List of California Institute of Technology people

The California Institute of Technology has had numerous notable alumni and faculty.

Notable alumni

Alumni who went on to become members of the faculty are listed only in this category.

Physics and Astronomy

• Eric Adelberger - BS 1960, PhD 1967; Professor of Physics, Emeritus at University of Washington; member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Charles R. Alcock, PhD 1977
• Berni Alder, PhD 1951
• Carl D. Anderson, BS 1927, PhD 1930, faculty – Nobel laureate in physics (1936) for proving the existence of positrons
• Roger Angel, MS 1966
• Horace W. Babcock, BS 1934
• James M. Bardeen, PhD 1965
• Eric Becklin, PhD 1968
• Eric Betzig, BS 1983
• J. Richard Bond, PhD 1979
• Ira Sprague Bowen, PhD 1926
• Robert Brode, PhD 1924
• Paul Chaikin, BS 1966
• Chung-Yao Chao, PhD 1930
• John Clauser, BS 1964
• Bernard Cohen (physicist), PhD 1950
• Sidney Coleman, PhD 1962
• H. Richard Crane, BS 1930, PhD 1934
• Roger Dashen (physicist) - PhD 1964; former faculty; former Professor of Theoretical Physics at Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ; former Professor of Physics at UC San Diego; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Jesse DuMond (physicist) - BS 1916, PhD 1929; (former faculty) Professor of Physics, Emeritus at Caltech; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Alexei Filippenko, PhD 1984
• James C. Fletcher, PhD 1948 – served as the 4th and 7th Administrator of NASA
• William A. Fowler, PhD 1936, faculty – Nobel laureate in physics (1983) for his studies of the nuclear reactions in stars
• Edward Fredkin, undergraduate studies (1952) – early pioneer of digital physics with contributions in reversible computing and cellular automata
• Neil Gehrels, PhD 1982
• Andrea M. Ghez, PhD 1992
• Donald A. Glaser, PhD 1950 – Nobel laureate in physics (1960) for the invention of the bubble chamber
• James E. Gunn, PhD 1966 – astronomer, Crafoord laureate (2005)
• Robert N. Hall
• James Hartle
• Jeffrey A. Harvey
• Lars Hernquist
• John Huchra
• Vernon W. Hughes
• Raymond Jeanloz
• Kamaloddin Jenab, PhD – pioneer of nuclear physics in Iran
• David C. Jewitt
• J. R. Jokipii - Regents’ Professor Planetary Sciences and Astronomy, University of Arizona; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Kenneth Kellermann
• Robert Kirshner
• Steven E. Koonin, BS 1972 - seventh provost of Caltech; current Undersecretary for Science, Department of Energy
• Charles Christian Lauritsen
• Thomas Lauritsen - BS 1936, PhD 1939; former Professor of Physics at Caltech; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Robert B. Leighton
• Tom Lubensky
• Hideo Mabuchi
• Arthur B. McDonald, PhD 1969 - Nobel laureate in physics (2015) for work in neutrinos
• William B. McLean
• Dimitri Mihalas
• Mark M. Mills, PhD 1948 – nuclear physicist, developer of atomic weapons, and deputy director of Livermore
• Seth Neddermeyer
• Jerry Nelson (astronomer)
• Gerald Neugebauer
• Frank Oppenheimer, PhD 1939 – Manhattan Project physicist; founder of the Exploratorium
• Douglas D. Osheroff, BS 1967 – Nobel laureate in physics (1996) for discovering the superfluidic nature of ³He
• Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky
• Eugene Parker
• Joseph Polchinski BS 1975 - string theorist
• William H. Press
• Charles Prescott - PhD 1966; Professor of Physics, Emeritus at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC); member of National Academy of Sciences
• David E. Pritchard
• Leo James Rainwater, BS 1939 – Nobel laureate in physics (1975) for finding the shapes of certain atomic nuclei
• Wade Regehr PhD, Applied Physics - Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
• Howard Percy Robertson
• Malvin Ruderman - PhD 1951; Centennial Professor of Physics at Columbia University; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Allan Sandage, PhD 1953 – astronomer, Crafoord laureate (1991)
• Anneila Sargent
• Paul Schechter
• Stephen A. Shectman - staff member, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Robert J. Schoelkopf
• David Schramm (astrophysicist)
• Bernard F. Schutz
• William Shockley, BS 1932 – Nobel laureate in physics (1956) for invention of the transistor
• Paul Steinhardt, BS 1973 - Albert Einstein Professor in Science and Director of the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science at Princeton University, Dirac Medal for inflationary model of universe
• Guyford Stever
• Saul Teukolsky
• William G. Tifft
• Kip Thorne, BS 1962, faculty – gravitational physicist
• Alvin Tollestrup - PhD 1950; former Professor of Physics at Caltech; physicist at Fermi National Accelerator Lab; member of National Academy of Sciences and recipient of National Medal of Technology
• Charles H. Townes, PhD 1939 – Nobel laureate in physics (1964) for contributions to planetary thermal radiation; patented the maser
• George Trilling - BS 1951, PhD 1955; Professor and Chair of Physics at UC Berkeley, Emeritus; temporary President of American Physical Society; Director of Physics Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Alvin Trivelpiece
• Michael Turner (cosmologist)
• George Wallerstein
• William Ward - PhD 1973, Institute scientist in Department of Space Studies at Southwest Research Institute. Elected member of National Academy of Sciences. Known for major contributions to planetary science and satellite dynamics.
• Clifford Martin Will
• Olin Chaddock Wilson
• Kenneth G. Wilson, PhD 1961 – Wolf Prize laureate (1980), Nobel laureate in physics (1982) for his theory of phase transitions in matter
• Robert W. Wilson, PhD 1962 – Nobel laureate in physics (1978) for discovering the cosmic microwave background radiation (shared medal)
• Bruce Winstein
• Jack Wisdom
• Stephen Wolfram, PhD 1979 – founder of Wolfram Research, Inc. (makers of Mathematica) and author of A New Kind of Science
• George Zweig
• Barton Zwiebach
• Norman J. Zabusky

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

• Fred C. Anson - (former faculty) BS 1954; Elizabeth W. Gilloon Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus at Caltech; Member of National Academy of Sciences. Known for pioneering work on the electrochemistry of polymers, on the catalysis of electrode reactions, and on electrochemical reactions that involve ultrathin coating of molecules on electrode surfaces.
• Peter B. Armentrout, PhD 1980
• Jesse L. Beauchamp, BS 1964
• Arnold Beckman, PhD 1928 – inventor of the pH meter, founder of Beckman Instruments and financier of the first "silicon" company in Silicon Valley, Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory
• Richard D. Braatz, PhD 1993
• Leo Brewer, BS 1940
• Richard G. Brewer, BS 1951; pioneer in quantum optics and nonlinear laser spectroscopy, particularly advanced techniques in the study of laser induced steady state and transient phenomena; researcher at IBM Almaden research laboratories; IBM fellow, elected member of National Academy of Sciences.
• Emily A. Carter, PhD 1987; Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering & Applied and Computational Mathematics - Princeton University; member of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering. Known for development of quantum chemistry computational methods for the design of molecules and materials for sustainable energy.
• Christopher Chang, BS/MS 1997
• Robert E. Cohen, PhD 1972; Raymond A. (1921) and Helen E. St. Laurent Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT; member of National Academy of Engineering. Leader in field of polymer science and engineering
• William H. Corcoran - (former faculty) BS 1941, PhD 1948; Institute Professor of Chemical Engineering at Caltech. Known for research in biomedical engineering (particularly fluid flow and design of artificial heart valves), chemical engineering kinetics, engineering design, pharmaceutical process engineering and development design, rocketry, and transport processes. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Charles D. Coryell, BS 1932, PhD 1935
• Paul Hugh Emmett, PhD 1925
• David A. Evans, PhD 1967
• Gary Felsenfeld - PhD 1955, Distinguished Investigator and Chief of the section on physical chemistry in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Widely recognized for research on the physical chemistry of nucleic acids and proteins and their interactions with each other and with small molecules; structure of DNA and synthetic polynucleotides; structure and function of chromatin, particularly as it relates to eukaryotic gene expression; and regulation of globin gene expression during development. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
• Gerald Fuller, PhD 1980
• Jacqueline G. Gish, PhD 1976 - Northrop Grumman Technology Fellow; recognized for significant contributions to the development of high-energy lasers, development of diagnostics for plasma and laser programs. and leadership of efforts on chemical lasers and solid state lasers. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• William A. Goddard, III, PhD 1965, faculty – theoretical chemist
• James L. Hoard, PhD 1932
• Brian M. Hoffman, PhD 1966; Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University; known for major contributions to electron paramagnetic resonance and electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) of metalloenzymes; long-range electron transfer within protein complexes; and new porphyrazine metallomacrocycles. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
• James A. Ibers, BS 1951, PhD 1954; Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor (Emeritus) of Chemistry at Northwestern University. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
• Harold 'Hal' Johnston, PhD 1948; pioneering atmospheric chemist and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at UC Berkeley; National Medal of Science recipient; winner of Tyler World Prize for Environmental Achievement; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Eric W. Kaler, BS 1978
• Martin Karplus, PhD 1953 – Nobel laureate in chemistry (2013)
• Chaitan Khosla, PhD 1990
• Nathan Lewis, BS/MS 1977
• William Lipscomb, PhD 1946 – Nobel laureate in chemistry (1976)
• Stephen L. Mayo, PhD 1987; (faculty) Bren Professor of Biology and Chemistry at Caltech; Former HHMI Investigator; leading researcher in field of protein folding structural analysis and protein design; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Joseph Edward Mayer, BS 1924
• Harden M. McConnell, PhD 1951
• Edwin Mattison McMillan, BS 1928, MS 1929 – Nobel laureate in chemistry (1951)
• Matthew Meselson, PhD 1957
• Kurt Mislow, PhD 1947; Professor Emeritus of chemistry at Princeton University; known for major contributions to physical organic chemistry. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
• Daniel G. Nocera, PhD 1984
• José Onuchic, PhD 1987
• Dinshaw J. Patel, MS 1963; Member and Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Chair in Experimental Therapeutics, Structural Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center + Professor, Graduate Program in Biochemistry & Structural Biology, Weill School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Linus Pauling, PhD 1925, faculty – Nobel laureate in chemistry (1954) and peace (1962)
• Cornelius J. Pings - BS 1951, PhD 1955; (former faculty in chemical engineering and chemical physics) Former provost and professor of chemical engineering at University of Southern California; former president of Association of American Universities (AAU); Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Kenneth Pitzer, BS 1935 – winner of the National Medal of Science, third president of Rice University, sixth president of Stanford University, Director of Research for U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (1949–1951)
• Dana Powers - BS 1970, PhD 1975; senior scientist, nuclear energy and fuel cycle programs, Sandia National Laboratories. Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for contributions to commercial nuclear power plant safety worldwide and to radioactive source-term processes.
• Danny D. Reible - PhD 1982, Donovan Maddox Distinguished Engineering Chair at Texas Tech University. Formerly Bettie Margaret Smith Chair of Environmental Health Engineering and Director, Center for Research in Water Resources at the University of Texas, Austin. Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for contributions to development of widely used approaches for the management of contaminated sediments.
• Michael Rosbash, BS 1965
• Melanie Sanford, PhD 2001
• George C. Schatz, PhD 1976
• Richard Scheller, PhD 1980
• Peter G. Schultz, BS 1979, PhD 1984
• Howard A. Stone, PhD 1988
• Scott Strobel, PhD 1992
• Yongkui Sun, PhD 1990 - Executive Director of Business Development and Licensing, etc. at Merck & Co. Known for contributions to green, economical processes for pharmaceuticals and for developing business strategies in emerging markets. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Kenneth S. Suslick, BS 1974
• Timothy M. Swager - PhD 1988, John D. MacArthur Professor of Chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Known for pioneering research into electronic polymers, liquid crystals, carbon nanomaterials, chemical sensors (particularly for explosives), etc. Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Holden Thorp, PhD 1989
• Margaret Tolbert, PhD 1986; Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at University of Colorado, Boulder; member of National Academy of Sciences; prominent researcher in field of atmospheric chemistry
• Donald Truhlar, PhD 1970
• Michael Tsapatsis - PhD 1994, Amundson Chair Professor in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota. Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for contributions to design and synthesis of zeolite-based materials for selective separation and reaction.
• Nicholas Turro, PhD 1963
• John S. Waugh, PhD 1953
• George M. Whitesides, PhD 1964
• Edgar Bright Wilson, PhD 1933
• Saul Winstein, PhD 1938
• K. Dane Wittrup, PhD 1988; Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT; member of National Academy of Engineering
• Peter T. Wolczanski, PhD 1981
• Mark S. Wrighton, PhD 1972
• Oliver R. Wulf, PhD 1926
• Ajit Yoganathan - PhD 1978, Regents’ Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Chair in Biomedical Engineering, and director, Center for Innovative Cardiovascular Technologies, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for improvements in the biomechanics of prosthetic heart valves and the development of heart repair devices.
• Yannis C. Yortsos, PhD 1979
• Don Merlin Lee Yost, PhD 1926; (faculty) former professor of chemistry at Caltech; pioneering physical chemist who worked on nuclear magnetic resonance, electron spin resonance, and the microwave spectroscopy of gases, among other things; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• William Gould Young, PhD 1929
• Robert Zwanzig, PhD 1952

Biology, Biological Engineering, and Medicine

• David Agard, PhD 1980
• Bruce Ames, PhD 1953
• Thomas F. Anderson, BS 1932, PhD 1936
• Utpal Banerjee, PhD 1984
• Howard Berg, BS 1964
• Andrew Benson, PhD 1942
• Steven Block, PhD 1983
• James F. Bonner, PhD 1934; former faculty
• Frank Brink, MS 1935; former professor and President of Rockefeller University; made major contributions to the understanding of neuronal activity through his targeted research on the cycle of excitation, response, and recovery in nerve fibers; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Edward M. Callaway, PhD 1988; Audrey Geisel Chair in Biomedical Science and Professor in Systems Neurobiology Laboratories at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Pioneered novel molecular, genetic, and viral tools for revealing the detailed structure and function of neural circuits including a method that allows the tracing of a single neuron's connections to its neighbors, particularly in the visual cortex as it relates to perception and behavior. Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• Horace W. Davenport, BS 1935, PhD 1939; William Beaumont Professor Emeritus of Physiology at the University of Michigan. Pioneered the study of gastroenterology and laid a foundation for more effective ulcer treatments by revealing how gastric acid works in digestion without consuming the stomach itself. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
• Mark M. Davis, PhD 1981; Burt and Marion Avery Family Professor of Immunology at Stanford University; member of National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine; Director, Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, Stanford University School of Medicine
• Ronald W. Davis, PhD 1970
• Michael D. Ehlers, BS 1991; Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer of the Neuroscience Research Unit, Pfizer
• Sarah Elgin, PhD 1972
• Gerald D. Fasman, PhD 1952; Rosenfield Professor of Biochemistry, Brandeis University; major contributor to fundamental studies of protein structure-function relationships; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Edwin Furshpan, PhD 1955; Robert Henry Pfeiffer Professor of Neurobiology (Emeritus) at Harvard Medical School. Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Michael Gazzaniga, PhD 1964
• James L. Gould, BS 1970
• Leland H. Hartwell, BS 1961 – Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (2001)
• Stephen F. Heinemann, BS 1962, former Professor of Neuroscience at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and former President of the Society for Neuroscience. Well known for major contributions to study of molecular neurotransmission between synapses. Member of National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine.
• Sterling B. Hendricks, PhD 1926
• Ira Herskowitz, BS 1967
• Leonard Herzenberg, PhD 1955
• Steven A. Hillyard, BS 1964; Professor (Emeritus) of Neuroscience at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Widely recognized for investigations in the area of human cognitive processes and is a leading figure in the electrophysiological study of human attention using the event-related potential (ERP) technique. Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• David Ho, BS 1974 – AIDS researcher
• David Hogness, BS 1949, PhD 1953
• Leroy Hood, BS 1960, PhD 1968; former faculty
• Norman Horowitz, PhD 1939, former faculty – biochemist and advocate of unmanned space exploration
• Clyde A. Hutchison III, PhD 1968
• Harvey Itano, PhD 1950
• Lily Y. Jan, PhD 1974; Jack and DeLoris Lange Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at University of California, San Francisco; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Yuh Nung Jan, PhD 1974; Jack and DeLoris Lange Professor of Molecular Physiology at University of California, San Francisco; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Tan Jiazhen, PhD 1937
• A. Dale Kaiser, PhD 1955
• Lawrence C. Katz, PhD 1984
• Alfred G. Knudson, BS 1944, PhD 1956
• Monty Krieger, PhD 1976; Whitehead Professor of Molecular Genetics at MIT; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Quynh-Thu Le, BS 1989, Katharine Dexter McCormick and Stanley McCormick Memorial Professor and Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine. Medical doctor known for her research on the management of head and neck cancers. Elected member of Institute of Medicine of National Academies.
• Edward B. Lewis, PhD 1942; former faculty – Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1995)
• Leonard Lerman, PhD 1950
• Dan L. Lindsley, PhD 1952; Research Professor (Emeritus) of Biology at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). World leading geneticist, particularly the study of chromosome structure and function in Drosophila. Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Sharon R. Long, BS 1973
• Robert Metzenberg, PhD 1955
• William Newsome, PhD 1979
• Baldomero Olivera, PhD 1966
• Maynard Olson, BS 1965
• Arthur Pardee, PhD 1947
• John Quackenbush, BS 1983
• Charles M. Rice, PhD 1981; Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Professor in Virology, Rockefeller University; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Arthur Riggs (geneticist), PhD 1966
• Gordon H. Sato, PhD 1955
• Michael Sheetz, PhD 1972
• Donald C. Shreffler, PhD 1962, former Professor and Chairman of Department of Genetics at Washington University, St. Louis Medical School. Widely known for contributions to immunogenetics, paving the way for detailed studies of MHC genes. Member of Institute of Medicine (IOM) of National Academies and member of National Academy of Sciences.
• Frederick J. Sigworth, BS 1974; Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University School of Medicine. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
• Folke K. Skoog, BS 1932, PhD 1936
• Howard M. Temin, PhD 1959
• Christopher Voigt, PhD 2002
• Sam Wang (neuroscientist), BS 1986

Mathematics and Computer Science

• Ian Agol, BS 1992
• William Arveson, BS 1960
• Michael Aschbacher, BS 1966; faculty – winner of the Cole Prize in Algebra (1980) and [Wolf Prize] in Mathematics (2012)
• Pierre Baldi, PhD 1986
• Mihir Bellare, BS 1986
• Walter Bright, BS 1979 – computer scientist, developed first native C++ compiler (Zortech C++), first classic strategic computer wargame (Empire), and designed the D programming language
• Lawrence D. Brown, BS 1961
• Robert Calderbank, PhD 1980
• Tony F. Chan, BS/MS 1973
• Matthew Cook, PhD 2005 – computer scientist, proved that the Rule 110 cellular automaton is Turing-complete
• Fernando J. Corbató, BS 1950 – computer scientist, recipient of the 1990 Turing Award
• Bill Dally, PhD 1986
• James Demmel, BS 1975
• Robert Dilworth, BS 1936, PhD 1939, former faculty – mathematician, known for Dilworth's theorem
• Bradley Efron, BS 1960; statistician; recipient of 2005 National Medal of Science; known for work on the bootstrap resampling technique
• Solomon Feferman, BS 1948
• Edward Felten, BS 1985; computer scientist, worked on proof-carrying authentication, Java security, and the SDMI challenge
• Hal Finney, BS 1979
• Athanassios S. Fokas, PhD 1979
• Juris Hartmanis, PhD 1955; computer scientist, recipient of the 1993 Turing Award
• Chandrashekhar Khare, PhD 1995
• David Kirk (scientist), PhD 1993
• Donald Knuth, PhD 1963; computer scientist; creator of TeX typesetting language; author of The Art of Computer Programming; recipient of the 1974 Turing Award
• Harold W. Kuhn, BS 1947
• Alfred W. Hales, BS 1960, PhD 1962
• Philip J. Hanlon, PhD 1981
• Serge Lang, BS 1946; mathematician, known for his work in number theory and for his mathematics textbooks, including the influential Algebra; received Steele Prize in 1999
• Benoît Mandelbrot, MS 1948, Eng 1949 – pioneer of fractal geometry
• John McCarthy, BS 1948 – computer scientist; inventor of the Lisp programming language and recipient of the 1971 Turing Award
• Carl Morris (statistician), BS 1960
• Eugene Myers, BS 1975
• Andrew Odlyzko, BS/MS 1971; mathematician, demonstrated the Montgomery-Odlyzko Law
• John Platt, PhD 1989 – computer scientist
• Irving S. Reed, BS 1944, PhD 1949; achieved fame in computer science as the co-inventor of Reed-Solomon error correction, also worked in early digital computer design (the MADDIDA)
• John R. Rice (professor), PhD 1959
• Neil Risch, BS 1972
• Paul W. K. Rothemund, BS 1994
• Tsutomu Shimomura, undergraduate studies – computational physicist and computer security expert; tracked down and helped the FBI arrest hacker Kevin Mitnick
• Peter Shor, BS 1981
• Stanislav Smirnov, PhD 1996; recipient of Fields Medal in 2010
• Richard P. Stanley, BS 1966
• Harold Stark, BS 1961
• Ivan Sutherland, MS 1960; computer scientist and internet pioneer; recipient of the 1988 Turing Award for the invention of Sketchpad, an early predecessor to the graphical user interface; professor at Caltech, 1974-1978
• Peter Swerling, BS 1947
• Peter Szolovits, BS 1970, PhD 1975; Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Health Sciences and Technology at MIT; known for work on application of AI methods to problems of medical decision making and design of information systems for health care institutions and patients; fellow of Institute of Medicine of National Academies
• Robert Tarjan, BS 1969 – computer scientist; recipient of the 1986 Turing Award
• Clifford Truesdell, BS 1941, MS 1942
• Lloyd R. Welch, PhD 1958 – information theorist; co-inventor of the Baum-Welch algorithm
• Erik Winfree, PhD 1998, faculty

Engineering

• Rohan Abeyaratne, PhD 1979
• Allan J. Acosta (engineer) - (former faculty) BS, MS, PhD; Richard L. and Dorothy M. Hayman Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Emeritus at Caltech; well known for contributions to the understanding of turbomachinery, particularly cavitation and rotor dynamics. Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Mihran S. Agbabian - Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) and President Emeritus of the American University of Armenia; member of National Academy of Engineering
• George E. Apostolakis (engineer) - PhD 1973, Korea Electric Power Corporation Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Professor of Engineering Systems Emeritus, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; former Commissioner of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Known for innovations in the theory and practice of probabilistic risk assessment and risk management, particularly with regards to nuclear safety. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• William F. Ballhaus, Sr., PhD 1947
• Michael I. Baskes - Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Robert L. Behnken, PhD 1997 – NASA astronaut, flew on STS-123
• Jacobo Bielak (engineer) - PhD 1971, Hamerschlag University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University; Distinguished Member of American Society of Civil Engineers and member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Maurice Anthony Biot, PhD 1932
• Frank Borman, MS 1957 – NASA astronaut, commanded Gemini 7 and Apollo 8 space missions
• Robert W. Bower, PhD 1973
• Norman H. Brooks - (former faculty) James Irvine Professor of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Emeritus at Caltech; Member of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering; expert in hydraulic engineering, environmental fluid mechanics, and water resources and technology.
• Arthur E. Bryson, PhD 1951
• Sébastien Candel - PhD 1972, Professor at Ecole Centrale Paris. Renowned for significant contributions to solving multidisciplinary problems in the fields of combustion, fluid mechanics, aeroacoustics, and propulsion. Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Institute of Physics (IOP), and the AAAF. Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Sciences, founding Member of the Academy of Technology, and elected as a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering of the United States.
• Brian J. Cantwell - Edward C. Wells Professor of Engineering (Aeronautics and Astronautics) at Stanford University; Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Gregory Chamitoff, MS 1985 – NASA astronaut, flew on STS-124 and staying on Expedition 17 on the International Space Station
• Francis H. Clauser (engineer) - (former faculty) Clark Blanchard Millikan Professor of Engineering, Emeritus at Caltech; pioneer in the study of boundary layer theory, turbulent flows, guided missiles, spacecraft, magnetohydrodynamics, and partial differential equations. Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Ray W. Clough, MS 1943
• Julian Cole, PhD 1949 (former faculty)
• Donald E. Coles (engineer) - (former faculty) PhD 1953, Professor of Aeronautics, Emeritus at Caltech; contributed to study of supersonic and turbulent boundary layer flows, Couette flows, and fluid flow instrumentation design. Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Robert Conn (engineer) - PhD 1968, President of The Kavli Foundation and Zable Professor and Dean, Emeritus, of the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. Leading researcher in plasma physics, fusion energy, energy policy and materials science. Member of National Academy of Engineering and recipient of E.O. Lawrence award from Department of Energy.
• Stanley Corrsin, PhD 1947
• John Dabiri, PhD 2005 (former faculty)
• James Wallace Daily - PhD 1945, Professor of Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Engineering Emeritus, at University of Michigan; former professor at MIT. Known for contributions to fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering, especially in the areas of cavitation, hydraulic machinery, the flow of suspensions, and the design of fluid-mechanics laboratories. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Satish Dhawan
• Paul Dimotakis, BS 1968, PhD 1973 - John K. Northrop Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Applied Physics at Caltech and senior research scientist at JPL. Former chief technologist at JPL. Known for contributions to the fluid mechanics of jet propulsion and other processes involving turbulence, mixing, and transport. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• James Duderstadt
• Regina E. Dugan, PhD 1993 - 19th Director of DARPA, first female director
• Charles Elachi
• Nader Engheta
• Richard G. Folsom, BS 1928, MS 1929, PhD 1933, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1958–1971)
• C. Gordon Fullerton, BS 1957, MS 1958 – Space Shuttle astronaut and test pilot
• Yuan-Cheng Fung
• Morteza (Mory) Gharib - PhD 1983, Vice Provost for Research and Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and Bioinspired Engineering at Caltech. Fellow of National Academy of Inventors, member of National Academy of Engineering, fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and known for contributions to fluid flow diagnostics and imagery, and engineering of bioinspired devices and phenomena.
• Edward Gibson, MS 1960, PhD 1964 – NASA astronaut, flew on Skylab 4
• Roy Gould - (former faculty) professor of applied physics at Caltech; made several important contributions to field of plasma physics; member of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering
• Wallace D. Hayes
• George W Housner
• Tsien Hsue-shen, PhD 1939 – Father of China's rocket program
• Donald Hudson (engineer) - (former faculty) BS, MS, PhD, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Emeritus at Caltech; leader in dynamic measurements in the field of vibrations and experimental stress analysis, general analysis in structural dynamics and vibrations, and analytical and experimental methods in earthquake engineering and engineering seismology. Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Arthur T. Ippen
• Wilfred D. Iwan (engineer) - (former faculty) BS, MS, PhD, Professor of Applied Mechanics, Emeritus at Caltech; major contributor to theory of vibrations, modeling of structural systems, nonlinear system identification, machinery dynamics and vibration, earthquake response of structures, earthquake response of nonstructural components, engineering seismology, offshore drilling, and public policy for earthquake risk mitigation. Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Ali Jadbabaie
• William L Johnson - PhD 1975, faculty in materials science and applied physics at Caltech; Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Engineering and Applied Science; made major contributions to study of bulk metallic glasses. Member of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering.
• Leon Keer (engineer) - Walter P. Murphy Professor of Civil Engineering at Northwestern University. Known for research on application of elasticity to design problems involving contact and fracture. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Jack Kerrebrock (engineer) - PhD, Richard Cockburn Maclaurin Professor Emeritus and former head of the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department and former Dean of School of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Known for work on nuclear rockets, space propulsion and power, magneto hydrodynamic generators, and fluid mechanics of turbomachinery for aircraft engines. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Wolfgang G. Knauss (engineer) - (former faculty) BS, MS, PhD; Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics, Emeritus at Caltech; world leading researcher in fracture mechanics and engineering work on time-dependent fracture of polymers, at interfaces and under dynamic loading. Member of National Academy of Engineering (USA) and Russian Academy of Engineering.
• Thomas L. Koch (scientist/engineer) - PhD 1982, Dean of the College of Optical Sciences and Professor of Optical Sciences and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona. Former senior researcher at Bell Labs. Known for contributions to optoelectronic technologies and their implementation in optical communications systems, exploring the fundamental performance limits of lasers used for telecommunications, and for the design and demonstration of semiconductor photonic integrated circuits. Member of National Academy of Engineering, fellow of IEEE, and fellow of OSA.
• Mark Kryder
• Thomas F. Kuech - Milton J. and A. Maude Shoemaker and Beckwith-Bascom Professor and Chair, Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Stelios Kyriakides - PhD 1980, Cockrell Family Chair Professor in Engineering, University of Texas - Austin. Known for contributions to micro- and macro- mechanical behavior of solids, particularly understanding of propagating instability phenomena in structures and materials and its use for technological applications. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Paul C. Jennings (engineer) - (former faculty) PhD 1963, Professor of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Emeritus at Caltech; authority on earthquake engineering and dynamics of structures, including high-rise buildings, offshore drilling towers, and nuclear power plants; member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Anthony E. Leonard (engineer) - (former faculty) BS, PhD; Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics, Emeritus at Caltech; well known for contributions to simulation of turbulence, new vortex methods of flow simulation, and understanding of flow-induced vibration. Member of National Academy of Engineering
• York Liao, BS 1967 – inventor of liquid crystal displays; co-founder and Executive Director of Varitronix
• Chia-Chiao Lin
• Fred Lindvall (engineer) - PhD 1928, (former faculty) Professor of Electrical Engineering at Caltech and Chair of Division of Engineering & Applied Science; President of Sigma Xi; President of American Society for Engineering Education; Member of National Academy of Sciences and member of National Academy of Engineering; fellow of ASME and fellow of IEEE. Known for research and development of equipment for transportation and underwater ordnance.
• David Luenberger
• Paul MacCready, MS 1948, PhD 1952 – father of human-powered flight; invented the Gossamer Condor and the Gossamer Albatross
• Frank Malina
• Frank E. Marble - (former faculty member) Richard L. and Dorothy M. Hayman Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Jet Propulsion, Emeritus; made major fundamental, theoretical, and experimental contributions to the fields of internal aerodynamics, combustion, and propulsion; Member of National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences
• Max Mathews
• Frank A. McClintock
• Robert McEliece
• Carver Mead, BS 1956, MS 1957, PhD 1959, faculty – pioneer in microelectronics and computer science
• Chiang C. Mei
• John W. Miles
• Richard Miller, PhD 1976 - President of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
• Clark Blanchard Millikan
• Richard S. Muller
• Richard M. Murray (engineer) - Thomas and Doris Everhart Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems and Bioengineering at Caltech; known for contributions in control theory and networked control systems with applications to aerospace engineering, robotics, autonomy, and biological circuits; member of National Academy of Engineering
• Roddam Narasimha
• Bernard M. Oliver
• James F. Pankow - PhD 1979; leading researcher in atmospheric chemistry and pollution; member of National Academy of Engineering
• Jack Parsons (rocket engineer)
• William Hayward Pickering
• John R. Pierce
• Andrea Prosperetti
• Simon Ramo, PhD 1936 – co-founder of TRW; developed ICBMs
• W. Duncan Rannie - (former faculty) PhD 1951, Robert H. Goddard Professor of Jet Propulsion, Emeritus at Caltech; known for contributions to three-dimensional flow, stall and distortion in turbomachinery and to turbulent heat transfer. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Gabriel Rebeiz, PhD 1988 - Wireless Communications Industry Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego. Known for contributions to radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS) and phased array technologies. Fellow of IEEE and member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Garrett Reisman, MS 1992, PhD 1997, NASA astronaut, flew on STS-123 and was part of expedition 16 on the International Space Station; returned to Earth on STS-124
• Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe
• Harold Rosen, MS 1948, PhD 1951 – developer of Syncom family of communication satellites; winner of National Medal of Technology 1985
• Anatol Roshko
• Richard A. Searfoss, MS 1979 – NASA astronaut, flew on STS-58 and STS-76, commander of STS-90
• William R. Sears
• Ernest Edwin Sechler
• Edward E. Simmons, BS 1934, MS 1936 – inventor of the strain gauge
• Pol Spanos (engineer) - PhD 1976, Lewis B. Ryon Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering at Rice University. Known for pioneering research into the development of methods of predicting the dynamic behavior and reliability of structural systems in diverse loading environments; research has studied statics, dynamics, and vibrations of systems for aerospace, biomedical, forensic, marine, petroleum, seismic, and structural engineering applications. Member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• Adam Steltzner
• David W. Thompson
• Stephen Trimberger
• Milton Van Dyke
• Vito Vanoni (engineer) - (former faculty) BS, MS, PhD, Professor of Hydraulics, Emeritus at Caltech. World leader in study of sediment transport in streams and rivers. Elected to National Academy of Engineering for leadership in developing the science of hydraulic sedimentation mechanics and applying it to construction and maintenance of engineering structures.
• Ian Waitz, PhD 1991 - Dean of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Forman A. Williams (engineer) - PhD 1958, Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department, UCSD; former Robert H. Goddard Chair professor at Princeton University; member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Known for research contributions to the advancement of combustion and flame theory.
• Max L. Williams - (former faculty) PhD 1948, Professor of Aeronautics at Caltech; leader in fields of fracture mechanics, adhesion, solid propellant rockets; founder of International Journal of Fracture; Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Victor Wouk
• Theodore Y. Wu
• Vigor Yang - PhD 1984, William R.T. Oakes Professor and Chair of the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Member of National Academy of Engineering, and known for contributions to combustion physics in propulsion systems and to aerospace engineering education.

Geology and Planetary Science

• Thomas J. Ahrens, MS 1958; former faculty
• Clarence Allen (geologist), PhD 1954; faculty
• Don L. Anderson, PhD 1962; former faculty
• Hugo Benioff, PhD 1935; former faculty
• Francis A. Dahlen - pioneering theoretical seismologist and professor at Princeton University; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Donald J. DePaolo, PhD 1978
• R. Lawrence Edwards - eminent geochemist; Distinguished McKnight University Professor Chair of Earth Systems Science at University of Minnesota; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Thomas C. Hanks, PhD 1972
• Stanley R. Hart (scientist) - MS 1957, Senior Scientist, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; former professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences at MIT. Former President of Geochemical Society; member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• Thomas H. Heaton, PhD 1978
• Thomas H. Jordan, BS 1969, PhD 1972
• Barclay Kamb, BS 1952, PhD 1956; former faculty
• Susan Kieffer, PhD 1971
• Leon Knopoff, BS 1944, PhD 1949; former faculty
• Thorne Lay - prominent seismologist and professor at University of California, Santa Cruz; member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Laurie Leshin, PhD 1994
• Jonathan Lunine, PhD 1985
• Robert M. Losey
• Michael C. Malin, PhD 1975
• Mark Meier, PhD 1957 glaciologist^[1]
• H. Jay Melosh, PhD 1972
• Henry William Menard, BS 1942, MS 1947
• Francois M. M. Morel - prominent geochemist, member of National Academy of Sciences and professor at Princeton University
• Walter Munk, BS 1939, MS 1940
• Richard J. O'Connell (scientist) - BS, MS, PhD 1969, Professor of Geophysics at Harvard University. Renowned for fundamental and enduring contributions to geodynamics through studies of post-glacial rebound, mantle convection, Earth rotation and the properties of composite and cracked solids. Recipient of numerous awards and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• Tullis Onstott, BS 1976
• Richard J. Reed (scientist) - BS 1945, Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Sciences at University of Washington; member of National Academy of Sciences.
• Paul G. Richards, PhD 1970
• Charles Francis Richter, PhD 1928; former faculty – seismologist, creator of the Richter scale
• Harrison Schmitt, BS 1957; astronaut and US Senator, the only geologist to have ever walked on the moon
• Robert P. Sharp, BS 1934, MS 1935; former faculty
• Eugene Merle Shoemaker, BS 1947, MS 1948; former faculty – astrogeologist, co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
• Leon Silver, PhD 1955; former faculty
• Sean Solomon, BS 1966
• Hugh P. Taylor - (former faculty) pioneering geochemist at Caltech; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Don L. Turcotte - Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Engineering, Geological Sciences at Cornell University; pioneering geodynamicist; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Marius Vassiliou, PhD 1983
• John Vidale, PhD 1987

Business

• Sabeer Bhatia, BS 1989; co-founder of Hotmail
• Chester Carlson, BS 1930; inventor of electrophotography, the foundation of Xerox
• John S. Chen, MS 1979
• Roger Curtis – founder of Associated Electrics
• Adam D'Angelo, BS 2006; former CTO of Facebook and current founder and CEO of Quora
• Jim Fruchterman, BS, MS 1980
• Bill Gross (entrepreneur), BS 1981; founder of business incubator Idealab
• Eddy Hartenstein, MS 1974
• Ruben F. Mettler, BS 1944, PhD 1949; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TRW Inc., 1977-1988
• Cleve Moler, BS 1961; Inventor of MATLAB, co-founder of MathWorks, influential in the field of numerical analysis
• Gordon E. Moore, PhD 1954; co-founder of Intel Corp. and author of Moore's law
• Charlie Munger, undergraduate studies (did not graduate); investor and vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation
• Benjamin M. Rosen, BS 1954; former chairman of Compaq
• Dean Wooldridge, PhD 1936

Economics, Finance, and Social Science

• Robert Barro, BS 1965
• Gary W. Cox - BS 1978, PhD 1982; William Bennett Munro Professor of Political Science at Stanford University; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Willard G. Manning, Jr. - BS 1968; Professor Emeritus, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and Department of Health Studies, Biological Science Division/Medical School - University of Chicago. Elected member of Institute of Medicine of National Academies. Distinguished researcher in field of health insurance research and healthcare economics.
• Robert C. Merton, MS 1967; Nobel laureate in economics (1997)
• Stephen Ross, BS 1965
• Mark Satterthwaite, BS 1967
• Vernon L. Smith, BS 1949; Nobel laureate in economics (2002)
• Barry Weingast, PhD 1978

Government and Politics

• Mustafa A.G. Abushagur, PhD 1984 – interim Deputy Prime Minister of Libya from 2011
• Moshe Arens, MS 1953 – former Israeli defense minister and foreign minister
• Joseph V. Charyk
• William Colglazier
• France A. Córdova
• Steingrímur Hermannsson, MS 1952 – former Prime Minister of Iceland
• Erdal İnönü, PhD 1951 – Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, 1991-1993
• David J. C. MacKay
• Jessica Mathews
• Raymond L. Orbach
• John M. Poindexter, PhD 1964 – Director of DARPA Information Awareness Office; National Security Advisor to Ronald Reagan
• Arati Prabhakar
• Eberhardt Rechtin, BS 1946, PhD 1950 – Director of DARPA; Assistant Secretary of Defense; chief engineer of Hewlett-Packard; president of the Aerospace Corporation
• Joseph Rhodes, Jr.
• Ted Taylor (physicist)
• Victor Veysey
• Ellen D. Williams (chemist)

Other fields

• Bert Acosta, undergraduate studies – early aviator
• David Brin, BS 1973 – science fiction author
• Frank Capra, BS 1918 – filmmaker, director of such classics as It's a Wonderful Life, winner of six Academy Awards
• Pierre Clostermann, undergraduate studies - French WW2 flying ace, author
• Jess Collins, BS 1948 – visual artist
• L. Sprague de Camp, BS 1930 – science fiction author
• Virgil Griffith, graduate student – computer hacker, affiliated with the Santa Fe Institute
• Su Guaning
• Jim Hall, BS 1958 – race car driver and founder of the Chaparral racing team
• Kristy Hawkins, PhD 2008 - professional female bodybuilder
• N. Katherine Hayles, MS 1966– critical theorist
• Herman Kahn, graduate studies – futurist and military strategist
• Robert J. Lang, PhD – physicist and renowned origami master
• Alan Lightman, PhD 1974 – physicist and novelist
• Sandra Tsing Loh, BS 1983 – writer, performer, musician, humorist
• Arthur Lupia
• Tyson Mao, BS 2006 – Rubik's Cube solver, TV star
• Harold McGee, BS (EN) 1973 – pioneer in science-based approach to cooking
• Larry Niven, undergraduate studies – science fiction writer
• Dean Oliver (statistician)
• Aza Raskin, graduate studies – design expert, interface guru, and entrepreneur
• Huck Seed, undergraduate studies – professional poker player, winner of the main event of the 1996 World Series of Poker
• Mark Serrurier
• Joe Trela, third contestant to win $1 million Grand Prize on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.^[2]
• Harry Turtledove, undergraduate studies – historian and fiction writer
• Telle Whitney

Notable faculty

Members of the faculty are listed under the name of the academic division to which they belong.

Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy

The Feynman section at the Caltech bookstore, a tribute to his enduring impact

• Tom M. Apostol
• Robert Bacher – nuclear physicist and member of the Manhattan Project
• John N. Bahcall - former faculty
• Barry Barish
• Harry Bateman
• Eric Temple Bell
• Roger Blandford - former faculty
• Felix Boehm - (former faculty) leading nuclear physicist who made major contributions to study of neutrinos also; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Harold Brown – physicist, president of Caltech (1969–77), U.S. Secretary of Defense (1977–81)
• Danny Calegari - former faculty
• John Carlstrom - former faculty
• Robert F. Christy
• Marshall H. Cohen - (former faculty) Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus at Caltech; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Ronald Drever
• Lee Alvin DuBridge
• James P. Eisenstein
• Arthur Erdélyi - former faculty
• Richard Ellis – extragalactic astronomer and cosmologist
• Paul Sophus Epstein - former faculty
• Richard Feynman – Nobel laureate in physics (1965)
• David Gabai - former faculty
• Murray Gell-Mann – Nobel laureate in physics (1969) and co-founder of Santa Fe Institute
• Marvin Leonard Goldberger - former faculty and President Emeritus
• David Goodstein – director of The Mechanical Universe
• Jesse L. Greenstein
• George Ellery Hale – astronomer
• Marshall Hall (mathematician) - former faculty
• William Vermillion Houston - former faculty
• Marc Kamionkowski - former faculty
• Samuel Karlin - former faculty
• Nets Katz
• Alexander Kechris
• H. Jeff Kimble
• Alexei Kitaev
• Shrinivas Kulkarni
• Andrew E. Lange
• Wilhelmus Luxemburg
• Matilde Marcolli
• Robert A. Millikan – Nobel laureate in physics (1923)
• Rudolf Mössbauer – Nobel laureate in physics (1961); former faculty
• Guido Münch - former faculty
• Hirosi Ooguri – theoretical physicist
• Robert Oppenheimer – physicist, director of the Manhattan Project
• Rahul Pandharipande - former faculty
• H. David Politzer – Nobel laureate in physics (2004)
• John Preskill – physicist
• Anthony C. Readhead - Barbara and Stanley Rawn Jr. Professor of Astronomy; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Thomas Felix Rosenbaum
• Herbert John Ryser – mathematician, leading figure in Combinatorics
• Wallace L. W. Sargent
• Maarten Schmidt – discovered quasars
• John H. Schwarz – physicist, string theory pioneer
• Frank Sciulli (physicist) - (former faculty) Pupin Professor of Physics, Emeritus at Columbia University; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Barry Simon – mathematical physicist
• Maria Spiropulu – particle physicist
• Frank Spitzer - former faculty
• Charles C. Steidel – astronomer, MacArthur Fellow (2002)
• Edward C. Stone
• Kip Thorne – theoretical physicist
• Richard C. Tolman – mathematical physicist
• R. M. Wilson
• Mark B. Wise – theoretical physicist
• Fritz Zwicky – astronomer, produced the first evidence of dark matter

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

• Frances Arnold
• Jay Bailey - former faculty
• John D. Baldeschwieler
• Jacqueline Barton – bioinorganic chemist, MacArthur Fellow (1991), and winner of National Medal of Science (2011)
• John E. Bercaw
• Robert Bergman - (former faculty) now a professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Mark E. Davis
• Peter Dervan
• Richard E. Dickerson - former faculty
• Dennis A. Dougherty
• Richard Flagan - Major contributor to aerosol science and technology and atmospheric chemistry; Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Sheldon K. Friedlander - (former faculty) Renowned researcher in aerosol science and technology; later a professor of chemical engineering at UCLA; Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Greg C. Fu - Pioneer in organometallic chemical catalysis and synthesis; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Harry Gray – inorganic chemist, winner of National Medal of Science (1986), Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2004), and Priestley Medal (1991); founding director of the Beckman Institute
• Robert H. Grubbs – Nobel laureate in chemistry (2005)
• George S. Hammond - former faculty
• James R. Heath
• Barbara Imperiali - (former faculty) Class of 1922 Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• John Gamble Kirkwood - former faculty
• L. Gary Leal - former faculty
• Howard J. Lucas (scientist) - (former faculty) Professor of organic chemistry; member of National Academy of Sciences; Lucas' reagent named after him
• David MacMillan - former faculty
• Rudolph Marcus – Nobel laureate in chemistry (1992)
• Manfred Morari - former faculty
• Carl Niemann - former faculty
• Arthur A. Noyes – chemist
• Doug C. Rees - Eminent X-ray crystallographer and structural biochemist specializing in membrane proteins and metalloproteins, especially involved in bioenergetics; HHMI Investigator; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• John D. Roberts – physical chemist, one of the pioneers of NMR as a tool to study organic compounds, winner of the National Medal of Science (1990) and the Priestley Medal (1987)
• Brian Stoltz
• John H. Seinfeld – chemical engineer
• David A. Tirrell
• W. Henry Weinberg - (former faculty) Member of National Academy of Engineering; co-founder of several startup companies
• Ahmed H. Zewail – Nobel laureate in chemistry (1999)

Biology and Biological Engineering

• John Abelson
• Richard A. Andersen
• David J. Anderson – neurobiologist, member of the National Academy of Sciences
• Giuseppe Attardi
• David Baltimore – virologist; Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1975); President of Caltech (1997–2006)
• George Wells Beadle – geneticist; Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1958); President of the University of Chicago (1961–1968)
• Seymour Benzer – geneticist, Crafoord laureate in biosciences (1993)
• Pamela J. Bjorkman – pioneering structural and cell biologist
• Marianne Bronner
• Eric H. Davidson
• Norman Davidson (biologist)
• Max Delbrück – biophysicist and pioneering molecular biologist, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1969)
• Ray J. Deshaies - Professor of Biology; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator; member of National Academy of Sciences
• Michael Dickinson (biologist)
• Theodosius Dobzhansky - former faculty
• William J. Dreyer
• Renato Dulbecco – virologist, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1975)
• Michael Elowitz
• Sterling H. Emerson (former faculty) - Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Scott D. Emr - former faculty
• Scott E. Fraser - former faculty
• Arthur Galston - former faculty
• Arie Jan Haagen-Smit
• John Hopfield - former faculty
• Christof Koch – neuroscientist; former faculty
• Masakazu Konishi
• Tom Maniatis - former faculty
• Elliot Meyerowitz
• Thomas Hunt Morgan – pioneering geneticist, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1933)
• Wheeler J. North – marine scientist
• James Olds – neuroscientist; former faculty
• Ray D. Owen - (former faculty) pioneering immunogeneticist, particularly in immunological tolerance; Member of National Academy of Sciences and American Philosophical Society
• Mel I. Simon - (former faculty) Anne P. and Benjamin F. Biaggini Professor of Biological Sciences; pioneering geneticist; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Robert L. Sinsheimer (former faculty); distinguished biophysicist and genetic researcher involved in human genome sequencing effort, phage virus genetics, etc.; Member of National Academy of Sciences, NAS Institute of Medicine, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences; recipient of California Scientist of the Year Award
• Roger W. Sperry – neuroscientist, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine (1981)
• Paul Sternberg - Leading C. elegans geneticist; HHMI Investigator; Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Alfred Sturtevant - former faculty
• Kenneth V. Thimann - former faculty
• Albert Tyler (biologist) - former faculty
• Jerome Vinograd - former faculty
• Alexander Varshavsky
• Frits Warmolt Went - former faculty
• William Barry Wood - (former faculty) Distinguished Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Emeritus, at University of Colorado, Boulder; member of National Academy of Sciences

Engineering and Applied Science

• Harry Atwater
• John F. Brady (engineer) - Chevron Professor of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering; pioneer in rheology of complex fluids and transport phenomena; Member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• William B. Bridges
• Jehoshua (Shuki Bruck - Gordon and Betty Moore Professor of Computation and Neural Systems and Electrical Engineering
• Emmanuel Candès - former faculty
• Jean-Lou Chameau - former faculty and President Emeritus
• K. Mani Chandy
• John Doyle (engineer)
• Pol Duwez
• Thomas Eugene Everhart - former faculty and President Emeritus
• Ali Hajimiri
• Babak Hassibi
• Janet Hering - (former faculty) Director of Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag); Professor at ETH Zurich and EPFL; Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Michael R. Hoffmann (engineer) - Leading environmental scientist whose research has spanned atmospheric chemistry, chemical kinetics, catalytic oxidation and reduction, photochemistry, photocatalysis, nanotechnology, sonochemistry, photo-electrochemistry, pulsed-power plasma chemistry, environmental water chemistry, and microbiology. Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Hans G. Hornung
• Jim Kajiya - former faculty
• Herbert Keller
• Lester Lees - (former faculty) Professor of Aeronautics, known for pioneering contributions in hypersonic aerodynamics and environmental quality science, notably in boundary layers and heat transfer, flow-over blunt bodies, and the development of reentry vehicles. Member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• Mary Lidstrom - (former faculty) Jungers Professor of Microbiology and Chemical Engineering, University of Washington; Howard Hughes Medical Investigator; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Hans W. Liepmann
• Jerrold E. Marsden
• James W. Mayer (engineer) - (former faculty) Carried out research on implantation that identified the damage and the epitaxial regrowth phenomena crucial to the semiconductor industry, and pioneered the use of ion beam techniques for materials analysis (citation for Von Hippel Award). Member of National Academy of Engineering.
• Jack McKee (engineer) - (former faculty) Professor of Environmental Engineering; leading researcher in fields of water quality and waste treatment: including water quality criteria, sewage disinfection, membrane filtration and analysis, and wastewater disposal and reclamation; member of National Academy of Engineering
• James J. Morgan (engineer) - (former faculty) Marvin Goldberger Professor of Environmental Engineering Science; world leader in chemistry of natural water systems; acid rain; wastewater and drinking water treatment; coagulation processes in aqueous systems; rates of oxidation processes in water; adsorption and surface chemistry; chemistry of water purification; transport of metals and other substances in water; and water quality modeling. Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Michael Ortiz (engineer) - Frank and Ora Lee Marble Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering; pioneer in computational mechanics; Member of National Academy of Engineering and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Milton S. Plesset - former faculty
• Demetri Psaltis - former faculty
• Stephen Quake - former faculty
• Fredric Raichlen (former faculty) - Professor Emeritus of Mechanical and Civil Engineering; made major contributions to hydraulics and coastal engineering, particularly in the areas of tsunamis, ship dynamics, and breaking waves. Member of National Academy of Engineering
• Guruswami (Ravi) Ravichandran - John E. Goode, Jr., Professor of Aerospace, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Director of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT); member of National Academy of Engineering. Known for contributions to the mechanics of dynamic deformation, damage, and failure of engineering materials.
• Ares J. Rosakis
• Michael Roukes
• Philip Saffman
• Axel Scherer
• Keith Schwab
• Ronald Scott (engineer) - (former faculty) Dotty and Dick Hayman Professor of Civil Engineering, Emeritus; made major contributions to mechanics of deformation and yielding in soils, soil behavior in earthquakes, the physical chemistry and mechanics of ocean-bottom-soil, and freezing and thawing processes in soils; consultant to several NASA missions; member of National Academy of Engineering
• Theodore von Kármán – expert in aeronautics; rocket scientist
• Gerald B. Whitham
• Amnon Yariv

Geological and Planetary Sciences

• Michael E. Brown – discovered many trans-Neptunian objects
• Harrison Brown - former faculty
• John M. Eiler - Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology and professor of geochemistry; world leading researcher in isotope geochemistry. Member of National Academy of Sciences.
• Samuel Epstein (geochemist)
• Kenneth Farley
• Peter Goldreich
• John P. Grotzinger
• Beno Gutenberg - former faculty
• Don Helmberger - pioneering seismologist; Member of National Academy of Sciences
• Hiroo Kanamori
• Heinz A. Lowenstam - former faculty
• Bruce C. Murray
• Clair Cameron Patterson – determined the age of the Earth, exposed lead pollution
• Frank Press - former faculty
• Kerry Sieh - former faculty
• David J. Stevenson
• Chester Stock - (former faculty) eminent paleontologist; Member of National Academy of Sciences and American Philosophical Society; Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Ed Stolper - Pioneering geochemist specializing in igneous petrology; Member of National Academy of Sciences; fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Fellow of Royal Society of London
• Gerald J. Wasserburg – Crafoord laureate in geochemistry (1986)
• Paul Wennberg
• Peter John Wyllie
• Yuk L. Yung

Humanities and Social Sciences

• John F. Benton
• Jed Buchwald
• Bruce E. Cain - (former faculty)
• Colin F. Camerer – economist
• Nicholas Dirks - (former faculty)
• John Ferejohn - (former faculty) Samuel Tilden Professor of Law at New York University (formerly a professor at Stanford University and Hoover Institution fellow); Member of National Academy of Sciences and fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Morris P. Fiorina - (former faculty)
• Matthew O. Jackson - (former faculty)
• Abraham Kaplan – philosopher and social scientist (former faculty)
• Daniel Kevles - (former faculty)
• J. Morgan Kousser – historian
• Preston McAfee – economist (former faculty)
• Richard McKelvey
• Peter Ordeshook
• Charles Plott – economist

References

1. Brennan, Charlie (2012-11-28). "Boulder's Mark F. Meier, pioneer of glacial melt study, dies; Iowa native led Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research for nine years". Daily Camera. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
2. http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/678/2/Random.pdf