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69 notable alumni U.S. News #69

Notable Alumni of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Notable alumni of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute include Ivar Giæver (Physicist, 1973 Nobel laureate in Physics), Dennis Tito (Engineer and entrepreneur, first self-funded space tourist) and Raymond Tomlinson (Inventor of email on ARPANET).

College data and admissions

Alumni list

Politics and law

Business

Science and academia

  • Ivar Giæver 1929–2025

    Physicist, 1973 Nobel laureate in Physics

  • Raymond Tomlinson 1941–2016

    Inventor of email on ARPANET

    Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Reid Wiseman 1975–

    NASA astronaut, commander of Artemis II

    Bachelor of Science · Computer engineering, Systems engineering · Class of 1997

    Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

  • Jack Swigert 1931–1982

    NASA astronaut and test pilot

    Also attended: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Hartford

  • Eunice Newton Foote 1819–1888

    Scientist who identified the greenhouse effect

    Child: Mary Foote Henderson (Washington University in St Louis, Skidmore College)

  • Richard Mastracchio 1960–

    NASA astronaut who flew three Space Shuttle missions

    Also attended: University of Connecticut, University of Houston--Clear Lake

  • Henry Augustus Rowland 1848–1901

    Physicist, first president of American Physical Society

  • Kevin A. Lynch 1918–1984

    Urban planner known for work on urban perceptual form

    Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Marcian Hoff 1937–

    One of the inventors of the microprocessor

    Also attended: Stanford University

  • George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. 1859–1896

    Civil engineer and inventor

  • James Hall 1811–1898

    Geologist and paleontologist

    Also attended: Amherst College

  • Jeffrey M. Friedman 1954–

    Molecular geneticist who discovered leptin

    Also attended: Albany Medical College, The Rockefeller University

  • Beatrice Hicks 1919–1979

    Engineer and owner of Newark Controls Company

    Also attended: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Stevens Institute of Technology

  • Jon Hall 1950–

    Board chair of the Linux Professional Institute

    Also attended: Drexel University

  • Steven Sasson 1950–

    Kodak engineer, inventor of the digital camera

    Attended until 1973

  • Samuel Wells Williams 1812–1884

    Sinologist, missionary and diplomat

  • Peter van Inwagen 1942–

    Philosopher and University of Notre Dame professor

    Also attended: University of Rochester

  • Don L. Anderson 1933–2014

    Geophysicist

    Also attended: California Institute of Technology

  • Meera Nanda 1954–

    Indian writer and historian of science

  • Washington Roebling 1837–1926

    Civil engineer who supervised Brooklyn Bridge construction

    Spouse: Emily Warren Roebling (New York University)

  • Asa Fitch 1809–1879

    Entomologist and natural historian

    Attended until 1827

  • George Low 1926–1984

    NASA administrator and 14th president of Rensselaer

    Child: G. David Low (Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University)

  • Richard Lindzen 1940–

    Atmospheric physicist

    Also attended: Harvard University

  • B. Jayant Baliga 1948–

    Electrical engineer who invented the IGBT

  • Theodore Judah 1826–1863

    Planner of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad

  • John Leonard Riddell 1807–1867

    Scientist, physician, botanist and politician

    Also attended: University of Cincinnati-Main Campus

  • Stephen E. Harris 1936–

    Physicist known for electromagnetically induced transparency

    Also attended: Stanford University

  • Douglass Houghton 1809–1845

    Geologist who explored Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula

  • James H. Salisbury 1823–1905

    Physician and inventor of the Salisbury steak

    Also attended: Albany Medical College

  • Van C. Mow 1939–

    Chinese-born bioengineer, biomechanics pioneer

    Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1966

  • Thomas H. Lee 1923–2001

    Electrical engineer who worked 30 years at General Electric

  • Jang Show-ling 1955–

    Taiwanese economist and former legislator

  • Xiaogang Ma 1980–

    Computer science professor at the University of Idaho

    Postdoctoral research · Class of 2014

  • Fei-Yue Wang 1961–

    Professor at University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

  • Yih-Hsing Pao 1930–2013

    Chinese-born American mechanical engineer

    Master of Science · Applied mechanics

    Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

  • James M. Tien 1945–

    Systems engineer, former dean of Miami's College of Engineering

    Bachelor of Science · Engineering · Class of 1966

    Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Arts and media

Sports

  • Adam Oates 1962–

    Canadian ice hockey player and coach

  • Brandon Pirri 1991–

    Canadian former professional ice hockey centre

  • Joé Juneau 1968–

    Canadian former NHL hockey player

  • Nick Bailen 1989–

    Professional ice hockey defenceman

    Also attended: Bowling Green State University-Main Campus

  • Jerry D'Amigo 1991–

    Former professional ice hockey right winger

  • Matt Murley 1979–

    Former NHL ice hockey forward

  • Daren Puppa 1965–

    Canadian former NHL goaltender

  • Eric Healey 1975–

    Former ice hockey player, played for Boston Bruins

  • Brian Pothier 1977–

    Former NHL defenseman

Other fields

  • Keith Raniere 1960–

    NXIVM co-founder convicted of racketeering and trafficking

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 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (people who attended both).