List of University of Washington people

This page lists notable students, alumni and faculty members of the University of Washington.

Notable UW students and alumni

Nobel Laureates

• Linda B. Buck (1975) – Physiology and Medicine, 2004.
• George Hitchings (1927, 1928) – Physiology and Medicine, 1988.
• Martin Rodbell (Ph.D. 1954) – Physiology and Medicine, 1994.
• George Stigler – Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, 1982.

Academic administration and teaching

• Lloyd Barber – President Emeritus, former president and former vice-chancellor of the University of Regina.
• Y. Austin Chang – Distinguished Professor
• Ron Chew – Acclaimed museum professional.
• John E. Corbally – Second president of the MacArthur Foundation; former president of Syracuse University and the University of Illinois.
• William C. Dement (1951) – Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, Division Chief of the Stanford University Division of Sleep and founding president of the American Sleep Disorders Association, now the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
• Mark Emmert (1975) – Former president of the University of Washington; current president of the NCAA.
• Elaine Tuttle Hansen – Current president of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
• Karen A. Holbrook (Ph.D. 1972) – Former president of The Ohio State University.
• George Pernsteiner – Current chancellor of the Oregon University System.
• Elizabeth Topham Kennan – Former president of Mount Holyoke College.
• Andrea Peterson (1996) – 2007 National Teacher of the Year. [1][2]

Aeronautics and astronautics

Michael P. Anderson, NASA Astronaut and crewmember of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

Scott Crossfield, test pilot

• Michael P. Anderson (1981) – NASA astronaut, crewmember in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
• Michael R. Barratt (1981) – NASA astronaut and physician.
• Albert Scott Crossfield (1949, 1950) – First man to fly faster than Mach 2; assisted in the design of, and piloted, the X-15.
• Suzanna Darcy-Henneman (1981) – Boeing Test Pilot; Boeing 777 senior test pilot
• Peter Davenport – Director of the National UFO Reporting Center.
• Ron Dittemore (1974, 1975) – Space Shuttle program manager of NASA.
• Bonnie Dunbar (1971, 1975) – NASA astronaut; crewmember on five space shuttle missions and more than 1,200 hours (50 days) in space.
• John M. Fabian (Ph.D. 1974) – NASA astronaut; crewmember on two space shuttle missions.
• Richard F. Gordon, Jr. (1951) – NASA astronaut, crewmember of Gemini 11 and Apollo 12.
• Robert J. Helberg (1932) – Director of the Lunar Orbiter program.
• George Jeffs (1945, 1948) – Former executive at Rockwell International; directed Rockwell's Apollo and Space Shuttle programs.
• Gregory C. Johnson (1977) – NASA astronaut; crew member of STS-125.
• Stanley G. Love (1989, Ph.D. 1993) – NASA astronaut; crew member of STS-122; planetary scientist.
• George C. Martin (1931) – Former Vice President of Engineering at Boeing; project engineer on the Boeing B-47 and chief project engineer of the Boeing B-52.
• George "Pinky" Nelson (1974, Ph.D. 1978) – NASA astronaut; crewmember on three space shuttle missions.
• Maynard Pennell (1931) – Former Vice President of Product Development at Boeing; responsible for the design of the Boeing 707, Boeing 720 and Boeing 727.
• John "Jack" Steiner (1940) – Former Vice President of Product Development at Boeing and the "Father of the 727"; played a major role in the design of every commercial airplane from the 307 Stratoliner to the Boeing 767.
• Joseph Sutter (1943) – Chief designer of the Boeing 747.
• Milton O. Thompson (1953) – NASA research pilot selected as an astronaut for the X-20 Dyna-Soar.
• Dafydd Williams – Canadian astronaut and crewmember of one space shuttle mission.

Art and architecture

Facade showing the signature style of architect Minoru Yamasaki

• Bennett Bean – American studio potter.
• Dale Chihuly (1965) – Modern glass sculptor.
• Mary Tuthill Lindheim sculptor and studio potter.
• Chuck Close (1962) – Contemporary Photorealistic painter.
• Steven Holl (1970) – American architect and watercolorist
• Alyson Shotz – American artist who sculpts with material made from a range of synthetic materials
• Victor Steinbrueck (1940) – American architect and preservationist.
• Minoru Yamasaki (1934) – Influential modern architect most noted for the design of the World Trade Center.
• Daniel Lorenz Johnson (2000) - Permaculture artist and activist

Business and law

• Peter Adkison (1997) – Founder and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast; publisher of Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons and Pokémon in the U.S..
• Paul M. Anderson – CEO of Duke Energy.
• William S. Ayer (1978) – President and CEO of Alaska Airlines.
• David Bonderman (1963) – Investment banker; acquired Continental Airlines and founder of Texas Pacific Group.
• Donald Bren (1956) – Chairman and sole shareholder of the Irvine Company, the largest real estate developer in California; Bren is the wealthiest real estate developer in the United States and 23rd richest American ($13.0 billion US Dollars) according to Forbes magazine.
• Andrew Brimmer (1950, 1951) – First African American on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
• Tom Burt – Vice president and head of Microsoft's legal division.
• Edward Carlson – Former CEO of United Airlines and Westin Hotels.
• Rick Devenuti – Chief information officer of Microsoft.
• Chris DeWolfe – CEO and Co-Founder of MySpace
• Ed Edelman – Founder and CEO of Ambient Weather.
• John Fluke Sr. (1935) - Founder of the Fluke Corporation of Everett, Washington.
• Mary Maxwell Gates (1949) – First female chairperson of United Way (1985–1987), Seattle community leader, philanthropist and mother of Bill Gates.
• William H. Gates, Sr. (1949, JD 1950) – Prominent Seattle lawyer, philanthropist and father of Bill Gates.
• Ivar Haglund (1928) – Founder of Ivar's restaurant and folk singer.
• Faith Ireland (1965) – Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court.
• Edmund P. Jensen (1959) – CEO of Visa International from 1993–1998.
• A. Kirk Lanterman – Former Chairman and CEO of Holland America Lines.
• Leonard H. Lavin, founder of Alberto Culver Company, maker of Alberto VO5 and Mrs. Dash products.
• Mike McGavick (1983) – Former chairman and CEO of Safeco ; 2006 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from Washington.
• Yoshihiko Miyauchi (MBA 1960) – Chairman and CEO of ORIX Corporation, the world's largest leasing conglomerate.
• The Nordstrom Family – Elmer, Everett (1923), Lloyd, Bruce (1955), James F. Jr., John N. (1959), Blake (1985), Peter, Erik (1985), Daniel and William.
• Dan O'Neill (1972), Founder of Mercy Corps, an international humanitarian relief and development organization
• Wayne Perry – J.D., L.L.M., CEO of Edge Wireless LLC, former President and Vice Chairman of McCaw Cellular, former Vice Chairman of AT&T Wireless, Western Region President of the Boy Scouts of America
• Donald Petersen (1946) – President of Ford Motor Company from 1985–1989 and credited for its turnaround.
• Irv Robbins (1939) – cofounder of Baskin & Robbins
• Steven Rogel (1965) – CEO of Weyerhauser.
• Patrick Rogge, Chief Innovation Officer of Response Media in Atlanta, Georgia
• John W. Slocum – Gold member of Academy of Management Hall of Fame. One of 3 Gold members out of 10,000 over members.
• Orin C. Smith (1965) – CEO of Starbucks from 2000–2005 and president from 1994-2005.
• James Sun (1999), contestant on The Apprentice and Chairman and co-founder of GeoPage
• Ivan Taslimson – Founder of Solstice Group. U.S.
• Takuji Yamashita (1902) – Early civil rights pioneer [3]

Literature

Pulitzer Prize winners

• William Bolcom (1958) – Music, 1988. American composer and winner of three Grammy Awards in 2006.
• Timothy Egan (1981) – Journalism, 2001. Journalist and author.
• Ed Guthman (1941, 1944) – Journalism, 1949. Journalist, former press secretary for Robert F. Kennedy and currently a professor at the University of Southern California.
• David Horsey (1975) – Editorial Cartooning (2), 1999, 2003. Editorial cartoonist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
• Mike Luckovich (1982) – Editorial Cartooning, 1995. Editorial cartoonist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Peter Rinearson (2005) – Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing, 1984. Aerospace reporter for The Seattle Times and later an author and software-industry executive.
• Marilynne Robinson (1968, 1977) – Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2005. American novelist, author of Gilead and Housekeeping.
• James Wright (1954, 1959) – Poetry, 1972. American poet.

National Book Award

• Beverly Cleary (1939) – Children's Books, Fiction, Paperback 1981
• Timothy Egan (1981) – Nonfiction 2006 for The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl.

General

If no class year is listed, author may not have graduated.

Robert Zubrin, science fiction writer

• Ralph Angel (graduated, but year not known) – Prize-winning poet.
• Linda Bierds, (1969, 1971) – Poet and MacArthur Fellowship recipient.
• Matt Briggs (1995) – Award winning novelist and short story writer.
• David Eddings (1961) – Author of epic fantasy novels.
• Joanna Fuhrman – poet
• Tess Gallagher, (1967, 1971) – Award winning poet.
• David Guterson (1978, 1982) – Writer of novel Snow Falling on Cedars.
• Kristin Hannah, (1982) Award winning author and New York Times bestseller
• Frank Herbert – Science fiction writer most famous for Dune.
• Thom Jones (1970) – Award winning short story writer.
• Kitty Kelley (1964) – Investigative journalist/author.
• Hank Ketcham – Creator of the US comic strip Dennis the Menace.
• Donald E. McQuinn (circa 1951) – Author of military and science fiction, retired U.S. Marine.
• Tom Robbins – American author most famous for writing Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
• Ann Rule (1953) – Popular true crime author.
• John Straley (1977) – American detective fiction author.
• Alex Steffen – Award winning American writer and editor.
• P. T. Deutermann (1970) – American fiction author.
• Sophus Keith Winther (Ph.D. 1927) – Award winning novelist
• Robert Zubrin (1984), (1992) – Science fiction writer and Mars exploration advocate.

Politics

Henry M. Jackson, United States Senator

• Brock Adams (1949) – US Senator, (1987–1993), and US Representative, (1965–1977) for the state of Washington.
• Fouad Ajami (1969, 1973), director of the Middle East Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University.
• Armida Alisyahbana, Minister of National Development (Bapenas), Republic of Indonesia.
• Norman D. Dicks (1963, JD 1968) – Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, (1977–).
• Jennifer Dunn (transferred 1962) – US Representative, (1993–2005) and former chair of the Washington State Republican Party.
• Earl D. Eisenhower (1923) – electrical engineer, Illinois House of Representatives (1965–1967)
• Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme (1955, 1957) – Vice-President of Nigeria, (1979–1983)
• Daniel J. Evans (BS 1948, MS 1949) – Governor of Washington, (1965–1977) and United States Senator, (1983–1989) for the state of Washington.
• Tom Foley (1951, JD 1957) – US Representative, (1965–1995) and Speaker of the House (1989–1995).
• Booth Gardner (BA 1958) – Governor (1985–1993) of the state of Washington.
• Christine Gregoire (BA 1969, 1971) – Governor, (2004–) and former Attorney General of the state of Washington.
• Michael Hardt (MA 1986, PhD 1990) – literary theorist and political philosopher based at Duke University.
• Jaime Herrera (BA 2004) - US Representative-elect, (2011-)
• Gordon Hirabayashi (BA 1946, MA 1949, PhD 1952) – Human rights activist.
• Henry M. Jackson (JD 1935) – US Representative (1941–1953), US Senator (1953–1983) for the state of Washington, chairman of the Democratic National Committee (1960–1961) and member of the Delta Chi Fraternity.
• Walter Jenny (1978) – Secretary, Oklahoma Democratic Party, 2008 presidential elector, attorney for the State of Oklahoma and member of Tau Kappa Epsilon International fraternity.
• Tom Lantos (BA 1949, MA 1950) – US Representative, (1981–2008), for the state of California and Holocaust Survivor.
• Wing Luke – Seattle City Council member and Washington state Assistant Attorney General.
• Stephen McAlpine – (BA 1972) – Lt. Governor Alaska, (1982–1990).
• Rob McKenna (BA 1985, BA 1985) – Washington Attorney General (2004–).
• Warren G. Magnuson (1926, JD 1929) – US Senator, (1944–1981), for the state of Washington.
• Clarence D. Martin (1906) – Governor, (1933–1940) of the state of Washington and namesake of Martin Stadium at Washington State University.
• Greg Nickels – Former Mayor, (2002–2010), of the city of Seattle.
• Jeannette Rankin – US Representative, (1917–1919), (1940–1943) for the state of Montana; first female member of Congress.
• Norm Rice (1972, 1974) – Former mayor of the city of Seattle.
• Albert Rosellini (1932, 1933) – Governor of Washington, (1957–1965).
• Lou Stewart – Prominent Washington state labor leader.
• Thor C. Tollefson – United States Representative from Washington
• Johnson Toribiong – (JD 1972, 1973) – Current President, Republic of Palau.
• Lynn Woolsey – Democratic US Representative, (1993–), from California and former welfare recipient.
• J. Arthur Younger (1915) – Republican US Representative, (1952–1967) from California

Military

Prominent Officers

Monument to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade on campus

Active Duty

• Peter W. Chiarelli (1980) – Four Star General and the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

Spanish Civil War

• Eleven University of Washington students joined the International Brigades.

World War II

• Leslie Groves — Major General, United States Army Corps of Engineers, head of the Manhattan Project.

Medal of Honor recipients

Pappy Boyington, pilot

• Col. (then Maj.) Gregory (Pappy) Boyington (BS 1934) — USMC, fighter pilot and World War II ace
• 1LT Deming Bronson, USA (Class of 1914)
• Lieutenant Colonel Bruce P. Crandall (1951–1952) — U.S. Army helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War
• Brig. Gen (then Maj.) Robert Galer (BS 1935) — Major General, USMC, fighter pilot and World War II ace
• Sgt John D. "Bud" Hawk, USA (1951, 1952)
• Col. (then SSgt.) Archie Van Winkle, USMC (Class of 1961)
• 2LT Robert R. Leisy, USA (Class of 1968)
• PFC William K. Nakamura, USA (non-graduate due to internment at Minidoka in 1942)[4]

Religion

• Sanford Brown – social justice advocate, ordained United Methodist minister, and executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle.

Science and technology

• Tom M. Apostol (1944, 1946) – Analytic number theorist and textbook author at the California Institute of Technology
• Bill Atkinson – Designer of much of the graphic subsystem for the Apple Macintosh and creator of Hypercard and MacPaint.
• Rita R. Colwell (1961) – Director of the United States National Science Foundation
• Melvin Defleur – Social scientist most noted in the area of mass communication.
• Ed Felten (MS 1991, PhD 1993) – Leading Computer scientist in the field of security and authentication.
• William Foege (1961) – Former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
• David Goodstein – Physicist and former Vice-provost of the California Institute of Technology.
• Victor Grinich – Pioneer in the semiconductor industry and a member of the Traitorous Eight that founded Silicon Valley.
• Mohamed Hashish – Founder of the abrasive waterjet cutter and fellow in the department of Mechanical Engineering
• William Hutchinson – Founder of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
• Gary Kildall – Inventor of the CP/M operating system.
• Victor Mills (1926) – Inventor of disposable diapers.
• Alfred M. Moen – inventor of the single-handed mixing faucet and founder of Moen, Inc.
• PZ Myers (BS 1979) – Biologist and noted science blogger.
• Tim Paterson (1978) – Original author of the MS-DOS operating system.
• Howard Percy Robertson (1922, 1923) – Noted cosmologist.
• Robert G. Roeder (1969) – Arnold and Mabel Beckman Professor at The Rockefeller University, recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 2003 for "pioneering studies on eukaryotic RNA polymerases and the general transcriptional machinery, which opened gene expression in animal cells to biochemical analysis".
• Waldo Semon – Inventor of vinyl and synthetic rubber.
• Waldo R. Tobler – Influential American-Swiss geographer and cartographer.
• Bud Tribble – Vice president and director of software technology at Apple Computer and one of the founders of NeXT computer.
• Bob Wallace – Inventor of the term shareware, creator of the word processing program PC-Write, and founder of the software company Quicksoft.
• Ted Woolsey – American video game translator for Square during the SNES era

Social science and humanities

• Dale Kinkade (1955, 1957) – linguist, specialist on Salishan languages
• Kent R. Weeks (1963, 1966) – One of the world's foremost Egyptologists.
• Ukshin Hoti – professor of international law and philosophy at the University of Pristina.

Sports

Olympic Medal Winners

• Gold Medal, men's rowing, 1936 Berlin Olympic Games

• • H. Roger Morris
  • Charles Day
  • Gordon Adam
  • John White
  • Jim McMillin
  • George Hunt
  • Joe Rantz
  • Don Hume
  • Robert Moch (cox)

• Hope Solo (Women's Soccer)
  • Anna Cummins (Gold Medal, Rowing,Beijing Olympics)

Baseball

• Mike Blowers – former Major League Baseball player
• Fred Hutchinson – American baseball player and manager and namesake for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
• Tim Lincecum – 2008, 2009 and 2010 All-Star and two-time NL Cy Young Award recipient
• Sammy White – former MLB catcher, 1953 All-Star

Basketball

• Jon Brockman – Drafted in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.
• James Edwards – former NBA player.
• Spencer Hawes – Drafted in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.
• Bob Houbregs (1959) – Only Washington alumnus in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, third overall pick in the 1953 NBA draft.
• Nate Robinson – NBA guard picked 21st overall of 2005 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks and winner of 2006, 2009, and 2010 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Competitions.
• Lorenzo Romar – Current head coach of the University of Washington basketball team.
• Brandon Roy – Second highest NBA-drafted Washington basketball player in school history (6th in the 2006 NBA draft) and the 2006–07 NBA Rookie of the Year.
• Mark Sanford – The 1st underclassman to enter the NBA draft from the University of Washington. Second round pick of the Miami Heat of the 1997 NBA Draft
• Detlef Schrempf – German-born former NBA star.
• Rod Thorn – Former NBA player, former president and general manager of the NBA's New Jersey Nets [5], current president of the Philadelphia 76ers.
• Giuliana Mendiola – Only Pac-10 Player of the Year in school history (Women's Basketball). 2004 Sacramento Monarchs WNBA, Professional Basketball Player in Europe, 4 time Greek All Star

Football

Warren Moon, Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback

• Khalif Barnes – NFL offensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders.
• Mark Bruener – NFL tight end for the Houston Texans.
• Mark Brunell (1993) – NFL quarterback for the Washington Redskins.
• Chuck Carroll – Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and National Football Foundation Hall of Fame.
• Chris Chandler – Former NFL quarterback.
• Ernie Conwell – NFL tight end for the New Orleans Saints.
• Don Coryell (1950, 1951) – Former NFL head coach for the San Diego Chargers and introduced the I formation to the NFL.
• Corey Dillon – NFL running back for the New England Patriots.
• Steve Emtman – Former NFL defensive lineman and the first pick in the 1992 NFL draft.
• D'Marco Farr – Former NFL defensive lineman and current television personality.
• Ray Frankowski - Former NFL guard for the Green Bay Packers.
• Don Heinrich – Former NFL quarterback for the New York Giants.
• Brock Huard – Former NFL quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.
• Damon Huard – NFL quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs.
• Ernie Janet - Former NFL guard.
• Tank Johnson – NFL defensive lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals.
• Napoleon Kaufman – Former NFL running back for the Oakland Raiders.
• Lincoln Kennedy – Former NFL offensive lineman and three time Pro Bowl participant.
• David Kopay (1964) – Former NFL running back.
• Olin Kreutz – NFL Pro Bowl center for the Chicago Bears.
• Hugh McElhenny (1952) – Former NFL running back and member of both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• Siupeli Malamala – Former NFL Offensive Tackle and Offensive Guard for the New York Jets.
• Lawyer Milloy – NFL safety for the Seattle Seahawks.
• Warren Moon (1978) – Former National Football League quarterback and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• Jim L. Mora – Former head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
• Tony Parrish – NFL safety for the San Francisco 49ers.
• Jerome Pathon – NFL wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons.
• Mark Pattison – Former NFL wide receiver
• Fred Provo - Former NFL halfback.
• Matthew Rogers – Offensive lineman for the 2001 Washington Rose Bowl team and American Idol finalist.
• Sonny Sixkiller (1971) – Former NFL and CFL quarterback. Cast member in the original The Longest Yard.
• Jerramy Stevens – NFL tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• Isaiah Stanback – NFL wide receiver/kick returner on the Practice Squad for the Seattle Seahawks.
• Marques Tuiasosopo – NFL quarterback for the New York Jets.
• Arnie Weinmeister – Former NFL lineman, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Teamster boss.
• Reggie Williams – NFL wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Al Worley – 1968 Consensus All-American defensive back, set still-standing NCAA record for interceptions in a season (14).
• David Moreno- Former NFL Running Back, San Francisco 49ers

Track and field

• Brad Walker (2003) – Two time NCAA pole vault champion, gold medalist at the 2006 World Indoor Championships and 2007 World Championships
• Aretha (hill) Thurmond (1998) – NCAA Collegiate Women's Discus Record Holder (215 feet), 3 time Olympic competitor.
• Kate (soma) Conwell (2005) – NCAA women's Pole Vault champion 2005 (14'4")
• List of UW Track and Field NCAA All American Men
• List of UW Mens all time outdoor record holders

Music

Kenny G

• Alexei Saba Mohajerjasbi, aka Sabzi (2003) – DJ for the popular hip-hop groups Blue Scholars and Common Market.
• The Presidents of the United States of America – Popular alternative rock group.
• Kenny G (1978) – Popular smooth jazz saxophonist
• Richard Sparks – Choral conductor.
• Ken Stringfellow – Main composer, vocalist and guitarist for the popular rock group The Posies.
• Kim Thayil (1985) – Lead guitarist for the popular rock group Soundgarden.
• Kevin McCall (2003) - Singer/Songwriter/Rapper/Producer signed to CBE and Universal Records also wrote hit song 'Deuces'

Other sports

• Fred Beckey (1949) – Mountaineer
• Joe Franchino (1997) - former Major League Soccer player and U.S. international.
• Louise Friberg (2003) – Golf
• George John – (Soccer) Defensive player for the MLS team FC Dallas
• Adam Lang – Soccer
• Brandon Prideaux - former Major League Soccer player and two-time MLS Cup champion.
• William Quillian (athlete) – Tennis
• Summer Ross – Volleyball 2010 FIVB Youth Under-19 and Junior Under-21 world champion.
• Bob Sapp – kickboxer, MMA fighter and former NFL lineman.
• Joyce Tanac Schroeder (1968) – (Olympic gymnast) http://www.usghof.org/files/bio/j_tanac/j_tanac.html
• Hope Solo – Soccer Goalkeeper for US Women's National Team.
• Ed Viesturs (BS 1981) – First American to summit all 14 of the world's 8000 meter peaks.
• Craig Waibel – Soccer Four-time Major League Soccer champion and defender for Houston Dynamo.

Television, film, and other arts

File:BruceLeecard.jpg

Bruce Lee

Kyle MacLachlan

Anna Faris

Rainn Wilson

• Robert Armstrong – Movie actor who portrayed Carl Denham in the 1933 version of King Kong.[6]
• John Aylward – successful stage, TV, and movie actor, know by most for his roles in ER and The West Wing.
• Luke Burbank (1988) – radio host and reporter [7]
• Angus Bowmer – Founder of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.
• The Brothers Four – Popular musical group from the 1960s.
• Dyan Cannon – Film and television actress and twice nominee for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
• David Brooks – Broadway star and stage director and producer
• Loren Carpenter (1974, 1976) – Co-founded Pixar Animation Studios and currently the Chief Creative Officer of Disney
• James Caviezel – Actor who played Jesus Christ in the controversial film, "The Passion of the Christ"
• Lee Shallat Chemel – Successful TV show director. Most known for her work on Murphy Brown
• Queenie Chu – Actress, first runner-up of Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2004
• Jeff Clanahan - CEO/Codeblack Productions- African American Producer/distributor of movies & films.
• Tristram Coffin – Actor who played Thomas H. Rynning, commander of the Arizona Rangers, in the syndicated television series 26 Men (1957–1959)
• Earl Cole – First African-American male winner of Survivor.
• Jeffrey Combs – Horror film actor and Star Trek regular.
• Larry Coryell – American jazz guitarist
• Imogen Cunningham (1907) – Among the best known American female photographers.
• Patrick Duffy (1971) – Television actor most famous for roles in Dallas and Step by Step.
• Anna Faris (1999) – Movie actress most noted for her roles in Scary Movie, Brokeback Mountain and House Bunny.
• Frances Farmer (1935) – American film and theater actress.
• Mignon Coughlin Fogarty (1990) – Creator and host of the Grammar Girl podcast.
• Malcolm Hamilton, harpsichordist
• Leann Hunley – Actress, Days of our Lives, Dynasty, and Dawson's Creek"
• Ken Jennings – Holds the record for the longest winning streak on Jeopardy!
• Richard Karn (1979) – Television actor most famous for role as "Al Borland" on Home Improvement.
• Erika Krievins – Actress, The X-Files, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
• Bruce Lee – Martial artist and actor.
• Jeff J. Lin – guitarist, pianist, violinist of music group Harvey Danger.
• Kyle MacLachlan (1982) – Film and television actor most famous for roles in Twin Peaks, Desperate Housewives, Dune, and Sex and the City.
• Mary Mapes – Controversial former producer of the CBS television show 60 Minutes.
• Joel McHale (1995, MFA 2000) – Host of The Soup on E! and former cast member on Almost Live!
• John Myrick – First Manager of Electronic News Gathering KABC Television Los Angeles.
• Robert Osborne (1954) – film historian
• Pamela Reed – Actress
• Jean Smart (1974) – Television actress most famous for roles in Designing Women and Kim Possible.
• Manick Sorcar – Artist, engineer, and entrepreneur
• Rick Steves (1978) – Host, writer and producer of public television's Rick Steve's Europe and bestselling travel author.
• Julia Sweeney (1982) – Saturday Night Live actress.
• Kim Thayil (1985) – Soundgarden guitarist.
• Robb Weller (1961) – Entertainment Tonight host and inventor of the wave
• Dawn Wells (1960) – Mary Ann of Gilligan's Island.
• Rainn Wilson – Most known for his roles on The Office and Six Feet Under
• Art Wolfe (1975) – Award winning nature photographer and star of PBS show Travels to the Edge With Art Wolfe
• Steve Wiebe (1991) - A primary subject of the documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and former world record holder for Donkey Kong

Crime

• Theodore Robert Bundy – Commonly known as "Ted" Bundy, was an American serial killer between 1974–1978. He admitted to killing 30 people. Some sources say he could have killed as many as 100 people
• Amanda Knox – Gained international media attention when accused, and later convicted, of murdering her roommate while studying abroad in Italy.

Notable current and former faculty and staff

Nobel Laureates

• Linda B. Buck – Physiology and Medicine, 2004
• Hans G. Dehmelt – Physics, 1989
• Edmond H. Fischer – Physiology and Medicine, 1992
• Leland H. Hartwell – Physiology and Medicine, 2001
• Edwin G. Krebs – Physiology and Medicine, 1992
• Douglass C. North – Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, 1993
• William Forsyth Sharpe – Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, 1990
• E. Donnall Thomas – Physiology and Medicine, 1990

Pulitzer Prize winners

• Elizabeth Bishop – Poetry, 1956
• Stephen Dunn – Poetry, 2001
• Richard Eberhart – Poetry, 1966.
• Vernon Louis Parrington – History, 1928.
• Theodore Roethke – Poetry, 1954.

Art and architecture

• Shawn Brixey Digital art, Telematics, Physics, Bioart

Biology and medicine

• William H. Calvin – Well-known popularizer of neuroscience and evolutionary biology, including the hybrid of these two fields, neural Darwinism.
• John Gottman – National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Award winner.
• Bertil Hille – Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, expert on ion channels, co-recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1999.
• Leroy Hood – American biologist and recipient of the Lemelson-MIT Prize for inventing "four instruments that have unlocked much of the mystery of human biology."
• Stephen C. Morrison – Urgent care physician known for his work in California and Colorado.
• Belding H. Scribner – Inventor of the "Scribner shunt” that enabled long-term kidney dialysis.

Business and law

• Paul Heyne – American economist and author of The Economic Way of Thinking.
• Terence Mitchell – Gold member of Academy of Management Hall of Fame. One of 3 Gold members out of 10,000 over members.[8]

Politics and administration

• William Gerberding – President of the University of Washington from 1979 to 1995.
• Denice Denton – Dean of the University of Washington College of Engineering from 1996 to 2005, the first woman in the United States to lead an engineering college of a major research university.
• David de Kretser – current Governor of Victoria, Australia
• Michael Lerner – Founder of the Seattle Liberation Front and member of the Seattle Seven, a radical anti-war group.
• Margaret Levi – 2005 President of the American Political Science Association.
• Charles Odegaard – President of the University of Washington from 1958 to 1973.
• Dixy Lee Ray – The seventeenth governor of the state of Washington and the first woman to hold that position.
• Paul Schell – Former mayor of Seattle and former Dean of the University of Washington School of Architecture and Urban Planning from 1992 to 1995.
• Henry Suzzallo – Croatian-American and president of the University of Washington from 1915 to 1926.

Science and technology

• Carl Bergstrom - Theoretical biologist, created the Eigenfactor ranking for scientific journals
• Jeffrey M. Bradshaw – Senior research scientist at The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
• Donald E. Brownlee (1971) – Principal investigator of Stardust (spacecraft) comet spacecraft. Cited in Discover's magazine 100 most important discoveries in 2004.[9]
• Mark Crispin – The inventor of Internet Message Access Protocol(IMAP).
• Vitaly Efimov - Proposed a new and exotic state of matter known as the Efimov State
• Qiang Fu – Atmospheric scientist whose theoretical model resolved the contradiction on global warming. Cited in Discover's magazine 100 most important discoveries in 2004.[10]
• Thomas W. Hungerford – mathematician and author of many textbooks including Abstract algebra: an introduction
• Victor Klee – Mathematician who specialized in convex sets, functional analysis, analysis of algorithms, optimization, and combinatorics. President of the Mathematical Association of America from 1971 to 1973, he was a University of Washington faculty member for 54 years.
• Neal Koblitz – mathematician and creator of hyperelliptic curve cryptography and independent co-creator of elliptic curve cryptography.
• Jerre Noe, first chair of Computer Science Group (now the Computer Science and Engineering Department), directed the Eden Project, the first award in the National Science Foundation's Coordinated Experimental Research Program.
• Mamidala Ramulu – Outstanding Scholar/Mentor of College of Engineering
• Joseph Sisneros – Uncovered neural plasticity in fish. Cited in Discover magazine's 100 most important discoveries in 2004. [11]
• William A. Stein – Creator of Sage, and modular forms researcher.
• David Thouless – Condensed matter physicist and 1990 Wolf Prize Winner in Physics.

Social science, arts and humanities

• James A. Banks – American scholar widely regarded as the "father of multicultural education".
• David P. Barash – Professor of Psychology
• Laurence BonJour – Professor of Philosophy.
• Jon Bridgman – American historian and among the most popular lecturers in the University.
• Francis D.K. Ching – Award-winning author of influential books on architectural graphics.
• Sidney S. Culbert – Psychologist and Esperantist as well as a major influence in the design of cockpit instrument panels in the Boeing 707 jet aircraft through his research in perception.
• Stuart Dempster – Composer, trombonist, and Guggenheim Fellowship recipient.
• August Dvorak – Educational psychologist most noted for the invention of the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard.
• Peter Erös – Internationally renowned symphony and opera conductor.
• John Goodlad – Education researcher, author of A Place Called School.
• Richard Haag – Founded the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington.
• Nancy Hartsock – Feminist philosopher noted for her work in feminist epistemology and standpoint theory.
• Hsu Dau-lin – Chinese legal historian
• Huck Hodge – Composer, winner of the Gaudeamus Prize.
• Charles R. Johnson – American scholar, a MacArthur Fellow, recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship and winner of the National Book Award for writing Middle Passage.
• Walter Johnson – World-renowned scholar of Scandinavian literature, Guggenheim scholar and member of the Swedish Order of the North Star.
• Abraham Kaplan – Director of choral studies and director of choral conducting at Juilliard School.
• Richard Kenney – Award winning poet.
• W. Hudson Kensel - Historian of the American West
• Jacob Lawrence – Among the best known twentieth century African American painters
• Fang-kuei Li – Linguist with expertise in Chinese and Native American languages
• Elizabeth Loftus – Psychologist who works on human memory and how it can be changed by facts, ideas, suggestions and other forms of post-event information.
• Fred Lukoff – Linguist and scholar of Korean studies.
• Alan Marlatt – Psychologist who pioneered harm reduction.
• Heather McHugh – Award winning poet.
• Roy Andrew Miller – Linguist notable for his advocacy of Japanese and Korean as members of the Altaic group of languages.
• Stephen Craig Morrison – Urgent care physician known for his work in California and Colorado.
• Frederick Newmeyer – Linguist and 2002 President of the Linguistic Society of America.
• James Palais – Noted Historian in the field of Korean History.
• Walter C. Parker – American scholar renowned for his studies of democracy and civic engagement in education.
• Lionel Pries – Influential teacher of Minoru Yamasaki, A. Quincy Jones, and many Northwest Modern architects.
• Kenneth B. Pyle – Japanese Historian and former director of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.
• W.J. Rorabaugh – American historian, managing editor of Pacific Northwest Quarterly, and author of The Alcoholic Republic.
• Roger Sale – American literary critic and author most noted for his influence on literary criticism on children's literature.
• Steven Shaviro – Cultural critic and author of Doom Patrols.
• Jan Sjåvik – Scholar of Scandinavian, especially Norwegian, literature and author of many books and articles within Scandinavian Studies.
• Vilem Sokol – Music professor, string teacher, and legendary conductor of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras 1960s to 1980s.
• Robin Stacey – History professor, author of numerous articles and books on early medieval Britain and Ireland
• Daris Swindler – Anthropologist generally acknowledged as a leading primate expert; his An Atlas of Primate Gross Anatomy is a standard work in the field.
• Douglas Wadden – Visual Communication Design professor, currently Executive Vice Provost
• David Wagoner – poet and novelist
• Daniel Waugh, current director of the Seattle Silk Road Project and editor of the journal of the Silkroad Foundation
• Daniel S. Weld – Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
• Karl Wittfogel – Sinologist and Historian author of "Oriental Despotism."

Athletics

• Hiram Boardman Conibear, rowing coach
• Gil Dobie – Undefeated (58-0-3) football coach of the University of Washington from 1908 to 1916, whose tenure largely comprised the NCAA Division I-A record for an unbeaten streak (63 games) and who oversaw the entirety of the NCAA Division I-A's second longest winning streak (39 games); elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.
• Michelle Gordon (1991) – Martial artist and recipient of USA Weekend Magazine's "Most Caring Coach Award".
• Marv Harshman – Head basketball coach of the University of Washington from 1971 to 1985.
• Don James – Head football coach from 1974–1992.
• Leon T. Preston – Martial artist, educator, and 2008 Olympic Taekwondo Referee. http://www.tkd2xcell.com/, http://depts.washington.edu/sswweb/faculty/facpage.php?id=71,
• Lorenzo Romar – Current head basketball coach of the University of Washington.
• Steve Sarkisian – Current head football coach at the University of Washington
• Tyrone Willingham – Former head football coach at the University of Washington.

Other staff

• Kenneth S. Allen – Associate director of the University of Washington Libraries from 1960–1982 and father of Paul Allen.