The list of

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

people includes notable

graduates Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

professors Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

and

administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

affiliated with the University of California, San Diego in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Notable alumni

Art and architecture

Micha Cárdenas Micha Cárdenas, stylized as micha cárdenas, is an American visual and performance artist who is an assistant professor of art and design, specializing in game studies and playable media, at the University of California Santa Cruz. Cárdenas is a ...

, MFA (Visual Arts), 2009. Contemporary artist. *

Moyra Davey Moyra Davey (born 1958) is an artist based in New York City. Davey works across photography, video, and writing. Early life Moyra Davey was born in 1958 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She grew up in Montreal, where she studied photography and r ...

, MFA (Photography), 1988. Contemporary artist. *

Micol Hebron Micol Hebron (born July 23, 1972) is an American interdisciplinary artist, curator, and associate professor at Chapman University, located in Southern California. Hebron critically examines and employs modes of feminist activism in art. Early lif ...

, did not graduate. Contemporary artist. *

Hung Liu Hung Liu (劉虹) (17 February 1948 – 7 August 2021) was a Chinese Americans, Chinese-born American contemporary artist. She was predominantly a painter, but also worked with mixed-media and site-specific installation and was also one of the f ...

, MFA (Visual Arts), 1986. Contemporary artist. *

Elle Mehrmand Elle Mehrmand is a new media performance artist and musician. Mehrmand's work combines the body and electronics. Her performance art work has been presented at museums, galleries and art festivals throughout the Americas. She is a member of the ba ...

, MFA (Visual Arts), 2011. Contemporary artist. * Margaret Noble, BA (Philosophy), 2002.

Conceptual artist Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called instal ...

and

sound artist Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in hybrid forms. According to Brandon LaBelle, sound art ...

. *

Dan Santat Dan Santat (born 1975) is an American author and illustrator known for his children's book '' The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend'', which won the 2015 Caldecott Medal for distinguished illustration. He also wrote ''The Guild of Ge ...

, BS (Microbiology), 1998. Author and illustrator, winner of 2015

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

Athletics

Geoff Abrams Geoff Abrams (born May 10, 1978) is an American former tennis player. Abrams was ranked # 1 in the U.S. in the Boys 14s singles in 1992. In 1994, he finished the year ranked # 1 in doubles in the USTA Boys' 16 rankings with Michael Russell. T ...

, MD (Medicine), 2006. Tennis player. *

Mark Allen Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

, BS (Biology), 1980. Six-time

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consider ...

World Champion, inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame; named the world’s fittest man by ''

Outside Outside or Outsides may refer to: General * Wilderness * Outside (Alaska), any non-Alaska location, as referred to by Alaskans Books and magazines * ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras * ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine Film, th ...

'' magazine. *

Billy Beane William Lamar Beane III (born March 29, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and current front office executive. He is the executive vice president of baseball operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics of Majo ...

, BA (Economics), 1985. General Manager of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. *

Randy Bennett Randall William Bennett (born June 9, 1962) is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Saint Mary's College of California. He led the team to several second-place finishes and seven NCAA tournament ap ...

, BS (Biology), 1986.

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...

men's basketball head coach. *

Alon Leichman Alon Leichman ( he, אלון ליישמן; born May 29, 1989) is an Israeli assistant pitching coach of the Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball. He also pitches and coaches for Team Israel. Leichman was formerly the pitching coach of the ...

, BS (History), 2016. Olympian, member of the

Israel national baseball team The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...

, and assistant pitching coach for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

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

Shlomo Lipetz Shlomo Lipetz ( he, שלמה ליפץ; born February 11, 1979) is an Israeli baseball player who pitches for Team Israel. He is also Vice President of Programming and music director at City Winery in New York City. He was on the Israel nationa ...

, BA (International Relations), 2005. Israeli baseball player. * Bob Natal, BS (Computer Science), 1987. MLB Catcher, Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. *

Mike Saipe Michael Eric Saipe (born September 10, 1973) is an American former professional baseball player. Saipe played for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 1998 season. In two games, Saipe had a 0–1 record with a 10.80 ERA. ...

, Major League Baseball pitcher * Julie Swail, BA (Economics), 1995.

Olympian Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

(women’s water polo);

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** '' University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the ti ...

head coach.

Business

Garrett Gruener Garrett Gruener is an American venture capitalist, most known as the founder of Ask.com and a co-founder of Alta Partners. He was also a candidate for the 2003 California recall special election from the Democratic Party, finishing 28th in a field ...

, BS (Political Science), 1976. Co-founder of

Ask Jeeves Ask.com (originally known as Ask Jeeves) is a question answering–focused e-business founded in 1996 by Garrett Gruener and David Warthen in Berkeley, California. The original software was implemented by Gary Chevsky, from his own design. Warth ...

. *

Gary E. Jacobs Gary E. Jacobs (born 1957) is an American businessman, founder of the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High Charter School, and owner of the Lake Elsinore Storm. He is the father of U.S. Representative Sara Jacobs. Biography Jacobs was born t ...

, BA (Management Science), 1979. Businessman and minority owner of the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. *

Jasper Kim Jasper Kim is an Lawyer, attorney, professor, author, media contributor, professor, and expert in international business law, negotiation strategy (technology, culture and ethics), and contemporary East–West issues and trends from a socio-econom ...

, BA (Economics and Third World Studies), 1994. CEO of Asia-Pacific Global Research Group. *Brandon Nixon, BS (Computer Science and Engineering), 1987. Chairman and CEO of

Lytx Lytx is a San Diego, California based technology company that designs, manufactures and sells video telematics products used by commercial and public-sector fleets to help improve driver safety and business productivity. Products include risk det ...

. *

Greg Papadopoulos Gregory Michael Papadopoulos (born 1958) is an American engineer, computer scientist, executive, and venture capitalist. He is the creator and lead proponent for Redshift, a theory on whether technology markets are over or under-served by Moore's ...

, BA (Systems Science), 1979. Executive VP and CTA of

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...

. *

Robert J. Pera Robert J. Pera (born March 10, 1978) is the founder of Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. a global communications technology company that Pera took public in 2011. In October 2012, Pera also became the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketba ...

, MS (Electrical Engineering), 2002. Founder of

Ubiquiti Networks Ubiquiti Inc. (formerly Ubiquiti Networks, Inc.) is an American technology company founded in San Jose, California, in 2003. Now based in New York City, Ubiquiti manufactures and sells wireless data communication and wired products for enterpris ...

Owner of the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

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

Philip Rosedale Philip Rosedale (born September 29, 1968) is an American entrepreneur who founded Linden Lab, which develops and hosts the virtual world ''Second Life''. Biography Early life Rosedale was born in San Diego, California, in 1968. He took an inter ...

, BS (Physics), 1992. Founder and CEO of

Linden Lab Linden Research, Inc., doing business as Linden Lab, is an American technology company that is best known as the creator of ''Second Life''. The company's head office is in San Francisco, with additional offices in Boston, Seattle, Virginia an ...

. Creator of virtual 3D world

Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fra ...

. * Jason Snell, BA (Communications), 1992. Editorial director of ''

Mac Publishing ''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macint ...

'' and editor of ''

Macworld ''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macint ...

''. *

Nick Woodman Nicholas D. Woodman (born June 24, 1975) is an American businessman, and the founder and CEO of GoPro. Early life and education Woodman is the son of Concepcion (née Socarras) and Dean Woodman.GoPro GoPro, Inc. (marketed as GoPro and sometimes stylized as GoPRO) is an American technology company founded in 2002 by Nick Woodman. It manufactures action cameras and develops its own mobile apps and video-editing software. Founded as Woodman La ...

. *Franklin Antonio, BS (Physics), 1976. Cofounder of

Qualcomm Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...

Computer science

Bill Atkinson Bill Atkinson (born March 17, 1951) is an American computer engineer and photographer. Atkinson worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990. Atkinson was the principal designer and developer of the graphical user interface (GUI) of the Apple ...

, BS (Chemistry), 1974. Co-developer of the

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

computer. *

Ryan Dahl Ryan Dahl (born 1981) is an American software engineer who is best known for creating the Node.js JavaScript runtime as well as the Deno JavaScript/TypeScript runtime. Biography Dahl grew up in San Diego, California. His mother bought him an ...

, BS (Mathematics), 2003. Inventor and original author of

Node.js Node.js is an open-source server environment. Node.js is cross-platform and runs on Windows, Linux, Unix, and macOS. Node.js is a back-end JavaScript runtime environment. Node.js runs on the V8 JavaScript Engine and executes JavaScript code ou ...

. *Steve Hart, MA (Mathematics), 1980. Co-founder and vice president of engineering for

Viasat Viasat may refer to: *Viasat (American company) (founded 1986) * Viasat (Nordic television service) (founded 1991) * Danish 1st Division, officially Viasat Divisionen, second-highest football league in Denmark * Viasat Cup, 2006 Danish football to ...

; recognized for excellence and growth by ''

Forbes Inc. ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' and ''

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

.'' *

David E. Shaw David Elliot Shaw (born March 29, 1951) is an American billionaire scientist and former hedge fund manager. He founded D. E. Shaw & Co., a hedge fund company which was once described by '' Fortune'' magazine as "the most intriguing and mysterio ...

, BS (Mathematics), 1972. Founder of D. E. Shaw & Co. * Guy “Bud” Tribble, BS (Physics), 1975. Principal architect of the original

Macintosh computer The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...

and co-founder of NeXt, Inc. *Taner Halicioglu, BS (Computer Science and Engineering), 1996. First real employee of

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. *Edward Wu, BS (Computer Science and Engineering), 2004, Lead Engineer of Pokemon Go and Director of Software Engineering at

Niantic Niantic may refer to: * Niantic people, tribe of American Indians * Niantic, Inc., mobile app developer known for the mobile games ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go'' Ships * ''Niantic'' (whaling vessel), relic of San Francisco Gold Rush *USS ''Nian ...

Film, theatre, and television

Ngozi Anyanwu Ngozi Jane Anyanwu is a playwright and actress. Life and education Anyanwu was born in Nigeria. She earned her BA from Point Park University and her MFA in Acting from University of California San Diego. She is an alumnus of an Old Vic New Vo ...

, MFA (Acting), 2013. Television actor and Humanitas Award-winning playwright. *

Yareli Arizmendi Yareli Arizmendi (1964) is a Mexican actress, writer, and director. Born in Mexico City, Arizmendi went to high school in Kansas (Academy of Mt. St. Scholastica), then received a BA in Political Science and her MFA in Theatre from the graduate act ...

, MFA (Acting), 1992. Actor in '' Like Water for Chocolate''. *

James Avery James La Rue Avery (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Philip Banks in ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Shredder in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Judge Michael Conover on ''L. ...

, BA (Theatre), 1976. Stage, screen and television actor who co-starred with

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

on the TV show ''

Fresh Prince of Bel Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

''. *

Rachel Axler Rachel Axler is an American screenwriter and playwright. In television, her credits include ''Childrens Hospital'', '' How I Met Your Mother'', ''The Goodwin Games'', ''New Girl'', '' Bored to Death'', '' Parks and Recreation'', ''Veep'', and ''T ...

, MFA (Playwriting), 2004.

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning writer for ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' and ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

''. *

David Barrera David Joel Barrera (born December 28, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Gunnery Sgt. Ray 'Casey Kasem' Griego in ''Generation Kill''. He has appeared in television series including ''Grimm'', ''Heroes'', ''CSI: Miami'', ...

, MFA (Acting), 1994.

ALMA Award The American Latino Media Arts Award or ALMA Award, formerly known as Latin Oscars Award, is an award highlighting the best Hispanic and Latino Americans, American Latino contributions to music, television, and film. The awards promote fair and ...

-nominated actor for '' 24''. *

Marsha Stephanie Blake Marsha Stephanie Blake (born May 1974) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Linda McCray in the Netflix miniseries ''When They See Us'', for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actr ...

, MFA (Acting), 2001.

-nominated actor for ''

When They See Us ''When They See Us'' is a 2019 American crime drama television miniseries created, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay for Netflix, that premiered in four parts on May 31, 2019. It is based on events of the 1989 Central Park jogger case a ...

''. *

Hart Bochner Hart Matthew Bochner (born October 3, 1956) is a Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He has appeared in films such as ''Breaking Away'' (1979), '' Terror Train'' (1980), '' Rich and Famous'' (1981), '' The Wild Life'' (1984) ...

, BA (Theatre), 1979. Film actor notably of ''

Breaking Away ''Breaking Away'' is a 1979 American coming of age comedy-drama film produced and directed by Peter Yates and written by Steve Tesich. It follows a group of four male teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana, who have recently graduated from high sc ...

''. *

Robert Buckley Robert Earl Buckley (born May 2, 1981) is an American actor, known for his roles as Major Lillywhite on The CW's comedy-drama series '' iZombie'' from 2015 until 2019, Kirby Atwood on NBC's comedy-drama series '' Lipstick Jungle'' and Clay Evans ...

, BS (Economics), 2003. Actor, best known for ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

''. *

Danny Burstein Danny Burstein (born June 16, 1964) is an American actor and singer, most known for his work on the Broadway stage. A seven-time Tony Award nominee, Burstein won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Har ...

, MFA (Acting), 1990.

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-winning actor, three-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominee. *

Zoë Chao Zoë Carroll Chao (born September 19, 1985) is an American television and stage actress and screenwriter, principally known for her role as Isobel in ''Strangers'', and Zoe in '' The Afterparty''. Early life Chao was born in Providence, Rhode I ...

, MFA (Acting), 2011. Actress and star of several televisions shows and films. *

Ricardo Chavira Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Carlos Solis in the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012). He also played Abraham Quintanilla in the Netflix original se ...

, MFA (Acting), 2000. Actor, notably of ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

''. *

Charlet Chung Chihye "Charlet" Takahashi Chung (born February 16, 1983) is an American actress who is best known for her works in voice acting, as well as for her various roles throughout film and television. She voices the fictional character D.Va in the mult ...

, BA (Communications), 2006. Voice Actor, notably of ''

Overwatch ''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: ''Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games fea ...

''. *

Steve Cosson Steven Cosson (born August 1968)Tallmer, Jerry"A jewel in the lost and found department,"iVillager (July 12, 2007). is a writer and director specializing in the creation of new theater work inspired by real life. He is the founding Artistic Direc ...

, MFA (Directing), 2001.

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

-winning artistic director of

The Civilians The Civilians is an investigative theatre company in New York City founded in 2001 by Artistic Director, Steve Cosson. The Civilians artists pursue their inquiries using interviews, community residencies, research, and other methods. Working with ...

. *

Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen A ...

, did not graduate. Actor, notably of ''

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

''. *

Emily Donahoe Emily Donahoe is an American actress, writer and producer. Education Donahoe earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego Career She won a Helen Hayes Award in ...

, MFA (Acting), 2004.

Obie The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

and

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

award-winning actor. *

Maria Dizzia Maria Teresa Dizzia (born December 29, 1974) is an American actress. Dizzia was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in ''In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)''. Early life ...

, MFA (Acting), 2001.

nominee ''

In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) ''In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)'' is a 2009 play by Sarah Ruhl, published by Samuel French. It concerns the early history of the vibrator, when doctors allegedly used it as a clinical device to bring women to orgasm as treatment for " ...

''. *

Johnny Ray Gill Johnny Ray Gill (born 1984) is an American stage and screen actor. Early life Gill grew up in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Jefferson High School in 2002. He attended the University of Southern California for one year before transferring ...

, MFA (Acting), 2010. Series regular on ''

Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

'' and ''

BrainDead ''BrainDead'' is an American political satire science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Robert and Michelle King. The series stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Laurel Healy, a documentary film-maker who takes a job working for he ...

''. *

Michael Greif Michael Greif (born ca. 1959 in Brooklyn, New YorkWelsh, Anne Marie, "New York and family call Michael Greif home", ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', October 10, 1999, p.E-1) is an American stage director. He has won three Obie Award, Obie Awards a ...

, MFA (Directing), 1985. Director of ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'' and former artistic director of

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

. Three-time

nominee. *

Matt Hoverman Matt Hoverman is an American actor and playwright based in Los Angeles. He writes witty comedies for television (Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program), the theatre (FringeNYC Award for Outstanding Playwriting) and f ...

, MFA (Acting), 1996.

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

-winning writer. *

Zora Howard Zora Howard is an American actress and writer. She is best known for co-writing and starring in the 2019 drama ''Premature''. Her debut play, ''STEW'', premiered off-Broadway in February 2020 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. ...

, MFA (Acting), 2017.

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

finalist for ''STEW''. * Daniel Humbarger, BA. Stand-up comedian. *

Naomi Iizuka Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (bo ...

, MFA (Playwriting), 1992. Author of over two dozen plays including ''

Language of Angels '' Language of Angels'' is a 2000 play written by Naomi Iizuka. Language of angels may also refer to: * Angelic tongues of praise, in Second Temple Judaism * Enochian, a language recorded in the 16th century, allegedly given by angels * Glossolalia ...

''. *

Chane't Johnson Chane't Johnson (August 21, 1976 – December 2, 2010Denzel Whitaker Denzel Dominique Whitaker (born June 15, 1990) is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, he acted in the films '' Training Day'' (2001) and '' The Ant Bully'' (2006) before portraying James Farmer Jr. in ''The Great Debaters' ...

. *

Ty Granderson Jones Tyrone Granderson Jones (born January 19, 1964) is a Creole American actor, screenwriter and producer.Con Air ''Con Air'' is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich. Written by Scott Rosenberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film centers on a prison break aboard a J ...

''. *

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director and musician. He is the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present), and the co-cre ...

, BS (Physics), 1985. Animator/Director best known for ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...

'', ''

Office Space ''Office Space'' is a 1999 American black comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes the worklife of a typical 1990s software company, focusing on a handful of individuals weary of their jobs. It stars Ron Livingston, Jennifer ...

'', ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'', and ''

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

''. Graduation speaker for the class of 2009. *

Anne Kauffman Anne Kauffman is an American director known primarily for her work on new plays, mainly in the New York area. She is a founding member of the theater group the Civilians.Grode, Eric"Meet the Directors"''New York Times'', January 31, 2013 Early lif ...

, MFA (Directing), 1999.

winning director. *

Sagan Lewis Susan Jane Lewis (November 30, 1952 – August 7, 2016) was an American actress, best known for co-starring as Dr. Jacqueline Wade on the NBC medical drama '' St. Elsewhere''. Her other television credits included a multiple-episode recurring role ...

, MFA (Acting), 1977. Series regular on ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' was an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

''. *

Melanie Marnich Melanie Marnich is an American television writer-producer and playwright. She co-created and serves as executive producer and co-showrunner for the upcoming Amazon series, ''The Expatriates.'' She has written for ''Big Love'' on HBO; Her episode, ...

MFA (Playwriting), 1998. Writer for ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tripp ...

'', Jerome Fellowship from

The Playwrights' Center The Playwrights' Center is a non-profit theatre organization focused on both supporting playwrights and promoting new plays to production at theaters across the country. It is located in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Oc ...

, and

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

winner. *

Jefferson Mays Lewis Jefferson Mays (born June 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, two Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and three Obie A ...

, MFA (Acting), 1991.

winner, ''

I Am My Own Wife ''I Am My Own Wife'' is a play by Doug Wright based on his conversations with the German antiquarian Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. The one-man play premiered Off-Broadway in 2003 at Playwrights Horizons. It opened on Broadway later that year. The pla ...

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

Grimm Grimm may refer to: People * Grimm (surname) * Brothers Grimm, German linguists ** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist ** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm * Christian ...

''. *

Owiso Odera Owiso Odera (March 1974 - November 3, 2016) was a Sudanese-born Kenyan actor. He was perhaps best known for his role as Papa Tunde in the television series '' The Originals''. In 2015, Odera was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstand ...

, MFA (Acting), 2005. Actor on '' The Originals'', Lortel Award nominee. *

Toby Onwumere Toby Onwumere (born February 1, 1990) is a Nigerian and American actor known for the role of Capheus in the second season of the Netflix original series ''Sense8''. Early life Onwumere was born in Nigeria, and raised in Mansfield, Texas. Befo ...

, MFA (Acting), 2015. Star of ''

Sense8 ''Sense8'' (a play on the word '' sensate'' ) is an American science fiction drama streaming television series created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski for Netflix. The production companies behind ''Sense8'' included th ...

''. *

Joy Osmanski Joy Osmanski is a South Korean-born American actress. She is best known for her wide range of comedic roles on the TV shows ''The Loop (U.S. TV series), The Loop'', ''Samantha Who?'', ''True Jackson, VP'' and ''Devious Maids''. Joy is also known ...

, MFA (Acting), 2003. Most notable credits include '' Duncanville'' and ''

Santa Clarita Diet ''Santa Clarita Diet'' is an American horror-comedy streaming television series created by Victor Fresco for the streaming service Netflix, starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. Fresco serves as the showrunner, and is an executive prod ...

''. * Neil Patel, MFA (Scenic Design), 1991. Broadway designer of ''

Side Man ''Side Man'' is a memory play by Warren Leight. His inspiration was his father Donald, who worked as a sideman, in jazz parlance a musician for hire who can blend in with the band or star as a solo performer, according to what is required by the g ...

'', winner of

and

awards. * Jeanne Paulsen, MFA (Acting), 1978.

nominee, ''

The Kentucky Cycle ''The Kentucky Cycle'' is a series of nine one-act plays by Robert Schenkkan that explores American mythology, particularly the mythology of the West, through the intertwined histories of three fictional families struggling over a portion of land ...

''. *

Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead A ...

, MFA (Acting), 2001. Actor, famous for playing

Sheldon Cooper Sheldon Lee Cooper, Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., Doctor of Science, Sc.D., is a Character (arts), fictional character in the CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory'' and its spinoff series ''Young Sheldon'', portrayed by actors Jim Parsons ...

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

Dileep Rao Dileep A. Rao (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor who has appeared in feature films and television series. He starred in Sam Raimi's horror film ''Drag Me to Hell'' (2009), James Cameron's science fiction film series ''Avatar'' (2009-pres ...

, BA (Theatre), 1995. Film actor in ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

'', ''

Inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltr ...

''. * Maria Striar, MFA (Acting), 1995. Founder and artistic director of

Clubbed Thumb Clubbed Thumb is a downtown theater company in New York City that commissions, develops, and produces "funny, strange, and provocative new plays by living American writers." Since its founding in 1996, the company has earned five OBIES (including t ...

. *

Caridad Svich Caridad Svich ( ; born July 30, 1963) is a playwright, songwriter/lyricist, translator, and editor who was born in the United States to Cuban-Argentine-Spanish-Croatian parents. Biography A member of the New York's New Dramatists, she earned her B ...

, MFA (Playwriting), 1988.

for Lifetime Achievement. *

Milana Vayntrub Milana Aleksandrovna Vayntrub ( , Russian language, Russian: ; born March 8, 1987) is an American actress, comedian, and activist. Born in the Soviet Union to Jewish parents, she began her career as a child actress shortly after immigrating to ...

, BA (Communication), 2008. Actress, comedian, and writer. *

Kellie Waymire Kellie Suzanne Waymire (July 27, 1967 – November 13, 2003) was an American stage, television, and film actress. She was known for her television roles on '' Six Feet Under'', ''Friends'', and ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. Biography Waymire was bor ...

, MFA (Acting), 1993. Best known for ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...

'' and roles on '' Six Feet Under'', and ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

''. *

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

, MFA (Acting), 1977. Actor well known for roles on ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

'' and ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

''. *

Wong Fu Productions Wong Fu Productions is an American filmmaking group founded by Wesley Chan (born April 27, 1984), Ted Fu (born October 26, 1981), and Philip Wang (born October 28, 1984). The trio met at the University of California, San Diego in 2004 and prod ...

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

Jimmy O. Yang Jimmy O. Yang (; born June 11, 1987) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and writer. As an actor, he is best known for starring as Jian-Yang in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'', as Dr. Chan Kaifang in the Netflix comedy series ''Sp ...

, BS (Economics), 2009. Actor and stand-up comedian, best known for ''

'' and ''

Patriots Day Patriots' Day (Patriot's Day in Maine) is an annual event, formalized as a legal holiday or a special observance day in six states, commemorating the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy, some of the first battles of the American Revo ...

''. *

Lauren Yee Lauren Yee ( zh, 余秀菊) is an American playwright. Early life and education Yee was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She graduated from Lowell High School in 2003. Yee graduated from Yale University in 2007, majoring in Englis ...

, MFA (Playwriting), 2012.

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard E ...

winner, produced at

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

and

Atlantic Theatre Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their acti ...

. *

Paloma Young Paloma Young (born 1979) is an American costume designer. A native of California, Young received a bachelor's degree in social history from University of California, Berkeley in 2000, and continued her education with a Master of Fine Arts in cost ...

, MFA (Costume Design), 2006.

winner, ''

Peter and the Starcatcher ''Peter and the Starcatcher'' is a play based on the 2004 novel ''Peter and the Starcatchers'' by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, adapted for the stage by Rick Elice. The play provides a backstory for the characters of Peter Pan, Mrs Darling, Tink ...

''.

Journalism

Mona Kosar Abdi Mona Kosar Abdi ( so, Muna Koosaar Cabdi) is an American multimedia journalist. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego where she earned a BA in International Studies, Political Science, and Communications. In January 2019 sh ...

, BA (International Relations), 2011. Multimedia journalist with WSET ABC 13, the

Al Jazeera Media Network Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) (Arabic: الجزيرة‎, romanized: al-jazīrah, IPA: �l (d)ʒæˈziːrɐ , referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is a Qatari international state-owned public media conglomerate headquartered at Qatar Radio and Tele ...

. *

Katie Hafner Katie Hafner (born December 5, 1957) is an American journalist and author. She is a former staff member of ''The New York Times'', and has written articles about technology, healthcare, and society, and books about the computer underground, the hi ...

, BA (German Literature), 1979.

Law and politics

Nicola T. Hanna Nicola Taisir Hanna (born September 19, 1961) is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Central District of California#United States Attorney for the Central District, Central Dist ...

, BA, 1984. U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California . *

Steve Peace James Stephen Peace (born March 30, 1953) is an American writer, actor, and producer, best known for the ''Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!'' film series. A politician belonging to the Democratic Party, Peace served in the California State Assembl ...

, 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 ''Attack of the Killer Tomatoes'' is a 1978 American parody film produced by J. Stephen Peace and John DeBello, and directed by John DeBello based upon an original idea by Costa Dillon. The screenplay was written by Dillon, Peace, and DeBello ...

''. *

Timothy J. Roemer Timothy John Roemer (born October 30, 1956) is an American diplomat and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003 as a Democrat from Indiana's 3rd congressional district. Subsequently, he was the preside ...

, BA (Government), 1979. Former Indiana Congressman and current president of the

Center for National Policy Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. *

John Shoven John B. Shoven (born May 24, 1947) is the former Trione Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, the Charles R. Schwab Professor of Economics at Stanford University, the Buzz and Barbara McCoy Senior Fellow at the Hoover ...

, BA (Physics), 1969.

Hoover Institute The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...

senior fellow.

Literature

Debito Arudou is an American-born Japanese writer, blogger, and human rights activist. He was born in the United States and became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2000, renouncing his U.S. citizenship. Background Early life and academic career Arudou wa ...

, MPIA (International Affairs), 1990. Author and activist. * Greg Benford, Ph.D (Astrophysics), 1967.

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of profe ...

winner. *

David Brin Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo,science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

author, notably of ''

Uplift Uplift may refer to: Science * Geologic uplift, a geological process ** Tectonic uplift, a geological process * Stellar uplift, the theoretical prospect of moving a stellar mass * Uplift mountains * Llano Uplift * Nemaha Uplift Business * Uplif ...

''; physicist. *

Robert Todd Carroll Robert Todd Carroll (May 18, 1945 – August 25, 2016) was an American author, philosopher and academic, best known for The Skeptic's Dictionary. He described himself as a naturalist, an atheist, a materialist, a metaphysical libertarian, and ...

, Ph.D (Philosophy), 1974. Publisher of ''The Skeptic's Dictionary'' and fellow for

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the US non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "prom ...

. *

Susann Cokal Susann Cokal is an American author. She is best known for having written the novels ''The Kingdom of Little Wounds'', ''Mirabilis'', ''Mermaid Moon'', and ''Breath and Bones'', along with short stories, literary and pop-culture criticism, and book ...

, BA (French Literature), 1986. Author,

Michael L. Printz Award The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's y ...

Honor winner. *

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...

, MA (Philosophy), 1968. Radical activist and philosopher. *

Suzette Haden Elgin Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Suzette Wilkins; November 18, 1936 – January 27, 2015) was an American researcher in experimental linguistics, construction and evolution of languages and poetry and science fiction writer. She founded t ...

, PhD (Linguistics), 1973. Science fiction author. *

Raymond E. Feist Raymond Elias Feist (; born Raymond Elias Gonzales III; December 21, 1945) is an American fantasy fiction author who wrote ''The Riftwar Cycle'', a series of novels and short stories. His books have been translated into multiple languages and ha ...

, BA (Communications), 1977. Author. *

Nancy Holder Nancy Holder (born August 29, 1953) is an American writer and the author of several novels, including numerous tie-in books based on the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series), Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. She's also written fiction rel ...

, BA (Communications), 1976.

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since 1 ...

winner. *

Khaled Hosseini Khaled Hosseini (;Pashto/Dari ; born March 4, 1965) is an Afghan Americans, Afghan-American novelist, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR goodwill ambassador, and former physician. His debut novel ''The Kite Runner'' (2003) wa ...

, MD (Medicine), 1993. Afghan-American novelist and physician; his 2003 debut novel, ''

The Kite Runner ''The Kite Runner'' is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul, Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. The story is se ...

'', was a #1 ''New York Times'' bestseller. *

Aaron Krach Aaron Krach (born February 15, 1972) is an American artist, writer, and journalist currently living in New York City. Background Aaron Krach was born in Ionia, Michigan on February 15, 1972. He grew up in Alhambra, California, and graduated ...

, BA (Visual Arts), 1994. Writer. *

Virgil Nemoianu Virgil Nemoianu (, born March 12, 1940) is a Romanian-American essayist, literary critic, and philosopher of culture. He is generally described as a specialist in "comparative literature" but this is a somewhat limiting label, only partially cove ...

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

Rex Pickett Rex Pickett (born July 9, 1952) is an American novelist and filmmaker best known for his novel ''Sideways'', which was adapted into a 2004 movie of the same name directed by Alexander Payne. Career Education and early career Pickett was born ...

, BA (Literature and Visual Arts), 1976. Author of ''

Sideways ''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama road film directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymo ...

''. *

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...

, BA (Literature), 1974; Ph.D (Literature), 1982. Two-time Nebula and

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

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

Vernor Vinge Vernor Steffen Vinge (; born October 2, 1944) is an American science fiction author and retired professor. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He is the first wide-scale popularizer of the technological singu ...

, Ph.D (Mathematics), 1971.

winner

Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

author, computer scientist, and mathematician. *

Andy Weir Andrew Taylor Weir (born June 16, 1972) is an American novelist and former computer programmer. His 2011 novel '' The Martian'' was adapted into the 2015 film of the same name directed by Ridley Scott. He received the John W. Campbell Award for ...

(did not graduate),

Astounding Award for Best New Writer The ''Astounding'' Award for Best New Writer (formerly the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer) is given annually to the best new writer whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the two previous ...

winner

author and computer programmer best known for '' The Martian'' and ''

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

''. *

Kirby Wright Kirby Michael Wright is an American writer best known for his 2005 coming-of-age island novel ''Punahou Blues'' and the epic novel ''Moloka'i Nui Ahina'', which is based on the life and times of Wright's paniolo grandmother. Both novels deal with t ...

, BA (English and American Literature), 1983. Poet and Writer.

Music and entertainment

Mark Applebaum Mark Applebaum (born 1967 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American composer and full professor of music composition and theory at Stanford University. Biography Applebaum received his PhD in music composition from the University of California, Sa ...

, Ph.D (Composition), 1996. Composer and Former Professor of Music at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. *

Milo Aukerman Milo Jay Aukerman (; born January 1, 1963) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and former research molecular biologist. Aukerman is most widely known for being the lead singer of the punk rock band the Descendents, a group widely considered to b ...

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

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a s ...

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

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...

. *

Chaya Czernowin Chaya Czernowin (Hebrew: חיה צ'רנובין, ; born December 7, 1957) is an Israeli American composer, and Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music at Harvard University. She is the lead composer at the Schloß Solitude Sommerakademie, a biannu ...

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

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. *

Steven Dehler Steven Edward Dehler (born February 13, 1987) is an American erotic model, actor, and dancer. He has been described as "the poster child for the modern male underwear model". He is a regular performer at The Abbey, a gay bar and nightclub in Wes ...

, BA (Economics), 2010. Model, actor, and dancer. *

Paul Dresher Paul Joseph Dresher (born January 8, 1951 in Los Angeles) is an American composer. Dresher received his B.A. in music from the University of California, Berkeley and his M.A. in composition from the University of California, San Diego, where he st ...

, MA (Composition), 1976. Composer, guitarist, and improviser. *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

, BA (Music), 1978. Bass guitarist. *

David Felder David Felder (born November 27, 1953) is an American composer and academic who was a SUNY Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo until his retirement in 2022. He was also the director of both the June in Buffalo Festival and the Rob ...

, Ph.D (Composition), 1983. Composer and SUNY Distinguished Professor at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

. *

Jon Foreman Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976) is an American musician, the lead singer, guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and his brother Ti ...

, did not graduate. Guitarist of rock band Switchfoot. *

Tim Foreman Switchfoot is an American rock music, rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drum kit, drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (g ...

, did not graduate. Bassist of rock band Switchfoot. *

Ben Gleib Ben Nathan Gleiberman (born June 18, 1978), known professionally as Ben Gleib, is an American actor, comedian, satirist, and writer. Early life and education Gleib was born to Nate and Ziva Gleiberman in Los Angeles, California, on June 18, 197 ...

, BA (Communications and Theatre), 2000. American Actor and Comedian. *

Maria Ho Maria Ho (born March 6, 1983 in Taipei, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese-American poker player and television host/commentator. One of the top ranked female poker players in the world, and a Women in Poker Hall of Fame inductee, she has over $5,000,000 ...

, 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 Kelly Kim (born November 1976) is a poker player from Whittier, California, primarily known for his 8th-place finish at the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event, earning $1,288,217. Kim was born in Los Angeles, California and graduated from th ...

, BA (Economics), 1998. Professional poker player. *

Anthony Neely Anthony Neely (born May 20, 1986) is an American-Taiwanese singer and actor. His father is of Euro-American descent and his mother is Taiwanese. In 2009, Neely participated in popular singing competition ''One Million Star'' (Season 5) as a PK ( ...

, BS (Psychology and Theatre), 2008. American Mandopop Singer. * 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''. *

Nicky Youre Nicholas Scott Ure (born June 4, 1999), known professionally as Nicky Youre, is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for his 2021 single "Sunroof". Early life and education Ure played water polo at Aliso Niguel High School, where he ...

, BA (International Business), 2021. Singer and songwriter *

Em Beihold Emily Mahin Beihold (; born January 21, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter. She released her debut EP ''Infrared'' in 2017. In 2020 she was noticed by music promotion brand Live2 LCC who subsequently teamed up with her to help promote music ...

, BA (Communication), 2020. Singer and songwriter

Public service

* George Blumenthal, Ph.D (Physics), 1972. Chancellor of the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

. *

Kurt M. Campbell Kurt Michael Campbell, , (born August 27, 1957) is an American diplomat and businessman, who formerly served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Obama administration. He is the chairman and CEO of The Asia ...

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

Dana Shell Smith Dana Shell Smith (born 1970) is a former American diplomat and career Foreign Service Officer who served as the United States Ambassador to Qatar from July 2014 to June 2017. She was confirmed by the Senate as the U.S. Ambassador to Qatar on July ...

, BA (Political Science), 1992.

United States Ambassador to Qatar The United States ambassador to Qatar is the official representative of the government of the United States to the government of Qatar. Ambassadors See also *Qatar – United States relations *Foreign relations of Qatar *Ambassadors of the Un ...

, 2014–2017.

Science, technology, medicine, and mathematics

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

James Benford (physicist) James Nelson Benford is an American physicist, High-Power Microwave (HPM) scientist, book author, science-fiction writer, and entrepreneur, best known for introducing novel technological concepts and conjectures related to the exploration of oute ...

, 1966 MS, 1969 Ph.D. *

Bruce Beutler Bruce Alan Beutler ( ; born December 29, 1957) is an American immunologist and geneticist. Together with Jules A. Hoffmann, he received one-half of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for "their discoveries concerning the activatio ...

, BS (Biology), 1976.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

. * Angela N. Brooks, B.S., Biology. 2018 University of California, Santa Cruz Women in Science and Engineering Award. *

Chu Ching-wu Paul Ching Wu Chu (; born February 12, 1941) is a Chinese-American physicist specializing in superconductivity, magnetism, and dielectrics. He is a Professor of physics and T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science in the Physics Department at the Univers ...

, Ph.D (Physics), 1990. '' U.S. News & World Report''s Researcher of the Year. *

Brian Druker Brian J. Druker (born April 30, 1955) is a physician-scientist at Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland, Oregon. He is the director of OHSU's Knight Cancer Institute, Jeld-Wen Chair of Leukemia Research, and professor of medicine. In 200 ...

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

David Goeddel David V. Goeddel (born 1951) is an American molecular biologist who, employed at the time by Genentech, successfully used genetic engineering to coax bacteria into creating synthetic human insulin, human growth hormone, and human tissue plasminogen ...

, BS (Chemistry), 1972. First full-time scientist and director of

Genentech Genentech, Inc., is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It became an independent subsidiary of Roche in 2009. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent center within R ...

’s molecular biology department; co-founder, president and CEO of Tularik, Inc. *

Gerald Joyce Gerald Francis "Jerry" Joyce (born 1956) is a senior vice president and chief science officer at Salk Institute for Biological Studies and was previously the director of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation. He is best known ...

, Ph.D (Biology) 1984. Scientist, Salk Institute. Inventor of the in vitro evolution technology. Director of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation. *

Peretz Lavie use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

(born 1949), Israeli expert in the

psychophysiology Psychophysiology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''psȳkhē'', "breath, life, soul"; , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'') is the branch of psychology that is concerned with the physiology, physiological bases of psych ...

of sleep and sleep disorders, 16th president of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Dean of the

Rappaport Faculty of Medicine The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine is a medical school that operates in Bat Galim, Haifa and is part of the Technion's Faculty of Medicine. The faculty was established in the late 1960s by a group of physicians who found the need f ...

Antony Garrett Lisi Antony Garrett Lisi (born January 24, 1968), known as Garrett Lisi, is an American theoretical physicist. Lisi works as an independent researcher without an academic position. Lisi is known for " An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything," a ...

, Ph.D (Physics), 1999. Theoretical physicist awarded

FQXi The Foundational Questions Institute, styled FQXi, is an organization that provides grants to "catalyze, support, and disseminate research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology." It was founded in 2005 by cosmologists Max Tegmark ...

grant. * M. Brian Maple, Ph.D (Physics), 1969.

David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics The David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics is a prize that has been awarded annually by the American Physical Society since 1988. The recipient is chosen for "an outstanding contributor to the field of materials physics, ...

. *

Eleanor Mariano Eleanor Concepcion "Connie" Mariano (born 1958), is a Filipina American physician and retired flag officer in the United States Navy. She is the first Filipino American and graduate of the Uniformed Services University of Medicine to reach the ...

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

Naomi Miyake was a Japanese cognitive psychologist. She was a professor at Chukyo University and the University of Tokyo. She is best known for her research on learning and collaboration, in the field of cognitive science. Biography Miyake was born and ...

, Ph.D. (Psychology), 1982. Cognitive psychologist recognized for her contributions to the science of learning. *

Walter Munk Walter Heinrich Munk (October 19, 1917 – February 8, 2019) was an American physical oceanographer. He was one of the first scientists to bring statistical methods to the analysis of oceanographic data. His work won awards including the Nation ...

, Ph.D (Oceanography), 1947. Oceanographer. * George Perry, Ph.D (Marine Biology), 1979. Researcher in

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. * Jed E. Rose, Ph.D (Neurosciences), 1978. Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, Co-Inventor of the

nicotine patch A nicotine patch is a transdermal patch that releases nicotine into the body through the skin. It is used in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), a process for smoking cessation. Endorsed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ...

, President and CEO of the Rose Research Center. * Kathleen (Kate) Rubins, B.S. (Molecular Biology), 1999.

NASA Astronaut The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...

. First person to sequence DNA in space. *

Maurizio Seracini Maurizio Seracini (born 1946) is a diagnostician of Italian art. A 1973 graduate in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), he founded, in 1977, the first company in Italy for diagnostic and non-destructive analyses on ...

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

Edward Tobinick Etanercept, sold under the brand name Enbrel among others, is a biologic medical product that is used to treat autoimmune diseases by interfering with tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a soluble inflammatory cytokine, by acting as a TNF inhibitor. It h ...

, MD (Medicine), 1974. Patented a use of subcutaneous

TNF-α Tumor necrosis factor (TNF, cachexin, or cachectin; formerly known as tumor necrosis factor alpha or TNF-α) is an adipokine and a cytokine. TNF is a member of the TNF superfamily, which consists of various transmembrane proteins with a homolog ...

to treat intractable back pain. *

Susumu Tonegawa is a Japanese scientist who was the sole recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1987 for his discovery of V(D)J recombination, the Genetics, genetic mechanism which produces antibody diversity. Although he won the Nobel Prize ...

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

Craig Venter John Craig Venter (born October 14, 1946) is an American biotechnologist and businessman. He is known for leading one of the first draft sequences of the human genome and assembled the first team to transfect a cell with a synthetic chromosome. ...

, BA (Biochemistry), 1972; PhD (Pharmacology), 1975. President of

Celera Genomics Celera is a subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics which focuses on genetic sequencing and related technologies. It was founded in 1998 as a business unit of Applera, spun off into an independent company in 2008, and finally acquired by Quest Diagnostic ...

, the first private firm to decode the

human genome The human genome is a complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans, encoded as DNA within the 23 chromosome pairs in cell nuclei and in a small DNA molecule found within individual mitochondria. These are usually treated separately as the n ...

Distinguished faculty

* Hannes Alfven, Electrical Engineering. Father of modern magnetohydrodynamics, eponym of Alfven waves,

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

, 1970. *

David Antin David Abram Antin (February 1, 1932 – October 11, 2016) was an American poet, critic and performance artist. Education and early career Antin was born in New York City in 1932. After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School, he earned hi ...

, Visual Arts. Known poet and performance artist. *

Eleanor Antin Eleanor Antin (née Fineman; February 27, 1935) is an American performance artist, film-maker, installation artist, conceptual artist and feminist artist. Early life and education Eleanor Fineman was born in the Bronx on February 27, 1935. Her pa ...

, Visual Arts. Feminist artist of ''The Angel of Mercy''. *

Percival Bazeley Percival Landon Bazeley was a scientist of Australian biotechnology and public health. Biography Born in Orbost, Victoria, Australia on 2 March 1909, Bazeley attended the school of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1 ...

, Medicine. Member of the Salk Polio vaccine team. *

Kenneth Bowles Kenneth L. "Ken" Bowles (c. 1929 – August 15, 2018) was an American computer scientist best known for his work in initiating and directing the UCSD Pascal project, when he was a professor of computer science at the University of California, San ...

, Computer Science. Known for his work in initiating and directing the

UCSD Pascal UCSD Pascal is a Pascal programming language system that runs on the UCSD p-System, a portable, highly machine-independent operating system. UCSD Pascal was first released in 1977. It was developed at the University of California, San Diego (UCS ...

project. *

Benjamin H. Bratton Benjamin H. Bratton (born 1968) is an American Philosopher of Technology known for his work spanning social theory, computer science, design, artificial intelligence, and for his writing on the geopolitical implications of what he terms "planetar ...

, Visual Arts. Sociologist, architectural and design theorist. *

Sydney Brenner Sydney Brenner (13 January 1927 – 5 April 2019) was a South African biologist. In 2002, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with H. Robert Horvitz and Sir John E. Sulston. Brenner made significant contributions to work ...

, Salk Institute.

, 2002. * Sheldon Brown, Visual Arts. Director of Experimental Game Lab, Co-Director of

Center for Research in Computing and the Arts The Center for Research in Computing and the Arts (CRCA) was an interdisciplinary organized research unit of UCSD in San Diego, California. CRCA provided support for numerous projects that intersect with the fields of New Media Art, Software Studies ...

. *

Keith Brueckner Keith Allen Brueckner (March 19, 1924 – September 19, 2014) was an American theoretical physicist who made important contributions in several areas of physics, including many-body theory in condensed matter physics, and laser fusion. Biography ...

, Physics. Theoretical physicist, National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member, and a founder of the UCSD Department of Physics. * Geoffrey R. Burbidge, Physics. Professor known mostly for his alternative cosmology theory, which contradicts the Big Bang theory. *

Margaret Burbidge Eleanor Margaret Burbidge, FRS (; 12 August 1919 – 5 April 2020) was a British-American observational astronomer and astrophysicist. In the 1950s, she was one of the founders of stellar nucleosynthesis and was first author of the influenti ...

, Astronomy. First to study and identify quasars;

Carnegie Fellowship The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

winner, 1947. *

Craig Callender Craig Callender (born 1968) is a professor of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. His main areas of research are philosophy of science, philosophy of physics and metaphysics. Education and career Callender obtained his PhD in ...

, Science Studies. Philosopher of science. *

, Visual Arts and Critical Gender Studies. Artist and theorist, collective member of Lui Velazquez. *

Lin Chao Lin Chao is a Chinese Brazilian American evolutionary biologist and geneticist. Chao gained his PhD in 1977 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as a student of Bruce R. Levin (now at Emory University), and was a NIH postdoctoral fellow at ...

, Biology. Known for his early work on the evolution of bacteriocins, his demonstration of Muller’s ratchet in the

RNA Virus An RNA virus is a virusother than a retrovirusthat has ribonucleic acid (RNA) as its genetic material. The nucleic acid is usually single-stranded RNA ( ssRNA) but it may be double-stranded (dsRNA). Notable human diseases caused by RNA viruses ...

Phi-6. *

Jiun-Shyan Chen Jiun-Shyan Chen is an American engineer, currently the William Prager Chair Professor in Structural Mechanics at University of California, San Diego, and a publisher author. He is also Elected President for American Society of Civil Engineers's Eng ...

, engineering professor *

Shu Chien Shu Chien (; born June 23, 1931 in Beijing, China), is a Chinese–American physiologist and bioengineer. His work on the fluid dynamics of blood flow has had a major impact on the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as athe ...

, Bioengineering. Bioengineering pioneer and

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

laureate. *

Eric Christmas Eric Cuthbert Christmas (19 March 1916 – 22 July 2000) was a British actor, with over 40 films and numerous television roles to his credit. He is probably best known for his role as Mr. Carter, the principal of Angel Beach High School, in th ...

, Theatre. Prolific film actor. *

Patricia Churchland Patricia Smith Churchland (born 16 July 1943) is a Canadian-American analytic philosopher noted for her contributions to neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind. She is UC President's Professor of Philosophy Emerita at the University of Calif ...

, Philosophy. Neurophilosopher and

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to ...

recipient, 1991. *

Paul Churchland Paul Montgomery Churchland (born October 21, 1942) is a Canadian philosopher known for his studies in neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind. After earning a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh under Wilfrid Sellars (1969), Churchland ros ...

, Philosophy. Philosopher of mind and philosopher of science, proponent

eliminative materialism Eliminative materialism (also called eliminativism) is a materialist position in the philosophy of mind. It is the idea that majority of the mental states in folk psychology do not exist. Some supporters of eliminativism argue that no coheren ...

. * Harold Cohen, Visual Arts. English-born artist, creator of

AARON According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

. *

Francis Crick Francis Harry Compton Crick (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He, James Watson, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins played crucial roles in deciphering the helical struc ...

, Salk Institute.

, 1962. *

Paul Crutzen Paul Jozef Crutzen (; 3 December 1933 – 28 January 2021) was a Dutch meteorologist and atmospheric chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 for his work on atmospheric chemistry and specifically for his efforts in studying ...

, Chemistry. Notable atmospheric chemist,

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

, 1995. *

Charles Curtis Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was an American attorney and Republican politician from Kansas who served as the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under Herbert Hoover. He had served as the Sena ...

, Music. Avant-garde cellist. *

, Music. Israeli composer, former professor of composition. *

Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and center positions. Davis is an eight-time NB ...

, Music. Opera composer, jazz pianist. *

Diana Deutsch Diana Deutsch (born 15 February 1938) is a British-American psychologist from London, England. She's a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego, and is a prominent researcher on the psychology of music. Deutsch is p ...

, Psychology. Known for her research on the psychology of music including the

octave illusion The octave illusion is an auditory illusion discovered by Diana Deutsch in 1973. It is produced when two tones that are an octave apart are repeatedly played in alternation ("high-low-high-low") through stereo headphones. The same sequence is p ...

. *

Bram Dijkstra Bram Dijkstra (born 5 July 1938) is an American author, literary critic and former professor of English literature. Dijkstra wrote seven books on various literary and artistic subjects concerning writing. He also curates art exhibitions and write ...

, English. Known for his books on the femme fatale icon in popular culture. *

Russell Doolittle Russell F. Doolittle (January 10, 1931 – October 11, 2019) was an American biochemist who taught at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Described as a "world-renowned evolutionary biologist", Doolittle's research primarily focused ...

, Chemistry. Known for research on molecular evolution. *

Mark Dresser Mark Dresser (born September 26, 1952) is an American double bass player and composer. Career Dresser was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the 1970s, he was a member of Black Music Infinity led by Stanley Crouch and performed w ...

, Music. Double bass player and improviser, winner of the

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

, 1983. *

Renato Dulbecco Renato Dulbecco ( , ; February 22, 1914 – February 19, 2012) was an Italian–American virologist who won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on oncoviruses, which are viruses that can cause cancer when they infect anima ...

, Salk Institute. Helped launch the

Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both a ...

, 1975. *

Jeffrey Elman Jeffrey Locke Elman (January 22, 1948 – June 28, 2018) was an American psycholinguist and professor of cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He specialized in the field of neural networks. In 1990, he introduce ...

, Cognitive Science. Psycholinguist and pioneer in the field of

neural networks A neural network is a network or circuit of biological neurons, or, in a modern sense, an artificial neural network, composed of artificial neurons or nodes. Thus, a neural network is either a biological neural network, made up of biological ...

. *

Robert F. Engle Robert Fry Engle III (born November 10, 1942) is an American economist and statistician. He won the 2003 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, sharing the award with Clive Granger, "for methods of analyzing economic time series with time-va ...

, Economics.

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ( sv, Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne), is an economics award administered ...

, 2003. *

Robert Erickson Robert Erickson (March 7, 1917 – April 24, 1997) was an American composer. Education Erickson was born in Marquette, Michigan. He studied with Ernst Krenek from 1936 to 1947: "I had already studied—and abandoned—the twelve tone sy ...

, Music. Composer. His composition ''Sierra'' is the state anthem of California. *

Ronald M. Evans Ronald Mark Evans (born April 17, 1949 in Los Angeles, California) is an American Biologist, Professor and Head of the Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory, and the March of Dimes Chair in Molecular and Developmental Biology at the Salk Institute fo ...

, Salk Institute. Discovered steroid and nuclear receptors;

Lasker Award The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1945 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, which was f ...

winner. *

Manny Farber Emanuel Farber (February 20, 1917 – August 18, 2008) was an American painter, film critic and writer. Often described as "iconoclastic",Grimes, William (August 19, 2008) ''New York Times''Kiderra, Inga (August 21, 2008Obituary: Artist and Crit ...

, Visual Arts. Film critic and painter. *

Gilles Fauconnier Gilles Fauconnier () (19 August 1944 – 3 February 2021) was a French linguist, researcher in cognitive science, and author, who worked in the U.S. He was distinguished professor at the University of California, San Diego, in the Department o ...

, Cognitive Science. Inventor of the modern-day theory of conceptual blending. *

George Feher George Feher (29 May 1924 – 28 November 2017) was an American biophysicist working at the University of California San Diego. Birth and education George Feher was born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in 1924. Fehér is a hungarian name and his ...

, Physics.

Wolf Prize in Chemistry The Wolf Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and Arts. Laure ...

(2006/7),

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

member, biophysicist. *

Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...

, Music. Composer, founder of New Complexity movement. *

David Noel Freedman David Noel Freedman (May 12, 1922 – April 8, 2008) was an American biblical scholar, author, editor, archaeologist, and, after his conversion from Judaism, a Presbyterian minister. He was one of the first Americans to work on the Dead Sea Scroll ...

, Religion. General editor of the

Anchor Bible Series The Anchor Bible Series, which consists of a commentary series, a Bible dictionary, and a reference library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture which was begun in 1956, with the publication of individual volumes in the commentary series. Ove ...

. * Y.C. Fung, Bioengineering. Considered the father of

bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...

. *

Fred Gage Fred "Rusty" Gage (born October 8, 1950) is the President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Adler Professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute, and has concentrated on the adult central nervous system and th ...

, Salk Institute. Neuroscientist and

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

biologist; discovered human adult neural stem cells. * Clark Gibson, Political Science. Expert on

African politics Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

. *

Maria Goeppert-Mayer Maria Goeppert Mayer (; June 28, 1906 – February 20, 1972) was a German-born American theoretical physicist, and Nobel laureate in Physics for proposing the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus The atomic nucleus is the small, dense ...

, Physics.

, 1963. *

Joseph Goguen __NOTOC__ Joseph Amadee Goguen ( ; June 28, 1941 – July 3, 2006) was an American computer scientist. He was professor of Computer Science at the University of California and University of Oxford, and held research positions at IBM and SRI In ...

, Computer Science. Helped originate the OBJ family of

programming languages A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

. * Adele Goldberg, Linguistics. *

Marvin Leonard Goldberger Marvin Leonard "Murph" Goldberger (October 22, 1922 – November 26, 2014) was an American theoretical physicist and former president of the California Institute of Technology. Biography Goldberger was born in Chicago, Illinois. He went on to re ...

, Physics. National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member, former Dean of Natural Sciences, and former president of

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. *

Lawrence S.B. Goldstein Lawrence S.B. Goldstein (born February 20, 1956, in Buffalo, New York) is a professor of cellular and molecular medicine at University of California, San Diego and investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He receives grant funding ...

, Cellular and Molecular Medicine. First to characterize

kinesin A kinesin is a protein belonging to a class of motor proteins found in eukaryotic cells. Kinesins move along microtubule (MT) filaments and are powered by the hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) (thus kinesins are ATPases, a type of enzy ...

molecular motors; head of UCSD

stem cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

program. *

Jean-Pierre Gorin Jean-Pierre Gorin (born 17 April 1943) is a French filmmaker and professor, best known for his work with ''French New Wave, Nouvelle Vague'' luminary Jean-Luc Godard, during what is often referred to as Godard's "radical" period. Jean-Pierre Go ...

, Visual Arts. Film director, best known for his work with the

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

. * Fan Chung Graham, Mathematics. Mathematician, Akamai Professor in Internet Mathematics working in the area of

spectral graph theory In mathematics, spectral graph theory is the study of the properties of a graph in relationship to the characteristic polynomial, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors of matrices associated with the graph, such as its adjacency matrix or Laplacian matrix ...

extremal graph theory Extremal graph theory is a branch of combinatorics, itself an area of mathematics, that lies at the intersection of extremal combinatorics and graph theory. In essence, extremal graph theory studies how global properties of a graph influence local ...

and

random graphs In mathematics, random graph is the general term to refer to probability distributions over graphs. Random graphs may be described simply by a probability distribution, or by a random process which generates them. The theory of random graphs li ...

. *

Ronald Graham Ronald Lewis Graham (October 31, 1935July 6, 2020) was an American mathematician credited by the American Mathematical Society as "one of the principal architects of the rapid development worldwide of discrete mathematics in recent years". He ...

, Computer Science and Engineering. Mathematician, one of the principal architects of the rapid development worldwide of

discrete mathematics Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that can be considered "discrete" (in a way analogous to discrete variables, having a bijection with the set of natural numbers) rather than "continuous" (analogously to continuous f ...

. * Clive W.J. Granger, Economics.

, 2003. *

Deborah Hertz Deborah Hertz (born February 9, 1949), is an American historian whose specialties are modern German history, modern Jewish history and modern European women's history. Her current research focuses on the history of radical Jewish women. Since 20 ...

, History. Author of ''Jewish High Society in Old Regime Berlin'',

Herman Wouk Herman Wouk ( ; May 27, 1915 – May 17, 2019) was an American author best known for historical fiction such as ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1951) for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. His other major works include ''The Winds of War'' and ' ...

Chair in Modern Jewish Studies. * Gretchen Hofmann, Ecology. Ecologist whose work on the effects of changing seawater acidity and temperature on marine life has drawn wide attention. * Edwin Hutchins, Cognitive Science. Developed distributed cognition and cognitive ethnography; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, MacArthur Grant, 1985. * Harvey Itano, Pathology. Diochemist known for his work on the molecular basis of sickle cell anemia and other diseases. * Gabriel Jackson (hispanist), Gabriel Jackson, History. Fulbright Program, Fulbright scholar, historian, author, and former department chairman. * Irwin M. Jacobs, Electrical and Computer Engineering. Chairman of

. * Fredric Jameson, Comparative Literature. Literary critic and Marxist political theorist. * Henrik Wann Jensen, Computer Science. Developed first technique for efficiently simulating subsurface scattering in translucent materials; winner of an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2004 from the Academy of Motion Picture and Sciences. * Chalmers Johnson, History. Author as well as president and co-founder of the Japan Policy Research Institute. * David K Jordan, Anthropology; Provost of Warren College. Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award 2008 recipien

* Allan Kaprow, Visual Arts. Painter, assemblagist and a pioneer in establishing the concepts of performance art. * Harvey Karten, Neuroscience. National Academy of Sciences member, neuroscientist. * Charles David Keeling, Oceanography. First alerted the world to the anthropogenic contribution to the "greenhouse effect" and global warming; discoverer of the Keeling Curve. * Walter Kohn, Physics.

, 1998. Notable for the Kohn–Sham equations, Kohn-Sham equations. * Barbara Kruger, Visual Arts. American conceptual artist and collagist. * Ronald Langacker, Linguistics. Creator of cognitive grammar. * William Lerach, Guest Lecturer. Taught securities and corporate law; a leading securities lawyer in the United States. His life was the subject of ''Circle of Greed: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Lawyer Who Brought Corporate America to its Knees''. * George E. Lewis, Music. Noted jazz trombone player,

winner, 2002. * Lei Liang, Music. Composer. Winner of the Grawemeyer Award, Rome Prize, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship. * Arend Lijphart, 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 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science, 1997. *Yu-Hwa Lo, Electrical and Computer Engineering. *Gary W. Lopez, Biology and Earth Science. Producer of PBS program, ''Voyage to Kure,'' which initiated the establishment of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument by President George W. Bush in 2006. * George Mandler, Psychology. Experimental psychologist and founder of UCSD Department of Psychology. * Jean Matter Mandler, Psychology. Specialist in cognitive development, winner of the ''Eleanor Maccoby Outstanding Book Award'' from the American Psychological Association, APA. * Babette Mangolte, Visual Arts. French cinematographer. * Lev Manovich, Visual Arts. New Media theorist, Director of Software Studies Initiative. * M. Brian Maple, Physics. List of members of the National Academy of Sciences (Applied physical sciences), National Academy of Sciences member, physicist. * Herbert Marcuse, Philosophy. Mentor to

, author of ''Eros and Civilization'' and ''One-Dimensional Man''. * Harry Markowitz, Finance.

, 1990. * Andrew Mattison, Psychiatry. Co-author of ''The Male Couple'', co-founder of the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. * Mathew D. McCubbins, Political Science. Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. * William McGinnis, Molecular Biology, former Dean of the School of Biological Sciences, Member of the National Academy of Sciences USA. * Elliot McVeigh, Bioengineering, Medicine, and Radiology. Director of Cardiovascular Imaging Lab, Researcher at Cardiovascular Imaging Lab and Faculty. * Mario Molina, Chemistry.

, 1995. * Eileen Myles, Literature. Poet, Guggenheim Fellowship winner, and author of ''Afterglow''. * Donald Norman, 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, Music. Composer, central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music. * George Emil Palade, Medicine. Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, 1974 and winner of the

. * Linus Pauling, Chemistry.

, 1954. * Albert P. Pisano, National Academy of Engineering member, dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering, specialist in microelectromechanical systems * Richard Popkin, Philosophy. Internationally acclaimed scholar on Jewish and Christian millenarianism and messianism. * Samuel Popkin, Political Science. Noted pollster who played a role in the development of rational choice theory. * Miller Puckette, Music. Creator of Puredata Programming Language and co-Director of

. * Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Neuroscience and Psychology. Author of several books including ''Phantoms in the Brain'' * Claire L. Ramsey, associate professor emerita and author. * Jef Raskin, Computer Science. Founder of the Apple Macintosh project. * Roger Revelle (1909–1991), Oceanography. Scholar, namesake of Roger Revelle College, and former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. * Roger Reynolds, Music. Pulitzer Prize for Music, 1989. * Sally Ride, Physics. Former astronaut, the first American woman in space. * Marshall Rosenbluth Physics. Developer of the Metropolis algorithm, List of members of the National Academy of Sciences (Applied physical sciences), member of the National Academy of Sciences, called ''Pope of Plasma Physics''. * Rosaura Sánchez, Literature. Author and literary critic * Herbert Schiller, Communication. American media critic, sociologist, and scholar. * Terry Sejnowski, Biological Sciences. Winner of the Wright Prize and fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. * Kartik Seshadri, Music. Sitar player, director of the Indian Classical Music Ensemble. * Lu Jeu Sham, Physics. List of members of the National Academy of Sciences (Applied physical sciences), National Academy of Sciences member, Kohn–Sham equations, Kohn-Sham equations, Guggenheim Fellowship, 1983. * Ravi Shankar, Music. Sitar player, collaborated with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison. * Susan Shirk, International Relations and Pacific Studies. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State during the Bill Clinton, Clinton administration. * Nicholas Spitzer, Biology. Founding editor of BrainFacts.org, fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and National Academy of Sciences member. * Larry Squire, Psychiatry, Neurosciences, and Psychology. Leading investigator of the neurological bases of memory. * John G. Stoessinger, Political Science. Award-winning author, recipient of the Bancroft Prize for ''The Might of Nations''. * Avrum Stroll, Philosophy. Noted scholar in the fields of epistemology and the philosophy of language. Author of over one dozen books. * Suresh Subramani, Biological Sciences. Guggenheim Fellowship recipient and former Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. * Harry Suhl, Physics. National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member. Guggenheim Fellowship, 1968. * Leó Szilárd, Salk Institute. Physicist who contributed to the Manhattan Project; founded the Council for a Livable World. * Roger Tsien, Chemistry.

, 2008. Wolf Prize in Medicine, 2004. Known for discovering green fluorescent protein. * Chinary Ung, Music. Grawemeyer Award winning composer. * Harold Urey, Chemistry.

, 1934. * Benjamin Elazari Volcani, Scripps Institute. Microbiologist; discovered life in the Dead Sea; pioneered biological silicon research. * Joseph Wang, Nanoengineering. ISI's World's Most Cited Engineer, ISI's World's Most Cited Chemist. * Les Waters, Theatre. Former artistic director of the Actors Theatre of Louisville. * Kenneth M. Watson, Kenneth Watson, Physics. National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member. * Herbert F. York, Physics; University Chancellor. Enrico Fermi Award, 2000. * Efim Zelmanov, Mathematics. Fields Medal recipient. Known for his work on combinatorial problems in nonassociative algebra and group theory. * Bruno H. Zimm, Chemistry and Biochemistry.

member, biophysicist, and leading polymer chemistry, polymer chemist.Bruno Zimm
National Academy of Sciences, Retrieved 23 August 2017.

References

{{University of California, San Diego University of California, San Diego, *List San Diego-related lists, UCSD people Lists of University of California people, San Diego people