List of University of California, Berkeley alumni

This page lists notable alumni and students of the University of California, Berkeley. Alumni who also served as faculty are listed in bold font, with degree and year.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Nobel laureates

See also: List of Nobel laureates associated with UC Berkeley

• Thomas Cech, Ph.D. 1975 - Nobel laureate (1989, Chemistry)
• Steven Chu, Ph.D. 1976 - Nobel laureate (1997, Physics)
• Robert Curl, Ph.D. 1957- Nobel laureate (1996, Chemistry)
• Joseph Erlanger, B.S. 1895 - Nobel laureate (1944, Physiology or Medicine)
• William F. Giauque, B.S. 1920, Ph.D. 1922 - Nobel laureate (1949, Chemistry)
• David Gross, Ph.D. 1966 - Nobel laureate (2004, Physics)
• Alan Heeger, Ph.D. 1961 - Nobel laureate (2000, Chemistry)
• Daniel Kahneman, Ph.D. 1961 - Princeton Professor, Nobel laureate (2002, Economics)
• Lawrence Klein, B.A. 1942 - Nobel laureate (1980, Economics)
• Willis Lamb, B.S. 1934, Ph.D. 1938 - Nobel laureate (1955, Physics)
• Robert Laughlin, B.A. 1972 [1] - Nobel laureate (1998, Physics)
• Yuan T. Lee, Ph.D. 1962 - Nobel laureate (1986, Chemistry), Professor of Chemistry, Principal Investigator, Materials and Molecular Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
• Willard Libby, B.S. 1931, Ph.D. 1933 - Professor of Chemistry, Nobel laureate (1960, Chemistry)
• Mario Molina, Ph.D. 1972- Nobel laureate (1995, Chemistry)
• Kary Mullis, Ph.D. 1973 - Nobel laureate (1993, Chemistry)
• Douglass North, B.A. 1942, Ph.D. 1952- Nobel laureate (1993, Economics)
• Thomas Schelling, B.A. 1944 - Nobel laureate (2005, Economics)
• Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D. 1937 - Nobel laureate (1951, Chemistry), University Professor of Chemistry, Associate Director, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Chancellor, Berkeley campus (1958-1961)
• Hamilton Smith, B.A. 1952 - Nobel laureate (1978, Physiology or Medicine)
• Otto Stern, L.L.D 1930 - Nobel laureate (1943, Nobel Prize in Physics)
• Henry Taube, Ph.D. 1940 - Nobel laureate (1983, Chemistry )
• Harold Urey, Ph.D. 1923 - Nobel laureate (1934, Chemistry)
• Selman Waksman, Ph.D. 1918 - Nobel laureate (1952, Physiology or Medicine)

Turing Award laureates

The Turing Award is considered to be the "Nobel Prize" of computer science.

• Leonard Adleman 1968, Ph.D. 1976, the "A" in the RSA encryption algorithm for computer security. Co-recipient of the Turing Award in 2002.
• Douglas C. Engelbart, B. Eng. 1952 [2], Ph.D. 1955 - Inventor of the computer mouse. Recipient of the 1997 Turing Award.
• James Gray, B.S. 1966, Ph.D. 1969 - Recipient of the 2001 Turing Award
• Butler Lampson, Ph.D. 1967 - computer scientist, founding member of Xerox PARC, major contributor to the development of the personal computer, and recipient of the 1992 Turing Award
• Dana Scott, B.S. 1954 - computer scientist, recipient of the 1976 Turing Award, Associate Professor of Math
• Ken Thompson, B.S. EE 1965, M.S. EE 1966 - Co-creator of the Unix operating system and co-recipient of the 1983 Turing Award
• Niklaus Wirth, Ph.D. 1967 - computer scientist, creator of the Pascal programming language, recipient of the 1984 Turing Award

Academia

Chancellors and Presidents

• Douglas J. Bennet, M.A. 1960 - President of Wesleyan University (1995-present); former CEO of National Public Radio (1983-1993)
• Robert E. Connick, Ph.D. 1942 - Professor of Chemistry, Dean of the College of Chemistry, Vice-Chancellor, UC Berkeley
• Dale R. Corson, Ph.D. 1938 - President of Cornell University (1969-1977)
• Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., Ph.D. 1986 (joint degree with GTU-Berkeley) - President of Loyola University of Chicago (2001-present)
• David P. Gardner, M.A. 1959, Ph.D. 1966 - 15th President of the University of California
• Clark Kerr, Ph.D. 1939 - Professor of Industrial Relations, Chancellor of UC-Berkeley (1952-58), President of the University of California (1958-67)
• Emil Mrak, B.S. 1926, M.S, Ph.D 1936 - former Chancellor of the University of California, Davis
• David W. Oxtoby, Ph.D. 1975 - President of Pomona College (2003-present)
• Kenneth Pitzer, Ph.D. 1937 - Dean of the College of Chemistry (1951-60), Professor of Chemistry, President of Rice University (1961-1968) and Stanford University (1969-1971)
• William C. Powers, Jr., B.A. 1967 - President of the University of Texas, Austin (2006-present)
• Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D. 1937 - Chancellor, Berkeley campus (1958-1961) (also listed in the section Nobel laureates)
• Samuel H. Smith, B.S. 1961, Ph.D. 1965 [3] - Eighth President of Washington State University, former Chair of the executive committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
• Patricia Meyer Spacks, Ph.D. 1955 - President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001-present); Edgar F. Shannon Professor Emerita of English, University of Virginia
• Robert Sproul, B.S. 1913 - President of the University of California, Berkeley (1930-1958)

Deans, directors, department heads

• Barry C. Barish, B.A. 1957, Ph.D. 1962 - Maxine and Ronald Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus, at Caltech, member of the National Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the AAAS, Director of the International Linear Collider, Director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)
• Katharine T. Bartlett, J.D. 1975 - Dean and A. Kenneth Pye Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law (Dean, 2000-present)
• Michael J. Cima, B.S. 1982, Ph.D. 1986 - Director of the MIT Ceramics Processing Research Laboratory and Sumitomo Electric Industries Chair Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Robert W. Dutton, B.S. 1966, M.S. 1967, and Ph.D 1970 - Director of Research in the Center for Integrated Systems at Stanford University, Guggenheim Fellow (1988), winner of the 1987 IEEE J. J. Ebers Award, winner in 1996 of the Jack A. Morton Award, recipient in 2000 of the C & C Prize from the Foundation for Communication and Computer Promotion in Japan
• Deborah Estrin, B.S. 1980 - Professor of Computer Science at UCLA, Director of the UCLA Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS), Fellow of the ACM, Fellow of the IEEE, and Fellow of the AAAS
• Peter Fisher, B.S. 1983 - MIT Professor of Physics and Head of the Particle and Nuclear Experimental Physics Division at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Ivan M. Havel, Ph.D. 1971 - Director of the Center for Theoretical Study, Prague, Czech Republic; younger sibling of former dissident and Czech President Václav Havel
• John P. Longwell, B.S. 1940 - Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Associate Director of its Center for Environmental Health Services, developed the well-stirred reactor, member of the National Academy of Engineering, President of The Combustion Institute[4] and recipient of its Sir Alfred C. Egerton Medal in 1974
• Richard Luthy, B.S. 1967, M.S. 1974, Ph.D. 1976 - Chairman of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Stanford University
• Abbas Milani, B.A. 1970 - Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University
• Un-Chul Paek, B.S. 1965, Ph.D. 1969 - Dean of the Faculty at the Kwangju Institute of Science and Technology in Kwangju, Korea, member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Charles Shank, B.S. 1965, M.S. 1966, Ph.D. 1969 - Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (1990-2005)
• Bruce A. Wooley, B.S. 1966, M.S. 1968, Ph.D. 1970 - Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, Fellow of the IEEE and the President of the IEEE Solid State Circuits Society, IEEE Fortescue Fellow

Professors

• Shadi Bartsch, M.A. 1989, Ph.D. 1991 - Ann L. and Lawrence B. Buttenwieser Professor of Classics, The University of Chicago
• Regina Bendix, B.A. 1982 - Professor of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology, University of Gottingen (Germany)
• Eran Ben-Joseph, B.A. 1982, Ph.D. 1995 - Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Abraham Bers, B.S. 1953 - Professor of Electrical Engineering Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and principal investigator in its Research Laboratory of Electronics
• Mario Biagioli, M.A. 1986, Ph.D. 1989 - Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University
• William B. Bridges, B.S. 1956, M.S. 1957, Ph.D. 1962 - Carl F Braun Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, Caltech
• Stephen Bronner, Ph.D. 1975 - Political Theorist, Professor, Rutgers University
• W. Craig Carter, B.S. 1983, M.S. 1987, Ph.D. 1989 - Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Stanley Cavell, B.A. 1947 - Walter M. Cabot Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value, Harvard University
• Sunney I. Chan, B.S. 1957, Ph.D. 1961 - George Grant Hoag Professor of Biophysical Chemistry, Caltech
• Anantha Chandrakasan, B.S. 1989, M.S. 1990, Ph.D. 1994 - Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professorship in Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• John H. Cochrane, Ph.D. 1986 - Myron S. Scholes Professor of Finance, The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
• Lizabeth Cohen, M.A. 1981, Ph.D. 1986 - Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies, Department of History, Harvard University
• Randall Collins, Ph.D. 1969 - Dorothy Swaine Thomas Professor in Sociology, University of Pennsylvania
• Dalton Conley, B.A. 1990 - Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, New York University
• Ernest G. Cravalho, B.S. 1961, M.S. 1962, Ph.D. 1967 - MIT Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Van Buren N. Hansford Faculty Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Michael Dawson (Professor), B.A. 1982 - John D. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, The University of Chicago
• Cynthia Enloe, M.A. 1963, Ph.D. 1967 - Research Professor of International Development and Women's Studies, Clark University
• Amitai Etzioni, Ph.D. 1958 - University Professor, George Washington University
• Paula Findlen, M.A. 1985, Ph.D. 1989 - Ubaldo Pierotti Professor in Italian History, Stanford University
• Robert H. Frank, M.A. 1971, Ph.D. 1972 - Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management and Professor of Economics, Cornell University; monthly contributor to the "Economic Scene" column of The New York Times
• Susan Gal, M.A. 1973, Ph.D. 1976 - Mae & Sidney G. Metzl Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, The University of Chicago
• Lynne Hanley, Ph.D. - literary critic
• Joe W. Johnson, B.S. 1931, M.S. 1934 - Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley, coastal-engineering and beach-erosion specialist, member of the National Academy of Engineering, recipient of ASCE's Moffatt-Nichol Harbor and Coastal Engineering Award, namesake of an award bestowed annually by the California Shore and Beach Preservation Association
• Alice Kaplan, B.A. 1975 - Professor of Romance Studies, History, and Literature, Duke University
• Stephen Kotkin, M.A. 1983, Ph.D. 1988 - Professor of Russian and Soviet History, Princeton University
• Peter Marcuse, Ph.D. 1972 - Professor of Urban Planning, Columbia University; son of Herbert Marcuse
• Katherine S. Newman, M.A. 1976, Ph.D. 1979 - Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University
• Ronald Numbers, Ph.D. 1969 - Hilldale and William Coleman Professor of the History of Science and Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Kwadwo Osseo-Asare, B.S. 1970, M.S. 1972, Ph.D. 1975 MSE - Professor of Metallurgy and Geo-Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Nell Irvin Painter, B.A. 1964 - Edwards Professor Emerita of American History, Princeton University
• Charles B. Perrow, B.A. 1953, M.A. 1955, Ph.D. 1960 - Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Yale University
• Noreen Reist, B.A. 1982 - Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University
• Josiah Royce, B.A. 1875 - philosopher, professor at Harvard University
• William H. Sewell, Jr., M.A. 1963, Ph.D. 1971 - Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor of History and Political Science, The University of Chicago
• Deborah Tannen, M.A. 1976, Ph.D. 1979 - Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University
• Sidney Tarrow, Ph.D. 1965 - Maxwell Upson Professor of Government and Sociology, Cornell University
• Yi-Fu Tuan, Ph.D. 1957 - Professor Emeritus of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Amnon Yariv, B.S. 1954, M.S. 1956, Ph.D. 1958 - Martin and Eileen Summerfield Professor of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering, Caltech

Arts and media

Architecture

• Julia Morgan, B.S. 1894 - architect, designed the Hearst Castle for newspaper businessman William Randolph Hearst
• Peter Walker, B.S. 1955 - landscape architect, commissions include the World Trade Center Memorial and the Sony Center in Berlin

Books

• Robert Baer (attended) - former CIA case officer, author of the memoir See No Evil (2003), which served as the basis of the movie Syriana (2005). George Clooney's Academy Award winning performance is loosely based on Baer
• David Brock, B.A. 1985 - political author (The Real Anita Hill [1993], Blinded by the Right [2002], The Republican Noise Machine [2004])
• Beverly Cleary, B.A. 1938 - author
• Sara Davidson, 1962 - author
• Philip K. Dick (attended) - science fiction author whose stories inspired Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report
• Joan Didion, B.A. 1956 - writer, author of Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968), The White Album (1979), and The Year of Magical Thinking (2005)
• Barbara Guest, B.A. 1943 - sole female member of the modernist New York School of poets; awarded the Frost Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Poetry Society of America (1999)
• Christopher Kasparek, 1966 - author, translator
• Maxine Hong Kingston, B.A. 1962 - author, Senior Lecturer, recipient of 1997 National Humanities Medal awarded by President of the United States Bill Clinton
• Jack London (attended 1896-1897) - novelist
• Greil Marcus, B.A. 1967, M.A. 1968 - cultural and music critic, author of Mystery Train (1975) and Lipstick Traces (1989)
• Terry McMillan, B.A. 1986 - author (Waiting to Exhale [1992], How Stella Got Her Groove Back [1996])
• Dhan Gopal Mukerji - first successful Indian man of letters in the United States of America
• Frank Norris (attended 1890-1894) - American novelist; author of McTeague (1899), which became the basis for the classic 1924 silent film Greed
• Mary Pipher, B.A. 1969 - author, expert on culture and mental health
• Rebecca Solnit, M. Jour. 1984 - author, cultural historian, and activist; books include Wanderlust: A History of Walking (2000) and River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West (2003)
• Irving Stone, B.A. 1923 - novelist (The Agony and the Ecstasy [1961])
• Robert Penn Warren, M.A. 1927 - novelist, poet; author of All the King's Men (1946)
• Mona Simpson, B.A. 1979 - novelist (Anywhere But Here), Guggenheim Fellow, professor at Bard College; biological sister of Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple Computer)

Music

• Suzanne Ciani, M.A. 1970 - composer
• Henry Cowell (attended 1914) - composer
• Adam Duritz (attended) - lead singer of Counting Crows
• Susanna Hoffs, B.A. 1980 - lead singer of The Bangles
• Andrew Imbrie, M.A. 1947 - composer
• Stephan Jenkins, B.A. 1987, lead singer and songwriter of the band Third Eye Blind, was valedictorian of his class at UC Berkeley
• Jonathan Kramer, Ph.D. 1969 - composer

Newspapers and magazines

• Joan Acocella, B.A. 1966 - dance critic, The New Yorker
• Scott Adams, M.B.A. 1986 - creator of Dilbert
• John Battelle, B.A. 1987, M.Jour. 1992 - Co-founder of Wired magazine
• Pauline Esther Friedman (attended) - a.k.a Abigail Van Buren ("Dear Abby")
• Rube Goldberg, 1904 - cartoonist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1948
• Marguerite Higgins, 1941 - journalist, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1951, honored on a commemorative postal stamp issued by the United States Post Office
• Pauline Kael, B.A. 1940 - film critic, The New Yorker
• Jean LemMon - editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine
• Wendy Lesser, M.A. 1977, Ph.D. 1982 - cultural critic; Founding Editor of The Threepenny Review
• Tim McGirk, B.A. 1974 - investigative journalist for Time magazine, war correspondent and Al Qaeda expert,
• Stephan Pastis, B.A. 1989 - creator of Pearls Before Swine
• Jann Wenner (attended) - Founder of Rolling Stone magazine
• Ed Wong, M.Jour./M.A. 1998 - reporter, The New York Times

Non-fictional broadcasting

• Robert Bazell, B.A. 1967 - NBC News' Chief Science and Health Correspondent
• Peter Chernin, B.A. 1974 - President of News Corporation and CEO of the Fox Group
• Liz Claman, B.A. 1985 - anchor of CNBC's Wake Up Call
• Sumi Das, B.A. 1993 - CNN national correspondent based in Washington, D.C.
• Renée Montagne, B.A. 1973 - co-host of NPR's Morning Edition
• Troy Roberts, B.A. 1984 - CBS News correspondent
• Michael Savage, Ph.D. 1978 - conservative radio talk show host, Savage Nation
• Lisa Stark, B.A. 1978 - ABC News correspondent
• Michele Tafoya, B.A. 1988 - sports television reporter for ABC Sports and ESPN

Film and television

• Kathy Baker, B.A. 1977 - three-time Emmy Award winning actress (Picket Fences [TV series, 1992-1996)]; The Right Stuff [1983], Edward Scissorhands [1990], The Cider House Rules [1999], Cold Mountain [2003])
• Bill Bixby - director, actor (The Incredible Hulk)
• John Cheng, 1996 - producer, The Cleaner
• John Cho, B.A. 1996 - actor (American Pie [1999], Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle [2004])
• Jeff Cohen, B.S. 1996 - former actor (Chunk in The Goonies); currently entertainment lawyer
• Roxann Dawson, B.A. 1980 - actress, director, author, playwright
• Ralph Edwards, B.A. 1935 - national television star
• Carl Franklin, B.A. 1971 - film director (One False Move [1992], Devil in a Blue Dress [1995], High Crimes [2002], Out of Time [2003])
• Peter Gethers (attended 1970-1972) - screenwriter and author of bestselling Norton the cat trilogy
• Amos Gitai, Ph.D. (Architecture) 1986 - Israeli film director (Field Diary [1982], Eden [2001], Free Zone [2005])
• Karen Grassle, B.A. 1965 - actress, best known for her role as Caroline Ingalls (the mother) on the Little House on the Prairie television series
• William Hung (attended) - rejected singer from American Idol, acted in film My Crazy Mother (2004), cameo on Arrested Development
• Oren Jacob, B.S. 1992, M.S. 1995 - Pixar Animation Studios technical director
• Stacy Keach, B.A. 1963 - actor
• Adam Lamberg (Class of 2006) - actor (Lizzie McGuire Movie)
• Sanaa Lathan, B.A. 1992 - actress (Blade [1998], Something New [2006]; Tony Award nomination [2004], Raisin in the Sun)
• Quentin Lee, B.A. 1992 - Asian-American film director (Shopping for Fangs [1997], Drift [2001], Ethan Mao [2004])
• Joshua Marston, B.A. 1990 - film director (Maria Full of Grace [2004])
• Jerry Mathers, B.A. 1974 - actor (Leave it to Beaver)
• Errol Morris (attended philosophy graduate program) - documentary film director (The Thin Blue Line [1988], Fog of War [2003])
• Gregory Peck, B.A. 1939 - actor, won the Academy Award for portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), nominated for the Oscar four other times; served as president of the Screen Actors Guild
• James Schamus, B.A. 1982, M.A. 1987, Ph.D. 2003 - screenwriter and movie producer known for his frequent collaborations with Ang Lee on movies (Eat Drink Man Woman, The Wedding Banquet, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), professor at Columbia University
• George Takei, 1959 (later transferred to UCLA) - actor (Star Trek)

Business

See also: Science and technology, Haas School of Business.

• Tom Anderson, B.A. 1997 - creator and founding member of Myspace.com (sold to News Corporation for $580 million)
• Bengt Baron, B.S. 1985, M.B.A. 1988 - CEO of V&S Group (Stockholm, Sweden)
• Stephen D. Bechtel, 1954 (honorary) - Founder of Bechtel Corporation
• Nicholas Benjamin, 2005 - Co-founder of TDink Magazine
• Joan Blades, B.A. 1977 - Co-founder of After Dark "flying-toaster" screensaver company Berkeley Systems, co-founder of MoveOn.org
• Richard C. Blum, B.S., M.B.A. 1959 - investment banker (Blum Capital Partners), founder of the American Himalayan Foundation, Regent of the University of California
• Weili Dai, B.A. Computer Science 1984 - Co-founder of broadband firm Marvell Technology Group, a billion dollar company in the NASDAQ 100
• Charles H. Ferguson, B.A. 1978 - Co-founder and CEO of Vermeer Technologies Incorporated (original creator of Microsoft FrontPage, sold to Microsoft for $133 million)
• Donald Fisher, B.S. 1951 - Founder and Chair, The Gap
• Jean Paul Getty (transferred to the University of Oxford)
• Walter A. Haas, B.S. 1910 - Co-founder of Levi Strauss & Co.
• William Randolph Hearst, Jr. (attended) - newspaper publisher
• Paul E. Jacobs, B.S. 1984, M.S. 1986, Ph.D 1989 - CEO of Qualcomm
• Edgar F. Kaiser, 1930 - Founder of Kaiser Permanente
• Pradman Kaul, B.S. 1968, M.S. 1968 - Chairman and CEO of Hughes Network Systems, member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Michael C. Kavanaugh, B.S. 1961, M.S. 1974 - Vice-President of the environmental engineering firm of Malcolm Pirnie, member of the National Academy of Engineering
• David C. Lee, B.A. 2002 - Founder of TDink Magazine
• Howard Lincoln, B.A. 1962, J.D. 1965 - former Chairman of Nintendo of America, Chairman and CEO of the Seattle Mariners
• Hong Llang Lu, B.S. 1978 - Founder and CEO of billion-dollar Fortune 1000 company UTStarcom (named by the World Economic Forum to its Technology Pioneers list)
• Brian Maxwell, B.A. 1975 - Founder of PowerBar
• Teresa Meng, M.S. 1984, Ph.D. 1988 - Founder of Atheros Communications
• Michael Olson, B.A. 1991, M.A. 1992 - CEO of Sleepycat Software (acquired in 2006 by Oracle Corporation), one of the original authors of BerkeleyDB
• Paul Otellini, M.B.A. 1974 - CEO of Intel (2005-present)
• Denny Parker, B.S. 1965, M.S. 1966, Ph.D. 1970 - Senior Vice-President, Brown and Caldwell; member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Robert S. Pepper, B.S. 1957, M.S. 1959, Ph.D. 1961 - Founder and CEO of Level One Semiconductor, sold to Intel for $2.2 billion
• Ryan Petersen - Co-founder, Faculty Imports
• John Riccitiello, B.S. 1981 - managing director and co-founder of Elevation Partners; former president and chief operating officer (October 1997 to April 2004) of Electronic Arts (grew the company from $673 million to $3 billion, increased profits over 900%); former President and Chief Executive Officer, Bakery Division, at Sara Lee; former President and Chief Executive Officer of Wilson Sporting Goods
• Arun Sarin, M.S. 1978, M.B.A. 1978 - CEO of London-based Vodafone (2003-present)
• John Schaeffer, 1971 - Founder of ecologically-friendly Real Goods solar energy store and the Solar Living Center
• John Scharffenberger, 1973 - namesake and co-founder of chocolate company "Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker" (acquired by the Hershey's)
• Jim Simons Ph.D. 1972 - mathematician, philanthropist, founder of the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies
• George Strompolos - Co-founder, Faculty Imports
• Sehat Sutardja, M.S. 1983, Ph.D. 1988 EECS - Co-founder of broadband firm Marvell Technology Group, a billion dollar company in the NASDAQ 100
• Pantas Sutardja, B.S. 1983, M.S. 1985, Ph.D. 1988 EECS - Co-founder of Marvell Technology Group
• Theodore Van Zelst, B.S. 1944 - Co-founder of Soiltest (testing company for soil, rock, concrete, and asphalt), recipient of the 1988 ASCE's "Chicago Engineer of the Year" award, developed the swing-wing design that allows supersonic aircraft to exceed the sound barrier, developed the first mobile baggage inspection unit, and developed lunar construction and soil testing for humankind's first steps on the moon.
• Cher Wang - Chair of VIA Technologies
• Ralph Warner (Law, ca. 1966) - pioneer in the legal self-help book industry, founder of Nolo Press
• Dean Witter, 1909 - Co-founder and Partner, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

Politics and government

See also: Boalt Hall

Heads of state

• Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, B.A. 1950 - President of Pakistan (1971-1973), Prime Minister of Pakistan (1973-1977)
• Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ph.D. 1971 - President of Iran (1989-1997)
• Sun Ke, B.A. 1916 - Premier of the Republic of China, President of National Chiao Tung University, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Soochow University
• Haakon Magnus, Crown Prince of Norway, B.A. 1999 - heir to the throne of Norway
• Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, M.A. 1966, Ph.D. 1966 - President of Costa Rica (1998-2002)

Governors

• James H. Budd, 1873 - Governor of California
• Jerry Brown, B.A. 1961 - Governor of California, Mayor of Oakland, California
• John Morton Eshleman, B.A. 1903, M.A. 1905 - Lieutenant Governor of California (1915-1916)
• Walter A. Gordon, B.A. 1918, J.D. 1922 - Governor of the Virgin Islands, judge, member of National Football Foundation Hall of Fame
• Jennifer Granholm, B.A. 1984 - Governor of Michigan (2003-present), first female to hold this position in the state of Michigan
• James Soong, M.A. 1967 - Governor of Taiwan Province
• Marcelo Trivelli, M.B.A. 1980 - Governor (Intendente) of Santiago, Chile
• Earl Warren, B.A. 1912, J.D. 1914 - Attorney General of California, 1939-1943; Governor of California, 1943-1953; 14th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1953-1969
• Pete Wilson, J.D. 1962 - U.S. Senator, Governor of California

Executive council members

The following served as cabinet-level officials.

• Andrej Bajuk, M.S. 1972 - Minister of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia, Prime Minister of Slovenia (May-November 2000)
• W. Michael Blumenthal, B.S. 1951 - United States Secretary of the Treasury (1977-1979)
• Michael Boskin, B.A. 1967, Ph.D. 1971 - Chair, Presidential Council of Economic Advisors, professor at Stanford University
• Mostafa Chamran, Ph.D. 1963 - former Iranian Minister of Defense
• Judith Heumann, M.P.H. 1975 - pioneer for disability rights and former Assistant United States Secretary of Education
• Franklin Lane, 1887 - United States Secretary of the Interior
• Robert McNamara, B.A. 1937 - President of World Bank (1968-1981), United States Secretary of Defense (1961-1968), Chair of Ford Motor Company
• Norman Mineta, B.A. 1953 - Congressman, United States Secretary of Transportation (2001-present), United States Secretary of Commerce (2000-2001)
• Rodrigo Rato, M.B.A. 1974 - Spain's former Minister of Economy, Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2004-present)
• Dean Rusk (studied law, Class of 1940) - United States Secretary of State (1961-1969)
• Ann Veneman, M.P.P. 1971 - United States Secretary of Agriculture (2001-2005)

Justices

See also: Boalt Hall

• Lance Ito, J.D. 1975 - judge, presided over O. J. Simpson trial
• Roger J. Traynor, B.A. 1923, Ph.D. 1926, J.D. 1927 - Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court (1964-1970)
• Earl Warren, B.A. 1912, J.D. 1914 - 14th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1953-1969) (also listed in Governors section and Attorneys section)

Legislators

• Dick Ackerman, 1964 - California State Senate Republican Leader
• Ron Dellums, M.S.W. 1962 - Congressman
• Barbara Lee, M.S.W. 1975 - Congresswoman (D-Oakland) (1998-present)
• Mohammad Javad Larijani - Iranian former Member of Parliament
• Robert Matsui, B.A. 1963 - Congressman
• Cynthia McKinney, Ph.D. candidate - Congresswoman (D-Georgia)
• Dalip Singh Saund, M.A. 1922, Ph.D. 1924 - first Indian American Congressman (D-California) (1957-1963), mathematician
• Todd Spitzer, M.P.P. 1989 - California State Assemblyman
• Linda Sanchez, B.A. 1991 - Congresswoman (2002-present)

Directors

• Horace Albright, 1912 - conservationist, helped establish the National Park Service (with Stephen Mather, Class of 1887), second director of the National Park Service, awarded the Medal of Freedom
• Nicolle Devenish, B.A. 1994 - White House Communications Director (2004-Present)
• Newton Drury, 1912 - conservationist, fourth Director of the National Park Service
• Julie Gerberding, M.P.H. 1990 - Director of the Centers for Disease Control (2002-present)
• Stephen Mather, 1887 - conservationist, Founding Director of the National Park Service
• John McCone, B.S. 1922 - Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (1961-1965)

Mayors

• Jerry Brown, B.A. 1961 - Mayor of Oakland (listed under Governors section)
• Soon Cho, Ph.D. 1967 - Mayor of Seoul, South Korea, former Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea
• Shirley Dean, B.A. 1956 - Mayor of Berkeley, California (1998-2002)
• Lionel Wilson, 1938 - first African American Mayor of Oakland

Diplomats

• John Kenneth Galbraith, M.A. 1932, Ph.D. 1934 - Harvard Professor Emeritus of Economics; Ambassador to India
• March Fong Eu, B.S. 1943 - former California Secretary of State, former US Ambassador to Micronesia, mother of Matt Fong, another noted Chinese-American politician
• Philip Habib, Ph.D. 1952 - U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East
• Sadako Ogata, Ph.D. 1963 - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1991-2001)
• James D. Zellerbach, 1913 - United States Ambassador to Italy

Attorneys

See also: Boalt Hall

• Zoe Baird, B.A. 1974, J.D. 1977 - attorney, President of Markle Foundation; nominated by President Clinton for United States Attorney General post
• Melvin Belli, J.D. 1929 - attorney
• Bill Lockyer, B.A. 1965 - California Attorney General (1999-present)
• Edwin Meese III, J.D. 1958 - United States Attorney General (1985-1988)
• Theodore Olson, J.D. 1965 - United States Solicitor General (2001-2004)
• Larry Sonsini, B.A. 1963, J.D. 1966 - Chair of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (Silicon Valley law firm)
• Michael Tigar, B.A. 1962, J.D. 1966 - prominent litigator whose clients have included the Chicago Seven and Oklahoma City bombing accomplice Terry Nichols; Research Professor of Law at Washington College of Law, American University
• Earl Warren, B.A. 1912, J.D. 1914 - Attorney General of California, 1939-1943; 1943-1953 (also listed under Governors section and Justices section)

Activists

• Richard Aoki, B.A. 1968, M.S.W. 1970 - co-founder Black Panther Party
• Joan Blades, B.A. 1977 - political activist, co-founder of MoveOn.org (also listed in Science and technology section)
• Betty Friedan (attended psychology graduate program) - feminist activist, author of The Feminine Mystique (1963)
• David Horowitz, M.A. 1961 - conservative political activist and commentator, founder of the right-wing Center for the Study of Popular Culture
• Kasra Khatibi, B.S. 2006 - Founder of Iranian Gay Rights Movement
• James Robertson, 1923 - National Chair of the Spartacist League
• R.J. Rushdoony, B.A. 1938, M.A. 1940 - prominent author of the Christian Right

Other

• Rachelle Chong, B.A. 1981 - former Commissioner of the FCC
• Jimmy Doolittle, 1922 - aviator, United States Army Lt. General
• Maria Echaveste, J.D. 1980 - White House Deputy Chief of Staff (1998-2001)
• Ida Louise Jackson, B.A. 1922, M.A. 1923 - education and public-health pioneer
• Richard Neustadt, B.A. 1939 - political historian and advisor to several U.S. Presidents
• Oliver Smith, 1916 - Major General, United States Marine Corps

Science and technology

See also: Academia, Business, UC Berkeley College of Chemistry, Law

Astronauts

• Leroy Chiao, B.S. 1983 - first Chinese-American astronaut
• Tamara E. Jernigan, M.S. 1985 - astronaut
• Don L. Lind, Ph.D. 1964 - astronaut
• Brian T. O'Leary, Ph.D. 1967- astronaut
• Margaret Rhea Seddon, B.A. 1970 - astronaut
• James van Hoften, B.S. 1966 - astronaut
• Rex Walheim, B.S. 1984 - astronaut
• Mary Weber, Ph.D. 1988 - astronaut

Computer scientists and engineers

See also: Turing Award laureates

• Allan Alcorn, 1971 - Atari employee #3, electronics designer behind Atari's seminal PONG video arcarde unit, and erstwhile boss of Steve Jobs at Atari
• Richard Bolt B.A. 1933, M.A. 1937, PhD. 1939 - Professor at MIT and Internet pioneer and businessman, founder of the groundbreaking computer company Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN)
• Gary Chevsky - Co-founder of Ask.com, where he served as the chief software architect of its natural language processing search engine
• George Crow, B.S. EE 1966 - one of the original computer hardware designers of the Apple Macintosh
• Kevin Donelly, B.S. EECS 1985 - Vice-President of Engineering at Rambus
• Lee Felsenstein, B.S. EECS 1972 - pioneer in the personal computer industry, founder of Community Memory, designer of the Osborne 1 computer, and influential leading mediator of the Homebrew Computer Club, from which would emerge 23 companies, including Apple Computer
• Charles Giancarlo, M.S. EECS 1980 - Chief Development Officer of Cisco Systems [5]
• Steve Gibson (attended) [6] - Founder of Gibson Research Corporation and co-host of Security Now!
• Andrew Grove, Ph.D. 1963 - 4th employee of Intel, and eventually its President, CEO, and Chairman, and TIME magazine's Man of the Year in 1997
• Eugene Jarvis, B.S. EECS 1976 - creator of the classic Defender video arcade game
• Lynne Greer Jolitz, B.A. 1989 - co-author, with husband William Jolitz, of 386BSD, which is the ancestor of FreeBSD, which in turn is an ancestor of Apple's Darwin operating system
• William Jolitz, B.A. 1997 - co-author, with wife Lynne Greer Jolitz, of 386BSD
• Bill Joy, M.S. 1982 - Co-founder of Sun Microsystems
• Ozalp Babaoglu, Ph.D. 1981 - principal designer of BSD Unix - currently Professor of Computer Science at the University of Bologna, Italy
• E. Floyd Kvamme, B.S. EECS 1959 - Co-founder of National Semiconductor
• Barbara Liskov, B.A. 1961 - first woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science (in 1968 at Stanford), creator of CLU, professor at MIT
• Peter Merholz, B.A. 1993 - coined the term "blog"
• Jay Miner, 1959 - inventor of the Amiga personal computer
• Gordon E. Moore, B.S. 1950 - Co-founder of Intel and the originator of Moore's Law
• Eric E. Schmidt, M.S. 1979, Ph.D. 1982 - CEO of Google (2001-present)
• Charles Simonyi, 1972 - computer scientist. At Xerox PARC, he created the first WYSIWYG word processor, Bravo, then joined Microsoft to spread the WYSIWYG and computer mouse gospel. Originally from Hungary, he is the "Hungarian" in Hungarian notation, which he created.
• Lucy Suchman, B.A. 1972, M.A. 1977, Ph.D. 1984 - Professor of Sociology, Lancaster University (U.K.); former research anthropologist at Xerox PARC and pioneer of human-computer interaction studies; author of Plans and Situated Actions (1987); awarded 2002 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science
• Andrew Tanenbaum, Ph.D. 1971 - computer scientist and creator of Minix, the precursor to Linux
• Steve Wozniak, Class of 1976, graduated B.S. 1986 - Co-founder of Apple Computer, member of the National Academy of Engineering
• William Yeager, B.A. 1964 - author of the first multiple-protocol router software, which comprised the core of the first Cisco Systems IOS

Mathematicians and physicists

See also: Nobel laureates

• Arthur Scott King, Ph.D. 1903 - first ever Ph.D. in physics from this university.
• John Bahcall, 1956 - physicist, co-winner of the Fermi award in 2003
• George Dantzig, Ph.D. 1946 - Father of linear programming, created the simplex algorithm
• Albert Ghiorso, B.S. EE 1937 - co-discoverer of twelve chemical elements such as Americium, Berkelium, and Californium
• William Thurston, Ph.D. 1972 - mathematician, winner of the Fields Medal in 1982
• Shing-Tung Yau, Ph.D. 1971 - mathematician, winner of the Fields Medal in 1983, winner of the United States National Medal of Science in 1997
• Chien-Shiung Wu, Ph.D. 1940 - physicist

Other

• Michael J. Carey, B.S. 1983 - technical director at BEA Systems, member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Glen Edwards, B.S. 1941 - U.S. Air Force test pilot
• T. Y. Lin, M.S. 1933 - Professor of Civil Engineering, bridgebuilder, pioneering researcher and practioner of prestressed concrete, designed Moscone Center, recipient of the National Medal of Science
• David N. Kennedy, B.S. 1959, M.S. 1962- director of the California Department of Water Resources in Sacramento, California, elected member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Tiffany Shlain, B.A. 1992 - founder of Webby Awards, filmmaker

Athletics

Baseball

• Geoff Blum - professional baseball player with the San Diego Padres
• Conor Jackson - professional baseball player with the Arizona Diamondbacks
• Jackie Jensen - professional baseball player
• Jeff Kent - professional baseball player with the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Xavier Nady - baseball player for the New York Mets (MLB)
• Tyler Walker - professional baseball player for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Basketball

• Shareef Abdur-Rahim - National Basketball Association (NBA) player with the Sacramento Kings
• Kevin Johnson, B.A. 1997 - professional basketball player
• Jason Kidd - professional basketball player with the New Jersey Nets
• Lamond Murray - NBA forward currently playing for the New Jersey Nets

Football

• J.J. Arrington - National Football League (NFL) running back with the Arizona Cardinals
• Nnamdi Asomugha - defensive back for the Oakland Raiders (NFL)
• Steve Bartkowski - NFL QB #1 overall NFL draft pick of 1975, NFL Rookie of the Year, 2-time Pro Bowler
• David Binn - 1995 National Football League longsnapper with the San Diego Chargers
• Kyle Boller - quarterback for Baltimore Ravens (NFL)
• Doug Brien - 1994 National Football League kicker
• Andre Carter - defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers.
• Scott Fujita, B.A. 2001, M.A. 2002 - linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys.
• Tarik Glenn, B.A. 1999 - offensive tackle for Indianapolis Colts
• Tony Gonzalez - National Football League Tight End with the Kansas City Chiefs
• Joe Kapp, 1960 [7] - professional football player
• Ryan Longwell - National Football League kicker with the Green Bay Packers
• Deltha O'Neal - National Football League cornerback with the Cincinnati Bengals
• Jeremy Newberry - center for the San Francisco 49ers.
• Hardy Nickerson,B.A. 1989 - All-Pro NFL linebacker
• Aaron Rodgers - quarterback of the Green Bay Packers
• Andrew L. Smith - Head Coach of the powerhouse Cal football teams of the 1920s.
• Harry Vance "Chuck" Muncie - National Football League - Running back for the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers.

Olympics

See also: California_Golden_Bears: Olympics

For a full list, see http://calbears.collegesports.com/trads/cal-olympians.html

• Matt Biondi, B.A. 1988 - three-time Olympian, winner of 8 gold medals
• Pete Cipollone, 1994 - Coxswain for the gold medal winning rowing team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece
• Natalie Coughlin, B.A. 2005 - Olympic swimmer, winner of two gold medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, three-time NCAA Swimmer of the Year
• Joy Fawcett, B.A. 1992 - member of the gold winning United States women's soccer team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta
• Michele Granger, B.A. 1993 - softball pitcher and Olympic gold medalist
• Mark Henderson (swimmer), 1991 - swimmer, gold medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics where he broke the world record in the 400 meter medley swimming relay
• Mary T. Meagher, B.A. 1987 - Olympic swimmer, winner of three gold medals; CNNSI.com's 100 Greatest Women Athletes (ranked 17th)
• Jonny Moseley (currently enrolled) - Gold Medalist in 1998 Winter Olympics
• Conie Carpenter Phinney, 1981 - cycling gold medalist in 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California
• Staciana Stitts, 2003 - Olympic swimmer, gold medalist in 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia
• Helen Wills, B.A. 1925 - all time great tennis player; singles winner of eight Wimbledon titles, seven U.S. Open Championships, four French Opens, and two Olympic gold medals

Other

• Bill Lester, B.S. 1984 - NASCAR driver, became the sixth African-American to start a NEXTEL Cup race
• Leigh Steinberg, B.A. 1970, J.D. 1973 - sports agent

One of a kind

• Timothy Leary, Ph.D. 1950 - psychologist and cult figure
• Ed Roberts, B.A. 1964, M.A. 1966, C.Phil. 1969 - Founder of the Independent Living Movement
• Alice Waters, B.A. 1967 - celebrity chef, founder of Chez Panisse, originator of the California cuisine style of gourmet cooking

Fictional

• The classic American film The Graduate (1967) has several scenes of Berkeley, where the main character played by Dustin Hoffman goes to seek his lover's daughter.
• Catherine Tramell, played by Sharon Stone, started her killing spree while a student at Berkeley in the film Basic Instinct.
• In the film Mona Lisa Smile, Julia Roberts' character is an idealistic Berkeley graduate.
• Both Sandy and Kirsten Cohen on The OC graduated from Boalt School of Law at Berkeley.
• Dr. Christina Yang, played by Sandra Oh, on ABC's Grey's Anatomy got her Ph.D. from Berkeley.
• Press Secretary and later Presidential Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg, played by Allison Janney on the long-running The West Wing, got her master's degree from Berkeley. She mentions this several times to get out of duties she finds demeaning.
• Berkeley is the setting for the film Boys and Girls starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Claire Forlani, who both play Berkeley students.
• Catch Me If You Can told the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr. who faked getting his law degree from Berkeley to impress his fiance's father and to get a job as a lawyer. The character was played by Leonardo Di Caprio.
• The Hulk, directed by Ang Lee, largely took place at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and private research facilites nearby. Both Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly played researchers.
• In the 2005 film Bee Season, Richard Gere plays Saul Nauman, a Religious Studies professor at Berkeley.
• Jack Bauer, the lead character played by Kiefer Sutherland in the hit drama 24, got his Masters of Science in "Criminology and Law" at Berkeley (no such degree is offered)[8]
• In the hit film Field of Dreams, the lead character Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) is a Berkeley alum.
• UC Berkeley is satirized in David Lodge's classic campus novel Changing Places (1975).
• In Harry Mulisch's novel The Procedure (1998 [English transl. 2001]), Dutch biologist Victor Werker is a Regent's Lecturer for one semester at Berkeley.
• Rei Shimura, the protagonist in Sujata Massey's mystery novels, earned her master's degree in Japanese art history from Berkeley.
• In the film Gotcha! (1985), Jonathan (played by Anthony Edwards) falls for Sasha (played by Linda Fiorentino), a beautiful and mysterious Berkeley graduate student in film.
• Winona Ryder plays Finn Dodd, a Berkeley graduate student, in the 1995 film How to Make an American Quilt.
• In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Kirk explains Spock's erratic behavior on a bus by claiming that the Vulcan was part of the 1960's Free Speech Movement at Berkeley.

See also

• List of UC Berkeley faculty