Notable Alumni of Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kofi Annan 1938–2018

7th UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize co-recipient

Master's degree · Management · Class of 1972

Also attended: Macalester College

Benjamin Netanyahu 1949–

Prime Minister of Israel, its longest-serving

Master of Science, Bachelor of Science · Architectural engineering · Class of 1977

Sibling: Yonatan Netanyahu (Harvard University)

Sibling: Iddo Netanyahu (Cornell University)

Mario Draghi 1947–

Former Italian prime minister and ECB president

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1977

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala 1954–

Director-General of the World Trade Organization

Doctor of Philosophy · Economic development

Also attended: Harvard University

Child: Uzodinma Iweala (Harvard University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Loukas Papademos 1947–

Former Prime Minister of Greece and ECB Vice-President

Bachelor's degree, Master's degree · Physics, Electrical engineering · Class of 1978

Tony Tan Keng Yam 1940–

7th President of Singapore

George Shultz 1920–2021

Former US Secretary of State and economist

Also attended: Princeton University

Spouse: Charlotte Mailliard Shultz (University of Arkansas)

Elaine Chao 1953–

Former US Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Transportation

Also attended: Harvard University, Mount Holyoke College, Dartmouth College

Spouse: Mitch McConnell (University of Kentucky, University of Louisville)

Father: James S.C. Chao (St John's University (NY))

Leslie Groves 1896–1970

US Army Corps of Engineers officer

Also attended: The United States Military Academy at West Point, University of Washington-Seattle Campus

José Figueres Ferrer 1906–1990

Former President of Costa Rica

Spouse: Karen Olsen Beck (Columbia University in the City of New York, University of Mary Washington)

Child: Christiana Figueres (Swarthmore College)

David Miliband 1965–

Former UK Foreign Secretary, president of the IRC

Lawrence Summers 1954–

Former US Treasury Secretary and Harvard president

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1975

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Elisa New (Brandeis University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Vilma Espin Guillois 1930–2007

Cuban revolutionary, feminist and chemical engineer

Pita Limjaroenrat 1980–

Former leader of Thailand's Move Forward Party

Also attended: Harvard University, The University of Texas at Austin

Virgilio Barco Vargas 1921–1997

28th President of Colombia

Also attended: Boston University

Spouse: Carolina Isakson Proctor (Stanford University)

Child: Carolina Barco (Harvard University, Wellesley College)

Ali Akbar Salehi 1949–

Iranian diplomat, former head of atomic energy organization

Sibling: Jawad A. Salehi (University of California-Irvine, University of Southern California)

Moshe Arens 1925–2019

Israeli former defense and foreign minister

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Jimmy Doolittle 1896–1993

General and aviation pioneer, led the Doolittle Raid

Master of Science, Doctor of Science · Aeronautics

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Los Angeles City College

Alex Padilla 1973–

U.S. Senator from California

Bachelor of Science · Mechanical engineering · Class of 1994

Thomas Massie 1971–

Republican U.S. representative from Kentucky

Master of Science, Bachelor of Science · Class of 1996

Ahmed Chalabi 1944–2015

Iraqi politician, founder of Iraqi National Congress

Also attended: University of Chicago

Omar Razzaz 1961–

42nd Prime Minister of Jordan

Also attended: Harvard University

Chris Sununu 1974–

82nd Governor of New Hampshire

Father: John H. Sununu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Sibling: John E. Sununu (Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Les Aspin 1938–1995

18th U.S. Secretary of Defense under Clinton

Also attended: Yale University

John E. Sununu 1964–

Former U.S. Senator from New Hampshire

Bachelor of Science, Master of Science · Class of 1987

Also attended: Harvard University

Father: John H. Sununu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Sibling: Chris Sununu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Tom Wolf 1948–

47th Governor of Pennsylvania

Also attended: Dartmouth College

Spouse: Frances Wolf (Bryn Mawr College, Franklin and Marshall College)

Ricardo Rosselló 1979–

Former Governor of Puerto Rico

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Father: Pedro Rosselló (Yale University, University of Notre Dame)

Chris Wright 1965–

United States Secretary of Energy

Attended until 1987

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Patrick M. Shanahan 1962–

Former acting US Secretary of Defense

Also attended: University of Washington-Seattle Campus

John H. Sununu 1939–

Former New Hampshire governor, Bush's chief of staff

Child: Chris Sununu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Child: John E. Sununu (Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Pete Stark 1931–2020

U.S. Representative from 1973 to 2013

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1953

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Subramanian Swamy 1939–

Indian politician and economist

Also attended: Harvard University

Samuel Bodman 1938–2018

11th US Secretary of Energy

Also attended: Cornell University

Marcy Kaptur 1946–

U.S. Representative from Ohio

Attended until 1981

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

John M. Deutch 1938–

Former Director of Central Intelligence and Deputy Secretary of Defense

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1966

Also attended: Amherst College

Mao Chi-kuo 1948–

Former head of Taiwan's Executive Yuan

Jairam Ramesh 1954–

Indian National Congress politician and Rajya Sabha member

Also attended: Carnegie Mellon University

Lloyd Fredendall 1883–1963

US Army general who commanded at Kasserine Pass

Also attended: The United States Military Academy at West Point

David Nolan 1943–2010

Co-founder of the US Libertarian Party

George Kenney 1889–1977

US Army general, Allied Air Forces commander in Southwest Pacific

Civil engineering

Tadatoshi Akiba 1942–

Mathematician and former mayor of Hiroshima

Chung Mong-joon 1951–

South Korean businessman and politician

Also attended: George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University

Father: Jeong Ju-yung (George Washington University)

Uzi Landau 1943–

Israeli politician and longtime Knesset member

Kathleen Hicks 1970–

Former US Deputy Secretary of Defense

Doctor of Philosophy · Political science · Class of 2010

Also attended: University of Maryland-College Park, Mount Holyoke College

Jake Auchincloss 1988–

U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 4th district

Master of Business Administration · Class of 2016

Also attended: Harvard University

Mother: Laurie Glimcher (Harvard University)

Paula Ingabire 1983–

Rwandan Minister of ICT and Innovation

C. D. Howe 1886–1960

Canadian cabinet minister, engineer and businessman

Chrissy Houlahan 1967–

U.S. representative from Pennsylvania and former Air Force officer

Master of Science

Also attended: Stanford University

Chadchart Sittipunt 1966–

Governor of Bangkok and former Thai transport minister

Also attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

John Holdren 1944–

Obama's science adviser and White House OSTP director

Also attended: Stanford University

David Sengeh 1986–

Chief minister of Sierra Leone

Also attended: Harvard University

Shivshankar Menon 1949–

Indian diplomat and former National Security Advisor

Carlos Solchaga Catalán 1944–

Spanish economist, businessman and politician

Nithya Raman 1981–

Mayor-elect of Los Angeles

Master of Science · Urban planning

Also attended: Harvard University

John Tsang 1951–

Former Financial Secretary of Hong Kong

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Massachusetts-Boston

Song Binbin 1949–2024

Red Guard leader during the Cultural Revolution

Wu Qing 1937–

Feminist activist, English professor and district congress member

Also attended: Stanford University

Father: Wu Wenzao (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Mother: Bing Xin (Wellesley College)

Luis Videgaray Caso 1968–

Former Mexican Foreign Secretary and Finance Secretary

Vanessa Nadal

American lawyer

Spouse: Lin-Manuel Miranda (Wesleyan University)

Sal Khan 1976–

Founder of Khan Academy

Also attended: University of New Orleans, Harvard University

Robert Noyce 1927–1990

Co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1953

Also attended: Grinnell College

Carly Fiorina 1954–

Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and politician

Also attended: University of Maryland-College Park, University System of Maryland, Stanford University

Father: Joseph Tyree Sneed, III (Harvard University, Southwestern University)

Jim Simons 1938–2024

Mathematician, hedge fund manager and philanthropist

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1958

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Spouse: Barbara Simons (University of California-Berkeley, Wellesley College)

Child: Nat Simons (University of California-Berkeley)

David Koch 1940–2019

Businessman and philanthropist at Koch Industries

Master's degree, Bachelor's degree · Chemical engineering · Class of 1963

Father: Fred Chase Koch (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rice University)

Sibling: Charles Koch (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Bill Hewlett 1913–2001

Co-founder of Hewlett-Packard

Also attended: Stanford University

Lisa Su 1969–

President and CEO of AMD

Master's degree, Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1994

Charles Koch 1935–

American billionaire businessman and philanthropist

Father: Fred Chase Koch (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rice University)

Child: Chase Koch (Texas A & M University-College Station)

Brewster Kahle 1960–

Founder of the Internet Archive

Sam Bankman-Fried 1992–

FTX founder convicted of fraud

Bachelor of Science · Physics · Class of 2014

Mother: Barbara Fried (Harvard University)

Ken Olsen 1926–2011

Co-founder of Digital Equipment Corporation

Master of Arts · Class of 1952

Alfred P. Sloan 1875–1966

Automotive industry business executive

Also attended: New York University

Dan Bricklin 1951–

Co-creator of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program

Also attended: Harvard University

Greg Brockman 1987–

Co-founder and president of OpenAI

Attended until 2010

Also attended: Harvard University, University of North Dakota

Amar Bose 1929–2013

MIT professor and audio engineer entrepreneur

Also attended: Berklee College of Music

Morris Chang 1931–

Founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company

Master's degree, Bachelor's degree · Class of 1953

Also attended: Harvard University, Stanford University

Selçuk Bayraktar 1979–

Chairman and chief technology officer of Baykar

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. 1892–1981

Aircraft industrialist and engineer

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Limor Fried 2000–

Electrical engineer, owner of Adafruit Industries

Daniel Lewin 1970–2001

Akamai co-founder, first victim of September 11 attacks

Irwin M. Jacobs 1933–

Co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm

Doctor of Science · Electrical engineering · Class of 1959

Also attended: Cornell University

Child: Paul E. Jacobs (University of California-Berkeley)

Andrew Viterbi 1935–

Qualcomm co-founder, inventor of the Viterbi algorithm

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California

Alexandr Wang 1997–

Founder of Scale AI; Meta chief AI officer

Nat Friedman 1977–

Former GitHub CEO and technology investor

Peter Diamandis 1961–

Founder of XPRIZE Foundation, cofounder of Singularity University

Also attended: Harvard University

Juliana Rotich 1977–

Kenyan tech entrepreneur, co-founder of Ushahidi and iHub

Also attended: University of Missouri--Kansas City

James McDonnell 1899–1980

Aerospace pioneer, aviator, engineer and businessman

Also attended: Princeton University

Mitch Kapor 1950–

Founder of Lotus Development

Also attended: Yale University

Kenichi Ohmae 1943–

Japanese management theorist and former UCLA dean

Doctor of Philosophy

Drew Houston 1983–

Co-founder and CEO of Dropbox

Fred Chase Koch 1900–1967

Founder of the refinery firm that became Koch Industries

Also attended: Rice University

Child: Charles Koch (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Child: David Koch (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Michael J. Saylor 1965–

Co-founder and executive chairman of Strategy Inc

Bachelor of Science · History of science, Aeronautics

Bilikiss Adebiyi 1983–

Nigerian entrepreneur, founder of Wecyclers

Also attended: Fisk University, Vanderbilt University

Alan Mulally 1945–

Former CEO of Ford Motor Company

Also attended: University of Kansas

Mary Lou Jepsen 1965–

Technologist and founder of Openwater

Also attended: Brown University

Ayah Bdeir 1982–

Entrepreneur and inventor of littleBits

Noubar Afeyan 1962–

Co-founder of Moderna and Flagship Pioneering

Armand V. Feigenbaum 1922–2014

Quality control expert who devised Total Quality Control

Also attended: Union College

Offiong Ekanem Ejindu 1962–

Nigerian architect, businesswoman and philanthropist

Also attended: Pratt Institute-Main

Victor Fung 1945–

Group Chairman of Li & Fung

Also attended: Harvard University

Sibling: William Fung (Harvard University, Princeton University)

William Clay Ford 1957–

Executive chair of Ford Motor Company

Also attended: Princeton University

Father: William Clay Ford, Sr. (Yale University)

Mother: Martha Firestone Ford (Vassar College)

Jonah Peretti 1974–

Co-founder of BuzzFeed and HuffPost

Also attended: University of California-Santa Cruz

Sibling: Chelsea Peretti (Barnard College)

Gabriel Weinberg 1979–

Internet entrepreneur and author

Noam Chomsky 1928–

Linguist, philosopher and political activist

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania

Spouse: Carol Chomsky (Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania)

Father: William Chomsky (Johns Hopkins University)

Richard Feynman 1918–1988

Theoretical physicist, 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics co-winner

Bachelor's degree · Class of 1939

Also attended: Princeton University

Sibling: Joan Feynman (Columbia University in the City of New York, Syracuse University)

Richard Stallman 1953–

Free software activist, founder of the GNU project

Doctor of Philosophy

Also attended: Harvard University

Buzz Aldrin 1930–

Astronaut, second person to walk on the Moon

Doctor of Science · Astronautics

Also attended: The United States Military Academy at West Point

Father: Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr. (Clark University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

William Shockley 1910–1989

Physicist and inventor, Bell Labs research group manager

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1936

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, University of California-Los Angeles

Murray Gell-Mann 1929–2019

Theoretical physicist who introduced the quark concept

Also attended: Yale University

Paul Krugman 1953–

Economist and CUNY Graduate Center professor

Attended until 1977

Also attended: Yale University

Spouse: Robin Wells (University of California-Berkeley)

Joseph Stiglitz 1943–

Economist and Nobel laureate, Columbia University professor

Doctor of Philosophy · Economics · Class of 1967

Also attended: University of Chicago, Amherst College

Georges Lemaître 1894–1966

Belgian priest and cosmologist who proposed cosmic expansion

Attended until 1927

George F. Smoot 1945–2025

Astrophysicist, 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate

Ben Bernanke 1953–

14th chairman of the Federal Reserve, economist

Also attended: Harvard University

Andrea M. Ghez 1965–

Astrophysicist, 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1987

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, University of Chicago

Esther Duflo 1972–

Economist, 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize laureate

Doctor of Philosophy

Spouse: Abhijit Banerjee (Harvard University)

Robert B. Laughlin 1950–

Physicist and Stanford University professor

Doctor of Philosophy · Physics · Class of 1979

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Claude Shannon 1916–2001

Mathematician known as the father of information theory

Electrical engineering · Attended until 1940

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Adam Riess 1969–

Astrophysicist, professor at Johns Hopkins University

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Harvard University

Burton Richter 1931–2018

Physicist, 1976 Nobel Prize in Physics winner

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1956

William Daniel Phillips 1948–

Physicist and Nobel laureate

Doctor · Physics · Class of 1976

Also attended: Juniata College

Robert Burns Woodward 1917–1979

Organic chemist

Spouse: Eudoxia Woodward (Smith College)

Jean Tirole 1953–

French economist and professor at Toulouse 1 Capitole University

Doctor of Philosophy · Economics · Class of 1981

John Robert Schrieffer 1931–2019

Physicist; 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate

Also attended: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Gilbert N. Lewis 1875–1946

Physical chemist who discovered the covalent bond

Also attended: Harvard University

Carl Wieman 1951–

Nobel-winning physicist and education researcher

Bachelor of Science · Physics · Class of 1973

Also attended: Stanford University

Rainer Weiss 1932–2025

Physicist and 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate

Doctor of Philosophy · Physics

Eric Allin Cornell 1961–

Physicist, 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics winner

Also attended: Stanford University

Henry Way Kendall 1926–1999

Particle physicist, 1990 Nobel Prize in Physics

Also attended: Amherst College, United States Merchant Marine Academy, Stanford University

David Baltimore 1938–2025

Biologist, 1975 Nobel laureate, former Caltech president

Attended until 1961

Also attended: The Rockefeller University, Swarthmore College

Spouse: Alice S. Huang (Johns Hopkins University, Wellesley College)

Robert S. Mulliken 1896–1986

Physical chemist, pioneer of molecular orbital theory

Also attended: University of Chicago, Harvard University

Robert Aumann 1930–

Israeli-American mathematician and Nobel laureate

Also attended: CUNY--City College, Rabbi Jacob Joseph School

Sidney Altman 1939–2022

Molecular biologist and Yale professor

Also attended: University of Colorado Boulder, Columbia University in the City of New York

Oliver E. Williamson 1932–2020

Economist, 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize winner

Bachelor's degree

Also attended: Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University

George Akerlof 1940–

Economist, 2001 Nobel laureate in economics

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1966

Also attended: Yale University

Spouse: Janet Yellen (Yale University, Brown University)

Sibling: Carl W. Akerlof (Yale University, Cornell University)

Elias James Corey 1928–

Organic chemist, 1990 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate

Doctor of Philosophy · Chemistry · Class of 1951

Andrew Fire 1959–

Biologist, 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Stanford University

Robert J. Shiller 1946–

Economist, Sterling Professor at Yale University

Doctor of Philosophy · Economics · Class of 1972

Also attended: Kalamazoo College, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Robert Mundell 1932–2021

Economist, 1999 Nobel Memorial Prize winner

Also attended: University of Washington-Seattle Campus

William Nordhaus 1941–2026

Yale economist, 2018 Nobel economics laureate

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1967

Also attended: Yale University

Lawrence Klein 1920–2013

Economist, 1980 Nobel laureate in Economics

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1944

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Los Angeles City College, University of Pennsylvania

David Julius 1955–

Physiologist and 2021 Nobel laureate

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Victor Ambros 1953–

Developmental biologist who discovered the first microRNA

Raymond Kurzweil 1948–

Computer scientist, inventor, author and futurist

Andrew S. Tanenbaum 1944–

Computer scientist, author of MINIX

Bachelor of Science · Physics · Class of 1965

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Edgar Mitchell 1930–2016

Apollo 14 astronaut, sixth person to walk on the Moon

Doctor of Science · Astronautics, Aeronautics

Also attended: Naval Postgraduate School, United States Naval Academy, Carnegie Mellon University

Edward C. Prescott 1940–2022

Economist; 2004 Nobel economics laureate

Also attended: Princeton University, Case Western Reserve University, Carnegie Mellon University

Vannevar Bush 1890–1974

Engineer who headed the US OSRD during World War II

Also attended: Harvard University, Tufts University

Charles J. Pedersen 1904–1989

Chemist who discovered crown ethers, Nobel laureate

Also attended: University of Dayton

Robert C. Merton 1944–

Nobel-winning economist and MIT Sloan professor

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, Columbia University in the City of New York

Father: Robert K. Merton (Harvard University, Temple University)

Charles Greeley Abbot 1872–1973

Astrophysicist and fifth Secretary of the Smithsonian

Bachelor of Science, Master of Science

Lee Hartwell 1939–

Biologist, 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

H. Robert Horvitz 1947–

Biologist, 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Also attended: Harvard University

David Scott 1932–

Apollo 15 commander, seventh person to walk on the Moon

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, The United States Military Academy at West Point

Raymond Tomlinson 1941–2016

Inventor of email on ARPANET

Master's degree · Electrical engineering · Class of 1965

Also attended: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Benjamin Lee Whorf 1897–1941

Linguist, advocate of linguistic relativity

Also attended: Yale University

Katie Bouman 1989–

Computer scientist on first black hole image team

Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science · Computer science, Electrical engineering · Class of 2018

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Philip Kotler 1931–

Marketing author, consultant, and professor

Also attended: University of Chicago, DePaul University, Harvard University

Robert Metcalfe 1946–

Co-inventor of Ethernet and co-founder of 3Com

Also attended: Harvard University

Michael Rosbash 1944–

Geneticist and chronobiologist at Brandeis University

Doctor of Philosophy

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Peter Diamond 1940–

Economist, 2010 Nobel Prize winner

Doctor of Philosophy · Economics · Class of 1963

Also attended: Yale University

Lotfi A. Zadeh 1921–2017

UC Berkeley professor who proposed fuzzy logic

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Charles Duke 1935–

Apollo 16 astronaut, 10th person on the Moon

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Alan Perlis 1922–1990

Computer scientist and first ACM Turing Award recipient

Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science · Mathematics · Class of 1950

Also attended: Carnegie Mellon University

Leslie Lamport 1941–

Distributed systems pioneer and initial developer of LaTeX

Bachelor of Science · Mathematics

Also attended: Brandeis University

Edward Norton Lorenz 1917–2008

Founder of chaos theory, mathematician and meteorologist

Attended until 1948

Also attended: Harvard University, Dartmouth College

Lawrence M. Krauss 1954–

Theoretical physicist and cosmologist, founded ASU's Origins Project

Ronald McNair 1950–1986

NASA astronaut who died in the Challenger disaster

Doctor of Philosophy · Physics · Class of 1976

Also attended: North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University at Raleigh, Morris College

George Ellery Hale 1868–1938

American astrophysicist who discovered magnetic fields in sunspots

Also attended: Harvard University

Ivan Sutherland 1938–

Computer scientist, pioneer of computer graphics

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University

William Henry Pickering 1858–1938

Astronomer who established several observatories

Sibling: Edward Charles Pickering (Harvard University)

Simon Johnson 1963–

Economist and MIT Sloan professor

Alan Guth 1947–

MIT physicist who pioneered cosmic inflation theory

Doctor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Science · Physics · Class of 1972

Child: Larry Guth (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Catherine Coleman 1960–

Retired NASA astronaut and former Air Force colonel

Also attended: University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Qian Xuesen 1911–2009

Aerospace engineer, deported from US to China in 1955

Master of Science · Class of 1936

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Ellen Swallow Richards 1842–1911

Environmental chemist and pioneer of home economics

Also attended: Vassar College

Pamela Melroy 1961–

NASA astronaut and former NASA deputy administrator

Also attended: Wellesley College

Nicholas Negroponte 1943–

Founder of MIT Media Lab and One Laptop per Child

Spouse: Deborah Porter (Brandeis University)

Sibling: John Negroponte (Yale University, Harvard University)

George Lakoff 1941–

Cognitive linguist and UC Berkeley professor

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1962

Spouse: Robin Lakoff (Harvard University)

Michael Dean Woodford 1955–

Columbia University macroeconomist

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1983

Also attended: Yale University, University of Chicago

Lynn Conway 1938–2024

Computer scientist and electrical engineer

Attended until 1958

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Stanley Fischer 1943–2025

Economist, former Fed vice chair and Bank of Israel governor

Doctor of Philosophy · Economics · Class of 1969

Rudolf E. Kálmán 1930–2016

Engineer, co-inventor of the Kalman filter

Attended until 1954

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Andrew Y. Ng 1976–

AI researcher, cofounder of Google Brain

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University

Spouse: Carol Reiley (Santa Clara University)

Michael Fincke 1967–

Former NASA astronaut and Air Force colonel

Also attended: El Camino Community College District, University of Houston--Clear Lake

Raghuram Rajan 1963–

Indian economist and former Reserve Bank of India governor

Doctor of Philosophy

Manuel Blum 1938–

Computer scientist; 1995 ACM Turing Award winner

Spouse: Lenore Blum (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Simmons University)

Child: Avrim Blum (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Robert Hall 1943–

Stanford economist, 2026 Nobel laureate in Economics

Doctor of Philosophy

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Wendy B. Lawrence 1959–

Retired NASA astronaut and Navy Captain

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Whitfield Diffie 1944–

Cryptographer and public-key cryptography pioneer

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1965

Also attended: Stanford University

Yoshua Bengio 1964–

Deep learning pioneer and 2018 Turing Award winner

Sabrina Pasterski 1993–

Theoretical physicist

Also attended: Harvard University

Rusty Schweickart 1935–

Former NASA astronaut and aeronautical engineer

Radia Perlman 1951–

Network engineer and Internet pioneer

Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy · Mathematics, Computer science · Class of 1988

Fernando J. Corbató 1926–2019

Computer scientist, time-sharing pioneer

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1956

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Chadwick Trujillo 1973–

Astronomer, co-discoverer of Eris and Makemake

Nathan Rosen 1909–1995

Physicist known for the Einstein–Rosen bridge

William Shepherd 1949–

NASA astronaut, commander of ISS Expedition 1

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Shirley Ann Jackson 1946–

Physicist and 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Doctor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Science · Physics · Class of 1973

K. Eric Drexler 1955–

Engineer known for molecular nanotechnology

Franklin Chang-Díaz 1950–

Former NASA astronaut and physicist

Nuclear engineering · Attended until 1978

Also attended: University of Connecticut

Janice E. Voss 1956–2012

NASA astronaut who flew in space five times

Also attended: Rice University, Purdue University-Main Campus

Jay Wright Forrester 1918–2016

MIT professor, computer engineer and systems scientist

Also attended: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Hossein Nasr 1933–

Islamic scholar and philosopher at George Washington University

Bachelor's degree · Physics

Also attended: Harvard University

Child: Vali Nasr (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University)

Jasmin Moghbeli 1983–

Marine Corps test pilot and NASA astronaut

Also attended: Naval Postgraduate School

Henry Mintzberg Storch 1939–

Canadian management scholar, McGill professor

Leonard Kleinrock 1934–

Computer scientist and Internet pioneer, UCLA professor

Doctor of Philosophy · Computer science, Electrical engineering · Class of 1963

Also attended: CUNY--City College

Richard Chace Tolman 1881–1948

Mathematical physicist and Caltech professor

Doctor of Philosophy, Bachelor's degree · Chemical engineering · Class of 1910

Also attended: Princeton University

Spouse: Ruth Sherman Tolman (University of California-Los Angeles)

Sibling: Edward C. Tolman (Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper 1963–

Former NASA astronaut and US Navy captain

Greg Mankiw 1958–

Harvard economics professor and macroeconomist

Also attended: Harvard University, Princeton University

Jane Luu 1963–

Astronomer, Kavli Prize winner for Kuiper Belt discovery

Doctorate

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Stanford University

Edward C. Tolman 1886–1959

Psychologist who founded purposive behaviorism

Bachelor's degree · Electrochemistry · Class of 1911

Also attended: Harvard University

Sibling: Richard Chace Tolman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University)

Schelte J. Bus 1956–

Astronomer and discoverer of minor planets

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Stephen Bowen 1964–

NASA astronaut and Navy submariner

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

John M. Grunsfeld 1958–

Former NASA astronaut and physicist

Also attended: University of Chicago

Peter Senge 1947–

Systems scientist, author of The Fifth Discipline

Mitchell Feigenbaum 1944–2019

Mathematical physicist, discovered Feigenbaum constants

Also attended: CUNY--City College

Robert Tappan Morris 1965–

Computer scientist, creator of the Morris worm

Also attended: Harvard University, Cornell University

Father: Robert Morris (Harvard University)

Robert Thirsk 1953–

Canadian astronaut, physician and engineer

Dominic A. Antonelli 1967–

Retired NASA astronaut

Also attended: University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Hal Abelson 1947–

MIT computer science professor and SICP co-author

Doctorate

Also attended: Princeton University

Edith Clarke 1883–1959

Electrical engineer specializing in power system analysis

Master of Science · Class of 1920

Also attended: Vassar College, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Jagdish Bhagwati 1934–

Trade economist, Columbia University professor

Spouse: Padma Desai (Harvard University)

Hong Wang 1991–

Mathematician, 2026 Fields Medal recipient

Christopher Cassidy 1970–

Retired NASA astronaut and Navy SEAL

Also attended: United States Naval Academy

Peter Shor 1959–

MIT professor, devised Shor's algorithm

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Robert W. Wood 1868–1955

Physicist and inventor, pioneer in optics

Also attended: University of Chicago, Harvard University

Daniel M. Tani 1961–

Retired NASA astronaut and engineer

Cathleen Synge Morawetz 1923–2017

Canadian mathematician specializing in partial differential equations

Master's degree · Mathematics · Class of 1946

Also attended: New York University

Douglas McIlroy 1932–

Computer scientist and Dartmouth adjunct professor

Also attended: Cornell University

Kevin A. Lynch 1918–1984

Urban planner known for work on urban perceptual form

Also attended: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Kenneth Bainbridge 1904–1996

Harvard physicist who worked on cyclotron research

Also attended: Princeton University

Donald Norman 1935–

Researcher and founding director of UCSD Design Lab

Licentiate · Electrical engineering · Class of 1957

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

William B. Lenoir 1939–2010

NASA astronaut and electrical engineer

Gordon Bell 1934–2024

Designer of DEC PDP machines and VAX overseer

Master of Science · Electrical engineering · Class of 1957

Frederick Hauck 1941–2025

NASA astronaut and US Navy captain

Master of Science

Also attended: Tufts University

Charles Stark Draper 1901–1987

Father of inertial navigation; founded MIT Instrumentation Laboratory

Also attended: University of Missouri-Columbia, Stanford University

John G. Trump 1907–1985

MIT electrical engineer and professor

Doctor of Science · Class of 1933

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, New York University

William David Coolidge 1873–1975

Physicist, director of GE Research Laboratory

Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim 1987–

German chemist, science journalist and television presenter

Chemistry · Attended until 2012

Also attended: Harvard University

Raja Chari 1977–

NASA astronaut and test pilot

Also attended: United States Air Force Academy

Jack D. Fischer 1974–

Former NASA astronaut and test pilot

Also attended: United States Air Force Academy

Frederick Terman 1900–1982

Stanford engineering dean and provost

Also attended: Stanford University

Father: Lewis Terman (Clark University)

Kenneth D. Cameron 1949–

NASA astronaut and retired Marine Corps colonel

Also attended: Michigan State University

Sophie Adenot 1982–

French astronaut and helicopter test pilot

Attended until 2004

Byron K. Lichtenberg 1948–

Astronaut and Space Shuttle payload specialist

Also attended: Brown University

Håkon Wium Lie 1965–

Norwegian web pioneer who developed CSS

Attended until 1991

Jacob Ziv 1931–2023

Information theorist who developed LZ lossless compression algorithms

William Daniel Hillis 1956–

Founder of Thinking Machines, parallel computing pioneer

Sibling: David Hillis (University of Kansas, Baylor University)

Lawrence Roberts 1937–2018

Internet pioneer who helped create the ARPANET

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1963

Harold Edgerton 1903–1990

MIT electrical engineering professor, stroboscope pioneer

Attended until 1927

Also attended: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Terry Hart 1946–

Former NASA astronaut and engineer

Also attended: Lehigh University

Elena Cattaneo 1962–

Italian pharmacologist and Huntington's disease researcher

Geoffrey A. Landis 1955–

NASA aerospace engineer and science fiction author

Also attended: Brown University

Spouse: Mary Turzillo (Case Western Reserve University, Oberlin College)

Robert Fano 1917–2016

Computer scientist and MIT professor

Doctor of Science · Electrical engineering · Class of 1947

Mark C. Lee 1952–

Former NASA astronaut on four Space Shuttle missions

Also attended: United States Air Force Academy

Gerald Jay Sussman 1947–

MIT professor of electrical engineering

Sidney Darlington 1906–1997

Electrical engineer, inventor of the Darlington pair

Also attended: Harvard University, Columbia University in the City of New York

Laura Tyson 1947–

Economist, former chair of Council of Economic Advisers

Also attended: Smith College, Princeton University

Rebecca Blank 1955–2023

Economist, ninth chancellor of UW–Madison

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Warren Hoburg 1985–

NASA astronaut and engineer

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Shiva Ayyadurai 1963–

Engineer, entrepreneur and anti-vaccine activist

Spouse: Fran Drescher (CUNY Queens College, Wagner College)

Wilhelm Cauer 1900–1945

German mathematician, founder of network synthesis

Attended until 1931

Also attended: Harvard University

Virginia Norwood 1927–2023

Aerospace engineer who designed Landsat's Multispectral Scanner

Master's degree · Mathematical physics · Class of 1947

Dava Newman 1964–

Aerospace engineer and former NASA deputy administrator

Also attended: University of Notre Dame

Elsie MacGill 1905–1980

Canadian engineer, first female aircraft designer

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Alan Blinder 1945–

Economics professor at Princeton University

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1971

Also attended: Princeton University

Thomas Kailath 1935–

Electrical engineer, Stanford professor emeritus

Swati Mohan 1983–

Aerospace engineer, NASA Mars 2020 guidance and controls lead

Doctor of Philosophy · Astronautics, Aeronautics · Class of 2010

Also attended: Cornell University

Julius Adams Stratton 1901–1994

Electrical engineer and university administrator

Vasik Rajlich 1971–

Chess International Master, author of Rybka

Bradford Parkinson 1935–

Lead architect of the Global Positioning System

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, Stanford University

Paul Bloom 1963–

Psychologist, Professor Emeritus at Yale University

Doctorate

Charles Edward Jones 1952–2001

Air Force officer and astronaut killed on September 11

Also attended: United States Air Force Academy

David Ho 1952–

Virologist who pioneered combination HIV therapy

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, Harvard University

Yu Deng 1989–

Mathematician and professor at University of Chicago

Bachelor's degree · Class of 2011

Also attended: Princeton University

Frank Shu 1943–2023

Chinese-American astrophysicist and professor emeritus

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1963

Also attended: Harvard University

Inez Fung 1949–

Professor of atmospheric science at UC Berkeley

Doctor of Science · Class of 1977

Chi-Huey Wong 1948–

Biochemist, professor at Scripps Research Institute

Doctor of Philosophy · Chemistry · Class of 1982

Also attended: Harvard University

Chung-Pei Ma 1966–

Astrophysicist and UC Berkeley professor

Xie Xide 1921–2000

Physicist, former president of Fudan University

Also attended: Smith College

Lixia Zhang 1951–

Computer science professor at UCLA

Also attended: California State University-Los Angeles

Li Minhua 1917–2013

Solid mechanics expert and CAS academician

Doctor of Philosophy

Spouse: Wu Zhonghua (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Kerson Huang 1928–2016

Chinese-born theoretical physicist and translator

Henry Tye 1948–

Cosmologist and theoretical physicist

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Spouse: Bik-Kwoon Tye (University of California-San Francisco, Wellesley College)

Child: Kay Tye (University of California-San Francisco, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Shih-Ying Lee 1918–2018

MIT professor emeritus and mechanical engineer

Doctor of Science · Class of 1945

Sibling: Yao-Tzu Li (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Chuan He 1972–

Chinese-American chemical biologist, University of Chicago professor

Theodore Hsueh-Huang Pian 1919–2009

Chinese-born American engineer, Tsinghua graduate

Spouse: Rulan Chao Pian (Harvard University)

Douglas T. Ross 1929–2007

Computer scientist who originated the term CAD

Also attended: Oberlin College

Christina Romer 1958–

Economist, former Council of Economic Advisers chair

Also attended: College of William and Mary

Rosalind Picard 1962–

MIT professor, founder of Affective Computing Research Group

Doctor of Science · Class of 1991

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

Gilbert Strang 1934–

Mathematician known for linear algebra and mathematics textbooks

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Oktay Sinanoğlu 1935–2015

Turkish physical chemist

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Neri Oxman 1976–

Designer and former professor, coined "material ecology"

Spouse: Bill Ackman (Harvard University)

Spouse: Osvaldo Golijov (University of Pennsylvania)

Pranav Mistry 1981–

Indian computer scientist, former STAR Labs CEO

Paul Mockapetris 1948–

Computer scientist who invented the DNS

Also attended: University of California-Irvine

John Urschel 1991–

Mathematician and former NFL guard

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 2021

Also attended: The Pennsylvania State University, The Pennsylvania State University

Spouse: Louisa Thomas (Harvard University)

Linus Pauling 1901–1994

Chemist and peace activist

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, Oregon State University

Spouse: Ava Helen Pauling (Oregon State University)

Walter Lewin 1936–

Astrophysicist and retired MIT physics professor

Nathan S. Lewis

Professor of chemistry at Caltech

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

I. M. Pei 1917–2019

Chinese-American architect

Bachelor of Architecture

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania

James Woods 1947–

Film, stage and television actor

Dolph Lundgren 1957–

Actor who played Ivan Drago in Rocky IV

Also attended: Clemson University, Washington State University

Louis Sullivan 1856–1924

Architect called father of skyscrapers

Bridgit Mendler 1992–

Former actress and singer turned entrepreneur

Master of Science · Media science · Class of 2020

Also attended: University of Southern California, Harvard University

Benjamin Tucker 1854–1939

Individualist anarchist and editor of Liberty

John W. Campbell 1910–1971

Science fiction writer and editor

Also attended: Duke University

Hugh Lofting 1886–1947

Author who created Doctor Dolittle

Gordon Bunshaft 1909–1990

Architect and partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Daniel Chester French 1850–1931

American sculptor

Christopher Alexander 1936–2022

Architect and design theorist, UC Berkeley professor

Also attended: Harvard University

Charles Correa 1930–2015

Indian architect and urban planner

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Dylan Bruno 1972–

Actor in Saving Private Ryan and The Rage: Carrie 2

Sophia Hayden Bennett 1868–1953

Architect; first female MIT architecture graduate

Marion Mahony Griffin 1871–1961

Architect, original Prairie School member

Spouse: Walter Burley Griffin (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Tay Garnett 1894–1977

Film director of The Postman Always Rings Twice

Tom Scholz 1947–

Founder of the rock band Boston

James Eckhouse 1955–

Actor, played Jim Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210

Nathan Juran 1907–2002

Film director and Oscar-winning art director

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Sibling: Joseph M. Juran (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities)

Mansoor Khan 1953–

Indian film director and producer

Victor A. Turin 1895–1945

Soviet film director and screenwriter

Piotr Kowalski 1927–2004

Polish sculptor and architect

Edward Durell Stone 1902–1978

Architect of the Kennedy Center in Washington

Also attended: University of Arkansas, Boston Architectural College, Harvard University

Moisés Naím 1952–

Venezuelan journalist and Carnegie Endowment fellow

Robert Milton Young 1924–2024

Film director and independent film trailblazer

Also attended: Harvard University

Charles Ferguson 1955–

Film producer and angel investor

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Janet Hsieh 1980–

Television host and violinist, host of Fun Taiwan

Charlie Korsmo 1978–

Former child actor turned lawyer and academic

Also attended: Yale University

Michael Kaiser 1953–

Former president of the Kennedy Center

Also attended: Georgetown University, Brandeis University

Joe Kernen 1956–

Co-host of CNBC's Squawk Box

Also attended: University of Colorado Boulder

Thomas Curtis 1873–1944

1896 Olympic 110 metres hurdles champion

Johan Harmenberg 1954–

Swedish Olympic champion épée fencer

Alden Sanborn 1899–1991

Rower, 1920 Olympic men's eight gold medalist

Also attended: United States Naval Academy, Beloit College

Wayne Frye 1930–2014

Rower, 1952 Olympic gold medalist in men's eight

Joseph Levis 1905–2005

Foil fencer, three-time Olympian

Seymour Cromwell 1934–1977

Rower and 1964 Olympic silver medallist

Also attended: Harvard University, Princeton University

Princess Ubol Ratana of Thailand 1951–

Thai princess, eldest child of King Bhumibol

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Child: Ploypailin Jensen (University of California-San Diego, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Child: Sirikitiya Jensen (University of California-Riverside, New York University)

Bob Lazar 1959–

Conspiracy theorist claiming alien technology work

Also attended: California Institute of Technology, Los Angeles Pierce College

Aafia Siddiqui 1972–

Pakistani neuroscientist convicted in the US

Also attended: Brandeis University

Yi Ku 1931–2005

Korean prince and head of the House of Yi

Also attended: Centre College

Jeff Ma 1973–

Former member of the MIT Blackjack Team