The list of University of California, San Diego people includes notable graduates, professors and administrators affiliated with the University of California, San Diego in the United States.
<p>Notable alumni
Art and architecture
- Micha Cárdenas, MFA (Visual Arts), 2009. Contemporary artist.
- Moyra Davey, MFA (Photography), 1988. Contemporary artist.
- Micol Hebron, did not graduate. Contemporary artist.
- Hung Liu, MFA (Visual Arts), 1986. Contemporary artist.
- Elle Mehrmand, MFA (Visual Arts), 2011. Contemporary artist.
- Dan Santat, BS (Microbiology), 1998. Author and illustrator, winner of 2015 Caldecott Medal.
Athletics
- Geoff Abrams, MD (Medicine), 2006. Tennis player.
- Mark Allen, BS (Biology), 1980. Six-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion, inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame; named the world’s fittest man by Outside magazine.
- Billy Beane, BA (Economics), 1985. General Manager of the Oakland Athletics.
- Randy Bennett, BS (Biology), 1986. Saint Mary's College of California men's basketball head coach.
- Alon Leichman, BS (History), 2016. Member of the Israel national baseball team and pitching coach for Yarmouthâ€"Dennis Red Sox.
- Jie Li, BA (Political Science), 2006. Winner of the US ING Cup, Open, Costen, Texas Open and many other championships.
- Shlomo Lipetz, BA, 2006. Israeli baseball player
- Bob Natal, BS (Computer Science), 1987. MLB Catcher, Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins National League.
- Julie Swail, BA (Economics), 1995. Olympian (women’s water polo); UC Irvine head coach.
Business
- Garrett Gruener, BA (Computer Science), 1976. Co-founder of Ask Jeeves.
- Jasper Kim, BA (Economics and Third World Studies), 1994. CEO of Asia-Pacific Global Research Group.
- Greg Papadopoulos, BA (Systems Science), 1979. Executive VP and CTA of Sun Microsystems.
- Robert J. Pera, MS (Electrical Engineering), 2002. Founder of Ubiquiti Networks Owner of the Memphis Grizzlies.
- Michael Robertson, BS (Cognitive Science), 1989. Founder of MP3.com, Lindows.com, and SIPphone.
- Philip Rosedale, BS (Physics), 1992. Founder and CEO of Linden Lab. Creator of virtual 3D world Second Life.
- Jason Snell, BA (Communications), 1992. Editorial director of Mac Publishing and editor of Macworld.
- Nick Woodman, BA (Visual Arts), 1997. Founder and CEO of GoPro.
Computer science
- Bill Atkinson, BS (Chemistry), 1974. Co-developer of the Macintosh computer.
- Steve Hart, MA (Mathematics), 1980. Co-founder and vice president of engineering for ViaSat; recognized for excellence and growth by Forbes Inc. and BusinessWeek.
- David E. Shaw, BS (Mathematics), 1972. Founder of D. E. Shaw & Co.
- Guy “Bud†Tribble, BS (Physics), 1975. Principal architect of the original Macintosh computer and co-founder of NeXt, Inc.
Film, theatre, and television
- Yareli Arizmendi, MFA (Acting), 1992. Actor in Like Water for Chocolate.
- James Avery, BA (Theatre), 1976. Stage, screen and television actor who co-starred with Will Smith on the TV show Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
- Rachel Axler, MFA (Playwriting), 2004. Emmy Award-winning writer for The Daily Show and Parks and Recreation.
- David Barrera, MFA (Acting), 1994. ALMA Award-nominated actor for 24.
- Hart Bochner, BA (Theatre), 1979. Film actor notably of Breaking Away.
- Robert Buckley, BS (Economics), 2003. Actor, best known for One Tree Hill
- Danny Burstein, MFA (Acting), 1990. Six-time Tony Award-nominated actor, Grammy Award nominee for Follies.
- Ricardo Chavira, MFA (Acting), 2000. Actor, notably of Desperate Housewives.
- Lawrence Cole Ph.D Ed. (Acting), 1965-2016 notably of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0170651/
- Steve Cosson, MFA (Directing), 2001. Obie Award-winning artistic director of The Civilians.
- Benicio del Toro, did not graduate. Actor, notably of Traffic.
- Emily Donahoe, MFA (Acting), 2004. Obie and Helen Hayes award winning actor.
- Maria Dizzia, MFA (Acting), 2001. Tony Award nominee In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play).
- Johnny Ray Gill, MFA (Acting), 2010. Series regular on Underground and BrainDead.
- Michael Greif, MFA (Directing), 1985. Director of Rent and former artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse. Three-time Tony Award nominee.
- Naomi Iizuka, MFA (Playwriting), 1992.
- Chane't Johnson, MFA (Acting), 2001. Television and film actor; coach for Denzel Whitaker.
- Mike Judge, BS (Physics), 1985. Animator/Director best known for Beavis and Butt-head, Office Space, King of the Hill, and Silicon Valley. Graduation speaker for the class of 2009.
- Sagan Lewis, MFA (Acting), 1977. Series regular on St. Elsewhere.
- Melanie Marnich MFA (Playwriting), 1998. Writer for Big Love, Jerome Fellowship from The Playwrights' Center.
- Jefferson Mays, MFA (Acting), 1991. Tony Award winner, I Am My Own Wife.
- Silas Weir Mitchell, MFA (Acting), 1995. Character actor and star of Grimm.
- Toby Onwumere, MFA (Acting), 2015. Star of Sense8.
- Joy Osmanski, MFA (Acting), 2003. Most notable credits include The Loop and Allen Gregory.
- Neil Patel, MFA (Scenic Design), 1991. Broadway designer of Side Man, winner of Obie and Helen Hayes awards.
- Jeanne Paulson, MFA (Acting), 1978. Tony Award nominee, The Kentucky Cycle.
- Dileep Rao, BA (Theatre), 1995. Film actor in Avatar, Inception.
- Caridad Svich, MFA (Playwriting), 1988. Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement.
- Milana Vayntrub, BA (Communication), 2008. Actress, comedian, and writer.
- Kellie Waymire, MFA (Acting), 1993. Best known for Star Trek: Enterprise and roles on Six Feet Under, and One Life to Live. Also a prolific regional theatre actress.
- Wong Fu Productions filmmaking trio: Wesley Chan, Ted Fu and Philip Wang, BA (Cinematography), 2006.
- Jimmy O. Yang, BS (Management Science), 2009. Actor and stand-up comedian, best known for Silicon Valley and Patriots Day.
- Paloma Young, MFA (Costume Design), 2006. Tony Award winner, Peter and the Starcatcher.
Journalism
- Mona Kosar Abdi, BA (International Studies), 2011. Multimedia journalist with WSET ABC 13, the Al Jazeera Media Network.
Law and politics
- Steve Peace, BA (Political Science), 1976. California State Senator, 40th Senate District, chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, California Journal of Legislator of the Year 2000; and producer of the 1970s cult film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
- Timothy J. Roemer, BA (Government), 1979. Former Indiana Congressman and current president of the Center for National Policy.
- John Shoven, BA (Physics), 1969. Hoover Institute senior fellow.
- Tres Watson, BA (History), 2006. MBA, (Entrepreneurial) 2015. Same-sex marriage activist.
Literature
- Debito Arudou, MA (International Affairs), 1990. Author and activist.
- Greg Benford, Ph.D (Astrophysics), 1967. Nebula Award Winner
- David Brin, MS (Applied Physics), 1978; Ph.D (Space Science), 1981. Nebula and Hugo Award Winner; science fiction author, notably of Uplift; physicist.
- Robert Todd Carroll, Ph.D (Philosophy), 1974. Publisher of The Skeptic's Dictionary and fellow for Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
- Angela Davis, MA (Philosophy), 1969. Radical activist and philosopher.
- Raymond E. Feist, BA (Communications), 1997. Author.
- Nancy Holder, BA (Communications), 1976. Bram Stoker Award winner.
- Khaled Hosseini, MD (Medicine), 1993. Afghan-American novelist and physician; his 2003 debut novel, The Kite Runner, was a #1 New York Times bestseller.
- Aaron Krach, BA (Visual Arts), 1994. Writer.
- Virgil Nemoianu, Ph.D (Literature), 1971. Essayist, literary critic, philosopher of culture.
- Rex Pickett, BA (Literature and Visual Arts), 1976. Author of Sideways.
- Kim Stanley Robinson, BA (Literature), 1974; Ph.D (Literature), 1982. Two-time Nebula and Hugo Award winner
- Alan Russell, BA (English and American Literature), 1978. Lefty Award winner and bestselling crime fiction author.
- Vernor Vinge, Ph.D (Mathematics), 1971. Hugo Award winner Science fiction author, computer scientist, and mathematician.
Music and entertainment
- Anthony Neely, BS (Psychology and Theatre), 2008. American Mandopop Singer .
- Mark Applebaum, Ph.D (Composition), 1996. Composer and Professor of Music at Stanford University.
- Milo Aukerman, Ph.D (Biology), 1992. Lead singer of punk rock band Descendents.
- Chad Butler, BA (History of Science), 1997. Drummer of the rock band Switchfoot.
- Chaya Czernowin, Ph.D (Composition), 1993. Composer and Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music at Harvard University.
- Steven Dehler, BA (Economics), 2010. Model, actor, and dancer.
- Paul Dresher, MA (Composition), 1976. Composer, guitarist, and improviser.
- Nathan East, BA (Music), 1978. Bass guitarist.
- David Felder, Ph.D (Composition), 1983. Composer and SUNY Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo.
- Jon Foreman, did not graduate. Guitarist of rock band Switchfoot.
- Tim Foreman, did not graduate. Bassist of rock band Switchfoot.
- Trevor Grahl, MA (Composition), 2009. Composer.
- Maria Ho, BA (Communications), 2005. Professional poker player.
- David Evan Jones, Ph.D (Composition). Composer, Professor of Music, and Porter College Provost at UC Santa Cruz.
- Kelly Kim, BA (Economics), 1998. Professional poker player.
- Paul Phillips, BS (Computer Science), 1996. Professional poker player.
- John Warthen Struble, MA (Composition), 1976. Composer, pianist, and author of The History of American Classical Music.
Public service
- George Blumenthal, Ph.D (Physics), 1972. Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz.
- Kurt M. Campbell, BA (Special Project Major), 1980. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
- Dana Shell Smith, BA (Political Science), 1992. United States Ambassador to Qatar, 2014-present.
Science, technology, medicine, and mathematics
- Margaret Allen, MD (Medicine), 1974. First female heart transplant surgeon.
- Gregory Benford, MS (Physics), 1965; Ph.D (Physics), 1967. Science fiction author and physicist; also on the faculty of University of California, Irvine.
- Bruce Beutler, BS (Biology), 1976. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- JC Buller, M.D. (Medicine), 1997. Associate Dean of Clinical Education, Touro University California COM. Physician, Photographer, Author of "Tableau and Enigma"
- Chu Ching-wu, Ph.D (Physics), 1990. US News and World Report's Researcher of the Year.
- Brian Druker, BS (Chemistry), 1977; MD (Medicine), 1981. Oncologist/chief investigator who developed a new drug for leukemia treatment.
- David Goeddel, BS (Chemistry), 1972. First full-time scientist and director of Genentech’s molecular biology department; co-founder, president and CEO of Tularik, Inc.
- Gerald Joyce, Ph.D (Biology) 1984. Researcher, Scripps Institute.
- Antony Garrett Lisi, Ph.D (Physics), 1999.
- M. Brian Maple, Ph.D (Physics), 1969. David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics.
- Eleanor Mariano, BS (Biology), 1977. Former director, White House Medical Unit; First Filipino American to reach the rank of Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy.
- Walter Munk, Ph.D (Oceanography), 1947. Oceanographer.
- George Perry, Ph.D (Marine Biology), 1979. Leading researcher in Alzheimer's disease.
- Jed E. Rose, Ph.D (Neurosciences), 1978. Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Co-Inventor of the nicotine patch, President and CEO of the Rose Research Center.
- Maurizio Seracini, BS (Bioengineering), 1973. Founded the Editech srl, Diagnostic Center for Cultural Heritage in Florence.
- Edward Tobinick, MD (Medicine), 1974. Patented a use of subcutaneous TNF-α to treat intractable back pain.
- Susumu Tonegawa, Ph.D, (Molecular Biology), 1968. Nobel Prize recipient for physiology or medicine for his work on antibody diversity.
- Craig Venter, BA (Biochemistry), 1972; PhD (Pharmacology), 1975. President of Celera Genomics, the first private firm to decode the human genome.
- Elliot McVeigh, Ph.D (Medical Biophysics), 1988. Director of Cardiovascular Imaging Lab, Researcher at Cardiovascular Imaging Lab and Faculty, Office of the Dean of Engineering
Distinguished faculty
- Hannes Alfven â€" father of modern magnetohydrodynamics, eponym of Alfven waves, Nobel laureate in Physics 1970
- David Antin â€" Visual Arts
- Eleanor Antin â€" Professor Emeritus of Visual Arts
- Percival Bazeley â€" member of the Salk Polio vaccine team
- Douglas Glynn Bolitho - breast cancer advocate
- Kenneth Bowles â€" UCSD Pascal
- Benjamin H. Bratton - Professor of Visual Arts
- Sydney Brenner â€" Nobel laureate in Medicine (2002)
- Sheldon Brown â€" Director of Experimental Game Lab, Co-Director of Center for Research in Computing and the Arts, and Professor of Visual Arts
- Keith Brueckner â€" theoretical physicist, National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member, and a founder of the UCSD Department of Physics
- Geoffrey R. Burbidge â€" professor known mostly for his alternative cosmology theory, which contradicts the Big Bang theory
- Margaret Burbidge â€" first to study and identify quasars; Carnegie fellowship winner (1947)
- Craig Callender â€" philosopher of science
- Micha Cárdenas â€" artist, theorist, Lecturer of Visual Arts and Critical Gender Studies, Collective Member of Lui Velazquez
- Lin Chao â€" Professor of Biology
- Shu Chien â€" bioengineering pioneer, National Medal of Science laureate
- Patricia Churchland â€" neurophilosopher
- Paul Churchland â€" philosopher of mind and philosopher of science
- Harold Cohen â€" English-born artist, creator of AARON
- Francis Crick â€" Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine (1962)
- Paul Crutzen â€" Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1995)
- Charles Curtis â€" avant-garde cellist
- Chaya Czernowin â€" Israeli composer, former professor of composition
- Anthony Davis â€" opera composer, jazz pianist
- Diana Deutsch â€" Professor of Psychology, known for her research on the psychology of music
- Bram Dijkstra â€" Professor of English Literature (1966â€"2000)
- Russell Doolittle â€" Professor of Chemistry, known for research on molecular evolution
- Mark Dresser â€" double bass player and improviser
- Renato Dulbecco â€" Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine (1975)
- Jeffrey Elman â€" psycholinguist and pioneer in the field of neural networks
- Robert F. Engle â€" Nobel laureate in Economics (2003)
- Robert Erickson â€" composer
- Ronald M. Evans â€" discovered steroid and nuclear receptors; Lasker Award winner
- Manny Farber â€" film critic and painter
- Gilles Fauconnier â€" inventor of the modern-day theory of conceptual blending
- George Feher â€" Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2006/7), National Academy of Sciences member, biophysicist
- Brian Ferneyhough â€" composer, founder of New Complexity movement
- David Noel Freedman â€" general editor of the Anchor Bible
- Y.C. Fung â€" considered the father of bioengineering
- Fred Gage â€" neuroscientist and stem cell biologist; discovered human adult neural stem cells
- Clark Gibson - expert on African politics and electoral fraud
- Maria Goeppert-Mayer â€" Nobel laureate in Physics
- Joseph Goguen â€" Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
- Adele Goldberg â€" Associate Professor of Linguistics (1997â€"1998)
- Marvin Leonard Goldberger â€" theoretical physicist, National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member, former Dean of Natural Sciences, and former president of Caltech
- Lawrence S.B. Goldstein â€" first to characterize kinesin molecular motors; head of UCSD stem cell research program
- Jean-Pierre Gorin â€" film director, Visual Arts (since 1975)
- Fan Chung Graham â€" mathematician, Akamai Professor in Internet Mathematics
- Ronald Graham â€" mathematician, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
- Clive W.J. Granger â€" 2003 Nobel laureate in Economics
- Deborah Hertz â€" Herman Wouk Chair in Modern Jewish Studies
- Gretchen Hofmann - professor of ecological physiology of marine organisms
- Edwin Hutchins â€" developed distributed cognition and cognitive ethnography; Mac Arthur Foundation Award Winner (1985)
- Harvey Itano â€" biochemist known for his work on the molecular basis of sickle cell anemia and other diseases
- Gabriel Jackson â€" Fulbright historian, author, and former department chairman
- Irwin M. Jacobs â€" Former professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Chairman of Qualcomm
- Fredric Jameson â€" literary critic and Marxist political theorist
- Chalmers Johnson â€" Professor Emeritus of History
- David K Jordan â€" Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Provost of Warren College, Interim Provost of Sixth College, Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award 2008 recipient [1] [2]
- Allan Kaprow â€" Professor Emeritus of Visual Arts
- Harvey Karten -(Neuroscience), National Academy of Sciences member, neuroscientist
- Charles David Keeling â€" first alerted the world to the anthropogenic contribution to the "greenhouse effect" and global warming; discoverer of the Keeling Curve
- Walter Kohn â€" Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1998), Chair of the UCSD Physics Department (1960s), Kohn-Sham equations
- Barbara Kruger â€" artist and Professor of Visual Arts
- Ronald Langacker â€" creator of cognitive grammar, Professor of Linguistics
- William Lerach â€" guest lecturer on securities and corporate law; a leading securities lawyer in the United States
- George Lewis â€" Professor of Music, jazz trombone player, MacArthur Fellowship winner (2002)
- Lei Liang â€" composer, winner of Rome Prize and Guggenheim Fellowship
- Arend Lijphart â€" Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science; elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1989; President of the American Political Science Association from 1995 to 1996; recipient of the prestigious Johann Skytte Prize in Political Science in 1997
- George Mandler â€" experimental psychology, founder of UCSD Department of Psychology
- Jean Matter Mandler â€" cognitive development
- Babette Mangolte â€" French cinematographer and Professor of Visual Arts
- Lev Manovich â€" New Media theorist, Director of Software Studies Initiative and Professor of Visual Arts
- M. Brian Maple â€" National Academy of Sciences member, physicist
- Herbert Marcuse â€" philosopher, mentor to Angela Davis
- Harry Markowitz â€" Nobel laureate in Economics (1990)
- Andrew Mattison â€" co-author of The Male Couple, co-founder of the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research
- Mathew D. McCubbins â€" professor of political science
- Mario Molina â€" Nobel laureate in Chemistry
- Eileen Myles â€" poet, Professor of Literature
- Donald Norman â€" Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science and Psychology; co-founder and first chair of Cognitive Science; author of User Centered System Design; VP of Apple; National Academy of Engineering
- Pauline Oliveros â€" composer, central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music
- George Emil Palade â€" Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine (1974), Professor of Medicine in Residence and Dean for Scientific Affairs (Emeritus)
- Linus Pauling - Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1954), Professor of Chemistry
- Richard Popkin â€" Professor of Philosophy
- Samuel Popkin â€" Professor of Political Science
- Miller Puckette â€" Creator of Puredata Programming Language, Co-Director of Center for Research in Computing and the Arts
- Vilayanur S. Ramachandran â€" neuroscience and psychology
- Jef Raskin â€" Assistant Professor in Computer Science, founder of the Apple Macintosh project
- Roger Revelle (1909â€"1991) â€" oceanographer, scholar, namesake of Roger Revelle College
- Roger Reynolds â€" 1989 Pulitzer Prize in Music
- Sally Ride â€" Professor of Physics, former astronaut
- Marshall Rosenbluth â€" Professor of Physics, member of the National Academy of Sciences, developer of the Metropolis algorithm, "Pope of Plasma Physics"
- Rosaura Sanchez - literature professor, author and literary critic
- Herbert Schiller â€" Professor Emeritus of Communication (1970â€"2000)
- Terry Sejnowski â€" Professor of Biological Sciences and Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Neurosciences, Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Computer Science and Engineering
- Kartik Seshadri â€" Professor of Indian Classical Music
- Lu Jeu Sham â€" National Academy of Sciences member, Kohn-Sham equations, physicist
- Ravi Shankar â€" Indian musician, sitar player
- Susan Shirk â€" Ho Miu Lam Endowed Chair of China and Pacific Relations; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State during the Clinton administration
- Nicholas Spitzer - Distinguished Professor of Biology, National Academy of Sciences member
- Larry Squire â€" Professor of Psychiatry, Neurosciences, and Psychology
- John G. Stoessinger â€" political analyst; prize-winning author of ten leading books on world politics; guest lecturer in international relations; political science
- Avrum Stroll â€" Professor of Philosophy
- Harry Suhl â€" National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member
- Leó Szilárd (1898â€"1964) â€" Hungarian physicist, Professor at the Salk Institute
- Roger Tsien (1952â€"2016) â€" Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2008), Wolf Prize in Medicine
- Chinary Ung â€" Grawemeyer Award-winning composer
- Harold Urey â€" Nobel laureate in Chemistry
- Benjamin Elazari Volcani, microbiologist; discovered life in the Dead Sea; pioneered biological silicon research
- Joseph Wang â€" nanoengineer, ISI's World's Most Cited Engineer, ISI's World's Most Cited Chemist
- Kenneth Watson â€" National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member
- Herbert F. York (1921â€"2009) â€" Enrico Fermi Award (2000)
- Efim Zelmanov â€" Fields Medal recipient, Professor of Mathematics
- Bruno H. Zimm â€" National Academy of Sciences member, biophysicist