Notable Alumni of Naval Postgraduate School

Bujar Nishani 1966–2022

Former President of Albania, 2012–2017

Mark Kelly 1964–

U.S. Senator from Arizona and former astronaut

Master of Science · Aeronautics · Class of 1994

Also attended: United States Merchant Marine Academy

Spouse: Gabby Giffords (Scripps College, Cornell University)

Sibling: Scott Kelly (SUNY Maritime College, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville)

Hyman G. Rickover 1900–1986

US admiral, Father of the Nuclear Navy

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, Columbia University in the City of New York

David A. Clarke, Jr 1956–

Former Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

Also attended: Concordia University Wisconsin

Joseph W. Pfeifer 1956–

Former First Deputy Commissioner of the FDNY

Also attended: Harvard University

Robert O. Work 1953–

Former US Deputy Secretary of Defense

Also attended: University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins University

Jan E. Tighe 1962–

Retired Navy vice admiral, former Director of Naval Intelligence

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Ralph K. James 1906–1994

US Navy rear admiral

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jagath Jayasuriya

Former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army

S M Abul Kalam Azad 1967–

Retired Bangladesh Navy rear admiral

Cathy L. Lanier 1967–

Former chief of Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police

Also attended: University of the District of Columbia, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University

Abu Bakar bin Abdul Jamal 1946–

First four-star admiral of Royal Malaysian Navy

Michael Mullen 1946–

17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, Harvard University

Arleigh Burke 1901–1996

US Navy admiral and Chief of Naval Operations

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

William H. McRaven 1955–

Retired admiral, former head of SOCOM

Also attended: The University of Texas at Austin

Richard Marcinko 1940–2021

First commander of SEAL Team Six

Also attended: Auburn University

Liu Ho-chien 1926–2023

Taiwanese admiral and former Chief of the General Staff

Ming Chang 1932–2017

US Navy rear admiral, first naturalized Asian American flag officer

Bachelor of Science · Engineering electronics

Also attended: College of William and Mary

J. Phillip "Jack" London 1937–2021

Naval engineer and businessman

Master of Science · Operations research · Class of 1967

Also attended: George Washington University, United States Naval Academy

Robert C. Sprague 1900–1991

Inventor and founder of Sprague Electric

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Father: Frank J. Sprague (United States Naval Academy)

Eric Klinker

Entrepreneur, former CEO of BitTorrent

Also attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Eugene Cernan 1934–2017

NASA astronaut, eleventh person to walk on the Moon

Also attended: Purdue University-Main Campus

Edgar Mitchell 1930–2016

Apollo 14 astronaut, sixth person to walk on the Moon

Bachelor of Science · Aeronautics

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University

Victor Glover 1976–

NASA astronaut, Navy captain and test pilot

Also attended: California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Richard F. Gordon 1929–2017

NASA astronaut and naval aviator

Also attended: University of Washington-Seattle Campus

William C. McCool 1961–2003

Astronaut, pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Lisa Nowak 1963–

Former NASA astronaut and Navy officer

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Marcos Pontes 1963–

Brazilian astronaut and former science minister

Ronald Evans 1933–1990

NASA astronaut and US Navy officer

Also attended: University of Kansas, United States Naval Academy

Michael J. Smith 1945–1986

Astronaut, pilot of Space Shuttle Challenger

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Jack R. Lousma 1936–

NASA astronaut on Skylab-3

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Paul J. Weitz 1932–2017

NASA astronaut on the Skylab 2 crew

Attended until 1964

Also attended: The Pennsylvania State University

Jasmin Moghbeli 1983–

Marine Corps test pilot and NASA astronaut

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jeffrey Williams 1958–

Retired Army officer and NASA astronaut

Also attended: The United States Military Academy at West Point

Scott Altman 1959–

Retired Navy captain and NASA astronaut

Also attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Alan G. Poindexter 1961–2012

NASA astronaut and naval officer

Also attended: Pensacola State College, Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Father: John Poindexter (California Institute of Technology, United States Naval Academy)

Gerald Carr 1932–2020

NASA astronaut, commander of Skylab 4

Bachelor of Science · Aeronautical engineering · Class of 1961

Also attended: University of Southern California, Princeton University

Michael López-Alegría 1958–

Astronaut with ten spacewalks

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, Harvard University

Christopher Ferguson 1961–

NASA astronaut and retired US Navy captain

Also attended: Drexel University

Joseph Weber 1919–2000

Physicist who built the first gravitational wave detectors

Also attended: Catholic University of America, United States Naval Academy

Luke Delaney 1979–

NASA astronaut and former Marine Corps major

Also attended: University of North Florida

Jessica Wittner 1983–

NASA astronaut and US Navy lieutenant commander

Also attended: University of Arizona

Missy Cummings 1965–

Engineer, one of first US Navy female fighter pilots

Master of Science · Space systems engineering

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, University of Virginia-Main Campus

Richard C. Dorf 1933–2020

Engineer and professor emeritus at UC Davis

Kathleen M. Eisenhardt 1947–

Stanford professor and management scholar

Master of Science · Computer science

Also attended: Brown University, Stanford University

Robert C. Duncan 1923–2003

Engineer behind Apollo guidance and Polaroid SX-70

Bachelor of Science · Aeronautics

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kenneth Ham 1964–

Retired NASA astronaut and US Navy captain

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Jon McBride 1943–2024

Navy officer and NASA astronaut

Also attended: Pepperdine University, West Virginia University

Stephen Frick 1964–

Navy officer and Space Shuttle astronaut

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Robert Curbeam 1962–

NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy captain

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Michael Coats 1946–

Former NASA astronaut, Johnson Space Center director

Also attended: George Washington University, United States Naval Academy

Michael Foreman 1957–

NASA astronaut and retired Navy pilot

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

John Herrington 1958–

NASA astronaut, first enrolled Native American tribe citizen in space

Also attended: University of Colorado--Colorado Springs

Brent W. Jett 1958–

NASA astronaut and Navy test pilot

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

David C. Hilmers 1950–

Former NASA astronaut who flew four Shuttle missions

Also attended: Cornell College

Robert F. Overmyer 1936–1996

American astronaut and test pilot

Also attended: Baldwin Wallace University

Daniel W. Bursch 1957–

NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy captain

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Bryan D. O'Connor 1946–

Former NASA astronaut and Marine Corps colonel

Also attended: University of West Florida, United States Naval Academy

Matthew Dominick 1981–

Navy test pilot and NASA astronaut

Master of Science · Systems engineering

Also attended: University of San Diego

Carlos I. Noriega 1959–

Former NASA astronaut, first Peruvian-born in space

Master of Science · Computer science · Class of 1990

Also attended: University of Southern California

Winston E. Scott 1950–

Former NASA astronaut and Navy captain

Also attended: Florida State University

Steven Sund

Retired D.C. police officer and author

Master of Arts

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University