Notable Alumni of Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Todd Akin 1947–2021

U.S. Representative from Missouri

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1971

Also attended: Covenant Theological Seminary

David F. Emery 1948–

Former U.S. Representative from Maine

Everett J. Lake 1871–1948

67th Governor of Connecticut

Also attended: Harvard University

Charles Grenfill Washburn 1857–1928

Former U.S. representative from Massachusetts

Also attended: Harvard University

Dean Kamen 1951–

Inventor of the Segway, co-founder of FIRST

Also attended: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Alan R. Pearlman 1925–2019

Engineer and founder of ARP Instruments

A. Atwater Kent 1873–1949

Inventor and prominent Philadelphia radio manufacturer

Robert H. Goddard 1882–1945

Physicist who built the first liquid-fueled rocket

Also attended: Clark University

Beatrice Hicks 1919–1979

Engineer and owner of Newark Controls Company

Also attended: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Harold Stephen Black 1898–1983

Electrical engineer who invented the negative feedback amplifier

Elwood Haynes 1857–1925

Inventor of stellite and early automobile designer

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

Richard T. Whitcomb 1921–2009

Aeronautical engineer noted for aerodynamics

Gilbert Vernam 1890–1960

AT&T Bell Labs engineer, inventor of Vernam cipher

Daniel Robbins 1901–

Founder of Gentoo Linux and Funtoo

Also attended: University of New Mexico-Main Campus

George Cowan 1920–2012

Physical chemist, businessman and philanthropist

Also attended: University of Chicago, Princeton University, Carnegie Mellon University

James Pierpont 1866–1938

Mathematician born in Connecticut

Attended until 1886

Henry Prentiss Armsby 1853–1921

Agricultural chemist and animal nutritionist

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: Yale University

Don Lavoie 1951–2001

Economist of the Austrian School

Also attended: New York University

Mei Yiqi 1889–1962

Longest-serving president of Tsinghua University

Attended until 1914

Also attended: University of Chicago

Marcia Keith 1859–1950

Physicist and charter member of the American Physical Society

Also attended: University of Chicago, Mount Holyoke College

Pascale Fung 1966–

HKUST professor and AI researcher

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

J. Geils 1946–2017

American guitarist

Im Tae-kyung 1973–

South Korean musical actor and tenor

Magic Dick 1945–

Harmonica player of the J. Geils Band

Anthony Zinno 1981–

Poker player with four WSOP bracelets

Also attended: Suffolk University