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64 notable alumni U.S. News #116

Notable Alumni of Iowa State University

Notable alumni of Iowa State University include Henry A. Wallace (33rd Vice President of the United States), George Washington Carver (Agricultural scientist and inventor) and John Vincent Atanasoff (Physicist credited with first electronic digital computer).

College data and admissions

Alumni list

Politics and law

Business

Science and academia

  • George Washington Carver 1864–1943

    Agricultural scientist and inventor

  • John Vincent Atanasoff 1903–1995

    Physicist credited with first electronic digital computer

    Also attended: University of Florida, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Clayton Anderson 1959–

    Retired NASA astronaut, ISS Expedition 15 crew member

    Also attended: Hastings College

  • Darleane C. Hoffman 1926–2025

    Nuclear chemist who confirmed seaborgium

    Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1951

  • Gertrude Mary Cox 1906–1978

    Statistician, founder of NC State experimental statistics department

    Master of Science · Class of 1931

    Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

  • Joseph Charles Arthur 1850–1942

    Pioneer plant pathologist and mycologist

    Also attended: Cornell University

  • Arthur Wahl 1917–2006

    Chemist who first isolated plutonium

    Bachelor of Science

    Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

  • Clifford Berry 1918–1963

    Co-creator of the Atanasoff–Berry computer

  • Everett Rogers 1931–2004

    Communication scholar who originated diffusion of innovations theory

  • Lauretta Bender 1897–1987

    Child neuropsychiatrist who developed the Bender-Gestalt Test

    Also attended: University of Chicago, University of Iowa

  • Firouz Naderi 1946–2023

    Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Bachelor of Science · Electrical engineering · Class of 1969

    Also attended: University of Southern California

  • Theodore Y. Wu 1924–2023

    Fluid dynamicist and Caltech professor

    Also attended: California Institute of Technology

  • Yang Hung-duen 1956–

    Physicist and former president of National Sun Yat-sen University

  • Tsai-Yu Hsiao 1903–1978

    Chinese entomologist

    Also attended: Oregon State University

  • Huang Boyun 1945–

    CAE academician and former president of Central South University

Arts and media

Sports

  • Nawal El Moutawakel 1962–

    Moroccan Olympic hurdling champion and IOC vice president

  • Tyrese Haliburton 2000–

    Indiana Pacers NBA player and two-time All-Star

  • Guor Marial 1984–

    South Sudanese Olympic marathon runner

  • Wesley Johnson 1987–

    Basketball coach and former professional player

    Also attended: Syracuse University

  • Yago Lamela 1977–2014

    Spanish long jumper, 1999 World Indoor silver medalist

  • Yobes Ondieki 1961–

    Kenyan runner and 5000 m world champion

  • Jeff Hornacek 1963–

    Former NBA player and head coach

  • Cael Sanderson 1979–

    Olympic gold wrestler and Penn State head coach

  • Talen Horton-Tucker 2000–

    Basketball player for Fenerbahçe

  • Monté Morris 1995–

    Professional basketball player, Iowa State alumnus

  • Brock Purdy 1999–

    San Francisco 49ers quarterback

  • Fred Hoiberg 1972–

    Men's head basketball coach at Nebraska

  • Dan Gable 1948–

    Wrestler and coach, Olympic gold medalist

  • Jamaal Tinsley 1978–

    Former NBA basketball player

  • Justin Hamilton 1990–

    Former basketball player, Golden State Warriors coach

  • Danny Harris 1965–

    Hurdler, 1984 Olympic 400m hurdles silver medalist

  • Kevin Jackson 1964–

    Olympic wrestler, mixed martial artist and coach

    Also attended: Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

  • Jake Varner 1986–

    Wrestler, 2012 Olympic 96 kg gold medalist

    Bachelor's degree · Criminal justice · Class of 2010

  • Georges Niang 1993–

    NBA player for the Golden State Warriors

  • Victor Alexander 1969–

    Former professional basketball center

  • Zaid Abdul-Aziz 1946–

    Former professional basketball player, born Don Smith

  • Chris Taylor 1950–1979

    Wrestler, 1972 Olympic freestyle bronze medallist

    Also attended: Muskegon Community College

Other fields

  • Eugene Burton Ely 1886–1911

    Aviation pioneer, first shipboard aircraft takeoff and landing

  • Edward J. Ruppelt 1923–1960

    Air Force officer involved in Project Blue Book

  • Vine Deloria, Jr. 1933–2005

    Author, scholar and Native American rights activist

    Also attended: University of Colorado Boulder

    Child: Philip J. Deloria (Yale University)

  • Alex Hershaft 1934–

    Co-founder of Farm Animal Rights Movement

From Wikidata “educated at” records (including people who attended without graduating), ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions. Degrees and years follow Wikidata and are left out where it has none.

Alumni network

Colleges that share the most alumni with Iowa State University (people who attended both).