Students and alumni
The following are noted alumni and students of the University of California, Irvine, listed by the field(s) they have been noted for. When the information is known and available, degree and year are listed in parentheses.
Michael Asher (B.F.A. 1966) – conceptual artist
Dan Bayles (M.F.A. 2007) – abstract artist
Chris Burden (M.F.A. 1971) – performance artist
Tom Jancar, (B.A. 1974 and M.F.A. 1976) - contemporary art dealer Jancar Kuhlenschmidt Gallery and Jancar Gallery
Barbara T. Smith (M.F.A. 1971) – performance artist
Film, television, and video
Colet Abedi (B.A. English literature) – writer and television producer
Aras Baskauskas (B.A. 2002, philosophy, MBA 2004) – winner on TV reality show Survivor; CEO of TundraWear.com
Jim Berney (B.S. 1989, computer science) – Academy award-nominated technical director, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix
Nazanin Boniadi (B.S. 2003, biological sciences) – actress, official spokeswoman for Amnesty International
Crista Flanagan (M.F.A. 2001) – actress, Mad Men
Steve Franks (B.A. 1991) – writer and television producer
Bob Gunton (B.A. 1968) – actor, The Shawshank Redemption, 24, Desperate Housewives; Tony-nominated for Broadway roles in Evita and Sweeney Todd
Tyler Hoechlin (student athlete – baseball) – actor, star of Teen Wolf
Carrie Ann Inaba (attended) – actress/dancer, a judge on ABC's Dancing with the Stars
Kelly Lin (attended, Economics and English & Comparative Literature) – Taiwanese actress, nominated for best actress for role in Mad Detective at 2007 Venice Film Festival
Jon Lovitz (B.A. 1979, Theater) – actor and comedian, Saturday Night Live
Andrea Lowell (attended, Biology) – model, Playboy, VH1's The Surreal Life #6
Tom Martin (B.A. 1987, Economics & Political Science) – TV writer whose credits include The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live
Joseph McGinty Nichol a.k.a. McG (B.S. 1990, Psychology) – film director (Charlie's Angels, Terminator Salvation), co-creator of TV series The O.C.
Joseph Andrew Mclean (English Literature, Politics, Screenwriting) – Scottish filmmaker, studied at UCI as an exchange student from the University of Glasgow
Jeff Meek (B.A. 1983, Drama) – TV actor, Raven, As the World Turns and Mortal Kombat: Conquest
Windell Middlebrooks (M.F.A. 2004, Drama) – actor, star of Body of Proof
Grant Nieporte (B.A. 1995, Social Sciences) – film writer, credits include 2008 Will Smith film Seven Pounds
Sophie Oda (B.F.A. 2012, Musical Theater) – guest actress on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
Kelly Perine (M.F.A. Acting, 1994), television actor (Between Brothers, The Parent 'Hood, One on One)
Aurora Snow (attended, Theater Arts, Business) – pornographic actress
Phil Tippett (B.A., Fine Arts) – filmmaker, Star Wars, RoboCop and Jurassic Park
Brian Thompson (M.F.A. Acting, 1984) – actor
Thuy Trang (attended, Civil Engineering) – actress, Trini from Power Rangers
Byron Velvick (B.A. 1987, English) – star of The Bachelor, Season 6
Nevada Barr (M.F.A. 1978) – author of Anna Pigeon Mysteries
Michael A. Bellesiles (PhD 1986) – controversial historian and author of Arming America, The Origins of a National Gun Culture
Aimee Bender (M.F.A. 1998) – author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt
David Benioff (M.F.A. 1999) – author of The 25th Hour, husband of actress Amanda Peet, co-creator of HBO's hit television series Game of Thrones
Chelsea Cain (B.A. 1994, Political Science) – fiction writer
Michael Chabon (M.F.A. 1987) – 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning author for his novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Leonard Chang (M.F.A) – Korean-American writer of short stories and novels
Joshua Ferris (M.F.A.) – author of Then We Came to the End which was nominated for the National Book Award and won the PEN/Hemingway Award
Brian Flemming (B.A. 1998, English) – director and playwright
Richard Ford (M.F.A. 1970) – Pulitzer Prize-winning author in Fiction for Independence Day
Glen David Gold (M.F.A . 1998) – author of Carter Beats the Devil and Sunnyside
Yusef Komunyakaa (M.F.A. 1980) – Pulitzer Prize-winning poet for Neon Vernacular
Whitney Otto (M.F.A. 1990) – bestselling novelist, How To Make an American Quilt, The Passion Dream Book, Eight Girls Taking Pictures
T. Jefferson Parker (M.F.A. 1976) – fiction writer and author of Laguna Heat, Little Saigon, and Pacific Heat
Alice Sebold (M.F.A. 1998) – bestselling novelist, author of The Lovely Bones
Danzy Senna (M.F.A. 1996) – writer
Maria Helena Viramontes (M.F.A. 1994) – Chicana fiction writer
Peter Wild (M.F.A. 1969) – poet, historian, and Professor of English at the University of Arizona
Joey Burns – frontman of Calexico
Clara Chung (B.A. 2009, Psychology) – guitarist and singer
Gregory Coleman (M.A. 2005, Fine Arts) – classical guitarist, recording artist, composer, arranger, educator
Coco Lee (attended) – Chinese pop star
Kevin Kwan Loucks (B.M. 2004, Piano Performance) – international concert pianist, founder and artistic director of Chamber Music OC, member of classical music ensemble Trio Céleste
Jeffrey Mumford (B.A. 1977) – classical music composer
Aubrey O'Day (B.A. 2005, Political Science) – member of Danity Kane (Making the Band 3 contestant)
Savitree Suttichanond (B.A. 2007, International Studies) – Thai singer and actress, Academy Fantasia Season 5
Kaba Modern – Asian-American dance group established in 1992; 6 alumni dancers appeared on America's Best Dance Crew
Teal Wicks (B.A. 2005, Drama) – American singer and stage actress, best known for playing the role of Elphaba in the Broadway production of the musical Wicked
Vanness Wu – Taiwanese singer, actor, director, producer, member of F4 (band)
Members of Farside (band) – hardcore punk band
Members of Thrice – hardcore/rock Band
Kei Akagi – toured as pianist for famous jazz musician and composer Miles Davis
Joseph Vincent – YouTube singer/songwriter
Members of Milo Greene – indie/pop band
Brady Anderson (attended, Economics) – former MLB outfielder for the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles, three-time American League all-star
Dylan Axelrod (B.A. 2007, Social Ecology) – pitcher for the Chicago White Sox
Christian Bergman – pitcher for the Colorado Rockies
Doug Linton – former MLB pitcher
Ben Orloff, minor league baseball player
Bryan Petersen – outfielder for the Florida Marlins
Sean Tracey – former MLB pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox
Gary Wheelock – former MLB pitcher for the California Angels and Seattle Mariners
Scott Brooks (B.A. 1987) – former head coach of the NBA team Oklahoma City Thunder; point guard on the 1994 NBA Champion Houston Rockets
Steve Cleveland (B.A. 1976) – men's head basketball coach at Fresno State University
Tod Murphy (B.A. 1986) – former NBA player and third-round pick of the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1986 NBA draft; assistant coach for the UCI Men's basketball team
Tom Tolbert (transferred) – former NBA player and current color-commentator for ABC sports
Peter Campbell (B.A. 1982) – won two silver medals (1984 and 1988) Olympics (water polo)
Jennifer Chandler – gold medalist in the 1976 Olympics (diving)
Gary Figueroa (B.A. 1980) – silver medalist in the 1984 Olympics (water polo)
Brad Alan Lewis (B.A. 1976) – gold medalist in the 1984 Olympics (rowing), author of Assault on Lake Casitas
Greg Louganis (B.A. 1983) – four-time Olympic gold medalist (diving)
Amber Neben (M.S. Biology) – U.S. National Road Race Champion, 2005 & 2006 Tour de l'Aude winner, 2008 World TT Champion, and placed 33rd in the road race at the 2008 Olympics
Mike Powell – world long jump record-holder; two-time Olympic silver medalist (track and field)
Steve Scott (B.A. 1978) – American record holder for the indoor mile (3:58.7); world record holder for the most sub-Four-minute miles (136)
Carlos Aguilar – forward for the Rochester Rhinos of USL Professional Division
Cameron Dunn – defender for the Los Angeles Blues of the USL Professional Division
Brad Evans – midfielder for the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer and the United States men's national soccer team
Irving Garcia – forward for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer
Anthony Hamilton (B.A. 2010, Literary Journalism) – forward for the Rochester Rhinos of the USL Professional Division
Kenny Schoeni (B.A. 2006) – former goalkeeper for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer
David Sias (B.A. 2008, Economics) – former defender for the Austin Aztex of the USL Professional Division
David Baker (B.A. 1975) – commissioner of the Arena Football League, 1996 to present
Carl Cheffers – National Football League and Super Bowl LI referee
Shane del Rosario (B.A. Psychology) – professional mixed martial artist
Darren Fells (B.A. Sociology) – tight end for the Arizona Cardinals. Played basketball at UCI and professionally in Europe and Latin America.
Joe Lacob (B.S. Biological Sciences) – owner of NBA's Golden State Warriors
Arnnon Geshuri – corporate human relations executive
Wright Massey (M.B.A. 1992) – CEO of Brand Architecture, Inc.
Betsy McLaughlin (B.A.) – CEO of Hot Topic, Inc.
Leon J. LaPorte (M.B.A. 1977) – retired United States Army General who served as Commander, United States Forces Korea until 2006
Generosa Ammon (B.A. 1981) – widow of Ted Ammon
Khaldoun Baghdadi (B.A.) – prominent Palestinian-American attorney
Sara Diamond (B.A. 1980) – prominent sociologist
David J.R. Frakt (B.A. 1990, History) – lawyer, law professor, noted for his appointment to defend Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Jawad
Erin Gruwell (B.A. 1991) – high school teacher whose real-life story inspired the movie Freedom Writers
Michael Ramirez (B.S. 1984) – 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in the Memphis Commercial Appeal; senior editor for Investor's Business Daily
Lisa Marie Scott (attended) – Playboy centerfold, February 1995
Politics and government
Ami Bera (B.S. 1987, Biological Sciences & M.D. 1991) – United States Congressman representing California's 7th Congressional District
Tim Donnelly (B.A. 1989) – California State Assemblyman representing the 59th assembly district
Jeremy Harris (M.S. Environmental Biology) – former mayor of Honolulu
Mark Keam (B.A. 1988, Political Science) – member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 35th district
Bill Leonard (B.A. 1969, History) – former California State Senator
Linda Newell (B.A.) – Colorado State Senator representing the 26th District
Janet Nguyen (B.A. 1998, Political Science) – member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, first Vietnamese-American to hold county office in the United States
Michael A. Rice (PhD 1987, Comparative Psychology) – Rhode Island State Representative representing the 35th District
Jose Solorio (B.S. 1992, Social Ecology) – California State Assemblyman, prior Councilmember of Ward 1 – City of Santa Ana
Audra Strickland (B.A. 1996, Political Science) – California State Assemblywoman representing the 37th assembly district
Van Tran (B.A. 1990, Political Science) – California State Assemblyman, first Vietnamese-American state legislator in the United States
Science and technology
Paul Chien (PhD 1971) – biologist known for research on the physiology and ecology of intertidal organisms
Charles Falco (PhD 1974) – experimental physicist whose research resulted in the Hockney-Falco Thesis
Roy Fielding (PhD 2000) – Internet pioneer, creator of HTTP 1.1, co-founder of Apache Foundation
Bart Kosko (PhD 1987) – hybrid intelligent system expert
Lawrence L. Larmore (PhD 1986) – online algorithms researcher, faculty member at UC Riverside and UNLV
James D. McCaffrey (B.A. 1975) – software engineer and author; see combinatorial number system and factorial number system
Paul Mockapetris (PhD 1982, Computer Science) – Internet pioneer, co-inventor of the Domain Name System
Kathie L. Olsen (PhD 1979, Neuroscience) – chief operating officer of the National Science Foundation
Andrew P. Ordon (B.S. 1972) – plastic surgeon, host of The Doctors
Jim Whitehead, (PhD 2000) – originator of WebDAV, UCSC professor
Faculty who were also alumni are listed in bold font, with degree and year in parentheses.
Francisco J. Ayala – 2001 National Medal of Science, 2010 Templeton Prize, Founding Director of the Bren Fellows Program, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and of Philosophy
Pierre Baldi – Chancellor's Professor of Computer Science and director of the Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics
Gregory Benford – physicist, science fiction author of the Galactic Center Saga
George W. Brown – Information scientist and dean of the business school
Leo Chavez – anthropologist and author
Erwin Chemerinsky – founding dean of the UCI School of Law, lawyer, law professor, and United States constitutional law and civil procedure scholar
Robert Cohen – acting teacher and author
Rui de Figueiredo – Research Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Mathematics
Jacques Derrida (1986 – 2004 [his death]) – philosopher
Paul Dourish – Professor of Informatics
Nikil Dutt – Chancellor's Professor of Computer Science
David Eppstein – Professor of Computer Science
Walter M. Fitch – Professor of Molecular Evolution
Michael Franz – Chancellor's Professor of Computer Science
Matthew Foreman – Professor of Mathematics
Robert Garfias – musicologist, awarded the Order of the Rising Sun
Amy Gerstler – poet, Professor of English, winner of National Book Critics Circle Award
Michael T. Goodrich – Chancellor's Professor of Computer Science
Louis A. Gottschalk – neuroscientist, Professor Emeritus
James D. Herbert – professor and chair of the Art History department
Dan Hirschberg – Professor of Computer Science
Hamid Jafarkhani – Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Ramesh Jain – Bren Professor of Computer Science
Valerie Jenness – Professor of Criminology, Law & Society, Sociology, and Nursing Science
Murray Krieger – literary critic and theorist
Elizabeth Loftus – psychologist, Distinguished Professor in the School of Social Ecology
R. Duncan Luce – cognitive psychologist, 2003 National Medal of Science, Distinguished Research Professor of Cognitive Science
George Marcus – Chancellor's Professor of Anthropology
James McGaugh – Research Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior, founding Director of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Donald McKayle – choreographer
Penelope Maddy – Distinguished Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science and Mathematics, famous for her work in philosophy of mathematics
David B. Malament – Distinguished Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science, best known for his work in the philosophy of physics.
J. Hillis Miller – literary critic
Peter Navarro-Professor of business, incoming director of the National Trade Council
Bonnie Nardi – Professor of Informatics
David Neumark – Professor of Economics, expert on labor economics
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o – author of A Grain of Wheat, Distinguished Professor in the School of Humanities and director of the International Center for Writing and Translation
Richard E. Pattis – author of the Karel programming language
Curt Pringle – mayor of Anaheim, former speaker of the California State Assembly
R. Radhakrishnan – Chancellor's Professor of English and Comparative Literature
Frederick Reines (faculty 1966–1998, deceased) – Nobel laureate, Physics 1995
Irwin Rose – Nobel laureate (Chemistry 2004)
F. Sherwood Rowland – Nobel laureate (Chemistry 1995), Research Professor in Chemistry and Earth System Science
Donald G. Saari – Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Economics
Dr. William Sears – Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, author of the Sears Parenting Library
Patricia Seed – Professor of History
Barry Siegel – Pulitzer Prize winner
Brian Skyrms – philosophy of science expert, Distinguished Professor of social science
David A. Snow – Distinguished Professor of Sociology
Henry W. Sobel – Professor of Physics and Astronomy, winner of the Pontecorvo Prize 2009, Asahi Prize in Physics (shared) 1999
Etel L. Solingen – Tierney Chair, Professor of Political Science, former President of the International Studies Association, 2012–2013, author of award-winning Nuclear Logics
George Sperling – cognitive psychologist, Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science
Grover C. Stephens (faculty 1964–2003, deceased) – Professor and dean of Biological Sciences
Lee Swindlehurst – Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Rein Taagepera (until 1991) – Estonian politician and political scientist
Edward O. Thorp – author (Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One), professor of mathematics
Martin Wattenberg – political scientist
Douglas R. White – social anthropologist and network sociologist, author of Network Analysis and Ethnographic Problems
Jon Wiener - historian
Geoffrey Wolff – co-director of nationally acclaimed creative writing program
Staff and administrators
Daniel Aldrich - founding chancellor
Ralph J. Cicerone – fourth chancellor, former president of the National Academy of Sciences
Larry Coon – basketball writer
Michael V. Drake - fifth chancellor, president of Ohio State University
Jack Peltason - second chancellor, former president of the University of California
Tom Jennings – creator of FidoNet
