and to utilizing their unique properties for applications ranging from light generation and harvesting to biological imaging."
George Feher, B.S. 1950, M.S. 1951, Ph.D. 1954 – inventor of electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR); professor at the University of California, San Diego; recipient of the Wolf Prize (Chemistry, 2006/2007) "for the ingenious structural discoveries of the ribosomal machinery of peptide-bond formation and the light-driven primary processes in photosynthesis"
Herbert S. Gutowsky, M.S. 1946 – recipient of the 1983/1984 Wolf Prize in Chemistry "for his pioneering work in the development and applications of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in chemistry''
Bertrand Halperin Ph.D. 1965 – Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard University; recipient of the Wolf Prize (Physics, 2002–2003) "for key insights into the broad range of condensed matter physics... on two- dimensional melting, disordered systems and strongly interacting electrons."
George Pimentel, Ph.D. 1949 – professor at UC Berkeley (1949–1989); inventor of the chemical laser ; recipient of the Wolf Prize (Chemistry, 1982) for the "development of matrix isolation spectroscopy and for the discovery of photodissociation lasers and chemical lasers."
Gary Ruvkun, B.A. Biophysics 1973 – recipient of the Wolf Prize (Medicine, 2014) "for the discovery of the micro-RNA molecules that play a key role in controlling gene expression in natural processes and disease development."
Gabor A. Somorjai, Ph.D. 1960 – professor of chemistry at University of California, Berkeley (1964–present) ;recipient of the Wolf Prize along with Gerhard Ertl (Chemistry, 1998) "for their outstanding contributions to the field of the surface science in general, and for their elucidation of fundamental mechanisms of heterogeneous catalytic reactions at single crystal surfaces in particular. ";
Chien-Shiung Wu, Ph.D. 1940 – professor of physics at Columbia University (1940–1980) ;recipient of the Wolf Prize (Physics, 1978) "for her explorations of the weak interaction, helping establish the precise form and the non-conservation of parity for this natural force "; first female president of the American Physical Society
Shing-Tung Yau, Ph.D. 1971 – (also listed in Fields Medal) professor of mathematics at Harvard University; Fields Medal laureate; recipient of the Wolf Prize (Mathematics, 2010) "for his work in geometric analysis that has had a profound and dramatic impact on many areas of geometry and physics"
Stephen Balch MA, PhD – founder of the National Association of Scholars, founder of the American Academy for Liberal Education, founding member and trustee of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, founder of the Study of Western Civilization; recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2007 "for leadership and advocacy upholding the noblest traditions in higher education"
Joan Didion, BA 1956 – writer, author of Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968), The White Album (1979), and The Year of Magical Thinking (2005); recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2013 for "her mastery of style in writing. Exploring the culture around us and exposing the depths of sorrow, Ms. Didion has produced works of startling honesty and fierce intellect, rendered personal stories universal, and illuminated the seemingly peripheral details that are central to our lives"
Maxine Hong Kingston – B.A. 1962 – author; Senior Lecturer at UC Berkeley; recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 1997 for "her contributions as a writer. Her novels and non-fiction have examined how the past influences our present, and her voice has strengthened our understanding of Asian American identity, helping shape our national conversation about culture, gender, and race. "; recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 2013
Ramón Eduardo Ruiz , PhD 1954 – Professor of History (specializing in Mexico and Latin America) at the University of California, San Diego; 1998 National Humanities Medal
Henry Snyder, BA, MA, PhD – Professor Emeritus of History (specializing in Britain) at the University of California, Riverside; 2007 National Humanities Medal "for visionary leadership in bridging the worlds of scholarship and technology"; 2009 Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire medal (bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II)
Kevin Starr, M.L.S. 1974 – Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and Professor of History (specializing in California) at the University of Southern California ;2006 National Humanities Medal
Alice Waters, B.A. 1967 – celebrity chef, founder of restaurant Chez Panisse, originator of California cuisine; 2015 National Humanities Medal recipient for "celebrating the bond between the ethical and the edible. As a chef, author, and advocate, Ms. Waters champions a holistic approach to eating and health and celebrates integrating gardening, cooking, and education, sparking inspiration in a new generation."; member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; recipient of five James Beard Foundation Awards (1984 Who's Who of Food & Beverage, 1997 Fruits & Vegetables, 1992 Outstanding Chef, 1992 Outstanding Restaurant, 1997 Humanitarian of the Year, 2004 Lifetime Achievement)
Berni Alder, BS 1947, MS 1948 – recipient of the 2009 National Medal of Science "for establishing powerful computer methods useful for molecular dynamics simulations, conceiving and executing experimental shock-wave simulations to obtain properties of fluids and solids at very high pressures, and developing Monte Carlo methods for calculating the properties of matter from first principles, all of which contributed to major achievements in the science of condensed matter."
Daniel I. Arnon, BS 1932, PhD 1936 – professor of cell physiology at UC Berkeley specializing in photosynthesis ; recipient of the 1973 National Medal of Science "for fundamental research into the mechanism of green plant utilization of light to produce chemical energy and oxygen and for contributions to our understanding of plant nutrition"
John N. Bahcall, B.S. 1956, astrophysicist, best known for his work on the Standard Solar Model and the Hubble Space Telescope, recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1998 "for his fundamental contributions to areas of modern astrophysics ranging from solar neutrino physics to the structure of the Milky Way Galaxy to cosmology, and for his leadership of the astronomical community, especially his tireless advocacy of the Hubble Space Telescope.", recipient of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in 1992, co-winner of the Fermi award in 2003
John W. Cahn, Ph.D. 1953 – materials scientist, recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1998 "for his pioneering work on thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transitions and diffusion, on interfacial phenomena, and for his contributions to the understanding of periodic and quasi-periodic structures."
Brent Dalrymple, PhD 1963 – recipient of the 2003 National Medal of Science "for his pioneering work in determining the geomagnetic polarity reversal timescale; a discovery that led to the theory of plate tectonics."
Henry Eyring, Ph.D. 1927 – namesake of the Eyring equation ;Professor of Chemistry (Princeton University), dean of the University of Utah graduate school and recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1966 "for contributions to our understanding of the structure and properties of matter, especially for his creation of absolute rate theory, one of the sharpest tools in the study of rates of chemical reaction."
Herbert S. Gutowsky, MS 1946 – recipient of the National Medal of Sciencein 1976 "in recognition of pioneering studies in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy."
T.Y. Lin, M.S. 1933 – Professor of Civil Engineering, bridge builder, pioneering researcher and practitioner of prestressed concrete, designed Moscone Center, recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1986 "for his work as an engineer, teacher and author whose scientific analyses, technological innovation, and visionary designs have spanned the gulf not only between science and art, but also between technology and society."
Susan Solomon, M.S. 1979, Ph.D. 1981 – Senior Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), recipient of the National Medal of Science in 2000 "for key scientific insights in explaining the cause of the Antarctic Ozone hole and for advancing the understanding of the global ozone layer; for changing the direction of ozone research through her findings; and for exemplary service to worldwide public policy decisions and to the American public."
Gabor A. Somorjai, Ph.D. 1960– professor of chemistry at University of California, Berkeley (1964–present); recipient of the National Medal of Science in 2002 "honored as the world's leading authority in the development of modern surface science, having established the molecular foundation of many surface-based technologies."; also listed in Wolf Prize section
Peter J. Stang, Ph.D. 1966 – recipient of the National Medal of Science in 2010 "for his creative contributions to the development of organic supramolecular chemistry and for his outstanding and unique record of public service."; professor of chemistry at the University of Utah
JoAnne Stubbe, PhD 1971 – recipient of the National Medal of Science in 2008 "for her ground-breaking experiments establishing the mechanisms of ribonucleotide reductases, polyester synthases, and natural product DNA cleavers compelling demonstrations of the power of chemical investigations to solve problems in biology."
Robert R. Wilson, BA 1936, PhD 1940 – recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1973 for "unusual ingenuity in designing experiments to explore the fundamental particles of matter and in designing and constructing the machines to produce the particles, culminating in the world's most powerful particle accelerator"; reipient of the 1984 Enrico Fermi Award for "his outstanding contributions to physics and particle accelerator designs and construction. He was the creator and principal designer of the Fermi National Laboratory and what is, at present, the highest energy accelerator in the world. His contributions have always been characterized by the greatest ingenuity and innovation and accomplished with grace and style."
Shing-Tung Yau, Ph.D. 1971 – mathematician, recipient of the Fields Medal in 1982, recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1997 "for his fundamental contributions in mathematics and physics. Through his work, the understanding of basic geometric differential equations has been changed and he has expanded their role enormously within mathematics."
Glen Culler, BA Math 1951 – recipient of the National Medal of Technology in 1999 "for pioneering innovations in multiple branches of computing, including early efforts in digital speech processing, invention of the first on-line system for interactive graphical mathematics computing and pioneering work on the ARPAnet"
Doug Engelbart, B. Eng. 1952, Ph.D. 1965 – recipient of the National Medal of Technology in 2000 "for creating the foundations of personal computing including continuous, real-time interaction based on cathode-ray tube displays and the mouse, hypertext linking, text editing, on-line journals, shared-screen teleconferencing, and remote collaborative work. More than any other person, he created the personal computing component of the computer revolution."
Gordon Moore, B.S. 1950 – co-founder of NASDAQ-100 company Intel, namesake and originator of Moore's Law, co-founder of NASDAQ-100 semiconductor manufacturing company Intel, recipient of the National Medal of Technology in 1990 "for his seminal leadership in bringing American industry the two major postwar innovations in microelectronics - large-scale integrated memory and the microprocessor - that have fueled the information revolution."
Ken Thompson, B.S. EE 1965, M.S. EE 1966 – Co-creator of the Unix operating system and co-recipient of the 1983 Turing Award, co-recipient of the National Medal of Technology in 1998 for the "invention of the UNIX® operating system and the C programming language, which together have led to enormous growth of an entire industry, thereby enhancing American leadership in the Information Age." (also listed under Turing Award laureates section)
Steve Wozniak, (class of 1976, BS EECS 1986) – co-founder of NASDAQ-100 computer manufacturing company Apple Inc., co-recipient (with Steve Jobs) of the National Medal of Technology in 1985 for the "development and introduction of the personal computer which has sparked the birth of a new industry extending the power of the computer to individual users." (also listed under "Founders and cofounders" section)
Sanjeev Arora, Ph.D. 1994 – professor of computer science at Princeton University; recipient of two Gödel Prizes (2001 "for the PCP theorem and its applications to hardness of approximation" and 2010 for the "discovery of a polynomial-time approximation scheme (PTAS) for the Euclidean Travelling Salesman Problem (ETSP)")
Ronald Fagin, PhD Math 1973 – IBM Fellow at IBM Research-Almaden; recipient of the 2014 Gödel Prize "for Optimal Aggregation Algorithms for Middleware"
Matthew K. Franklin, MA Math 1985 – professor of computer science at UC Davis; recipient of the 2013 Gödel Prize for work that "established the field of pairing-based cryptography by supplying a precise definition of the security of this approach, and providing compelling new applications for it."
Shafi Goldwasser, MS 1981, Ph.D. 1983 – recipient of the 2012 Turing Award; RSA Professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, professor of mathematical sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science; recipient of two Gödel Prizes (1993, "for the development of interactive proof systems" and 2001 "for the PCP theorem and its applications to hardness of approximation") (also listed in Turing Award laureates section)
Silvio Micali, Ph.D. 1982 – recipient of the 2012 Turing Award; recipient of the Gödel Prize in 1993 "for the development of interactive proof systems" (also listed in Turing Award laureates section)
Rajeev Motwani, Ph.D. 1988 – former professor of computer science at Stanford University; co-author of a research paper on the PageRank algorithm (with Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Terry Winograd) which became the basis of Google; 2001 Gödel Prize recipient "for the PCP theorem and its applications to hardness of approximation"
Moni Naor, PhD CS – professor of computer science at the Weizmann Institute of Science (in Israel); 2014 Gödel Prize for Optimal Aggregation Algorithms for Middleware
Noam Nisan, PhD 1988 – recipient of the 2014 Gödel Prize for laying the foundations of algorithmic game theory
Madhu Sudan, Ph.D. 1992 – professor of computer science at MIT; 2001 Gödel Prize recipient "for the PCP theorem and its applications to hardness of approximation"
The MacArthur Fellowship is also known as the "Genius Grant" or "Genius Award"
Joan Abrahamson, J.D. – President of the Jefferson Institute (a public policy think-tank); 1985 MacArthur Fellowship
Patrick Awuah, MBA 1999 – founder of Ashesi University in Ghana; 2015 MacArthur Fellowship
Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D. 1993 – T.Z. and Irmgard Chu Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley; 1999 MacArthur Fellowship
Peter J. Bickel, Ph.D. 1963 – professor of statistics at UC Berkeley; 1984 MacArthur Fellowship
Tami Bond, M.S. 1995 – environmental engineer; Professor Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; 2014 MacArthur Fellowship
Shawn Carlson, B.S. 1981 – co-founder of Society for Amateur Scientists, former columnist of "The Amateur Scientist" in Scientific American; "Head Cheese" of the LabRats Science Education Project (a "Boy Scouts" for young scientists); 1999 MacArthur Fellowship
John Carlstrom, Ph.D. 1988 – professor of astrophysics at the University of Chicago; 1998 MacArthur Fellowship
Stanley Cavell, B.A. 1947–philosopher, Walter M. Cabot Professor Emeritus at Harvard University; 1992 MacArthur Fellowship
Sandy Close, B.A. 1964 – journalist, Executive Director of the Bay Area Institute/Pacific News Service and New America Media; 1995 MacArthur Fellowship
Gary Cohen, attended as graduate student 1983-1984 – co-founder and president of Health Care Without Harm in Reston, Virginia; 2015 MacArthur Fellowship
Eric Coleman, Masters of Public Health 1991 – geriatrician, Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine; 2012 MacArthur Fellowship
Maria Crawford, Ph.D. 1964 – professor emeritus of geology at Bryn Mawr College; 1993 MacArthur Fellowship
William Dichtel, PhD Chemistry 2005 – professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University; pioneer of covalent organic frameworks; 2015 MacArthur Fellowship
Corinne Dufka, MA social welfare – human rights investigator, senior researcher in the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch; 2003 MacArthur Fellowship
Michael Elowitz, B.A. physics 1992 – molecular biologist, professor at the California Institute of Technology; creator of the repressilator (artificial genetic circuit in synthetic biology); 2007 MacArthur Fellowship
Jon H. Else, B.A. 1968 – Prix Italia recipient (The Day After Trinity), recipient of four Emmy Awards, nominated twice for the Academy Award, 1999 winner of the Sundance Film Festival Filmmaker's Trophy, 1988 MacArthur Fellowship, cinematographer on the Academy Award-winning Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?, professor of journalism at UC Berkeley (also listed in Emmy Awards section)
Daniel Friedan, Ph.D. 1980 – physicist in string theory and condensed matter physics, professor of physics at Rutgers University; 1987 MacArthur Fellowship
Margaret J. Geller, B.A. physics 1970 – astrophysicist at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; 1990 MacArthur Fellowship
Peter Gleick, MS and Ph.D. hydro-climatology – co-founder of the Pacific Institute, researcher on fresh water resources; 2003 MacArthur Fellowship
David B. Goldstein, Ph.D. physics – energy conservation specialist, co-director of the Energy Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council; 2002 MacArthur Fellowship
Linda Griffith, Ph.D. 1988 – professor of bioengineering at MIT; 2006 MacArthur Fellowship
David Gross, Ph.D. physics 1966 – Nobel laureate (Physics, 2004) (also listed in Nobel laureates section); 1987 MacArthur Fellowship
Eva Harris, Ph.D. 1993 – professor in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley; researcher of dengue fever; 1997 MacArthur Fellowship;
Peter J. Hayes, Ph.D. 1989 – energy policy activist, Executive Director of the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability; 2000 MacArthur Fellowship
Vijay Iyer, Ph.D. 1998 – jazz pianist and composer; 2013 MacArthur Fellowship
Daniel Hunt Janzen, Ph.D. 1965 – ecologist and conservationist; professor of biology at the University of Pennsylvania, technical advisor for restoration project Area de Conservación Guanacaste World Heritage Site in Costa Rica; 1989 MacArthur Fellowship
Daniel Jurafsky, B.A. 1983, Ph.D. 1992 – computer scientist and linguist; professor of linguistics and computer science at the University of Colorado, Boulder; 2002 MacArthur Fellowship
Nancy Kopell, M.A., Ph.D. – mathematician, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor at Boston University, Co-Director of the Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology; 1990 MacArthur Fellowship
Michael C. Malin, B.A. (physics) 1967 – astronomer, principal investigator for the camera on Mars Global Surveyor, 1987 MacArthur Fellowship, founder and CEO of Malin Space Science Systems, recipient of a NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 2002, recipient of the 2005 Carl Sagan Memorial Award
Yoky Matsuoka, B.S. 1993 – neuro-robotics researcher, Vice President of Technology at Tony Fadell "smart-thermostat" company Nest Labs when it was acquired by Google for $3.2 billion; founding member of Google X; 2007 MacArthur Fellowship
Maurice Lim Miller, BS 1968, M.A. 1977 – founder of the poverty assistance institute Family Independence Initiative in Oakland, California; 2012 MacArthur Fellowship
David R. Montgomery, Ph.D. 1991 – geomorphologist, Professor of Earth and Space Science at the University of Washington, Seattle; researcher on the role of topsoil in human civilization, recipient of the 2008 Washington State Book Award in General Nonfiction for 'Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations'; 2008 MacArthur Fellowship
Richard A. Muller, Ph.D. – professor of Physics at UC Berkeley, senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; 1982 MacArthur Fellowship
Cecilia Muñoz, M.A. – civil rights and immigration activist; director of the United States Domestic Policy Council (2012–present); 2000 MacArthur Fellowship
Margaret Murnane, Ph.D. 1989 – professor of physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, specialist in pulsed-operation lasers; 2000 MacArthur Fellowship
John Novembre, PhD 2006 – computational biologist and professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago; 2015 MacArthur Fellowship
Margie Profet, B.A. physics 1985 – researcher in evolutionary biology; 1993 MacArthur Fellowship
Peter H. Raven, B.S. 1957 – botanist and environmentalist, President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden; 1985 MacArthur Fellowship
Ed Roberts B.A. 1964, M.A. 1966 – activist in the disability rights movement (Independent Living); 1984 MacArthur Fellowship
Julia Hall Bowman Robinson, B.A. mathematics 1940, Ph.D. 1948 – professor (1976-1985) of mathematics at UC Berkeley, specializing in Hilbert's Tenth Problem; first woman president of the American Mathematical Society; namesake of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute; 1983 MacArthur Fellowship
Jay Rubenstein, Ph.D. 1997 – medieval historian, professor of history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; 2007 MacArthur Fellowship
Daniel P. Schrag, Ph.D 1993 – Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology at Harvard University; 2000 MacArthur Fellowship
John Henry Schwarz, Ph.D. 1966 – the "Schwarz" in the "Green-Schwarz mechanism" that started the first superstring revolution in superstring theory, Harold Brown Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech 1987 MacArthur Fellowship
Dawn Song, Ph.D. 2002 – professor in EECS at UC Berkeley specializing in computer security; 2010 MacArthur Fellowship
Claire Tomlin, Ph.D. 1998 – researcher in unmanned aerial vehicles, air traffic control, and modeling of biological processes; professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Department of Electrical Engineering, at Stanford University, where she is Director of the Hybrid Systems Laboratory; professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at University of California, Berkeley; 2006 MacArthur Fellow
Gary Alfred Tomlinson, Ph.D. 1979 – musicologist and cultural theorist, professor at Yale University, former Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania; 1988 MacArthur Fellowship
Philip Treisman, Ph.D. 1985 – Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas, Austin; pioneer in the Emerging Scholars Program; 1992 MacArthur Fellowship
Bret Wallach, B.A. 1964, M.A. 1966, Ph.D. in 1968 – cultural geographer, professor at the University of Oklahoma, 1984 MacArthur Fellowship
Robert Penn Warren, M.A. 1927 – novelist and poet, three-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize; 1981 MacArthur Fellowship (also listed in Pulitzer Prize section)
Robert H. Williams, Ph.D. 1967 – physicist, Senior Research Scientist at the Princeton Environmental Institute at Princeton University; 1993 MacArthur Fellowship
Allan Wilson, Ph.D. 1961 – professor (1972-1991) of Biochemistry at UC Berkeley specializing in molecular approaches to understand biological evolution and to reconstruct phylogenies; 1986 MacArthur Fellowship
Jay Wright, B.A. 1961 – poet; 1986 MacArthur Fellowship
Shing-Tung Yau, Ph.D. 1971 – mathematician (listed under Fields Medal section); 1984 MacArthur Fellowship
Xiaowei Zhuang, MS 1993, Ph.D. 1996 – biophysicist, professor of chemistry and chemical Biology at Harvard University; 2003 MacArthur Fellowship
Business and entrepreneurship
See also: Science and technology, Haas School of Business.
Science and technology
See also: Academia, Business, UC Berkeley College of Chemistry, Law
Religion, spirituality, and lifestyle
Mark Anchor Albert, B.A. 1984 – Los Angeles-based attorney, lay Catholic leader, founder of the Queen of Angels Foundation
Isaac Bonewits, B.A. Magic 1970 – neopagan author, priest, speaker and founder of contemporary druidic group Ár nDraíocht Féin
Pema Chodron, B.A. – spiritual teacher and author, interpreter of Tibetan Buddhism for Western audiences; formerly known as Deirdre Blomfield-Brown
Mayme Agnew Clayton, B.A. – librarian; founder, president, and spiritual Leader of the Western States Black Research and Education Center (WSBREC), the largest privately held collection of African-American historical materials in the world
Madelyn Dunham – grandmother of Barack Obama (did not graduate)
Barry Kerzin, B.A. 1972 – professor of medicine, Buddhist monk and teacher, and personal physician to the Dalai Lama
Timothy Leary, Ph.D. 1950 – psychologist and counterculture figure
Brittany Maynard, BA – activist for death with dignity
Terence McKenna, B.Sc. 1969 – modern philosopher, author of the novelty theory and "stoned ape" hypothesis
Ed Roberts, B.A. 1964, M.A. 1966, C.Phil. 1969 – founder of the Independent Living Movement
Heng Sure, Ph.D. 1974 – American Buddhist monk of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas; one of the first Americans ordained in the States
In the show Archer, Season 6 Episode 8: The Kanes, Lana and Archer travel to Berkeley so that her parents can meet their granddaughter. Lana's mother Claudette is a professor of public policy with a focus on feminist issues at UC Berkeley,
In Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, and The Lost World, Ian Malcom, a mathematician, is the Board Director of Mathematics at the University of California Berkeley.
In the 2014 film Transcendence, Johnny Depp's character, Dr. Will Custer, and Rebecca Hall's character, Evelyn Caster, both live in Berkeley and run a lab at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
In House of Lies, season 2 episode 2, it is mentioned that Marty played by Don Cheadle and Tamara played by Nia Long were both classmates at Berkeley. Dawn Olivieri's character Monica is also mentioned as having attended at the same time.
In the 2012 film Savages, Aaron Taylor-Johnson's character, Ben, is mentioned as having graduated from Berkeley.
In the 2012 film 21 Jump Street, Dave Franco's character, Eric, is mentioned as having been accepted to Berkeley, and plans to attend.
In the episode "The Return of Wonder Woman" (Wonder Woman Season 2 pilot), Diana Prince pretends to be a UC Berkeley graduate.
In the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, James Franco's character, Will Rodman, is seen wearing a Berkeley t-shirt, implying that he attended the school in some capacity. There are also University of California diplomas on his wall.
In 2001's season 1 episode 6 of the television series The Newsroom, character Sloan Sabbith is revealed to be an alumna of UC Berkeley.
In the 2008 film High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Troy Bolton, played by Zac Efron, announces that he has chosen to attend UC Berkeley after graduation.
In the 2008 film Iron Man, Robert Downey, Jr.'s character asks a reporter if she is a Berkeley graduate.
In the 2003 film Mona Lisa Smile, Julia Roberts' character is an idealistic Berkeley graduate.
In the 1994 film Stargate, James Spader's character is revealed to have a University of California diploma when Dr. Catherine Langford is reviewing his credentials.
In the 1992 film Basic Instinct, Dr. Beth Garner, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn received her Ph.D. in Psychology at Berkeley. Catherine Tramell, played by Sharon Stone, also received her B.A. in Psychology and Literature at Berkeley.
In the Back to the Future trilogy, inventor of the Delorean time machine, Dr. Emmett Brown, attended Berkeley, stated by trilogy director Robert Zemeckis.
Sandy Cohen from The O.C. graduated from Boalt School of Law at Berkeley. His wife, Kirsten Cohen has an Art History degree from Berkeley as well. Their adopted son Ryan Atwood then went on to complete a degree in architecture there.
In the comic strip Doonesbury Joanie Caucus was accepted to and graduated from the Boalt School of Law in the 1970s.
Press Secretary and later Presidential Chief of Staff C. J. Cregg, played by Allison Janney on the long-running The West Wing, got her master's degree from Berkeley. She mentions this several times to get out of duties she finds demeaning.
In the television series Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh's character, Dr. Cristina Yang, often boasts of having a Ph.D. from Berkeley, along with a college degree from Smith and a medical degree from Stanford.
In the situation comedy Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Mark Cooper Mark Curry has a Cal Berkeley banner in his room.
Berkeley is the setting for the film Boys and Girls starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Claire Forlani, who both play Berkeley students.
The 2002 film Catch Me If You Can told the true story of Frank Abagnale who faked getting his law degree from Berkeley to impress his fiance's father and to get a job as a lawyer. The character was played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Hulk, directed by Ang Lee, largely took place at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and private research facilities nearby. Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly played researchers.
Jack Bauer, the lead character played by Kiefer Sutherland in the hit drama 24, got his Masters of Science in "Criminology and Law" at Berkeley (no such degree is offered).
In the hit film Field of Dreams (1990), the lead character Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) is a Berkeley alum
Rei Shimura, the protagonist in Sujata Massey's mystery novels, earned her master's degree in Japanese art history from Berkeley.
In the film Gotcha! (1985), Jonathan (played by Anthony Edwards) falls for Sasha (played by Linda Fiorentino), a beautiful and mysterious Berkeley graduate student in film.
Winona Ryder plays Finn Dodd, a Berkeley graduate student, in the 1995 film How to Make an American Quilt.
In the 2001 film The Wedding Planner, Matthew McConaughey's character and Bridgette Wilson's character were claimed to have met as students at UC Berkeley.
In USA Network's television series Monk, the title character, Adrian Monk, played by Tony Shalhoub, graduated from Berkeley (mentioned in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Other Detective", Season 4 & "Mr. Monk and the Class Reunion", Season 5).
In the situation comedy 3rd Rock from the Sun, Dick Solomon's (John Lithgow) love interest, Dr. Mary Albright (Jane Curtin), received her bachelor's degree from Berkeley
In the 1988 film Die Hard (1988), Joseph Yashinobo Takagi (James Shigeta), President of Nakatomi Trading, is said to be a scholarship student at UC Berkeley, graduating in 1955.
In the film Legally Blonde (2001), Harvard law student Enid Wexler earns a Ph.D. at UC Berkeley in women's studies, "emphasis in the history of combat".
In the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Sara Sidle received her master's degree from UC Berkeley.
The film Junior (1994), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, was filmed on the Berkeley campus.
In the film Deep Impact (1998), starring Morgan Freeman and Téa Leoni, research on meteors were done on a Berkeley website.
In the film Peaceful Warrior (2006), starring Scott Mechlowicz and Nick Nolte, the main character is a member of the male gymnastics team at UC Berkeley. The semi-autobiographical movie is based on the book Way of the Peaceful Warrior (1981), which was authored by real-life UC Berkeley alumnus Dan Millman.
In the film Fathers' Day Dale Putley (Robin Williams), Jack Lawrence (Billy Crystal), and Collette Andrews (Nastassja Kinski) all were students at Berkeley. We could probably assume that Jack ended up getting his law degree there.
In Family Ties, Steven Keaton and Elyse Keaton met at Berkeley as undergraduates. It can be assumed that Elyse got her architectural degree and Steve got his degree in political science, communications, or filmmaking. Mallory Keaton was born there on the day Steve was supposed to take a political science examination.
In Full House, D.J. Tanner accepts an admissions offer from Berkeley.
In The Graduate Elaine Robinson was a student at Berkeley.
In Single Asian Female main character Jennie Low and several other characters are students at the school.
In the Japanese manga series Hana-Kimi, Izumi Sano became a student at the college.
In the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Captain Kirk claims that Spock went to Berkeley in the 1960s, where he "did too much LDS [sic]." However, Kirk merely invents this story to explain Spock's strange appearance and behavior. Spock actually went to Starfleet Academy, which is also located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Princess Mia's friend Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo) claims to be a Berkeley graduate student.
In the film Magnolia (1999), Tom Cruise's seduction-guru character claims to have attended psychology classes at Berkeley.
One of the central protagonists in Mischa Berlinski's novel Fieldwork (2007), Martiya van der Leun, is a Berkeley graduate student in anthropology.
Marissa Cooper and Ryan Atwood from The OC are supposed to attend UC Berkeley before the infamous fatal car crash that kills her.
In The Sopranos, Meadow Soprano (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) has her heart set on UC Berkeley against the wishes of her parents due to distance. Carmela Soprano throws away an admissions letter, that she later retrieves out of guilt, requesting transcripts.
In Alias, Sydney Bristow’s ex-lover, Agent Noah Hicks (Peter Berg), says he was recruited out of Berkeley by SD-6.
Large portions of the feature film Who'll Stop the Rain, starring Nick Nolte and Tuesday Weld, were filmed in the south campus area.
In the book Snow Crash, both Hiro Protagonist and Juanita Marquez attended Berkeley.
In Season 3 of the television series Weeds, Nancy Botwin mentions spending two and half years at Berkeley.
In the movie The Perfect Murder, Viggo Mortensen's character claims to have studied art at Berkeley.
In the series finale of Dollhouse, Mag, played by Felicia Day, said that prior to tech going wild that she studied sociology at Berkeley.
Charmed protagonist Paige Matthews attended Berkeley to earn a degree in social work; Season 4 episode "A Paige from the Past" revealed that she was accepted into Berkeley partially due to a well-written essay on the subject of her adoptive parents' death.
