Notable alumni List of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute people

1 notable alumni

1.1 business
1.2 humanities, arts, , social sciences
1.3 invention , engineering
1.4 military
1.5 politics , public service
1.6 science , technology
1.7 sports

notable alumni

business

john j. albright (1868), businessman , philanthropist
marshall brain, founder of howstuffworks.com
gary burrell, founder of garmin
dan buckley (1991), president of marvel entertainment
nicholas m. donofrio (1967), director of research @ ibm, trustee
joseph gerber (1947), founder of gerber scientific
william gurley (1839), , lewis e. gurley, brothers , founders of gurley precision instruments.
j. erik jonsson (1922), co-founder , former president of texas instruments incorporated, , mayor of dallas
john m. lockhart (1887), industrialist, donated $5 million under name builder (for class of 87 gym , 4 other buildings)
william mow (1959), founded apparel maker bugle boy in 1977.
sean o’sullivan (1985), along 3 other rpi students (laszlo bardos, andrew dressel, , john haller), founded mapinfo on rpi campus
curtis priem (1982), nvidia co-founder; architect of first pc video processor , many followed; trustee
john rigas, co-founder of adelphia communications
sheldon roberts (1948), member of traitorous 8 created silicon valley; co-founder of fairchild semiconductor , amelco
bert sutherland, manager of sun microsystems laboratories
william h. wiley (1866), civil war artillery commander, co-founder of publisher john wiley , sons, , state representative
edward zander, former ceo of motorola

humanities, arts, , social sciences

charles amos cummings, architect , historian
bobby farrelly, film director, writer , producer, dumb , dumber, shallow hal, there s mary
fitzedward hall (1901), orientalist
david hayter, canadian voice actor
ned herrmann, creator of herrmann brain dominance instrument
erin hoffman, game designer , author
james flaherty, actor , stand-up comedian
tyler hinman (2006), multiple winner of american crossword puzzle tournament
joe howard, jr. (1857), reporter , war correspondent
jennifer & kevin mccoy (1994), artists both graduated rpi
meera nanda, writer, philosopher of science, , faculty jawaharlal nehru university, new delhi
mary pride (1974), christian author
samuel wells williams, 19th century linguist

invention , engineering

truman h. aldrich (1869), civil engineer, briefly state representative
karthik bala, co-founder of vicarious visions
jean pierre bordes, director of application engineering @ amd
garnet baltimore (1881), first african-american engineer , garnet d. baltimore lecture series honoree
peter bohlin 1958, architect of famous 5th avenue apple store
virgil bogue (1868), chief engineer of union pacific railroad , western maryland railway constructions
leffert l. buck (1968), civil engineer , pioneer in use of steel arch bridge structures, including williamsburg bridge in nyc
alexander cassatt (1859), civil engineer , railroad executive
george hammell cook (1839), state geologist of new jersey
dr. allen b. dumont (1924), perfected cathode ray tube; father of modern tv
theodore n. ely (1896), railroad executive
anthony apodaca, director of graphics r&d @ pixar
george washington gale ferris jr. (1881), inventor of ferris wheel
frederick grinnell (1855), inventor of modern fire sprinkler
walter lincoln hawkins (1931), african-american inventor of plastic telephone wire
beatrice hicks (1965), co-founder of society of women engineers
marcian hoff (1958), father of microprocessor
dorothy hoffman (1949), first woman serve president of scientific society in usa, elected president of american vacuum society in 1974
j. christopher jaffe (1949), leader in architectural acoustic design; taught acoustics @ juilliard school, city university of new york, , rensselaer
theodore judah (1837), visionary of transcontinental railroad
robert s. katz, inventor , engineer
robert loewy (1947), aeronautical engineer
william metcalf (1858), steel manufacturing pioneer
scott howard miller (2012), nuclear propulsion engineer
keith d. millis (1938), metallurgical engineer , inventor of ductile iron
ralph peck (1937), geotechnical engineer
emil h. praeger (1915), designer of shea , dodger stadiums, tappan zee bridge, arecibo telescope , renovation of white house
george brooke roberts (1849), civil engineer, 5th president of pennsylvania railroad
washington roebling (1857), chief engineer of brooklyn bridge
james salisbury (1844), physician , inventor of salisbury steak
augustine sackett (1850), engineer , inventor of drywall
steven sasson (1973), engineer , inventor of digital camera
raymond tomlinson (1963), inventor of email system
david l. noble (1940), inventor of floppy disk
alan m. voorhees (1947), city planner , traffic forecaster; former rensselaer trustee; principal supporter voorhees computing center @ rensselaer
john alexander low waddell (1871), civil engineer , prolific bridge builder
salim abi-ezzi (2002), director of r&d @ vmware
robert h. widmer (1938), aeronautical engineer , designer of b-58 supersonic bomber
john f. schenck (1961), physician , co-inventor of first clinically viable high-field mri scanner @ general electric

military

harold j. greene (1980), major general, u.s. army, highest ranking casualty of war in afghanistan
arthur l. mccullough, u.s. air force general
ario pardee, jr. (1858), commander during civil war
l. scott rice (1980), major general, u.s. air force; commander of massachusetts air national guard
thomas r. sargent iii, vice admiral, u.s. coast guard; vice commandant 1970-1974
walter l. sharp, general, u.s. army; commander of united nations command, commander of rok-us combined forces command , commander of u.s. forces korea (2008-2011); former director of joint staff (2005-2008)
arthur e. williams, lieutenant general, u.s. army corps of engineers; chief of engineers in 1992
ronald j. zlatoper (1963), chief of naval personnel; battle group commander in desert storm , desert shield; former military assistant secretary of defense; trustee

politics , public service

j. frank aldrich (1877), u.s. representative illinois
truman h. aldrich (1869), u.s. representative alabama (1896–1897)
myles brand (1964), president of national collegiate athletic association
george r. dennis, united states senator maryland
francis collier draper (1854), toronto lawyer, toronto police chief
thomas farrell (1912), deputy commanding general of manhattan project
nariman farvardin (1983), provost of university of maryland
lincoln d. faurer (1964), director of national security agency , chief, central security service, 1981-1985
richard franchot, u.s. representative new york (1861–1863)
arthur j. gajarsa (1962), federal judge, trustee
naeem gheriany, minister of higher education , scientific research, libya
thomas j. haas (1983), current president of grand valley state university
john hammond, representative new york, iron manufacturer
walter f. lineberger, u.s. state representative of california, 1917-1921
richard linn (1965), federal judge
george low, manager of nasa s apollo 11 project; president of rpi (1976-1984); namesake of rpi s low center industrial innovation
hani al-mulki (ma, phd), prime minister of jordan
john olver (1958), massachusetts state representative (d) since 1991
ely s. parker, civil war statesman, author of appomattox courthouse agreement
clarkson nott potter (1843), u.s. representative new york, surveyor, lawyer, , president of american bar association
g. nagesh rao (2002), chief technologist & entrepreneur in residence @ small business administration & 2016 usa eisenhower fellow, 2013–present
mark shepard (1994), vermont state senator
clement hall sinnickson, u.s. state representative new jersey, 1875-1879
peter g. ten eyck, new york state representative
tony tether (1964), director of darpa, 2001–2009
w. aubrey thomas, u.s. state representative ohio, 1900-1911
de volson wood (1857), first president of american society engineering education
michelle merritt (2017), 2017 - 2018 national venturing president venturing program of boy scouts of america.

science , technology

david adler (1956), physicist
don l. anderson (1955), geophysicist
james curtis booth (1832), chemist
ronald collé (1972), nuclear physicist @ nist
george hammell cook (1839), state geologist of new jersey
edgar cortright (1949), former nasa official
mark jason dominus, perl programmer, founder of kibology (kibo graduate)
ebenezer emmons (1826), geologist, author of natural history of new york (1848) , american geology
asa fitch (1827), entomologist
alan fowler (1951), physicist, nas member
david ferrucci (1994), computer scientist, developed ibm watson ai jeopardy player
claire m. fraser (1977), president , director of institute genomic research
jeffrey m. friedman, discovered leptin, key hormone in area of human obesity
ivar giaever (1964), shared 1973 nobel prize in physics discoveries on tunneling phenomena in semiconductors; institute professor of science
morton gurtin (1955), mathematical physicist
james hall (1832), geologist , paleontologist
jon hall (1977), executive director of linux international
peter e. hart, group senior vice president of ricoh company; artificial intelligence innovator
edward c. harwood, economist
hermann a. haus (1951), optical communications researcher, pioneer of quantum optics
eben norton horsford (1838), father of food science , author, discovered baking powder
douglass houghton (1829), michigan s first state geologist; namesake of michigan city, county, , lake
robert kennicutt (1973), astronomer
richard klein (1966), astronomer
david korn (1965), computer programmer created korn shell
richard mastracchio (1987), nasa astronaut, flew on sts-106 atlantis, 2000
mark t. maybury, chief scientist of u.s. air force
pat munday (1981), environmentalist
heidi jo newberg (1987), professor of astrophysics @ rpi
james kibo parry, satirist, usenet personality, , typeface designer
henry augustus rowland (1870), first president of american physical society; johns hopkins university s first physics professor
mark russinovich, windows software engineer
peter schwartz, futurist , writer
robert c. seacord, computer security specialist , author
kip siegel (1948), physicist, professor of physics @ university of michigan
andrew sears, computer science professor @ umbc
marlan scully, physicist known work in quantum optics
george soper (1895), managing director of american society control of cancer, later american cancer society
chauncey starr (1935), pioneer in nuclear energy
john l. swigert jr. (1965), astronaut, member of apollo 13; recipient of 1970 presidential medal of freedom; state representative colorado, 1982
dennis tito (1964), millionaire , first space tourist pay own ticket
michael tuomey (1835), state geologist of south carolina , alabama
chris welty (1995), computer scientist
gregory r. wiseman, nasa astronaut
chris wysopal, known weld pond (1987), member of hacker think tank l0pht heavy industries, founder of veracode

sports

john carter (1986), nhl forward 1986–1993
kevin constantine (1980), head coach of everett silvertips of western hockey league; nhl head coach of san jose sharks 1993–1995, pittsburgh penguins 1997–2000, , new jersey devils 2001–2002; recipient of usa hockey s distinguished achievement award
erin crocker (2003), nascar driver
don cutts (1974), nhl , international hockey league (1945–2001) goaltender 1974–1984
andrew franks (2015), nfl placekicker miami dolphins since 2015.
tim friday (1985), nhl defenseman detroit red wings 1985–1986
ken hammond (1985), nhl defenseman 1985–1993
michael e. herman (1962), president of kansas city royals of major league baseball 1992–2000
joé juneau (1991), nhl forward 1991–2004, selected 1993 nhl all-rookie team, top scorer @ 1992 winter olympics while playing canadian olympic hockey team
jason kasdorf (2016), nhl goalie buffalo sabres since 2016.
neil little (1994), nhl scout philadelphia flyers organization; goaltending coach philadelphia phantoms of american hockey league 2007–2008; ahl goaltender 1994–2005; won 97-98 , 04-05 calder cup philadelphia phantoms; inducted philadelphia phantoms hall of fame in 2006
andrew lord (2008), professional ice hockey player
mike mcphee (1982), nhl forward 1983–1994; won 85-86 stanley cup montreal canadiens; played in 1989 nhl star game
matt murley (2002), nhl forward 2003–2008
kraig nienhuis (1985), nhl forward 1985–1988
adam oates (1985), co-head coach of new jersey devils; head coach of washington capitals 2012-2014; assistant coach tampa bay lightning 2009–2010 , new jersey devils 2010–2012; nhl forward 1985–2004; played in 1991-1994 , 1997 nhl star games; inducted nhl hockey hall of fame player in 2012
matt patricia (1996), defensive coordinator new england patriots
brian pothier (2000), nhl defenseman 2000–2010
daren puppa (1985), nhl goaltender 1985–2000, played in 1990 nhl star game
brad tapper (2000), nhl forward atlanta thrashers 2000–2003
graeme townshend (1989), player development coordinator san jose sharks, nhl forward 1990–1994




^ http://www.rpi.edu/about/alumni/inductees/gerber.html
^ j.m. lockhart gave r.p.i. millions anonymously , new york times, june 8, 1939
^ http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=1630&setappvar=page(1)
^ http://www.postmastersart.com/archive/mccoy06/mccoy06_bio.pdf
^ emil h. praeger . rpi: alumni hall of fame: emil h. praeger. rensselaer polytechnic institute. retrieved 2 july 2011. 
^ robert h. widmer . rpi alumni hall of fame: robert h. widmer. rensselaer polytechnic institute. retrieved 2 july 2011. 
^ martin, douglas (2 july 2011). robert h. widmer, designer of military aircraft, dies @ 95 . new york times. retrieved 2 july 2011. 
^ cline he, schenck jf, hynynen k, watkins rd, souza sp, jolesz fa (1992). mr-guided focused ultrasound surgery . j comput assist tomogr. 16 (6): 956–65. doi:10.1097/00004728-199211000-00024. pmid 1430448. 
^ http://www.ewp.rpi.edu/hartford/news/newsletter/ewp_fall06.pdf
^ hammond, john - biographical information . 
^ potter, clarkson nott - biographical information . 
^ matz, f. p. (1 january 1895). biography: de volson wood . american mathematical monthly. 2 (9/10): 253–256. doi:10.2307/2969269. jstor 2969269.