The list of Rice University people includes notable alumni, former students, faculty, and presidents of

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

Alumni

''The names of Distinguished Alumni Award recipients is available online (the list is arranged alphabetically and includes recipients of other Rice University awards)''

Government and politics

:''Note: individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the most relevant section.''

U.S. Cabinet Secretaries

Charles Duncan Charles Duncan may refer to: Politics and law * Charles T. Duncan (1838–1915), American lawyer and Virginia state judge * Charles Duncan (politician) Charles Duncan (8 June 1865 – 6 July 1933) was a British Labour Party politician and t ...

, 1947, U.S. Secretary of

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

(1979–1981) *

Alberto Gonzales Alberto R. Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive governme ...

, 1979,

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

(2005–2007)

U.S. Ambassadors

* James Ward Hargrove, 1943, Ambassador to Australia (1976–1977) * Eric Nelson, 1983, Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (2019–present)

Other federal officials

* Patrick G. Carrick, member of the

Senior Executive Service The Senior Executive Service (SES) is a position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government equivalent to general officer or flag officer rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. It was created in 1979 when the Civil Service ...

* Robert L. Clarke, 1963, attorney,

Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, bank regulation in the United States ...

(1985–1992) * L. Patrick Gray (attended), acting director of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(1972–1973) *

Josh Earnest Joshua Ryan Henry Earnest
''

White House Press Secretary for President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

(2014–2017) * Stephen Hahn 1980, Commissioner of the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(2019–2021) * Benjamin J. Rhodes, 2000, speechwriter and national security adviser to

U.S. Senators and Congressmen

Bill Archer William Reynolds Archer Jr. (born March 22, 1928) is a retired American lawyer and politician. Archer served two terms, from 1967 to 1971, in the Texas House of Representatives – changing from the Democratic to the Republican party in 1969 � ...

(attended),

United States Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

(1971–2001) *

Jim Bridenstine James Frederick Bridenstine (born June 15, 1975) is an American military officer and politician who served as the 13th administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Bridenstine was the United States representative fo ...

, 1998, U.S. Representative,

Oklahoma's 1st congressional district Oklahoma's 1st congressional district is in the northeastern corner of the state and borders Kansas. Anchored by Tulsa, it is largely coextensive with the Tulsa metropolitan area. It includes all of Tulsa, Washington and Wagoner counties, and ...

(2013–2018); Administrator of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

(2018–2021) * John Kline, 1969, United States Congressman (2003–2017) *

Pete Olson Peter Graham Olson (born December 9, 1962) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2021. His district included much of southern Houston, as well as most of the city's southwestern suburbs such as Katy, ...

, 1985, United States Congressman (2009–2021) * Albert Thomas, 1920, U.S. Representative,

Texas's 8th congressional district Texas's 8th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes parts of Montgomery County, Walker County, Harris County, Polk County, and all of San Jacinto County. It includes much of the northern outlying areas ...

(1937–1966)

Governors

* Glenn Youngkin, 1990,

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

(2022-present) *

James V. Allred James Burr V AllredThe "V" was a name, not an initial. (March 29, 1899 – September 24, 1959) was the 33rd governor of Texas. He later served, twice, as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern Distri ...

(attended),

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

(1935–1939)

Mayors

George Chang George Chang or Chang Tsan-hung (; born 1 March 1936) is a Taiwanese politician and independence activist. He was the mayor of Tainan City from 1997 to 2001. Early years After graduating from the National Tainan First Senior High School, Cha ...

, Ph.D. 1966, mayor of

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

(1997–2001) *

Roy Hofheinz Roy Mark Hofheinz (April 10, 1912 – November 22, 1982), popularly known as Judge Hofheinz or "The Judge", was a Texas state representative from 1934 to 1936, county judge of Harris County, Texas from 1936 to 1944, and mayor of the city ...

, 1932 (attended), mayor of the

City of Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

(1953–1955) *

Annise Parker Annise Danette Parker (born May 17, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 61st Mayor of Houston, Texas, from 2010 until 2016. She also served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council from 1998 to 2003 and city controller fro ...

, 1978, mayor of the

(2010–2016) * Starke Taylor, 1943, mayor of the

City of Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

(1983–1987)

State and local officials

George P. Bush George Prescott Bush (born April 24, 1976) is an American politician and attorney who served as the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Bush unsuccessfully campaigned for the party's ...

, 1998, commissioner of the

Texas General Land Office The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is a state agency of the U.S. state of Texas, responsible for managing lands and mineral rights properties that are owned by the state. The GLO also manages and contributes to the state's Permanent School Fund. T ...

; son of

Florida Governor The governor of Florida is the head of government of the state of Florida and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florida ...

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

; nephew of former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

; grandson of former President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

William P. Hobby Jr. William Pettus Hobby Jr. (born January 19, 1932) is an American Democratic politician who served a record eighteen years as the 37th Lieutenant Governor of Texas. He held that office from January 16, 1973, to January 15, 1991, for an unpreced ...

, 1953, Lieutenant Governor of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

(1973–1991); former chancellor of the

University of Houston System The University of Houston System is a public university system in Texas, comprising four separate and distinct universities. It also owns and holds broadcasting licenses to a public television station (KUHT) and a public radio station (KUHF). Th ...

; former president and executive editor at ''The Houston Post'' *

Scott Hochberg Scott Hochberg (born October 2, 1953) is a Democratic Party (United States), former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives who represented two different districts in southwest Houston. From 1993 to 2003, he represented District 1 ...

, member of the Texas House of Representatives * M. J. Khan,

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

, former

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

memberDooley, Tara. "Khan inspires Muslims with election to council." ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. Saturday, December 13, 2003. Religion p. 1.

NewsBank NewsBank is a news database resource that provides archives of media publications as reference materials to libraries. History John Naisbitt, the author of the book ''Megatrends'', founded NewsBank.Andrews 1998, p. 17. The company was launched i ...

Record Number: 3716921. Available from the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 18 ...

website with a library card. * Eliot Shapleigh, 1974, Texas state senator

Judges

Lamar John Ryan Cecil Lamar John Ryan Cecil (November 2, 1902 – February 14, 1958) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Education and career Born in Houston, Texas, Cecil received a Bachelor of ...

, 1923, United States District Judge of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. ...

(1954-1958) *

Finis E. Cowan Finis E. Cowan (October 16, 1929 – November 15, 2023) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and was an Attorneys in the United States, attorney in ...

, 1951, United States District Judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (in case citations, S.D. Tex.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the southeastern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Texas and has six ad ...

(1977-1979) * Harold R. DeMoss Jr., 1952, Federal Judge on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

(1991-2015) * Hugh Gibson, 1940,

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

(1979-1998) * Sam E. Haddon, 1959,

of the United States District Court for the District of Montana (2012–present) *

Sharon Keller Sharon Faye Keller (born August 1, 1953) is the Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She is a Republican. Education and early career Born in Texas, Keller graduated from Rice University in Houston in 1975 with a major in philo ...

, 1975, Presiding Judge of the

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges. Article V of ...

(2001–present) *

James Aubrey Parker James Aubrey Parker (January 8, 1937 – September 16, 2022) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Education and career Born in Houston, Texas, Parker received a Bachelor of Arts ...

, 1959, Senior Judge of the

United States District Court for the District of New Mexico The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico (in case citations, D.N.M.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of New Mexico. Court is held in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Roswell, Santa ...

(2003–present) * Karen Gren Scholer, 1979, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (2018–present) * Anuraag Singhal, 1986, United States District Judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (in case citations, S.D. Fla. or S.D. Fl.) is the federal United States district court with territorial jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida.. Appeals ...

(2019–present) * Leslie H. Southwick, 1972, Federal Judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Other

Mitch Bainwol Mitchell Burt Bainwol (born March 2, 1959) is an American lobbyist. He served as Chief Government Relations Officer of Ford Motor Company from 2019 to 2021 and president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers from 2011 to 2019. Before ...

, 1983, former chair,

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

William Luther Pierce William Luther Pierce III (September 11, 1933 – July 23, 2002) was an American neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and far-right political activist. For more than 30 years, he was one of the highest-profile individuals of the white nationalist movem ...

, 1955, National Alliance founder, noted neo-Nazi, and author of the Turner Diaries *

Gary H. Stern Gary Hilton Stern (born November 3, 1944) is an American economist and banker. On March 16, 1985, he took office as the eleventh chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and retired from the position on September 1, 2009. Lif ...

, chief executive of the Ninth Federal Reserve Bank, at Minneapolis

Arts and letters

Architecture

E. Fay Jones Euine Fay Jones (January 31, 1921 – August 30, 2004) was an American architect and designer. An apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright during his professional career, Jones is the only one of Wright's disciples to have received the AIA Gold Medal (19 ...

, Master of Architecture degree 1951, architect, named in 2000 by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

as "one of the ten most influential architects of the twentieth century" *

Eric Kuhne Eric Robert Kuhne (September 2, 1951 – July 25, 2016) was an American-born British architect based in London. With major projects around the world, Kuhne's assignments included the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent completed in 1999, the larges ...

, 1973, British architect *

Charles Renfro Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, BArch 1989, architect, partner of Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Fashion

* James Mischka, 1985, designer and co-founder of

Badgley Mischka Badgley Mischka is an American fashion label designed by Mark Badgley (born January 12, 1961 in East St. Louis, MO) and James Mischka (born December 23, 1960 in Burlington, WI). Their collections are said to be largely influenced by the style ...

Film and television

Elizabeth Avellán Elizabeth Avellán Veloz (born November 8, 1960) is a Venezuelan-born American film producer. Biography Avellán was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Her grandfather, Gonzalo Veloz Mancera, created the first privately owned Venezuelan television s ...

, 1992, film producer and co-founder of

Troublemaker Studios Troublemaker Studios is a film production company founded and owned by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and producer Elizabeth Avellán. The company is based in Austin, Texas and is at the former site of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. It shares ...

Ron Bozman Ron Bozman is an American film producer who won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1991 for the film '' The Silence of the Lambs''. Personal life Bozman was born in Dallas, Texas. He grew up in Garland, Texas, graduating from Garland High ...

, 1969,

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning film producer ('' The Silence of the Lambs'') *

John William Corrington John William Corrington (October 28, 1932 – November 24, 1988) was an American film and television writer, novelist, poet, and lawyer. Corrington attended St. John's High School (now known as Loyola College Prep), but was expelled after smo ...

, M.A. 1960, screenwriter * James Craig, actor ('' Kitty Foyle'') *

Germaine Franco Germaine Franco is an American film composer, conductor, songwriter, arranger, record producer, and percussionist. Franco is the first woman to score a Disney animated feature film with ''Encanto'' (2021), for which she was nominated for a Gol ...

, 1984, film composer ('' Coco'') * Amy Hobby, 1986,

-nominated producer *

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

(attended), filmmaker known for '' Hell's Angel's'' (1930) and '' Scarface'' (1932); life and career served as the basis for the 2004 film '' The Aviator'' *

Tim League Tim League is an American entrepreneur and film producer based in Austin, Texas. He is the founder of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain and the founder of the film distribution company Drafthouse Films, where League has produced films includi ...

, 1992, founder of

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the movie, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiq ...

, a high end theatre chain, and Drafthouse Films, film distributor *

Mike MacRae Mike MacRae (born July 29, 1977) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, director and writer. Early life and career A native of St. Louis, Missouri, MacRae moved to Houston, Texas, in 1995 where he graduated from Rice University in 1 ...

, 1999, voice actor, comedian *

Gus Sorola Gustavo Raul "Gus" Sorola III (born February 22, 1978) is an American actor and podcast host. He is best known for his work with Rooster Teeth. Early life Sorola was born in Austin, and raised in Eagle Pass, Texas, near the Mexico–United St ...

(attended), Machinima artist and founding member of

Rooster Teeth Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of Warner ...

History and journalism

William Broyles Jr. William Dodson Broyles Jr.
Filmreference.com. Accessed November 28, 2022. (born October 8, 1944) is an A ...

, 1966, founder of ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

''; former editor in chief at ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

''; screenwriter of ''

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...

'', ''

Cast Away ''Cast Away'' is a 2000 American survival drama film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, and Nick Searcy. Hanks plays a FedEx troubleshooter stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in ...

'', '' Unfaithful'', ''

Flags of Our Fathers ''Flags of Our Fathers'' (2000) is a book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about his father, Navy corpsman John Bradley, and five United States Marines, who were made famous by Joe Rosenthal’s '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'' photograph. Th ...

'' *

Gwynne Dyer Michael Gwynne Dyer (born 17 April 1943) is a British-Canadian military historian, author, professor, journalist, broadcaster, and retired naval officer. Dyer rose to prominence in the 1980s with the release of his television series ''War'' in 1 ...

, M.A. 1966, journalist, syndicated columnist and military historian; Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

(1973–1977) * John Graves, 1942, nature writer, ''

Goodbye to a River ''Goodbye to a River'' is a book by John Graves, published in 1960. It is a "semi-historical" account of a canoe trip made by the author during the fall of 1957 down a stretch of the Brazos River in North Central Texas, between Possum Kingdom D ...

'' * Jo Ling Kent, 2006,

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

correspondent * Michael Noer, 1992, executive news editor for Forbes.com *

Steve Sailer Steven Ernest Sailer (born December 20, 1958) is an American paleoconservative journalist, movie critic, blogger, and columnist. He is a former correspondent for UPI and a columnist for ''Taki's Magazine'' and VDARE, a website associated with wh ...

, 1980, writer for ''

Taki's Magazine ''Taki's Magazine'', called ''Takimag'' for short, is an online magazine of politics and culture published by the Greek paleoconservative commentator and socialite Taki Theodoracopulos and edited by his daughter Mandolyna Theodoracopulos. Initia ...

'' and

VDARE VDARE is an American far-right website promoting opposition to immigration to the United States. It is associated with white supremacy,Sam FrizellGOP Shows White Supremacist's Tweet During Trump's Speech Time, July 21, 2016 white nationalism, ...

Rosa Levin Toubin Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: People *Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) *Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose) Places *223 Rosa, an asteroid *Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States * Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, G ...

, Jewish Texan historian, civic leader and philanthropist * Lamar White, 2005, investigative journalist known for his work on racism and political corruption in the Deep South * Zack Kopplin, 2015, political activist, journalist, and television personality who came to fame during high school for publicly campaigning against the Louisiana Science Education Act, a creationism law. He currently serves as an investigator for the

Government Accountability Project The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit whistleblower protection and advocacy organization in the United States. It was founded in 1977. Activities In 1992, GAP represented Aldric Saucier, who had lost his job and security c ...

Literature

Candace Bushnell Candace Bushnell (born December 1, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and television producer. She wrote a column for ''The New York Observer'' (1994–96) that was adapted into the bestselling ''Sex and the City (book), Sex and the City'' ...

(attended), author of ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...

'' *

Eva Hoffman Eva Hoffman (born Ewa Wydra on 1 July 1945) is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning writer and academic. Early life and education Eva Hoffman was born in Kraków, Poland, shortly after World War II. Her parents, Boris and Maria Wydra, surv ...

, 1967, author, '' Lost in Translation'', ''Shtetl: The Life and Death of a Small Town and the World of Polish Jews'', ''The Secret: A Novel'', ''After Such Knowledge'' *

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

, M.A. 1960,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning author, known for ''

Lonesome Dove ''Lonesome Dove'' is a 1985 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the ''Lonesome Dove'' series, but the third installment in the series chronologically. The story revolves around the relationships b ...

'', ''The Last Picture Show'', and ''Terms of Endearment''; won

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

for ''

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written by O ...

'' screenplay *

Elizabeth Moon Elizabeth Moon (born March 7, 1945) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Her other writing includes newspaper columns and opinion pieces. Her novel '' The Speed of Dark'' won the 2003 Nebula Award. Prior to her writing career, sh ...

, 1968, author, ''The Deed of Paksenarrion'', ''Winning Colors'' *

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

(attended), author; Princeton creative writing professor; dropped out of English PhD program after publishing in ''Best American Short Stories'' * John Pipkin, PhD 1997, novelist

Music

Lola Astanova Lola Astanova (russian: link=no, Лола Астанова; born on 3 July 1982 in Tashkent, USSR) is a Russian-American pianist noted for her visual performance and piano transcriptions. Career Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, at the age of six Asta ...

, Master's 2005, summa cum laude, Russian-born classical pianist * Rebecca Carrington, Masters in Music, British "music comedian" * Carl P. Daw Jr.,

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

priest; director of the

Hymn Society in the United States and Canada The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada – founded in 1922 as The Hymn Society of America and renamed in 1991 – is a not-for-profit organization for those people who: * believe that congregational song is an integral component of worsh ...

; researcher and authority on

sacred music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as ritual. Relig ...

Caroline Shaw Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer, violinist, and singer. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for her a cappella piece '' Partita for 8 Voices'' and the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Contemporar ...

, 2004, Pulitzer Prize-winning musician *

Kate Soper Kate Soper (born 1943) is a British philosopher. She is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton.http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/staff/kate-soper Background Soper was educated at the University of Oxford (BA) and worked as a trans ...

, 2003, Pulitzer Prize-finalist musician

Visual art

* Robert S. Martin, 1971, librarian; member of National Council for the Humanities; former director of Institute of Museum & Library Services; 2008 recipient of

Presidential Citizens Medal The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the President of the United States. It is the second-highest civilian award in the United States and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established by executive order on Nov ...

* Mark Flood, 1981, contemporary artist

Business

* Brian Armstrong, 2005 and 2006, founder and CEO of

Coinbase Coinbase Global, Inc., branded Coinbase, is an American publicly traded company that operates a cryptocurrency exchange platform. Coinbase is a distributed company; all employees operate via remote work and the company lacks a physical headquar ...

George R. Brown George Rufus Brown (May 12, 1898 – January 22, 1983) was a prominent Houston entrepreneur. With his brother Herman, Brown led Brown & Root Inc. to become one of the largest construction companies in the world and helped to foster the political c ...

, 1920, founder of

Brown and Root KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) is a U.S. based company operating in fields of science, technology and engineering. KBR works in various markets including aerospace, defense, industrial and intelligence. After Halliburton acquired Dress ...

, one of the world's largest construction firms *

Thomas H. Cruikshank Thomas H. Cruikshank was chairman and CEO of Halliburton, Halliburton Company from 1989 to 1995. He previously served as President and CEO from 1983 to 1989. During his tenure in the early 1990s, Halliburton provided extensive service to Kuwait i ...

, former chairman and CEO of Halliburton * L. John Doerr, 1973,

venture capitalist Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which hav ...

at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers; CEO of Silicon Compilers; co-founder of the

@Home Network @Home Network was a high-speed cable Internet service provider from 1996 to 2002. It was founded by Milo Medin, cable companies Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), Comcast, and Cox Communications, and William Randolph Hearst III, who was their fir ...

; on the board of directors of

Intuit Intuit Inc. is an American business software company that specializes in financial software. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and the CEO is Sasan Goodarzi. Intuit's products include the tax preparation application Tu ...

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

PalmOne Palm, Inc. was an American company that specialized in manufacturing personal digital assistants (PDAs) and various other electronics. They were the designer of the PalmPilot, the first PDA successfully marketed worldwide, as well as the Treo 60 ...

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 ...

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

, and

Segway The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter invented by Dean Kamen and brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, subsequently as the Segway PT, and manufactured by Segway Inc. ''HT'' is an initialism for "human transp ...

, 1947, former president,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

; former

Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...

under

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

(1979–1981) * Mark Dankberg, 1976, co-founder and CEO,

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 ...

Mark Durcan D. Mark Durcan (born April 28, 1961) is the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Micron Technology. Prior to being appointed Micron's CEO in February 2012, he held a variety of positions including process integration engineer, process integration ...

, 1984, CEO of

Micron Technology Micron Technology, Inc. is an American producer of computer memory and computer data storage including dynamic random-access memory, flash memory, and USB flash drives. It is headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Its consumer products, including ...

Lynn Elsenhans Lynn Laverty Elsenhans is a businessperson who is the former chairperson, chief executive officer, and president of Sunoco. Career Lynn Elsenhans served as the Sunoco's chairperson and as the company's chief executive officer and president unti ...

, chairman and CEO of Sunoco * Kevin Harvey, 1987, founding member and general partner at

Benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Benchmark (surveying), a point of known elevati ...

, a

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 ...

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

firm. *

(attended), richest man in the world in 1976 * Steve Jackson, 1974, founder of

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

* Ken Kennedy, 1967, founder of Center for Research on Parallel Computation, the High Performance Fortran Forum; co-chair of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee with

Bill Joy William Nelson Joy (born November 8, 1954) is an American computer engineer and venture capitalist. He co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Scott McNealy, Vinod Khosla, and Andy Bechtolsheim, and served as Chief Scientist and CTO at ...

Ali Yıldırım Koç ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

, 1990,

Koç Holding Koç Holding A.Ş. () is the largest industrial conglomerate in Turkey, and the only company in the country to be listed on the Fortune Global 500 as of 2016. The company, headquartered in Nakkaştepe, Istanbul, is controlled by the Koç family, ...

member; 37th president of Turkish multisport club Fenerbahçe S.K. * Fred C. Koch (attended), founder of

Koch Industries Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in th ...

, one of the largest private companies in the United States * James E. Lyon, Houston developer and Republican politician * Cal McNair, 1995, chairman and CEO of the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

NFL franchise * Arun Netravali, 1969 and 1971, pioneer of digital technology including

HDTV High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...

; former president of

Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

and Chief Scientist for

Lucent Technologies Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business u ...

* David Rhodes, 1996, president of CBS News; former head of U.S. television for Bloomberg. *

Hector Ruiz Hector de Jesus Ruiz Cardenas (born December 25, 1945) is the chairman and CEO of Advanced Nanotechnology Solutions, Inc. and former CEO & executive chairman of semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). Ruiz is the author of ' ...

, 1972, president and CEO of

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufactur ...

James Treybig James G. Treybig is the founder of Tandem Computers, which designed and manufactured the first fault tolerant computers, in 1974. These pioneering computers were marketed to transaction processing customers, who used them for ATMs, banks, stock ex ...

, 1963 and 1964, founder of

Tandem Computers Tandem Computers, Inc. was the dominant manufacturer of fault-tolerant computer systems for Automated teller machine, ATM networks, banks, stock exchanges, telephone switching centers, and other similar commercial transaction processing applicati ...

Jim Turley James S. Turley is an American business executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Ernst & Young from 2001 to 2013. He was the National President of the Boy Scouts of America from 2018 to 2019. Early life and education Turley r ...

, 1977 and 1978, chairman and CEO of

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

Jim Whitehurst James Moon Whitehurst is an American business executive. He was the President at IBM and chair of the board at Red Hat, and previously Chief Executive Officer at Red Hat and Chief Operating Officer at Delta Air Lines. Prior to working at Delt ...

, 1989, president and CEO of

Red Hat Red Hat, Inc. is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, with other offices worldwide. Red Hat has become ass ...

* Glenn Youngkin, 1990, former co-CEO of

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...

Science and technology

Astronauts

John S. Bull John Sumter Bull (September 25, 1934 – August 11, 2008), was an American United States Navy, naval officer and United States naval aviator, aviator, fighter pilot, test pilot, Mechanical engineering, mechanical and aeronautical engineer, and N ...

, 1957, BS in mechanical engineering,

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Takao Doi is a Japanese astronaut, engineer and veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions. Doi holds a doctorate from the University of Tokyo in aerospace engineering, and has studied and published in the fields of propulsion systems and microgravity te ...

, PhD 2004, NASA astronaut *

Jeffrey A. Hoffman Jeffrey Alan Hoffman (born November 2, 1944) is an American former NASA astronaut and currently a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. Hoffman made five flights as a Space Shuttle astronaut, including the first mission to repair th ...

, Masters in materials science, 1988, NASA astronaut * Nichole Ayers, 2021, NASA astronaut candidate for

NASA Astronaut Group 23 NASA Astronaut Group 23 (nicknamed The Flies) was announced on December 6, 2021, with the class reporting for duty some time in 2022. Twelve astronaut candidates were selected, including seven men and five women. History NASA announced the cre ...

. *

Tamara E. Jernigan Tamara Elizabeth "Tammy" Jernigan (born May 7, 1959) is an American astrophysicist and former NASA astronaut. During her career she completed five Space Shuttle program missions (three on ''Columbia'' and one each on '' Endeavour'' and ''Discov ...

, PhD 1988, NASA astronaut *

James H. Newman James Hansen Newman, Ph.D. (born October 16, 1956) is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions. NASA career After graduating from Rice University in 1984, Newman did an additional year of post ...

, 1982 and 1984, NASA astronaut *

John D. Olivas John Daniel "Danny" Olivas (born May 25, 1966 in North Hollywood, California) is an American engineer and a former NASA astronaut. Olivas has flown on two space shuttle missions, STS-117 and STS-128. He performed EVAs on both missions, totaling 3 ...

, PhD 1996, NASA astronaut * Janice Voss, graduate work in Space Physics 1977–1978, NASA astronaut *

Shannon Walker Shannon Walker (born June 4, 1965) is an American physicist and a NASA astronaut selected in 2004. She launched on her first mission into space on June 25, 2010, onboard Soyuz TMA-19 and spent over 163 days in space. She returned to space for ...

, Baker 1987, MA 1992, PhD 1993, NASA astronaut *

Peggy Whitson Peggy Annette Whitson (born February 9, 1960) is an American biochemistry researcher, retired NASA astronaut, and former NASA Chief Astronaut. Whitson has a total of 665 days in space, more than any other woman or American. Her first space mi ...

, PhD 1986 NASA astronaut

NASA flight directors

* Kwatsi Alibaruho MBA 2011, first African-American flight director in NASA history and the lead flight director for the last space shuttle mission *

Wayne Hale N. Wayne Hale Jr. (born July 5, 1954) is a former NASA engineer. Previously a flight director and Space Shuttle program manager, Hale served as NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for Strategic Partnerships prior to his retirement on July 31, ...

, Hanszen 1976, mechanical engineering, Space Shuttle Flight Director for 40 missions between 1988 and 2003

Nobel laureates

Robert Woodrow Wilson Robert Woodrow Wilson (born January 10, 1936) is an American astronomer who, along with Arno Allan Penzias, discovered cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) in 1964. The pair won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery. While ...

, 1957, co-discoverer of

cosmic microwave background radiation In Big Bang cosmology the cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) is electromagnetic radiation that is a remnant from an early stage of the universe, also known as "relic radiation". The CMB is faint cosmic background radiation filling all spac ...

Robert F. Curl Jr. Robert Floyd Curl Jr. (August 23, 1933 – July 3, 2022) was an American chemist who was Pitzer–Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry at Rice University. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for ...

, 1954, co-discoverer of

fullerenes A fullerene is an allotrope of carbon whose molecule consists of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to seven atoms. The molecule may be a hollow sphere, ...

Other sciences

* Jay Bailey, BA 1966, PhD 1969, pioneer of

biochemical engineering Biochemical engineering, also known as bioprocess engineering, is a field of study with roots stemming from chemical engineering and biological engineering. It mainly deals with the design, construction, and advancement of unit processes that inv ...

Andrew Dessler Andrew Emory Dessler (born 1964) is a climate scientist. He is Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and holder of the Reta A. Haynes Chair in Geoscience at Texas A&M University. He is also the Director of the Texas Center for Climate Studies. His ...

, Lovett 1986

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

, 1979–1984, Master of Chemical Engineering and a BS chemical engineering, chief executive officer at

David Eagleman David Eagleman (born April 25, 1971) is an American neuroscientist, author, and science communicator. He teaches neuroscience at Stanford University and is CEO and co-founder of Neosensory, a company that develops devices for sensory substituti ...

, 1993, neuroscientist at Stanford University and author of '' Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives'' *

James E. Gunn James Edwin Gunn (July 12, 1923 – December 23, 2020) was an American science fiction writer, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work as an editor of anthologies includes the six-volume ''The Road to Science Fiction, Road to Science Ficti ...

, Baker 1961, astronomer at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, 1977

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 ...

2009 recipient of the

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 ...

* Wanda Gass, 1978, electrical engineer who helped develop the first commercially viable digital signal processor at Texas Instruments *

He Jiankui He Jiankui (; ; born 1984) is a Chinese biophysics researcher who was an associate professor in the Department of Biology of the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China. Earning his Ph.D. from Rice University ...

, PhD 2010, widely condemned geneticist who claimed to have created the world's first genome edited babies, Nana and Lulu *

Dave Hyatt David Hyatt (born 28 June 1972) is an American software engineer and a ''Shadowrun'' game expansion author. Employed by Apple starting in 2002, he was part of the Safari web browser and WebKit framework development team. He also helped develop ...

, Baker 1994, browser developer at

Netscape Netscape Communications Corporation (originally Mosaic Communications Corporation) was an American independent computer services company with headquarters in Mountain View, California and then Dulles, Virginia. Its Netscape web browser was onc ...

and

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

* Howard Johnson, PhD 1982, electrical engineer *

Riki Kobayashi Riki Kobayashi (1924–2013) was a chemical engineer and a long-time professor of chemical engineering at Rice University. A native of Harris County, Texas, he attended Rice University (then known as Rice Institute) and earned the Bachelor of ...

, 1943, B.S., chemical engineering. * Larry Lake, PhD 1973, petroleum engineer and member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

* Amy Leventer, 1988, Ph.D., geology, marine biologist, micropaleontologist, Antarctic researcher * Frank L. Lewis, 1971, MEE. *

George Whitelaw Mackey George Whitelaw Mackey (February 1, 1916 – March 15, 2006) was an American mathematician known for his contributions to quantum logic, representation theory, and noncommutative geometry. Career Mackey earned his bachelor of arts at Rice Univer ...

, 1938, mathematician, 1962

Diana McSherry Diana McSherry (born 1945) is an American computer scientist and biophysicist. She is known for her research in and development of computer-based systems to analyze heart function. Her system produced computer images of the circulation system and ...

, 1967, M.A., 1969, Ph.D., computer scientist, biophysicist * Jack Morava, 1968, mathematician * John Morgan, 1968, mathematician, 2013 National Academy of Sciences * Harold E. Rorschach Jr., professor of physics at Rice (1952-1993), was the chairman of the physics department three times and principal investigator of the NASA interdisciplinary laboratory at Rice * Steven Schafersman, 1983 PhD in geology, president of

Texas Citizens for Science Texas Citizens for Science (TCS) is a Texas-based advocacy group that works to protect the accuracy and reliability of science education in Texas. Its main activity is to oppose organized creationism in Texas, especially at the Texas State Boar ...

* Dorry Segev, Israeli-born Marjory K. and Thomas Pozefsky Professor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Associate Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital * Fred I. Stalkup, 1957 BS in chemical engineering, 1961 Ph.D. chemical engineering noted for work in enhanced oil recovery, member of the

Dennis Sullivan Dennis Parnell Sullivan (born February 12, 1941) is an American mathematician known for his work in algebraic topology, geometric topology, and dynamical systems. He holds the Albert Einstein Chair at the City University of New York Graduate Ce ...

, 1963 BA in mathematics, mathematician at Stony Brook University and CUNY grad school; recipient of the 2004

; 2010

Wolf Prize in Mathematics The Wolf Prize in Mathematics is awarded almost 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, Chemistry, Medicine, Physics and Arts. ...

; 2022

Abel Prize The Abel Prize ( ; no, Abelprisen ) is awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modeled after the Nobel Prizes. ...

Powtawche Valerino Powtawche N. Valerino is an American mechanical engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She worked as a navigation engineer for the Cassini mission. Early life and education Valerino was born to a Mississippi Choctaw mother and African ...

, PhD 2005, mechanical engineer at the NASA

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

who worked on the

Cassini mission Cassini may refer to: People * Cassini (surname) * Oleg Cassini (1913-2006), American fashion designer :Cassini family: * Giovanni Domenico Cassini (1625–1712), Italian mathematician, astronomer, engineer, and astrologer * Jacques Cassini (167 ...

Academia

Daniel Albright Daniel Albright (October 29, 1945 – January 3, 2015) was the Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature at Harvard and the editor of ''Modernism and Music: An Anthology of Sources''. He was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois and completed his un ...

, 1967,

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 ...

English professor * Walter L. Buenger, Ph.D. 1979, historian at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

* Nancy Cole, 1964, educational psychologist *

, 1973–1977, Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the

Cristle Collins Judd Cristle Collins Judd is an American academic administrator and musicologist serving as the 11th president of Sarah Lawrence College. Early life and education Judd is originally from Texas, and earned her bachelor's degree in music performance ...

B.M./M.M. 1983, 11th President of Sarah Lawrence College *

R. Bowen Loftin Richard Bowen Loftin (born June 29, 1949), better known as R. Bowen Loftin, is an American academic and the former chancellor of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. He came to Missouri in 2013 after serving as the 24th President of ...

, Ph.D. 1975, chancellor of the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

* Bennett McCallum, B.A. 1957, B.S. 1958, Ph.D. 1969, monetary economist and professor at the

Tepper School of Business The Tepper School of Business is the business school of Carnegie Mellon University. It is located in the university's campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US. The school offers degrees from the undergraduate through doctoral levels, in addition ...

Robert K. Ritner Robert Kriech Ritner (April 5, 1953 – July 25, 2021) was an American Egyptologist most recently at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Life Education Ritner received his BA in psychology from Rice University in 1975, and ...

, 1975, Egyptologist at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

* Roland W. Schmitt, Ph.D. 1951, President of

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

(1988–1993) *

Namita Gupta Wiggers Namita Gupta Wiggers is a noted expert in the field of contemporary craft, a curator, educator and a writer based in Portland, Oregon. Her prior experiences as a studio jeweler, video ethnographer/design researcher, and museum educator shape her ...

, 1989, expert in the field of contemporary craft, curator, educator and writer * Kannan Moudgalya, PhD 1985, professor of

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

at IITB *

Shriram Krishnamurthi Shriram Krishnamurthi is a computer scientist, currently a professor of computer science at Brown University and a member of the core development group for the Racket programming languages, responsible for creation of software packages including ...

, PhD 2000, professor of

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

and developer of the Racket programming language *

Nikta Fakhri Nikta Fakhri is an Iranian-American physicist who is the Thomas D. & Virginia W. Cabot Career Development Associate Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research considers non-equilibrium physics in living systems ...

, PhD 2011, Professor of

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Religion

* The Rt. Rev. Scott Field Bailey, 1938, bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of West Texas The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America whose territory comprises the southernmost part of the state of Texas. Territory The see city is San Antonio, and the diocese includes the ...

* The Rev. Carl P. Daw Jr., Will Rice 1966, executive director of the

* The Rt. Rev. Claude Edward Payne, 1954, 1955, bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Texas The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The diocese consists of all Episcopal congregations in the southeastern quartile of Texas, including the cities of Austin, Beaumont, G ...

* The Rt. Rev. Steven Tighe, 1978, bishop of the

Anglican Diocese of the Southwest The Anglican Diocese of the Southwest is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. It has 22 parishes, 8 in New Mexico, 6 in West Texas and one in Colorado, in the United States, and 7 in Mexico. The diocese was approved as a diocese-in-f ...

Sports

Baseball

David Aardsma David Allan Aardsma (; born December 27, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, currently serving in the Toronto Blue Jays front office as a coordinator of player development. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the S ...

, 2003, MLB pitcher, 22nd overall pick of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Lance Berkman William Lance Berkman (born February 10, 1976), nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the current head baseball coach of the Houston Christian Hu ...

, 1997, six-time All-Star

Major League baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Norm Charlton Norman Wood Charlton III (born January 6, 1963), nicknamed "The Sheriff", is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Balt ...

, 1984, Major League Baseball player *

Bubba Crosby Richard Stephen "Bubba" Crosby (born August 11, 1976) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. He is best known for his tenure as a backup outfielder for the Yankees, when hi ...

, 1998,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

José Cruz Jr. José Luis Cruz Jr. (born April 19, 1974), is a Puerto Rican baseball coach and former outfielder, who is the current head baseball coach for the Rice Owls. He played college baseball at Rice University from 1992 to 1995 and played in Major Lea ...

, 1993, Major League Baseball player *

Tyler Duffey Tyler Blinn Duffey (born December 27, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He made his MLB debut in 2015 with the Minnesota Twins. Amateur career Duffey attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Tex ...

player for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Brock Holt Brock Wyatt Holt (born June 11, 1988), nicknamed "The Brock Star", is an American former professional baseball player. Well known for his role as a utility player, Holt played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Re ...

, 2009, Major League Baseball utility player for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Philip Humber Philip Gregory Humber (; born December 21, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and Houston Astros in seven seasons in Major League ...

, 2004, Major League Baseball player, 3rd overall pick of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

; pitched a perfect game in 2012 *

Jeff Niemann Jeffrey Warren Niemann (born February 28, 1983) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008 to 2012. High school Niemann attended Lamar High School. C ...

, 2004, Major League Baseball pitcher, 4th overall pick of the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

Anthony Rendon Anthony Michael Rendon (, ; born June 6, 1990) is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World S ...

, 2011, Major League Baseball first-round draft choice of the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Basketball

Morris Almond Morris Almond (born February 2, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Almond is the founder of Almond Athletics. His last professional appearance would be for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League (D-Leagu ...

, 2007, NBA guard, 25th overall pick of the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

* Suleiman Braimoh (born 1989), Nigerian-American basketball player in the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball co ...

* Egor Koulechov (born 1994), Israeli-Russian professional basketball player for Israeli team

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל עירוני נהריה; ) known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in t ...

Ricky Pierce Richard Charles Pierce (born August 19, 1959) is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Deuces" and "Big Paper Daddy", he was selected as an NBA All-Star (1991) and was twice the NBA Sixth Man of the Year (19 ...

, 1983, NBA guard, 1983–1998; NBA All-Star 1991; NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award 1987 and 1990 * Mike Wilks, 2001, NBA guard 2002–09

Football

Tony Barker Anthony Ray Barker (born September 7, 1968) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Kansas before transferring to Rice University following his sophomore yea ...

, 1992, former NFL player for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

* O.J. Brigance, 1991, former NFL player *

Chris Boswell Christopher Lynn Boswell (born March 16, 1991) is an American football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rice and was signed by the Houston Texans in 2014 as an undra ...

, NFL placekicker,

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

* James Casey, NFL tight end/fullback for the

Patrick Dendy Patrick Jordan Dendy (born March 10, 1982) is a former American football cornerback. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Rice Owls football, Rice. Dendy has also play ...

, NFL player,

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

Buddy Dial Gilbert Leroy "Buddy" Dial (January 17, 1937 – February 29, 2008) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Rice University. Early yea ...

, end, College Football Hall of Fame inductee 1993, All-Pro 1961, 1963 *

Jarett Dillard Jarett Juma Porter Dillard (born December 21, 1985) is an American lawyer and former American football wide receiver of the National Football League. Dillard achieved success as a college football player for Rice, while earning his bachelor's d ...

, 2008,

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

wide receiver * Michael Downs 1981, NFL

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

* Emmanuel Ellerbee, 2018, NFL

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

* Jack Fox (American football), 2019, NFL Punter for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Courtney Hall Courtney Caeser Hall (August 26, 1968 – April 29, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a center and guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers and spent the 1998 preseason with the Denver Br ...

, 1989, NFL offensive lineman, 1989 2nd round draft pick of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

King Hill Stuart King Hill (November 8, 1936 – July 14, 2012) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League who played for the Chicago / St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Minnesota Vikings. Football career After attend ...

, quarterback, top pick in first round of

1958 NFL Draft The 1958 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 2, 1957, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 28, 1958. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. This was the 12th and final year in ...

Billy Howton William Harris Howton (born July 3, 1930) is a former American football player, an end in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and expansion Dallas Cowboys. As a rookie, Howton caught t ...

, NFL's former all-time receiving leader, Green Bay Packers and

* Weldon Humble, guard, College Football Hall of Fame Inductee, 1961 * Larry Izzo, 3 time Pro Bowl LB/special teams captain for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, Super Bowl Champions 2002, 2004, 2005 *

N.D. Kalu Ndukwe Dike "N. D." Kalu (born August 3, 1975) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rice. Early years Kalu attended Pat N ...

, NFL defensive end for the Houston Texans *

Tommy Kramer Thomas Francis Kramer (born March 7, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) from 1977 to 1990. He played college football at Rice University and was selected by the Mi ...

, NFL quarterback, named to Pro Bowl while playing for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

Dicky Moegle Richard Lee Maegle (born Moegle; September 14, 1934 – July 4, 2021) was an American professional American football, football player who was a Halfback (American football), halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49 ...

, 1954, halfback, inducted into

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

Hall of Fame in 1998; College Football Hall of Fame Inductee, 1979 *

Don Maynard Donald Rogers Maynard (January 25, 1935 – January 10, 2022) was an American professional American football, football wide receiver known for playing for the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). He also played with the New York ...

, wide receiver, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee *

Will McClay Will McClay (born October 13, 1966) is vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys. Previously, he was head coach of the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League. Early life McClay was born on October 13, 1966 in Memphis, Tenn ...

, coach of the

Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional arena football team based in Dallas, Texas. The Desperados played in the Eastern Division of the Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008. The franchise began play in as an expansion team, and have post ...

, an

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

team *

Vance McDonald Vance Coman McDonald (born June 13, 1990) is a former American football tight end who played for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and spent ...

, 2013, NFL tight end * Cheta Ozougwu, defensive end for Chicago Bears, 2011

Mr. Irrelevant Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the last pick of the annual National Football League Draft. Although NFL drafts date back to 1936, the first person to be called Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk of the 1976 NFL Draft. History "Mr. Irrelev ...

Tobin Rote Tobin Cornelius Rote (January 18, 1928 – June 27, 2000) was an American football player who played quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football Le ...

, quarterback of 1957 NFL Champion

and 1963 AFL Champion

* Frank Beall Ryan, 1958, PhD 1965, NFL quarterback; textbook author;

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

athletic director; appeared on cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'', January 4, 1965 * James Williams, end and kicker *

Luke Willson Luke Michael Willson (born January 15, 1990) is a Canadian former professional American football tight end. He has played for the Seattle Seahawks, the Detroit Lions, the Oakland Raiders, and the Baltimore Ravens. Willson played with the Ca ...

, 2013, NFL tight end

Tennis

Sam Match Samuel Match (January 3, 1923 – January 23, 2010) was an American tennis player. He was born in Los Angeles, California. Match was ranked among the top ten amateur players in the United States in 1948, 1949, and 1950 in both singles and doubl ...

(1923–2010), tennis player; won the NCAA doubles championship with Rice University in 1947 *

Harold Solomon Harold Solomon (born September 17, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player who played during the 1970s and 1980s. He achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 5 in singles in 1980, and of No. 4 in doubles in 1976. Over the cours ...

(born 1952), professional tennis player ranked as high as number 5 in the world

Track and field

* Andrea Blackett 1997, Barbados Olympic hurdler and

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

400 m hurdles champion * Jason Colwick, 2010, two-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

champion in

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

Fred Hansen Frederick Morgan "Fred" Hansen (born December 29, 1940) is an American former athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault. A 1963 graduate of Rice University, he competed for the United States in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Jap ...

, 1963, NCAA champion in

, gold medalist at

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

, world record holder * Dave Roberts, 1974, bronze medalist in

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

, and former world record holder (twice) in

* Sean Wade, Master runner of the Year and Coach of the Cross Country team at

The Kinkaid School , motto_translation = Light through Knowledge , established = , type = Independent elementary school and secondary school , gender = Co-educational , us_nces_school_id = , head = Jonathan Eades , head_name = Head of School , ad ...

Other

Adi Bichman Adi Maia Bichman ( he, עדי מאיה ביכמן; born February 5, 1983) is an Israeli former Olympic swimmer. She participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where she swam in the 400m and 800m freestyle, as well as the 400m medley. S ...

, 2001, Israeli freestyle and medley swimmer * Sam McGuffie, 2013, member of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Men's Bobsleigh Team as a push crewman for the four man bobsled and brakeman for the two-man bobsled * Robert L. Leuschner Jr., 1957, graduated as a

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

, but after joining the NROTC at Rice, pursued a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy, attaining the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Miscellaneous

* Bill Arhos,

KLRU KLRU (channel 18), branded on-air as Austin PBS, is a PBS member television station in Austin, Texas, United States, owned by the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. In 2022, KLRU moved into its "Austin Media Center" studios loc ...

station manager, program director; ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...

'' executive producer * John Bradshaw, author and motivational speaker * Amanda Goad, Scripps National Spelling Bee champion * Henry Masterson III, National Medal of Arts recipient

Faculty and staff

Nobel laureates

(also an alumnus of Rice), professor of chemistry, awarded 1996 in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

for the discovery of

Hermann Joseph Muller Hermann Joseph Muller (December 21, 1890 – April 5, 1967) was an American geneticist, educator, and Nobel laureate best known for his work on the physiological and genetic effects of radiation (mutagenesis), as well as his outspoken political ...

, professor of biology, awarded 1946 in

physiology or medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Pr ...

for the discovery for X-ray mutagenesis *

Richard Smalley Richard Errett Smalley (June 6, 1943 – October 28, 2005) was an American chemist who was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy at Rice University. In 1996, along with Robert Curl, also a professor of ch ...

, professor of chemistry, awarded 1996 in chemistry for the discovery of

, senior scientist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; awarded 1978 in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

for the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation *

Roger Penrose Sir Roger Penrose (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematician, mathematical physicist, philosopher of science and Nobel Laureate in Physics. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics in the University of Oxford, an emeritus fello ...

, former Rice University’s Edgar Odell Lovett Professor of Mathematics, awarded 2020 in

for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity

Other faculty

Hanan Ashrawi Hanan Daoud Mikhael Ashrawi ( ar, حنان داوود مخايل عشراوي ; born 8 October 1946) is a Palestinian politician, legislator, activist, and scholar who served as a member of the Leadership Committee and as an official spokesperson ...

, Palestinian scholar and activist * Richard Baraniuk, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering *

Tani E. Barlow Tani Barlow is a scholar of feminism, postcoloniality, and history in Asia and most specifically in China. She is the George and Nancy Rupp Professor of Humanities at Rice University. Formerly, Barlow was a professor of history and women studie ...

, feminist scholar * Earl Black, political science professor * Elias Bongmba, professor of Religious Studies *

Douglas Brinkley Douglas Brinkley (born December 14, 1960) is an American author, Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities, and professor of history at Rice University. Brinkley is the history commentator for CNN, Presidential Historian for the New York Histori ...

, award-winning historian *

Solomon Bochner Salomon Bochner (20 August 1899 – 2 May 1982) was an Austrian mathematician, known for work in mathematical analysis, probability theory and differential geometry. Life He was born into a Jewish family in Podgórze (near Kraków), then Aus ...

, mathematician *

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with ...

(guest lecturer), rapper *

C. Sidney Burrus Charles Sidney Burrus (October 9, 1934 in Abilene, Texas - April 3, 2021) was an American electrical engineer and the Maxfield and Oshman Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is widely ...

, electrical engineer * B. Jill Carroll, professor of Religious Studies * Suchan Chae, Korean politician and economics professor *

Franklin Chang-Diaz Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral div ...

, former NASA astronaut *

Justin Cronin Justin Cronin (born 1962) is an American author. He has written five novels: ''Mary and O'Neil'' and ''The Summer Guest'', as well as a vampire trilogy consisting of ''The Passage,'' '' The Twelve'' and '' City of Mirrors''. He has won the Heming ...

, author and professor of English *

Rajdeep Dasgupta Rajdeep Dasgupta is a professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Rice University. In his research, he studies the role of subsurface melting and magma on the origin and evolution of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Car ...

, professor of Planetary Studies * Gerald R. Dickens, professor of Earth Science *

Edward Djerejian __NOTOC__ Edward Peter Djerejian (born March 6, 1939) is a former United States diplomat who served in eight administrations from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton (1962–94.) He served as the United States Ambassador to Syria (1988–91) and Uni ...

, American diplomat *

Jack Dongarra Jack Joseph Dongarra (born July 18, 1950) is an American computer scientist and mathematician. He is the American University Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the Unive ...

, 2021 Turing Award Winner and Adjunct Professor of Computer Science *

Elaine Howard Ecklund Elaine Howard Ecklund is the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology in the Rice University Department of Sociology, director of the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice, and a Rice scholar at the James ...

, professor of Sociology *

Paul Ellison Paul Ellison (born October 17, 1941) is co-principal bass at the Grand Teton Festivals, and is Professor of Double Bass at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. He was also on the faculty of The Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los A ...

, bass musician * Mark Embree, mathematician *

Matthias Felleisen Matthias Felleisen is a German-American computer science professor and author. He grew up in Germany and immigrated to the US when he was 21 years old. He received his PhD from Indiana University under the direction of Daniel P. Friedman. Afte ...

, former professor of

who co-invented

A-normal form In computer science, A-normal form (abbreviated ANF) is an Intermediate language, intermediate representation of program (computer science), programs in functional compilers. In ANF, all argument (computer science), arguments to a function (comput ...

and led the development of the Racket programming language *

Ariel Fernandez Ariel Fernandez (born Ariel Fernández Stigliano, April 8, 1957) is an Argentinian–American physical chemist and pharmaceutical researcher. Education and early career Fernandez received Licentiate degrees in Chemistry (1979) and Mathematics ...

, physical chemist * Naomi Halas, professor of biochemical engineering, chemistry and physics *

Mauro Hamza Maher "Mauro" Hamza is a fencing coach who was born in Cairo, Egypt. In 1994, Hamza coached at Texas A&M for one year. In August 1999, he established Salle Mauro in Houston, Texas. Hamza also served as Fencing Program Coordinator at Rice Univers ...

, fencing coach *

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthesis. ...

, evolutionary biologist * Ken Kennedy, computer scientist * Anne C. Klein, professor of Religious Studies and Buddhist scholar *

, chemical engineer *

Jeffrey Kurtzman Jeffrey Kurtzman is an American pianist, musicologist and editor. A professor of musicology at the Washington University in St. Louis, he is known for his research on Italian sacred music of the 17th century, especially Monteverdi's ''Vespro della ...

, pianist and musicologist *

Sydney Lamb Sydney MacDonald Lamb (born May 4, 1929 in Denver, Colorado) is an American linguist and professor at Rice University, whose stratificational grammar is a significant alternative theory to Chomsky's transformational grammar. He has speciali ...

, linguist * Neal Lane, physicist and former director of the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

* Robert Lewis, actor, director and co-founder of the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

* Qilin Li, environmental engineer *

Cho-Liang Lin Cho-Liang Lin (Lin Cho-liang, , born January 29, 1960), born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is an American violinist who is renowned for his appearances as a soloist with major orchestras. Musical America named him its "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 20 ...

, American violinist and soloist *

D. Michael Lindsay David Michael Lindsay (born 16 November 1971) is an American sociologist and president of Taylor University. He was also president of Gordon College, a private, Evangelical Christian liberal arts college on Boston's North Shore from 2011 to ...

, sociologist * Andreas Luttge, professor of Earth Science and Chemistry * George Marcus, anthropologist *

Guy T. McBride Guy Thornton McBride (December 12, 1919 – March 21, 2011) was an American chemical engineer who was a professor at Rice University, president of the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and as an executive of a major American corporation. McBride earn ...

, chemical engineer * Brian O'Brien, space scientist * Ann Saterbak, professor of Biomedical engineering * Scott Sonenshein, organizational psychologist * Monroe K. Spears (1916-1998), Libbie Shearn Moody Professor of English at Rice University from 1964 to 1986. * Robert M. Stein, political scientist * Robert B. Stobaugh, economics writer * Yizhi Jane Tao, biochemist * Richard Tapia, mathematician and winner of the

James Tour James Mitchell Tour (born 1959) is an American chemist and nanotechnologist. He is a Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, and Professor of Computer Science at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Tour is a top ...

, chemist and nanotechnologist *

Frank Vandiver Frank Everson Vandiver (December 9, 1925 in Austin, Texas – January 7, 2005 in College Station, Texas) was an American Civil War historian, and former president of Texas A&M University and the University of North Texas, as well as acting presid ...

, American Civil War historian and university president *

Moshe Vardi , honorific_suffix = , image = Moshe Vardi IMG 0010.jpg , birth_date = , birth_place = Israel , workplaces = Rice UniversityIBM ResearchStanford University , alma_mater = , thesis_title = The I ...

, Israeli mathematician and computer scientist *

William F. Walker William F. Walker (December 1, 1937 – August 7, 2007) was the President of Auburn University from 2001 to 2004. Biography William F. Walker was born on December 1, 1937, in Sherman, Texas. He graduated with a B.A. and an M.A. in aerospace engin ...

, engineer and university president *

Martin Wiener Martin Joel Wiener (born 1941) is an American academic and author. He is currently a research professor at Rice University. Keith Joseph gave a copy of Wiener's book '' English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit: 1850–1980'' to ...

, historian *

Peter Wolynes Peter Guy Wolynes is an American theoretical chemist and physicist. Since 2011 he has been a Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor of Science and Professor of Chemistry at Rice University. He is widely recognized for his significant contributions to ...

, professor of Chemistry * Susan Wood, poet and professor of English * Stephen A. Zeff, accounting historian *

Mikki Hebl Michelle (Mikki) Rae Hebl is an applied psychologist whose research focuses on workplace discrimination and barriers experienced by stigmatized individuals. She is the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Professor of Psychological Sciences at Rice ...

, professor of psychology and management

Staff

John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

, for whom the coveted

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

is named; football coach, 1924–1927, College Football Hall of Fame inductee, 1954 *

Jess Neely Jesse Claiborne Neely (January 4, 1898 – April 9, 1983) was an American football player and a baseball and football coach. He was head football coach at Southwestern University (now Rhodes College) from 1924 to 1927, at Clemson University f ...

, football coach 1940–1966, College Football Hall of Fame inductee, 1971

College Football Hall of Fame

Presidents of Rice

Edgar Odell Lovett Edgar Odell Lovett (April 14, 1871 – August 13, 1957) was an American educator and education administrator. He was the first president of Rice Institute (now Rice University) in Houston, Texas. Lovett was recommended to the post by Woodr ...

(president founding to 1946) # William V. Houston (president 1946–1961) #

Kenneth Pitzer Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer (January 6, 1914 – December 26, 1997) was an American physical and theoretical chemist, educator, and university president. He was described as "one of the most influential physical chemists of his era" whose work ...

(president 1961–1968) #

Norman Hackerman Norman Hackerman (March 2, 1912 – June 16, 2007) was an American chemist, professor, and academic administrator who served as the 18th President of the University of Texas at Austin (1967–1970) and later as the 4th President of Rice Universit ...

(president 1970–1985) #

George Rupp George Erik Rupp (born September 22, 1942) is an American educator and theologian, who served successively as President of Rice University, of Columbia University, and of the International Rescue Committee. Biography Rupp was born in Summit, ...

(president 1985–1993) # Malcolm Gillis (president 1993–2004) # David Leebron (president 2004 to 2022) # Reginald DesRoches (president 2022 to present)

References

{{Rice University *

Rice University people Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticated ...