List of University of California, San Diego people

Art and architecture

Micha Cárdenas, MFA (Visual Arts), 2009. Contemporary artist.

Moyra Davey, MFA (Photography), 1988. Contemporary artist.

Micol Hebron, Visual Arts, 1990-1992. Contemporary artist.

Hung Liu, MFA (Visual Arts), 1986. Contemporary artist.

Elle Mehrmand, MFA (Visual Arts), 2011. Contemporary artist.

Dan Santat, BS (Microbiology), 1998. Author and illustrator, winner of 2015 Caldecott Medal.

Athletics

Geoff Abrams, MD (Medicine), 2006. Tennis player.

Mark Allen, BS (Biology), 1980. Six-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion, inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame; named the world’s fittest man by Outside magazine.

Billy Beane, BA (Economics), 1985. General Manager of the Oakland Athletics.

Randy Bennett, BS (Biology), 1986. Saint Mary's College of California men's basketball head coach.

Alon Leichman, BS (history), 2016, member of the Israel national baseball team and pitching coach for Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox.

Shlomo Lipetz (born 1979), Israeli baseball player

Jie Li, BA (Political Science), 2006. Winner of the US ING Cup, Open, Costen, Texas Open and many other championships.

Bob Natal, BS (Computer Science), 1987. MLB Catcher, Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins National League.

Julie Swail, BA (Economics), 1995. Olympian (women’s water polo); UC Irvine head coach.

Business

Garrett Gruener, BA (Computer Science), 1976. Co-founder of Ask Jeeves.

Jasper Kim, BA (Economics and Third World Studies), 1994. CEO of Asia-Pacific Global Research Group.

Greg Papadopoulos, BA (Systems Science), 1979. Executive VP and CTA of Sun Microsystems.

Robert J. Pera, MS (Electrical Engineering), 2002. Founder of Ubiquiti Networks Owner of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Michael Robertson, BS (Cognitive Science), 1989. Founder of MP3.com, Lindows.com, and SIPphone.

Philip Rosedale, BS (Physics), 1992. Founder and CEO of Linden Lab. Creator of virtual 3D world Second Life.

Jason Snell, BA (Communications), 1992. Editorial director of Mac Publishing and editor of Macworld.

Nick Woodman, BA (Visual Arts), 1997. Founder and CEO of GoPro.

Computer science

Bill Atkinson, BS (Chemistry), 1974. Co-developer of the Macintosh computer.

Steve Hart, MA (Mathematics), 1980. Co-founder and vice president of engineering for ViaSat; recognized for excellence and growth by Forbes Inc. and BusinessWeek.

David E. Shaw, BS (Mathematics), 1972. Founder of D. E. Shaw & Co.

Guy “Bud” Tribble, BS (Physics), 1975. Principal architect of the original Macintosh computer and co-founder of NeXt, Inc.

Film, theatre, and television

Yareli Arizmendi, MFA (Acting), 1992. Actor in Like Water for Chocolate.

James Avery, BA (Theatre), 1976. Stage, screen and television actor who co-starred with Will Smith on the TV show Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Rachel Axler, MFA (Playwriting), 2004. Emmy Award-winning writer for The Daily Show and Parks and Recreation.

David Barrera, MFA (Acting), 1994. ALMA Award-nominated actor for 24.

Hart Bochner, BA (Theatre), 1979. Film actor notably of Breaking Away.

Danny Burstein, MFA (Acting), 1990. Six-time Tony Award-nominated actor, Grammy Award nominee for Follies.

Ricardo Chavira, MFA (Acting), 2000. Actor, notably of Desperate Housewives.

Lawrence Cole Ph.D Ed. (Acting), 1965-2016 notably of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0170651/

Steve Cosson, MFA (Directing), 2001. Obie Award-winning artistic director of The Civilians.

Benicio del Toro, did not graduate. Actor, notably of Traffic.

Emily Donahoe, MFA (Acting), 2004. Obie and Helen Hayes award winning actor.

Maria Dizzia, MFA (Acting), 2001. Tony Award nominee In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play).

Johnny Ray Gill, MFA (Acting), 2010. Series regular on Underground and BrainDead.

Michael Greif, MFA (Directing), 1985. Director of Rent and former artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse. Three-time Tony Award nominee.

Naomi Iizuka, MFA (Playwriting), 1992.

Chane't Johnson, MFA (Acting), 2001. Television and film actor; coach for Denzel Whitaker.

Mike Judge, BS (Physics), 1985. Animator/Director best known for Beavis and Butt-head, Office Space, King of the Hill, and Silicon Valley. Graduation speaker for the class of 2009.

Sagan Lewis, MFA (Acting), 1977. Series regular on St. Elsewhere.

Melanie Marnich MFA (Playwriting), 1998. Writer for Big Love, Jerome Fellowship from The Playwrights' Center.

Jefferson Mays, MFA (Acting), 1991. Tony Award winner, I Am My Own Wife.

Silas Weir Mitchell, MFA (Acting), 1995. Character actor and star of Grimm.

Joy Osmanski, MFA (Acting), 2003. Most notable credits include The Loop and Allen Gregory.

Neil Patel, MFA (Scenic Design), 1991. Broadway designer of Side Man, winner of Obie and Helen Hayes awards.

Jeanne Paulson, MFA (Acting), 1978. Tony Award nominee, The Kentucky Cycle.

Dileep Rao, BA (Theatre), 1995. Film actor in Avatar, Inception.

Caridad Svich, MFA (Playwriting), 1988. Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Milana Vayntrub, BA (Communication), 2008. Actress, comedian, and writer.

Kellie Waymire, MFA (Acting), 1993. Best known for Star Trek: Enterprise and roles on Six Feet Under, and One Life to Live. Also a prolific regional theatre actress.

Wong Fu Productions filmmaking trio: Wesley Chan, Ted Fu and Philip Wang, BA (Cinematography), 2006.

Jimmy O. Yang, BS (Management Science), 2009. Actor and stand-up comedian, best known for Silicon Valley and Patriots Day.

Paloma Young, MFA (Costume Design), 2006. Tony Award winner, Peter and the Starcatcher

Journalism

Mona Kosar Abdi, BA (International Studies), 2011. Multimedia journalist with WSET ABC 13, the Al Jazeera Media Network.

Law and politics

Steve Peace, BA (Political Science), 1976. California State Senator, 40th Senate District, chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, California Journal of Legislator of the Year 2000; and producer of the 1970s cult film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

Timothy J. Roemer, BA (Government), 1979. Former Indiana Congressman and current president of the Center for National Policy.

John Shoven, BA (Physics), 1969. Hoover Institute senior fellow.

Tres Watson BA (History), 2006. MBA, (Entrepreneurial) 2015. Same-sex marriage activist.

Literature

Debito Arudou, MA (International Affairs), 1990. Author and activist.

Greg Benford, Ph.D (Astrophysics), 1967. Nebula Award Winner

David Brin, MS (Applied Physics), 1978; Ph.D (Space Science), 1981. Nebula and Hugo Award Winner; science fiction author, notably of Uplift; physicist.

Robert Todd Carroll, Ph.D (Philosophy), 1974. Publisher of The Skeptic's Dictionary and fellow for Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

Angela Davis, MA (Philosophy), 1969. Radical activist and philosopher.

Raymond E. Feist, BA (Communications), 1997. Author.

Nancy Holder, BA (Communications), 1976. Bram Stoker Award winner.

Khaled Hosseini, MD (Medicine), 1993. Afghan-American novelist and physician; his 2003 debut novel, The Kite Runner, was a #1 New York Times bestseller.

Aaron Krach, BA (Visual Arts), 1994. Writer.

Virgil Nemoianu, Ph.D (Literature), 1971. Essayist, literary critic, philosopher of culture.

Rex Pickett, BA (Literature and Visual Arts), 1976. Author of Sideways.

Kim Stanley Robinson, BA (Literature), 1974; Ph.D (Literature), 1982. Two-time Nebula and Hugo Award winner

Alan Russell, BA (English and American Literature), 1978. Lefty Award winner and bestselling crime fiction author.

Vernor Vinge, Ph.D (Mathematics), 1971. Hugo Award winner Science fiction author, computer scientist, and mathematician.

Music and entertainment

Anthony Neely, BS (Psychology and Theatre), 2008. American Mandopop Singer .

Mark Applebaum, Ph.D (Composition), 1996. Composer and Professor of Music at Stanford University.

Milo Aukerman, Ph.D (Biology), 1992. Lead singer of punk rock band Descendents.

Chad Butler, BA (History of Science), 1997. Drummer of the rock band Switchfoot.

Chaya Czernowin, Ph.D (Composition), 1993. Composer and Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music at Harvard University.

Steven Dehler, BA (Economics), 2010. Model, actor, and dancer.

Paul Dresher, MA (Composition), 1976. Composer, guitarist, and improviser.

Nathan East, BA (Music), 1978. Bass guitarist.

David Felder, Ph.D (Composition), 1983. Composer and SUNY Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo.

Jon Foreman, did not graduate. Guitarist of rock band Switchfoot.

Tim Foreman, did not graduate. Bassist of rock band Switchfoot.

Trevor Grahl, MA (Composition), 2009. Composer.

Maria Ho, BA (Communications), 2005. Professional poker player.

David Evan Jones, Ph.D (Composition). Composer, Professor of Music, and Porter College Provost at UC Santa Cruz.

Kelly Kim, 1998. Professional poker player.

Paul Phillips, BS (Computer Science), 1996. Professional poker player.

John Warthen Struble, MA (Composition), 1976. Composer, pianist, and author of The History of American Classical Music.

Public service

George Blumenthal, Ph.D (Physics), 1972. Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Kurt M. Campbell, BA (Special Project Major), 1980. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Dana Shell Smith, BA (Political Science), 1992. United States Ambassador to Qatar, 2014-present.

Science, technology, medicine, and mathematics

Margaret Allen, MD (Medicine), 1974. First female heart transplant surgeon.

Gregory Benford, MS (Physics), 1965; Ph.D (Physics), 1967. Science fiction author and physicist; also on the faculty of University of California, Irvine.

Bruce Beutler, BS (Biology), 1976. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

JC Buller, M.D. (Medicine), 1997. Associate Dean of Clinical Education, Touro University California COM. Physician, Photographer, Author of "Tableau and Enigma"

Chu Ching-wu, Ph.D (Physics), 1990. US News and World Report's Researcher of the Year.

Brian Druker, BS (Chemistry), 1977; MD (Medicine), 1981. Oncologist/chief investigator who developed a new drug for leukemia treatment.

David Goeddel, BS (Chemistry), 1972. First full-time scientist and director of Genentech’s molecular biology department; co-founder, president and CEO of Tularik, Inc.

Gerald Joyce, Ph.D (Biology) 1984. Researcher, Scripps Institute.

Antony Garrett Lisi, Ph.D (Physics), 1999.

M. Brian Maple, Ph.D (Physics), 1969. David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics.

Eleanor Mariano, BS (Biology), 1977. Former director, White House Medical Unit; First Filipino American to reach the rank of Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy.

Walter Munk, Ph.D (Oceanography), 1947. Oceanographer.

George Perry, Ph.D (Marine Biology), 1979. Leading researcher in Alzheimer's disease.

Jed E. Rose, Ph.D (Neurosciences), 1978. Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Co-Inventor of the nicotine patch, President and CEO of the Rose Research Center.

Maurizio Seracini, BS (Bioengineering), 1973. Founded the Editech srl, Diagnostic Center for Cultural Heritage in Florence.

Edward Tobinick, MD (Medicine), 1974. Patented a use of subcutaneous TNF-α to treat intractable back pain.

Susumu Tonegawa, Ph.D, (Molecular Biology), 1968. Nobel Prize recipient for physiology or medicine for his work on antibody diversity.

Craig Venter, BA (Biochemistry), 1972; PhD (Pharmacology), 1975. President of Celera Genomics, the first private firm to decode the human genome.

Elliot McVeigh, Ph.D (Medical Biophysics), 1988. Director of Cardiovascular Imaging Lab, Researcher at Cardiovascular Imaging Lab and Faculty, Office of the Dean of Engineering

Distinguished faculty

Hannes Alfven – father of modern magnetohydrodynamics, eponym of Alfven waves, Nobel laureate in Physics 1970

David Antin – Visual Arts

Eleanor Antin – Professor Emeritus of Visual Arts

Percival Bazeley – member of the Salk Polio vaccine team

Douglas Glynn Bolitho - breast cancer advocate

Kenneth Bowles – UCSD Pascal

Benjamin H. Bratton - Professor of Visual Arts

Sydney Brenner – Nobel laureate in Medicine (2002)

Sheldon Brown – Director of Experimental Game Lab, Co-Director of Center for Research in Computing and the Arts, and Professor of Visual Arts

Keith Brueckner – theoretical physicist, National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member, and a founder of the UCSD Department of Physics

Geoffrey R. Burbidge – professor known mostly for his alternative cosmology theory, which contradicts the Big Bang theory

Margaret Burbidge – first to study and identify quasars; Carnegie fellowship winner (1947)

Craig Callender – philosopher of science

Micha Cárdenas – artist, theorist, Lecturer of Visual Arts and Critical Gender Studies, Collective Member of Lui Velazquez

Lin Chao – Professor of Biology

Shu Chien – bioengineering pioneer, National Medal of Science laureate

Patricia Churchland – neurophilosopher

Paul Churchland – philosopher of mind and philosopher of science

Harold Cohen – English-born artist, creator of AARON

Francis Crick – Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine (1962)

Paul Crutzen – Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1995)

Charles Curtis – avant-garde cellist

Chaya Czernowin – Israeli composer, former professor of composition

Anthony Davis – opera composer, jazz pianist

Diana Deutsch – Professor of Psychology, known for her research on the psychology of music

Bram Dijkstra – Professor of English Literature (1966–2000)

Russell Doolittle – Professor of Chemistry, known for research on molecular evolution

Mark Dresser – double bass player and improviser

Renato Dulbecco – Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine (1975)

Jeffrey Elman – psycholinguist and pioneer in the field of neural networks

Robert F. Engle – Nobel laureate in Economics (2003)

Robert Erickson – composer

Ronald M. Evans – discovered steroid and nuclear receptors; Lasker Award winner

Manny Farber – film critic and painter

Gilles Fauconnier – inventor of the modern-day theory of conceptual blending

George Feher – Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2006/7), National Academy of Sciences member, biophysicist

Brian Ferneyhough – composer, founder of New Complexity movement

David Noel Freedman – general editor of the Anchor Bible

Y.C. Fung – considered the father of bioengineering

Fred Gage – neuroscientist and stem cell biologist; discovered human adult neural stem cells

Clark Gibson - expert on African politics and electoral fraud

Maria Goeppert-Mayer – Nobel laureate in Physics

Joseph Goguen – Professor of Computer Science and Engineering

Adele Goldberg – Associate Professor of Linguistics (1997–1998)

Marvin Leonard Goldberger – theoretical physicist, National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member, former Dean of Natural Sciences, and former president of Caltech

Lawrence S.B. Goldstein – first to characterize kinesin molecular motors; head of UCSD stem cell research program

Jean-Pierre Gorin – film director, Visual Arts (since 1975)

Fan Chung Graham – mathematician, Akamai Professor in Internet Mathematics

Ronald Graham – mathematician, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering

Clive W.J. Granger – 2003 Nobel laureate in Economics

Deborah Hertz – Herman Wouk Chair in Modern Jewish Studies

Gretchen Hofmann - professor of ecological physiology of marine organisms

Edwin Hutchins – developed distributed cognition and cognitive ethnography; Mac Arthur Foundation Award Winner (1985)

Harvey Itano – biochemist known for his work on the molecular basis of sickle cell anemia and other diseases

Gabriel Jackson – Fulbright historian, author, and former department chairman

Irwin M. Jacobs – Former professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Chairman of Qualcomm

Fredric Jameson – literary critic and Marxist political theorist

Chalmers Johnson – Professor Emeritus of History

David K Jordan – Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Provost of Warren College, Interim Provost of Sixth College, Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award 2008 recipient [1] [2]

Allan Kaprow – Professor Emeritus of Visual Arts

Harvey Karten - National Academy of Sciences member, neuroscientist

Charles David Keeling – first alerted the world to the anthropogenic contribution to the "greenhouse effect" and global warming; discoverer of the Keeling Curve

Walter Kohn – Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1998), Chair of the UCSD Physics Department (1960s), Kohn-Sham equations

Barbara Kruger – artist and Professor of Visual Arts

Ronald Langacker – creator of cognitive grammar, Professor of Linguistics

William Lerach – guest lecturer on securities and corporate law; a leading securities lawyer in the United States

George Lewis – Professor of Music, jazz trombone player, MacArthur Fellowship winner (2002)

Lei Liang – composer, winner of Rome Prize and Guggenheim Fellowship

Arend Lijphart – Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science; elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1989; President of the American Political Science Association from 1995 to 1996; recipient of the prestigious Johann Skytte Prize in Political Science in 1997

George Mandler – experimental psychology, founder of UCSD Department of Psychology

Jean Matter Mandler – cognitive development

Babette Mangolte – French cinematographer and Professor of Visual Arts

Lev Manovich – New Media theorist, Director of Software Studies Initiative and Professor of Visual Arts

M. Brian Maple – National Academy of Sciences member, physicist

Herbert Marcuse – philosopher, mentor to Angela Davis

Harry Markowitz – Nobel laureate in Economics (1990)

Andrew Mattison – co-author of The Male Couple, co-founder of the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research

Mathew D. McCubbins – professor of political science

Mario Molina – Nobel laureate in Chemistry

Eileen Myles – poet, Professor of Literature

Donald Norman – Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science and Psychology; co-founder and first chair of Cognitive Science; author of User Centered System Design; VP of Apple; National Academy of Engineering

Pauline Oliveros – composer, central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music

George Emil Palade – Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine (1974), Professor of Medicine in Residence and Dean for Scientific Affairs (Emeritus)

Linus Pauling - Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1954), Professor of Chemistry

Richard Popkin – Professor of Philosophy

Samuel Popkin – Professor of Political Science

Miller Puckette – Creator of Puredata Programming Language, Co-Director of Center for Research in Computing and the Arts

Vilayanur S. Ramachandran – neuroscience and psychology

Jef Raskin – Assistant Professor in Computer Science, founder of the Apple Macintosh project

Roger Revelle (1909–1991) – oceanographer, scholar, namesake of Roger Revelle College

Roger Reynolds – 1989 Pulitzer Prize in Music

Sally Ride – Professor of Physics, former astronaut

Marshall Rosenbluth – Professor of Physics, member of the National Academy of Sciences, developer of the Metropolis algorithm, "Pope of Plasma Physics"

Rosaura Sanchez - literature professor, author and literary critic

Herbert Schiller – Professor Emeritus of Communication (1970–2000)

Terry Sejnowski – Professor of Biological Sciences and Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Neurosciences, Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Computer Science and Engineering

Kartik Seshadri – Professor of Indian Classical Music

Lu Jeu Sham – National Academy of Sciences member, Kohn-Sham equations, physicist

Ravi Shankar – Indian musician, sitar player

Susan Shirk – Ho Miu Lam Endowed Chair of China and Pacific Relations; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State during the Clinton administration

Nicholas Spitzer - Distinguished Professor of Biology, National Academy of Sciences member

Larry Squire – Professor of Psychiatry, Neurosciences, and Psychology

John G. Stoessinger – political analyst; prize-winning author of ten leading books on world politics; guest lecturer in international relations; political science

Avrum Stroll – Professor of Philosophy

Harry Suhl – National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member

Leó Szilárd (1898–1964) – Hungarian physicist, Professor at the Salk Institute

Roger Tsien (1952–2016) – Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2008), Wolf Prize in Medicine

Chinary Ung – Grawemeyer Award-winning composer

Harold Urey – Nobel laureate in Chemistry

Benjamin Elazari Volcani, microbiologist; discovered life in the Dead Sea; pioneered biological silicon research

Joseph Wang – nanoengineer, ISI's World's Most Cited Engineer, ISI's World's Most Cited Chemist

Kenneth Watson – National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member

Herbert F. York (1921–2009) – Enrico Fermi Award (2000)

Efim Zelmanov – Fields Medal recipient, Professor of Mathematics

Bruno H. Zimm – National Academy of Sciences member, biophysicist