List of University of California, San Diego people

The list of University of California, San Diego people includes notable graduates, professors and administrators affiliated with University of California, San Diego in the United States.

Notable alumni

Source http://alumni.ucsd.edu/prominent/index.htm

Art and architecture

• Micha Cárdenas, MFA 2009. (Visual Arts) Contemporary artist.
• Hung Liu, MFA 1986. (Visual Arts) Contemporary artist. [1]
• Elle Mehrmand, MFA 2011. (Visual Arts) Contemporary artist.
• Dan Santat, BS 1998 (Microbiology) - Author and illustrator, creator of Disney's The Replacements

Athletics

• Mark Allen, 1980 (Biology)- Six-time Ironman Triathlon World Chapter, inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame; named the world’s fittest man by Outside magazine.
• Billy Beane. General manager of the Oakland Athletics. Lead character in Moneyball
• Randy Bennett, 1986 (Biology) - Saint Mary's College of California men's basketball head coach
• Jie Li, BA 2006, (Political Science), Winner of the US ING Cup, Open, Costen, Texas Open and many other championships
• Julie Swail, 1995 (Economics) - Olympian (women’s water polo); UC Irvine head coach
• Vern Valdez. Defensive back for the American Football League Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Rams
• Bob Natal. MLB Catcher, Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins National League
• Randy Bennett. Coach, Basketball St. Mary's College Moraga

Business

• Garrett Gruener, BA, MA 1976. Co-founder of Ask-Jeeves.
• Adam Moyer, MFA, 2008. Founder of Knockaround.
• Greg Papadopoulos, BA 1979. Executive VP and CTA of Sun Microsystems.
• Michael Robertson, BS. Founder of MP3.com, Lindows.com, and SIPphone.
• Philip Rosedale, BS. Founder and CEO of Linden Lab. Creator of virtual 3D world Second Life.
• Jason Snell, BA 1992 (Communications). Editorial director of Mac Publishing and editor of Macworld.

Computer science

• Guy “Bud” Tribble, 1975 (Physics)- Principal architect of the original Macintosh computer and co-founder of NeXt, Inc.
• Bill Atkinson, 1974 (Chemistry) - Co-developer of the Macintosh computer
• Michael Robertson, 1990 (Cognitive Science) - Founder of Mp3.com and Lindows.com
• Greg Papadopoulos, 1979 (AMES) - Vice president and chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems; founder of three technology companies while at MIT
• Steve Hart, MA 1980 (Mathematics) - Co-founder and vice president of engineering for ViaSat; recognized for excellence and growth by Forbes Inc. and BusinessWeek.
• David E. Shaw, 1972 (Mathematics) - Founder of D. E. Shaw & Co.
• Brian Kantor, - Network News Transfer Protocol (1986)
• Kenneth Bowles - UCSD Pascal (1978)

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.
• Hart Bochner, BA (Theatre), 1979. Film actor notably of Breaking Away.
• Ricardo Chavira, MFA (Acting), 2000. Actor notably of Desperate Housewives.
• Steve Cosson, MFA (Directing), 2001. Obie Award winning artistic director of The Civilians.
• Benicio del Toro, Did not graduate. Actor, notably of Traffic. [2]
• Maria Dizzia, MFA (Acting), 2001. Tony Award nominee In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play).
• Michael Greif, MFA (Directing), 1985. Director of Rent and former artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse.
• Naomi Iizuka, MFA (Playwright), 1992.
• Mike Judge, BS (Physics), 1985. Cartoonist/Director best known for Beavis and Butt-head, Office Space, King of the Hill, and Idiocracy. He was the graduation speaker for the class of 2009.
• Melanie Marnich MFA (Playwright), 1998. Writer for Big Love, Jerome Fellowship from The Playwrights' Center.
• Jefferson Mays, MFA (Acting), 1991. Tony Award winner, I Am My Own Wife.
• Joy Osmanski, MFA (Acting), 2003. Most notable credits include The Loop and Allen Gregory.
• Dileep Rao BA (Theatre), 1995. Film actor in Avatar, Inception.
• 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.
• Wesley Chan, Ted Fu and Philip Wang, BA (Cinematography), 2006. Filmmaking trio known best collectively as Wong Fu Productions.

Law and politics

• Steve Peace, 1976 (Political Science) - 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.”
• Victoria (Pike) Pynchon - Writer, lecturer, mediator, adjunct law professor at Pepperdine University School of Law
• Timothy J. Roemer, BA 1979. Former Indiana Congressman and current president of the Center for National Policy.
• John Shoven, BA 1969. Hoover Institute senior fellow

Literature

• Debito Arudou, 1990 (IR/PS)- Author and Activist
• Rex Pickett, 1976 (Literature & Visual 2Arts) - Author of Sideways
• Greg Benford, 1967 Ph.D (Astrophysics)- Nebula Award Winner
• David Brin, MS 1978 / Ph.D 1981(School of Engineering/AMES) Nebula and Hugo Award Winner. Science fiction author notably of Uplift, physicist. [3]
• Raymond E. Feist, BA 1977(Communications). Author. [4]
• Angela Davis, MA. Radical activist and philosopher. [5]
• Mike Judge, BS 1985. Writer/producer notably of Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, and' Office Space
• Nancy Holder, 1976 (Communications)-Bram Stoker Award winner
• Aaron Krach, BA 1994 (Visual Arts)- Writer
• Virgil Nemoianu, Ph.D 1971 (Literature)- Essayist, literary critic, philosopher of culture
• Kim Stanley Robinson, 1974 (Literature); Ph.D. 1982 (Literature) - Two-time Nebula and Hugo Award winner
• Vernor Vinge, 1971, Ph.D (Mathematics) - Hugo Award winner Science fiction author, computer scientist, and mathematician.
• Colin Flaherty -- Writer and Journalist.

Music and entertainment

• Milo Aukerman, Ph.D. Lead singer of punk rock band Descendents.
• Chad Butler. Drummer of the rock band, Switchfoot.
• Nathan East, 1978 (Music) - Considered one of the world’s leading bass guitarists. A long time member of the Eric Clapton Band and recorded, performed or written songs with artists such as Anita Baker, Elton John, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Babyface, Al Jarreau, David Benoit, and Sting.
• Trevor Grahl, Composer
• Jon Foreman, Thurgood Marshall College. Guitarist of rock band Switchfoot. He wrote a song called "Chem 6A," referring to his freshman chemistry course.
• Tim Foreman. Bassist of rock band Switchfoot.
• Paul Phillips. Professional poker player
• Kelly Kim. Professional poker player
• Maria Ho. Professional poker player
• Roger Reynolds. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and professor of music at UC San Diego, appointed University Professor by the University of California Board of Regents on August 4, 2009. Reynolds is only the 36th UC faculty member since 1960 to be honored with the title - and the first artist.
• John Warthen Struble. Composer, pianist, and author of The History of American Classical Music.

Public service

• George Blumenthal, Ph.D (Physics) - Chancellor of University of California- Santa Cruz.

Science, technology, medicine, and mathematics

• Gregory Benford, MS 1965. Science fiction author and physicist. He was also on the faculty of University of California- Irvine.
• Craig Venter, 1972, 1975 (Biology, School of Medicine) - President of Celera Genomics, the first private firm to decode the human genome.
• David Goeddel, 1972 (Chemistry) - The first full-time scientist and director of Genentech’s molecular biology department, responsible for cloning five major drugs that helped propel the firm into prominence as the nation’s premier biotech company. He was co-founder, president and CEO of Tularik, Inc., a biotech company that focuses on transcription factors (the non-protein switches that turn genes on and off) to regulate genes involved in specific human diseases; Tularik was acquired by Amgen for $1.3 billion in 2004 He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (the first UCSD undergraduate alumnus to be so honored); a fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; a recipient of the Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry and the Scheele Medal from the Swedish Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
• Walter Munk, Ph.D., 1947 (SIO, Doc. of Philosophy) - A renowned oceanographer who has made fundamental contributions to understanding various ocean waves and tides and the mechanism of ocean circulation. He was also the first to shed light on the influence of the atmospheric and oceanic motions on the rotation of the earth.
• Zachary Fisk, Ph.D. 1969 (Physics) - Leading condensed matter physicist in the country. Member of the National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• RDML Eleanor “Connie” Mariano, M.D., 1977 (Biology) - Physician to the President of the United States; Director/White House Medical Unit (2000–2001); first military woman to be named White House physician and first woman director of the White House Medical Unit.
• Brian Druker, 1977 (Chemistry), 1981 (SOM) - Oncologist/chief investigator who developed a new drug for leukemia treatment
• George Perry (neuroscientist), Ph.D. 1979 (SIO) - Leading researcher in Alzheimer's disease, specifically recognized for his work with oxidative stress mechanisms.
• Gerald Joyce, Ph.D. 1984 (Biology)- Researcher, Scripps Institute
• Robert Todd Carroll, Ph.D. 1974 (Philosophy) - Professor of philosophy at Sacramento City College and author of the Skeptic's Dictionary.
• Khaled Hosseini, M.D., 1993 (Biology) - Afghan-American novelist and physician. His 2003 debut novel, The Kite Runner, was a #1 New York Times bestseller.
• Casey L. Winn, 2002 (Computer Science) - Credited with the creation of EverQuest, pioneer to current games such as EverQuest II and World of Warcraft.
• Antony Garrett Lisi, Ph.D. 1999 (Physics).
• Maurizio Seracini, 1973. Bioengineering.
• Dan Thomassen, BS. Chemist and adviser to the distinguished advisory group of 2007.
• Susumu Tonegawa, Ph.D. Nobel Prize recipient for medicine for his work on antibody diversity.
• Chu Ching-wu, Ph.D 1990 (Physics). US News World Reports Researcher of the Year.
• Bruce Beutler, 1976 (Biology). 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Distinguished faculty

• David Antin - Visual Arts
• Eleanor Antin - Professor Emeritus of Visual Arts
• Percival Bazeley - Member of the Salk Polio vaccine team.
• Kenneth Bowles - UCSD Pascal
• Sydney Brenner - Nobel laureate in Medicine (2002)
• Sheldon Brown (artist) - Director of Experimental Game Lab, Co-Director of Center for Research in Computing and the Arts, and Professor of Visual Arts
• Keith Brueckner - theoretical physicist, National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member, and a founder the UCSD Department of Physics.
• Geoffrey R. Burbidge - Professor known mostly for his alternative cosmology theory, which contradicts the Big Bang theory.
• Margaret Burbidge - First to study and identify quasars. Carnegie fellowship winner (1947)
• Micha Cárdenas - Artist/Theorist, Lecturer of Visual Arts and Critical Gender Studies, Collective Member of Lui Velazquez
• Harold Cohen, English-born artist, creator of AARON
• Lin Chao - Professor of Biology
• Patricia Churchland - neurophilosopher
• Paul Churchland - philosopher of mind and philosopher of science
• Gary W. Cox - Professor of political science
• Francis Crick - Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine (1962)
• Paul Crutzen - Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1995)
• Chaya Czernowin - Celebrated Israeli composer and former professor of composition
• Diana Deutsch - Professor of Psychology, known for her research on the psychology of music
• Bram Dijkstra - Professor of English Literature (1966–2000)
• Russell Doolittle - Professor of Chemistry, known for research on molecular evolution
• Renato Dulbecco - Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine (1975)
• Jeffrey Elman - Psycholinguist and pioneer in the field of neural networks
• Robert F. Engle - Nobel laureate in Economics (2003)
• Robert Erickson - Composer
• Ronald M. Evans - Discovered steroid & nuclear receptors. Lasker Award winner
• Manny Farber - Film critic and painter
• Gilles Fauconnier- Inventor of the modern day theory of conceptual blending.
• George Feher - Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2006/7), National Academy of Sciences member, biophysicist
• David Noel Freedman - General editor of the Anchor Bible
• Y.C. Fung - Considered the father of bioengineering
• Fred Gage - Prominent neuroscientist and stem cell biologist. Discovered human adult neural stem cells.
• Adele Goldberg - Associate Professor of Linguistics (1997–1998)
• Marvin Leonard Goldberger? - theoretical physicist, National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member, former Dean of Natural Sciences, and former president of Caltech
• Lawrence S.B. Goldstein - First to characterize kinesin molecular motors. Head of UCSD stem cell research program
• Maria Goeppert-Mayer - Nobel laureate in Physics
• Joseph Goguen - Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
• David M. Goodblatt - Endowed Chair of Judaic Studies
• Jean-Pierre Gorin - film director, Visual Arts (since 1975)
• Fan Chung Graham - mathematician, Akamai Professor in Internet Mathematics
• Ronald Graham - mathematician, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
• Clive W.J. Granger - Nobel laureate in Economics (2003)
• Mikkal Herberg - Senior consultant with PFC Energy, an international energy consulting firm in Washington, D.C. and as research director on energy issues at The National Bureau of Asian Research. Professor of International Studies/Pacific Relations. [6]
• Deborah Hertz - Herman Wouk Chair in Modern Jewish Studies.
• Robert Hooper - Southeast Asia Program Director in Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Award Winning Producer for PBS, Professor of IR/PS. [7]
• Gretchen Hofmann professor of ecological physiology of marine organisms
• Edwin Hutchins - Developed distributed cognition and cognitive ethnography. Mac Arthur Foundation Award Winner (1985)
• Harvey Itano (1920–2010), biochemist known for his work on the molecular basis of sickle cell anemia and other diseases
• Irwin M. Jacobs - Former professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Chairman of Qualcomm
• Gabriel Jackson, Fulbright historian, author, and former department chairman
• Fredric Jameson, American literary critic and Marxist political theorist
• Chalmers Johnson, Professor Emeritus of History
• David K Jordan- Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Provost of Warren College, Interim Provost of Sixth College, Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award 2008 recipient [8] [9]
• William Loomis, Distinguished Professor of Biology [10]
• Allan Kaprow - Professor Emeritus of Visual Arts
• Charles David Keeling - First alerted the world to the anthropogenic contribution to the "greenhouse effect" and global warming. Discoverer of the Keeling Curve
• Walter Kohn - Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1998) & Chair of the UCSD Physics Department (1960s), Kohn-Sham equations
• Igor Koutsenok - Director of Center for Criminality, Addiction Research, Training and Application, Professor of Psychiatry (School of Medicine) [11]
• Barbara Kruger - Renowned artist and Professor of Visual Arts
• Ronald Langacker - creator of cognitive grammar, Professor of Linguistics (1966–2003), Professor Emeritus and Research Professor (2003– )
• William Lerach- guest lecturer on securities and corporate law. A leading securities lawyer in the United States.
• George Lewis - Professor of Music, noted jazz trombone player, MacArthur Fellowship winner (2002)
• Arend Lijphart - Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science, elected to the American Academcy of Arts and Sciences in 1989, President of the American Political Science Association from 1995 to 1996, and recipient of the prestigious Johann Skytte Prize in Political Science in 1997.
• Mathew D. McCubbins - Professor of political science
• Richard Madsen - Director of Council on East Asian Studies, Professor/Chair of Sociology [12]
• George Mandler - Experimental psychology - founder of UCSD Department of Psychology
• Jean Matter Mandler - Cognitive development
• Babette Mangolte - French cinematographer and Professor of Visual Arts
• Lev Manovich - New Media theorist, Director of Software Studies Initiative and Professor of Visual Arts
• M. Brian Maple - National Academy of Sciences member, physicist
• Herbert Marcuse - philosopher, and mentor to Angela Davis
• Harry Markowitz - Nobel laureate in Economics (1990)
• Andrew Mattison - late co-founder of the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research
• Mario Molina - Nobel laureate in Chemistry
• Eileen Myles - Poet and Professor of Literature
• Donald Norman - Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science and Psychology (1966- ), Co-inventor of the iMac,^{[citation needed]} and founder of Contextual design.
• Pauline Oliveros - Composer
• George Emil Palade - Nobel laureate in Physiology/Medicine (1974), Professor of Medicine in Residence and Dean for Scientific Affairs (Emeritus)
• Ramon Pinon- Author, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology [13]
• Richard Popkin - Professor of Philosophy
• Samuel Popkin - Professor of Political Science
• Miller Puckette - Creator of Puredata Programming Language, Co-Director of Center for Research in Computing and the Arts
• Vilayanur S. Ramachandran - neuroscience and psychology
• Jef Raskin - Assistant Professor in Computer Science, and founder of the Apple Macintosh project
• Roger Revelle (1909–1991) - Oceanographer, scholar, namesake of Roger Revelle College
• Roger Reynolds - Pulitzer Prize in Music (1989)
• Sally Ride - Professor of Physics, former astronaut
• Marshall Rosenbluth - Professor of Physics, member of the National Academy of Sciences, developer of the Metropolis algorithm, "Pope of Plasma Physics"
• Michael G. Rosenfeld - Professor of Medicine, HHMI, discovered the PIT-1 gene and defined transcriptional control of pituitary development. Winner of McKnight, Oppenheimer, and Koch awards
• Herbert Schiller - Professor Emeritus of Communication (1970–2000)
• Terry Sejnowski - Professor of Biological Sciences and Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Neurosciences, Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Computer Science and Engineering
• Martin Sereno- Interdiscplinarian, Professor of Cognitive Science, First to propose the theories linking evolution between cell biology and language, first to link the visual system with language production.
• Kartik Seshadri - Professor of Indian Classical Music
• Larry Squire - Professor of Psychiatry, Neurosciences, and Psychology
• John G. Stoessinger- internationally recognized political analyst and a prize-winning author of ten leading books on world politics; guest lecturer in international relations - political science.
• Lu Jeu Sham - National Academy of Sciences member, Kohn-Sham equations, physicist
• Avrum Stroll - Professor of Philosophy
• Harry Suhl - National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member
• Leó Szilárd (1898–1964) - Hungarian physicist, Professor at the Salk Institute
• Roger Tsien Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2008), Wolf Prize in Medicine
• Ming Tsuang - Professor of Psychiatry, Behavioral Genomics Chair and Director of Center for Behavioral Genomics
• Chinary Ung - Grawemeyer Award-winning composer
• Harold Urey - Nobel laureate in Chemistry
• Benjamin Elazari Volcani, Microbiologist and discovered life in the Dead Sea and pioneered biological silicon research.
• Kenneth Watson- National Academy of Sciences (Physics) member
• Donald Wesling- Inventor of grammetrics
• Herbert F. York (1921–2009) - Enrico Fermi Award (2000)
• Efim Zelmanov - Fields Medal recipient, Professor of Mathematics
• Bruno H. Zimm - National Academy of Sciences member, biophysicist