List of Stanford University people
This page lists the members of Stanford University, including students, alumni, faculty and academic affiliates associated.
Stanford office
Presidents
Acting presidents were temporary appointments. Swain served while Wilbur was United States Secretary of the Interior under Herbert Hoover; Eurich and Faust after the unexpected death of Tresidder.S. No. | Name | Term |
1. | David Starr Jordan | 1891–1913 |
2. | John Casper Branner | 1913–1915 |
3. | Ray Lyman Wilbur | 1916–1943 |
* | Robert Eccles Swain | 1929–1933 |
4. | Donald Bertrand Tresidder | 1943–1948 |
* | Alvin C. Eurich | 1948 |
* | Clarence H. Faust | 1949 |
5. | J. E. Wallace Sterling | 1949–1968 |
* | Robert J. Glaser | 1968 |
6. | Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer | 1968–1970 |
7. | Richard Wall Lyman | 1970–1980 |
8. | Donald Kennedy | 1980–1992 |
9. | Gerhard Casper | 1992–2000 |
10. | John L. Hennessy | 2000–2016 |
* | John Etchemendy | 2012 |
11. | Marc Tessier-Lavigne | 2016–present |
;Color key
Provosts
The position was created in 1952.S. No. | Name | Term |
1. | Douglas M. Whitaker | 1952–1955 |
2. | Frederick E. Terman | 1955–1965 |
3. | Richard Wall Lyman | 1967–1970 |
4. | William F. Miller | 1971–1978 |
5. | Gerald J. Lieberman | 1979 |
6. | Donald Kennedy | 1979–1980 |
7. | Albert M. Hastorf | 1980–1984 |
8. | James N. Rosse | 1984–1992 |
9. | Gerald J. Lieberman | 1992–1993 |
10. | Condoleezza Rice | 1993–1999 |
11. | John L. Hennessy | 1999–2000 |
12. | John Etchemendy | 2000–2017 |
13. | Persis Drell | 2017–present |
Chancellors
This position is often empty and has always been held by a former president.S. No. | Name | Term |
1 | David Starr Jordan | 1913–1916 |
2 | Ray Lyman Wilbur | 1943–1949 |
3 | J. E. Wallace Sterling | 1968–1985 |
School Deans
Though Stanford did not originally have schools, over the years the departments have all been collected into schools.;Color key
Name | Years | Notes | |
1 | Willard E. Hotchkiss | 1926–1930 | |
2 | J. Hugh Jackson | 1931–1956 | |
Carlton A. Pederson | 1956–1958 | acting dean | |
3 | Ernest C. Arbuckle | 1958–1968 | |
Samuel "Pete" Pond | 1968–1969 | acting dean | |
4 | Arjay Miller | 1969–1979 | The top 10% of graduating MBAs are named Arjay Miller Scholars. |
Robert Jaedicke | 1979–1980 | acting dean | |
5 | Rene C. McPherson | 1980–1982 | |
6 | Robert Jaedicke | 1983–1990 | |
7 | Michael Spence | 1990–1999 | |
8 | Robert L. Joss | 1999–2009 | Stanford PhD 1970 |
9 | Garth Saloner | 2009–2015 | |
10 | Jonathan Levin | 2016–present |
Name | years | note | |
1 | Ellwood Patterson Cubberley | 1917–1933 | |
2 | Grayson N. Kefauver | 1933–1946 | |
* | Lucien Blair Kinney | 1943–1946 | acting |
3 | A. John Bartky | 1946–1953 | |
4 | I. James Quillen | 1954–1966 | |
5 | H. Thomas James | 1966–1970 | |
6 | Arthur Coladarci | 1970–1979 | |
7 | Myron Atkin | 1979–1986 | |
8 | Marshall S. Smith | 1986–1993 | |
9 | Richard Shavelson | 1993–2001 | |
10 | Deborah Stipek | 2000–2011 | |
11 | Claude Steele | 2011–2014 | |
* | Deborah Stipek | 2014–2015 | acting |
12 | Daniel Schwartz | 2015–present |
Name | Years | Department | Notes | |
1 | Clarence H. Faust | 1948–1951 | English | |
2 | Douglas Merritt Whitaker | 1951–1952 | Biology | |
3 | Ray N. Faulkner | 1952–1956 | Art and Architecture | |
4 | Philip H. Rhinelander | 1956–1961 | Philosophy | |
5 | Robert Richardson Sears | 1961–1970 | Psychology | |
6 | Albert H. Hastorf III | 1970–1973 | Psychology | |
7 | Halsey L. Royden | 1973–1981 | Mathematics | |
8 | Norman K. Wessells | 1981–1988 | Biology | |
9 | Ewart A.C. Thomas | 1988–1993 | Psychology | |
10 | John B. Shoven | 1993–1998 | Economics | |
11 | Malcolm R. Beasley | 1998–2001 | Applied Physics | |
12 | Sharon R. Long | 2001–2007 | Biological Sciences | |
13 | Richard Saller | 2007–2018 | Classics and History | |
14 | Debra Satz | 2018–present | Philosophy |
# | Name | Years | Notes |
1 | Nathan Abbott | 1893–1907 | Executive Head |
* | Charles H. Huberich | 1906 | acting |
2 | Frederic Campbell Woodward | 1908–1916 | first to be called dean |
3 | Charles A. Huston | 1916–1922 | |
* | Arthur M. Cathcart | 1917–1919 | acting |
4 | Marion R. Kirkwood | 1922–1945 | |
* | Arthur M. Cathcart | 1930–1931 | acting |
* | Lowell Turrentine | 1945–1946 | |
5 | Carl B. Spaeth | 1946–1962 | |
* | Samuel D. Thurman | 1952–1953 | acting |
* | John R. McDonough | 1959–1960 | acting |
* | John R. McDonough | 1962–1964 | acting |
6 | Bayless Manning | 1964–1971 | |
7 | Thomas Ehrlich | 1971–1976 | |
* | J. Keith Mann | 1976 | acting |
8 | Charles J. Meyers | 1976–1981 | acting |
* | J. Keith Mann | 1981–1982 | acting |
9 | John Hart Ely | 1982–1987 | |
10 | Paul Brest | 1987–1999 | |
11 | Kathleen Sullivan | 1999–2004 | |
12 | Larry Kramer | 2004–2012 | |
13 | M. Elizabeth Magill | 2012–present |
Alumni
Academics
Presidents and chancellors of universities and colleges
- Gene D. Block, 8th chancellor of University of California, Los Angeles
- Derek Bok, 25th president of Harvard University
- José Antonio Bowen, 11th president of Goucher College
- Avishay Braverman, President of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
- John C. Bravman, 17th president of Bucknell University
- William R. Brody, 13th president of Johns Hopkins University
- Menzies Campbell, 37th chancellor of the University of St Andrews
- Nancy Cantor, 11th chancellor and president of Syracuse University
- Brian Casey, 19th president of DePauw University
- Jean-Lou Chameau, 8th president of California Institute of Technology
- France A. Córdova, 11th president of Purdue University
- Paul Davenport, 9th president of the University of Western Ontario
- Sean M. Decatur, 19th president of Kenyon College
- Rolando Ramos Dizon, 20th president of De La Salle University
- Michael V. Drake, 21st president of the University of California System, 15th president of the Ohio State University, and 5th chancellor of University of California, Irvine
- Vartan Gregorian, 16th president of Brown University; president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York; president of the New York Public Library; provost of the University of Pennsylvania; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
- William Westley Guth, attorney, president of University of the Pacific and 3rd president of Goucher College
- Clark Kerr, 12th president of the University of California System and first chancellor of UC Berkeley
- Heather Knight, 21st president of Pacific Union College
- William P. Leahy, 25th president of Boston College
- Lee Si-Chen, 10th president of National Taiwan University
- Rick Levin, 22nd president of Yale University
- Thomas L. Magnanti, founding president of Singapore University of Technology and Design
- Alan G. Merten, 5th president of George Mason University
- Bienvenido Nebres, 29th president of Ateneo de Manila University
- Vincent Price, 10th president of Duke University
- Edward John Ray, 13th president of Oregon State University
- L. Rafael Reif, 17th president of MIT
- Peter Salovey, 23rd president of Yale University
- Robert N. Shelton, 19th president of the University of Arizona
- Su Guaning, 2nd president of Nanyang Technological University
- Steven C. Wheelwright, 9th president of Brigham Young University–Hawaii
- Menahem Yaari, Israeli economist, S.A. Schonbrunn Professor of Mathematical Economics at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, President of the Open University of Israel
Academia
- Michelle Alexander, civil rights activist and professor of law at Ohio State University
- Lawrence J. Baack, historian specializing in modern European history; former vice chairperson of the History Department at University of Nebraska, Lincoln; visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley
- Jeremy M. Berg, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- Roger Boesche, Arthur G. Coons Distinguished Professor of the History of Ideas at Occidental College
- Yolanda Broyles-Gonzalez, professor and chair of American Ethnic Studies, Kansas State University
- Marjorie Cohn, professor of law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law and a former president of the National Lawyers Guild
- Steven R. David, professor of international relations, associate dean of academic affairs at Johns Hopkins University
- Steven D'Hondt, professor of oceanography at University of Rhode Island
- George E. Frakes, professor emeritus of history and geography at Santa Barbara City College
- H. Bruce Franklin, professor of English and American studies at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey
- James Paul Gee, linguist, literacy researcher, and Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University
- Larry Gladney, professor of Physics at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut
- William Gorham, economist, president of the Urban Institute 1968–2000
- Daniel Harrison, chairman of the Department of Music, Yale University
- Leslie P. Hume, historian and philanthropist, former president of the Stanford University Board of trustees
- Kristina Johnson, US Undersecretary of Energy, former provost of Johns Hopkins University, with 100+ patents
- Amos Lapidot, Israeli fighter pilot, 10th Commander of the Israeli Air Force, and President of Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
- Mark Lemley, professor at Stanford Law School, expert in patent law
- Lisa Lowe, Samuel Knight Professor of American Studies at Yale University
- Thomas L. Magnanti, former dean of the MIT School of Engineering
- Virginia Matzek, Associate Professor in Environmental Studies and Sciences at Santa Clara University
- H. Brett Melendy, American historian and administrator at San Jose State University and the University of Hawaii
- Charles Ogletree, professor at Harvard Law School, founder of the school's Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, author of numerous books on legal topics
- Charles V. Park, director of the Central Michigan University Libraries
- Joachim Remak, late professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara
- John C. Rule, historian of 17th- and 18th-century France at Ohio State University
- David Schaberg, Dean of Humanities at UCLA, winner of the 2003 Joseph Levenson Book Prize
- Dale Schunk, former dean of the School of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- Michael Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science at Harvard University
- Victoria Stodden, associate professor of information sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Robert E. Swain, head of Stanford's Department of Chemistry and a founder of the Stanford Research Institute
- Tony Tether, former director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Mark von Hagen, director of the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University
- Richard D. Wolff, Marxist economist and professor of economics emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- David Alvra Wood, president of the American Cancer Society, first director of the University of California, San Francisco Cancer Research Institute
- Ben Zinn, international soccer player and academic at Georgia Tech
- KJ Cerankowski, assistant professor at Oberlin College and co-founder of the field of asexuality studies
- Peter Zemsky, dean of executive education and Eli Lilly chaired professor of strategy and innovation at INSEAD
- Gita Sen, feminist economist and scholar on international population policy who has consulted for the United Nations System, adjunct professor at Harvard University and Professor Emeritus at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
- Natalie Roe, Director of the Physics Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Computer science and electrical engineering
- Norman Abramson, 2007 Alexander Graham Bell prize winner, developed the world's first wireless computer communication network, ALOHAnet.
- Anant Agarwal, president of edX at MIT
- Ružena Bajcsy, winner of 2009 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science
- Andy Bechtolsheim, designer of the first networked SUN workstation
- Lawrence M. Breed, created the first computer animation language, MACS; Grace Murray Hopper awardee
- Sergey Brin, developer of Google search engine, Marconi Prize winner
- David Boggs, co-inventor of Ethernet
- Rodney Brooks, director of MIT computer science and artificial intelligence lab, winner of computers and thought award
- Vint Cerf, Internet pioneer, co-inventor of TCP/IP internet protocol, Turing Award and Marconi Prize-winning computer scientist, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Donald D. Chamberlin, coinventor of SQL, SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd Innovations Award
- Morris Chang, founder, as well as former chairman and CEO, of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, 2010 winner of IEEE Medal of Honor
- Surajit Chaudhuri, Ph.D. in CS, SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd Innovations Award
- Mung Chiang, Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University; 2013 Alan T. Waterman Award recipient
- John M. Cioffi, pioneer in Digital Subscriber Line Technology, winner of Marconi prize, and IEEE Alexander Bell prize
- Thomas M. Cover, information theorist; winner of Shannon prize, Hamming medal
- Donald Cox, winner of IEEE Alexander Bell prize
- Steve Deering, inventor of IP multicast, a technique for one-to-many and many-to-many real-time communication over an IP infrastructure in a network
- Whitfield Diffie, pioneer in public key cryptography, noted for Diffie-Hellman-Merkle public key exchange, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame, Marconi Prize winner
- Les Earnest, research scientist, created the first spell check and first cursive writing recognizer
- David Eppstein, computer scientist
- Paul Flaherty, inventor of AltaVista search engine
- Scott Forstall, former senior vice president of iPhone software at Apple Inc.
- Richard P. Gabriel, computer scientist
- Héctor García-Molina, SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd Innovations Award
- Craig Gentry, computer scientist, 2010 Grace Murray Hopper awardee, noted for solving "fully homomorphic encryption", a breakthrough in public-key encryption
- Edward Ginzton, pioneer of microwave electronics, winner of IEEE medal of honor
- Ian Goodfellow, developer of generative adversarial networks
- Susan L. Graham, IEEE John Von Neumann prize winner
- William Webster Hansen, pioneer of microwave electronics
- Stephen E. Harris, noted for "slow" light research
- Martin Hellman, pioneer in public key cryptography, noted for Diffie-Hellman-Merkle public key exchange, Marconi Prize winner, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Charles Herrold, creator of the first radio station in the world
- William Hewlett, founder of Hewlett-Packard, National Medal of Science winner
- Ted Hoff, inventor of microprocessor, winner of Kyoto Prize, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame, winner of national medal of technology
- John Hopcroft, Turing Award-winning computer scientist
- Daniel Henry Holmes Ingalls, Jr., M.S. in CS, Grace Murray Hopper awardee
- Leslie Kaelbling, winner of computers and thought award
- Thomas Kailath professor in EE, 2007 winner of IEEE medal of honor
- Lydia Kavraki, 2000 Grace Murray Hopper awardee
- Alan Kay, Turing Award-winning computer scientist
- Dan Klein, 2006 Grace Murray Hopper awardee
- Daphne Koller, Stanford CS professor, winner of ACM-Infosys Foundation Award, winner of computers and thought award
- Douglas Lenat, winner of computers and thought award
- Barbara Liskov, first female PhD in computer science in US, MIT Ford professor, Turing Award winner
- John N. Little, co-creator of MATLAB
- Albert Macovski, authority on computerized imaging systems with 150 patents
- Theodore Maiman, inventor of ruby laser, the first working laser in the world; National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Jitendra Malik, CS professor at UC Berkeley
- Scott A. McGregor, lead developer of Windows 1.0 and former CEO of Philips Semiconductors and Broadcom Corporation
- James Meindl, former professor, 2006 winner of IEEE medal of honor
- Ralph Merkle, pioneer in public key cryptography, noted for Diffie-Hellman-Merkle public key exchange, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Tom M. Mitchell, professor and head of the machine learning department at CMU, winner of computers and thought award
- Cleve Moler, co-creator of MATLAB
- Roger Moore, Grace Murray Hopper awardee
- Hans Moravec, co-designer of Stanford CART, the first computer-controlled robot car
- Allen Newell, pioneer of artificial intelligence, Turing Award-winning computer scientist
- Ren Ng, founder and chief executive officer of Lytro, a Mountain View, California-based startup company, which is developing consumer light-field cameras based on Ng's graduate research at Stanford University
- Nils Nilsson, led the effort in developing Shakey the robot at SRI, the first mobile robot that could think independently and interact with its surroundings; Kumagai Professor of Engineering, Emeritus in Computer Science at Stanford University
- Jim K. Omura, Alexander Graham Bell prize winner
- David Packard, cofounder of HP Inc., 1988 winner of national medal of technology, and of presidential medal of freedom
- Larry Page, developer of Google search engine, Marconi Prize winner
- Kumar Patel, inventor of carbon Dioxidelaser, National Medal of Science winner
- Arogyaswami Paulraj, professor in EE, 2011 Alexander Graham Bell prize winner
- Donald Pederson, pioneer in SPICE, winner of IEEE medal of honor
- Amir Pnueli, Turing Award-winning computer scientist
- Raj Reddy, Turing Award-winning computer scientist, founder of robotics institute at Carnegie Mellon University
- Rafael Reif, current president of MIT
- Ronald Rivest, cryptographer, Turing Award-winning computer scientist
- Stuart Russell, chair of CS at UC-Berkeley, winner of computers and thought award
- Mike Schroepfer,, led development of the Firefox browser at Mozilla; now vice president of engineering at Facebook
- Edward Shortliffe, Grace Murray Hopper awardee, inventor of the rule-based pharmacological expert system: Mycin
- Charles Simonyi, inventor of Microsoft Word, former chief architect at Microsoft Corp.
- Daniel Sleator, computer scientist
- Michael D. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science at Harvard University
- Alfred Spector, computer scientist
- Robert Tarjan, Turing Award-winning computer scientist
- Frederick Terman, "father of Silicon Valley", National Medal of Science winner
- Russell Varian, co-inventor of Klystron, the foundation of RADAR
- Sigurd Varian, co-inventor of Klystron, the foundation of RADAR
- Jeffrey Scott Vitter, provost at the University of Kansas
- John Robert Woodyard, pioneer in microwave electronics, inventor of "doping" in semiconductors
Other science
- Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe,, Nigerian monarch and banker
- Ramesh K. Agarwal, William Palm Professor of Engineering at Washington University, computational fluid dynamicist
- James B. Aguayo-Martel, chairman, Department of Surgery, inventor of NMR microscopy and Deuterium NMR spectroscopy
- Susan Athey, winner of John Bates Clark Medal in economics
- David Benaron, former professor in pediatrics and neonatology, digital health entrepreneur, specialist in medical imaging, monitoring and analysis, co-inventor of "glowing mice" imaging technique
- Edward Boyden, co-inventor of optogenetics
- Ronald N. Bracewell AO, Lewis M. Terman Professor of Electrical Engineering, pioneer of radio astronomy, designed and operated the spectroheliograph used to map the temperature of the sun for one cycle which was used during the NASA moon landing
- Janet Zaph Briggs, metallurgist; first woman to earn a mining engineering degree at Stanford
- Emmanuel Candès, professor in statistics at Stanford, the Alan T. Waterman Award winner
- Cai Mingjie, molecular biologist; now driving a taxi in Singapore
- John Chowning, father of digital music synthesizer, inventor of frequency modulation algorithm
- Eric Allin Cornell, Nobel Prize winner in physics
- Merton Davies, space scientist
- Kenneth L. Davis, president and chief executive officer of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City
- Karl Deisseroth, neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and bioengineer; known for creating, developing, and applying the technologies of optogenetics and CLARITY, and for coining the names of these fields
- Thomas Dibblee, geologist
- Ray Dolby, inventor of noise reduction system, winner of national medal of technology, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Charles Stark Draper, engineer and inventor, often called "the father of inertial navigation", inducted to the National Inventor Hall of Fame in 1981
- Bradley Efron, a leading statistician, inventor of bootstrap sampling, 2005 National Medal of Science winner
- J. Doyne Farmer, Professor of Mathematics, Oxford University, co-founder of the Prediction Company
- Jerome Friedman, Nobel Prize winner in physics
- Edray H. Goins, president of the National Association of Mathematicians
- Ulysses S. Grant IV, geologist and paleontologist; grandson of President Ulysses S. Grant
- Robert H. Grubbs, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Theodor W. Hänsch, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in physics
- John Harsanyi, 1972 Nobel Prize winner in economics
- Dudley R. Herschbach, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry
- Bengt R. Holmström, economist at MIT and Nobel Prize winner in economics
- Taylor Howard, father of home satellite TV dish, inventor of home satellite dish
- Fazle Hussain, physicist; Cullen Distinguished Professor; Fluid Dynamics Award of AIAA, Fluid engineering Award of ASME and Fluid Dynamics Prize winner; member of US National Academy of Engineering and US National Research Council
- Paul G. Kaminski, National Medal of Technology winner
- David A. Karnofsky, medical oncologist known for the Karnofsky score
- Henry Kendall, Nobel Prize winner in physics
- Paul W. Klipsch, high-fidelity audio pioneer
- Roger D. Kornberg, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Helena Chmura Kraemer, biostatistician
- David Kreps, winner of John Bates Clark Medal in economics
- Esther Lederberg, pioneer of bacterial genetics; contributions include discovery of lambda phage, the transfer of genes between bacteria by specialized transduction, the development of replica plating, and the discovery of bacterial fertility factor F
- Charles Lieber, nanoscientist
- Phil Ligrani, eminent scholar in propulsion and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville
- Mariangela Lisanti, theoretical physicist
- A. Louis London, professor of mechanical engineering, expert on heat exchange
- Theodore Harold Maiman, inventor who built the first working laser, Japan Prize winner, Wolf Prize winner, inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Paul Milgrom, professor in economics at Stanford, winner of Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics in 2008
- Paul L. Modrich, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry
- Reed M. Nesbit, urologist, pioneer of transurethral resection of the prostate
- Bradford Parkinson, inventor of Global Positioning System, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Kumar Patel, inventor of carbon dioxide laser, IEEE medal of honor winner, National Medal of Science winner
- Stephen Quake, professor of bioengineering and applied physics at Stanford, Lemelson–MIT Prize recipient, cofounder of Helicos Biosciences
- Calvin Quate, inventor of the atomic force microscope, IEEE medal of honor winner
- Bruce Reznick, mathematician noted for his contributions to number theory
- Christina Riesselman, paleoceanographer researching Southern Ocean response to changing climate.
- Alvin E. Roth, 2012 Nobel prize winner in economics
- Victor Scheinman, inventor of programmable robot arm
- Randy Schekman, 2002 Albert Lasker Award winner for Basic Medical Research, 2013 Nobel prize winner in medicine
- Oscar Elton Sette, fisheries scientist, pioneer of fisheries oceanography and modern fisheries science
- K. Barry Sharpless, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry
- James Spudich, 2012 Lasker Award for 1980s discoveries related to biological motors
- Max Steineke, chief geologist of CASOC responsible for the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia
- Nicholas B. Suntzeff, cosmologist, Gruber Prize in Cosmology 2007, Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
- Richard E. Taylor, Nobel Prize winner in physics
- Frederick Terman, father of Silicon Valley, former professor in electrical engineering, National Medal of Science winner, IEEE medal of honor winner
- Fred W. Turek, director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology; Charles and Emma Morrison Professor of Biology in the Department of Neurobiology; both at Northwestern University
- Michael S. Turner, cosmologist, professor of physics, University of Chicago, National Academy of Sciences
- Ronald Vale, 2012 Lasker Award for 1980s discoveries related to biological motors
- Mac Van Valkenburg, former dean of engineering college, UIUC
- Oswald Garrison Villard, Jr., father of "over the horizon" radar
- Grace Wahba, statistician, developed generalized cross-validation and formulated Wahba's problem
- Brian Wansink, author of
- Michael Webber, mechanical engineer and public speaker on energy policy
- Carl Wieman, Nobel Prize winner in physics
- Oliver Williamson, Nobel Prize winner in economics
- Shing-Tung Yau, former faculty member, Fields Medal recipient
Arts and literature
Artists
- Marguerite Blasingame, painter and sculptor
- Catherine Chalmers, artist and photographer
- Robbie Conal, artist
- Margo Davis, photographer
- Richard Diebenkorn, painter
- Paulette Frankl, Arts and Languages, artist, courtroom artist and biographer
- Dana Gioia, VP at General Foods, poet, NEA chairman
- Brad Howe, sculptor
- Brenda Louie
- Sanaz Mazinani, multidisciplinary artist
- Robert Motherwell, painter
- Chris Onstad, author and illustrator of popular webcomic Achewood
- Kameelah Janan Rasheed, artist, educator, and writer
- Shirley Russell, painter and educator
Film/television
- Laura Bialis, movie director
- Richard Boone, actor
- Andre Braugher, actor
- David Brown, movie producer
- Phil Brown, actor
- Sterling K. Brown, actor
- Frank Cady, actor
- Melanie Chandra, actress, Code Black
- Barney Cheng, actor, director, writer, producer
- Jennifer Connelly, actress
- Roger Corman, producer and director
- Ted Danson, actor
- Allison Fonte, former Mouseketeer from The New Mickey Mouse Club from the 1970s
- Dana Fox, screenwriter
- Jordan Gelber, actor
- Nicholas Gonzalez, actor
- Rebecca Hanover, television writer, winner of Daytime Emmy Award for her work on Guiding Light
- Al Harrington, actor, Hawaii Five-O
- Ron Hayes, actor
- Edith Head, costume designer
- Colin Higgins, film screenwriter, director, actor, and producer
- Ollie Johnston, pioneering Disney animator
- Jordan Kerner, film and television producer, former network and studio executive
- Don King, surfing photographer and cinematographer
- Yul Kwon, winner,
- Heather Langenkamp, actress
- Robert Lehrer, actor
- Alex Michel, businessman, producer, and television personality, best known for his role in The Bachelor
- Lloyd Nolan, actor
- Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, film director, director of two Academy Award-winning documentaries
- Jack Palance, actor
- Alexander Payne, film director
- Danny Pintauro, actor
- Rick Porras, movie producer
- Megyn Price, actress
- Issa Rae, actress, writer, director, producer
- Alex Rich, actor
- Edward L. Rissien, film producer
- Jay Roach, film director
- Skyler Samuels, actress
- Ben Savage, actor
- Fred Savage, actor
- Susan Shadburne, film director, screenwriter
- Sam Simon, television writer/producer
- Eliel Swinton, actor
- Cynthia Wade, documentary filmmaker
- Kathryn Wallace, documentary filmmaker
- Sigourney Weaver, actress
- Adam West, actor
- Reese Witherspoon, actress
- Hank Worden, actor
- Alice Wu, writer and director of Saving Face
- Richard Zanuck, movie producer
Journalism
- Andy Adler, television personality, journalist
- Gary Allen, journalist, author
- Aimee Allison, author, public affairs television and radio host, political activist, and a leader of the counter-recruitment movement
- Kris Atteberry, Twins Radio Network studio host
- Kevin Bleyer, writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
- Ryan Blitstein, journalist
- Gretchen Carlson, Fox & Friends
- Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post editor and author
- Bob Cohn, journalist
- Richard Engel, NBC reporter, author
- Elizabeth Farnsworth, broadcast journalist
- Donna Hanover, radio and television news anchor and personality
- Aljean Harmetz, journalist and film historian
- Daryn Kagan, CNN ex-anchor
- Ted Koppel, journalist
- Sharmeen Obaid-Chinay, journalist
- Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, television host
- Ty McCormick, award-winning American foreign correspondent
- Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times bureau chief in Washington, D.C., author, broadcast commentator
- Daniel Pearl, journalist
- Jim Toomey, syndicated cartoonist
Music
- Samuel Adams, composer
- Allette Brooks, musician
- Torry Castellano, former drummer of The Donnas
- Jack Conte musician, popularized on YouTube, best known as member of Pomplamoose
- Kristine Meredith Flaherty, rapper best known by her stage name K.Flay
- Sameer Gadhia, lead singer of Young the Giant
- Larry Grenadier, jazz bassist
- Tom Harrell, jazz trumpeter and composer
- Jidenna, hip hop/R&B artist
- Mikel Jollett, lead singer of The Airborne Toxic Event
- Joseph King, musician
- Kylee, singer
- Natalie Knutsen musician, popularized on YouTube, best known as member of Pomplamoose under the stage name Nataly Dawn
- MC Lars, post-punk laptop rapper
- Jon Nakamatsu, pianist
- Bruce Robinson, singer/songwriter
- Sandor Salgo, Carmel Bach Festival leader for 30 years
- Anton Schwartz, jazz saxophonist
- Daniel Seon Woong Lee, stage name Tablo
- Vienna Teng, musician
- Christopher Tin, composer
- Tim Westergren, co-founder of Pandora Media
- Fei Xiang, singer
Writers
- Ann Bannon, pulp fiction author
- Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot and The Possessed
- Stewart Brand, writer and editor
- Ethan Canin, author
- Thad Carhart, author
- Jorge Cham, author of the webcomic Piled Higher and Deeper
- Victor Cheng, author, blogger
- Erskine Childers, author and United Nations official
- Michael Cunningham, author
- Simin Daneshvar, Persian novelist and storywriter
- Ram Dass , author, spiritual teacher
- Allen Drury, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
- Selden Edwards, best-selling novelist, headmaster, teacher
- Allegra Goodman, novelist
- Robin Lee Graham Author, sailed the world alone as a teenager
- Alexander Greendale, playwright and civic leader.
- Yaa Gyasi,, Ghanaian-American novelist
- David Harris, journalist, author, protestor/anti-war activist
- Sam Harris, author
- Robert Hass, U.S. Poet Laureate
- George V. Higgins, attorney and author
- Douglas Hofstadter, Pulitzer Prize winner and author
- bell hooks, writer on race, class, and gender
- Mary-Louise Hooper, civil rights activist and journalist
- David Henry Hwang, playwright
- Arturo Islas, fiction writer
- Fenton Johnson, author, fiction, nonfiction
- Ken Kesey, author
- Iris Krasnow, author specializing in relationships and personal growth
- Alan Lelchuk
- Paul Rogat Loeb, social and political activist and author
- William Harjo LoneFight, Native American author and expert in the revitalization of Native American languages and cultural traditions
- Dhan Gopal Mukerji, socio-cultural critic and author
- Siddhartha Mukherjee, author, scientist and Pulitzer Prize winner
- Michael Murphy, author and co-founder of Esalen Institute
- Ted Nace, author noted for critique of corporate personhood
- Scott O'Dell, author
- Robert Pinsky, U.S. Poet Laureate
- Dick Price, co-founder of Esalen Institute
- Chip Rawlins, non-fiction author, Stegner Fellow
- Richard Rodriguez, author; Hunger of Memory
- Louis Rosenberg, writer
- Allen Rucker, writer and television producer
- Edward Rutherfurd, novelist
- Vikram Seth, poet and author
- Curtis Sittenfeld, author
- Joel Stein, humorist and columnist for the Los Angeles Times
- John Steinbeck, Nobel prize winner in literature
- Hans Otto Storm, novelist, radio engineer
- Mark Sundeen, novelist and magazine writer
- Nicholas Thompson, editor in chief of Wired and historian
- Scott Turow, author
- Alok Vaid-Menon, poet
- Jesmyn Ward, author
- Albert Wilson, author, botanist, talk show personality
- Tanaya Winder, poet
- Tobias Wolff, professor 1997–present, author
- John Zerzan, anarchist and primitivist, author
- Richard Zimler, author
Astronauts
- Eileen Collins
- Mike Fincke
- William Fisher
- Owen Garriott
- Susan Helms
- Michael S. Hopkins
- Mae Jemison
- Tamara Jernigan
- Gregory Linteris
- Edward Lu
- Bruce McCandless II
- Barbara Radding Morgan
- Kathleen Rubins
- Ellen Ochoa
- Scott Parazynski
- Sally Ride
- Stephen Robinson
- Steve Smith
- Jeff Wisoff
Business
Company founders
- Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp
- Kurt Akeley, co-founder of Silicon Graphics
- Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch
- Diosdado Banatao, venture capitalist; S3 Graphics, Chips and Technologies, Mostron co-founder.
- Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems
- Aneel Bhusri, cofounder of Workday
- Len Bosack, co-founder of Cisco Systems with his girlfriend, Sandy Lerner
- Dean Bosacki, co-founder of Manhattan Partners, board member of Academi
- Sergey Brin, Google co-founder
- George Burgess, entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Gojimo
- Orkut Büyükkökten, founder of social networking service Orkut
- Tim Chen, co-founder and CEO of NerdWallet
- Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe's
- James Coulter, cofounder of TPG Capital
- Ray Dolby, audio engineer, founder of Dolby Labs
- Tim Draper, venture capital investor
- Helmy Eltoukhy, co-founder and CEO of Avantome; co-founder and CEO of Guardant Health
- Jessica Ewing co-founder, and CEO of Literati
- Richard Fairbank, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Capital One
- David Filo, Yahoo! co-founder
- Doris F. Fisher, co-founder of The Gap, Incorporated
- Tully Friedman, founder of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, chairman of the board of trustees of the American Enterprise Institute
- Karla Gallardo, co-founder of Cuyana
- Victor Grinich, one of the "traitorous eight" who founded Fairchild Semiconductor
- Andrew Grove, founder and former CEO and chairman of Intel
- Prerna Gupta, founder of Khu.sh
- Ole Andreas Halvorsen, co-founder of Viking Global Investors
- Kevin Hartz, co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite
- Reed Hastings, Netflix founder
- Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts, 3DO and Digital Chocolate
- Gladys Heldman, founder of World Tennis and Virginia Slims Women's Tour
- William Hewlett, Hewlett-Packard co-founder
- Reid Hoffman, co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn
- Jen Hsun Huang, co-founder of Nvidia
- Jawed Karim, co-founder of YouTube
- Vinod Khosla, Sun Microsystems co-founder, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner
- Phil Knight, founder and former CEO, Nike
- Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram
- Sandy Lerner, co-founder of Cisco Systems with her boyfriend, Len Bosack
- Richard Li, founder of STAR TV and chairman of the largest Hong Kong telecommunication carrier PCCW
- Joe Lonsdale, Palantir Technologies co-founder
- Craig McCaw, founder and CEO of McCaw Cellular, founder of Clearwire
- Scott McNealy, co-founder, chairman, and former CEO of Sun Microsystems
- Mark Oldman, Vault.com co-founder
- David Packard, Hewlett-Packard co-founder
- Larry Page, Google co-founder
- Azim Premji, founder and CEO of Wipro Technologies
- T.J. Rodgers, founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor
- Louis Rosenberg, founder of Immersion Corporation
- Blake Ross, Mozilla Firefox co-founder
- Harry M. Rubin, co-founder of Samuel Adams and GT Interactive Software
- James Sachs, IDEO co-founder
- Charles R. Schwab, founder, chairman, and CEO of Charles Schwab Corporation
- David E. Shaw, founder of D.E. Shaw & Co.; Chief Scientist of D.E. Shaw Research, LLC
- Jeffrey Skoll, first president of eBay, founder of Participant Media
- Evan Spiegel, co-founder of Snapchat
- Tom Steyer, Farallon Capital founder
- Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram
- Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder, Clarium Capital founder
- Alan Tripp, founder of SCORE! Educational Centers and InsideTrack
- Jerry Yang, Yahoo! co-founder
- Min Zhu, founder and former CTO of WebEx
Other entrepreneurs and business leaders
- Jim Allchin, co-president of Microsoft
- Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries Limited Chairman
- Chuck Armstrong, president of the Seattle Mariners
- John Arrillaga, Silicon Valley real estate developer
- Steven A. Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
- Craig Barrett, past chairman of Intel, former CEO of Intel, former Stanford professor of materials science
- Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner president and COO
- R. Martin Chavez, CFO of Goldman Sachs
- Burton A. Dole, Jr., president, CEO, and chairman of Puritan Bennett
- Pat Dudley, president and marketing director of Bethel Heights Vineyard
- Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard 1999–2005
- Paul Flaherty, co-inventor of the AltaVista search engine
- Steve Fossett, businessman, aviator, sailor and adventurer; first person to circumnavigate the globe solo in a balloon
- Bill Franke, chairman of Wizz Air and Frontier Airlines
- Peter E. Haas Jr., Levi Strauss executive
- Christopher Hedrick, president and CEO of Intrepid Learning Solutions
- George H. Hume, president and CEO of Basic American Foods
- Mamoru Imura, CEO of Vita Craft Corporation and Vita Craft Japan, inventor of RFIQin
- Guy Kawasaki, venture capitalist
- Kathryn Kennedy, winemaker, one of the first owners of a winery to bear a woman's name in California
- Omid Kordestani, senior vice president of Google
- Stephen D. Lebovitz, CEO of CBL & Associates Properties
- Victor Li, Hong Kong businessman
- Sonita Lontoh, green technology executive
- Mao Daolin, former CEO of Sina.com
- Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!
- Stephen McLin, former Bank of America executive
- Henry McKinnell, chairman and former CEO of Pfizer
- Robert Mondavi, vintner
- John Morgridge, Cisco Systems chairman
- Hiroaki Nakanishi, president of Hitachi
- Rodney O'Neal, president and chief executive officer of Delphi Automotive
- Stan Polovets, energy executive and philanthropist
- Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet, Inc./Google, Inc.; former CFO of Morgan Stanley
- Kirthiga Reddy, former managing director at Facebook India
- John Turner Sargent, Jr., business associate of Doubleday and CEO of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group
- Fred Swaniker, African entrepreneur and educator
- Aaron Swartz, computer-programmer-turned-political-activist, co-founder of reddit
- Alan J. Viergutz, chairman of Grupo Centec and former president of the Venezuelan Oil Chamber
- David Wehner, CFO of Facebook, 2014–present
- Darryl Willis, BP vice president of claims featured in commercials in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
- Kamal Al-Yahya Ph.D, geophysicist and senior VP in CGG
- David B. Yoffie, business author
Religion
- Katharine Jefferts Schori, B.S. 1974, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States
- Gene Scott, Ph.D. 1957, pastor, religious broadcaster
Miscellaneous
- David A. Aaker, consultant and author on Marketing
- Scott D. Anderson, Air National Guard F-16 pilot and general aviation test pilot, successfully flight tested first deployment of a whole-plane parachute recovery system
- Antonio Buehler, West Point graduate and veteran of Kosovo and Iraq turned civil-rights leader battling police corruption
- T. Brian Callister, M.D., physician, health care policy expert
- Auburn Calloway, attempted hijacker
- William George Carr, executive secretary of the National Education Association 1952–1967
- Chelsea Clinton, First Daughter of the United States
- Jeff Cooper, a United States Marine Corps veteran of World War II and the Korean War, considered the creator of the "modern technique" of handgun shooting
- Diego Cordovez, World Series of Poker Champion
- Ben Yu, poker player, World Series of Poker bracelet winner
- Jan Crull Jr., former Native American Rights activist, iconoclastic filmmaker and multiple Marquis Who's Who biographee; first proposed the need for an Indian college fund as an aide to U.S. Congressman Paul Simon
- Peter Dalglish, international children's rights advocate; founded Toronto-based Street Kids International
- Clifford B. Drake, Marine Corps Major general
- Paul Draper, winemaker at Ridge Vineyards
- Patri Friedman, software engineer at Google
- John D. Goldman, CEO, Richard N. Goldman & Co. Insurance Services; president, San Francisco Symphony
- Ari Greenberg, world junior bridge champion
- Harry Hay, founder of the gay liberation movement
- Denis Hayes, environmental activist and coordinator of the first Earth Day
- Carol F. Henry, philanthropist; co-founder and president of the Los Angeles Opera
- Lou Henry Hoover, First Lady of the United States
- Soren Johnson, video-game designer
- William G. Joslyn, Major general in the Marine Corps
- Crystal Lee, Miss California 2013, First Runner-Up Miss America 2014
- Harold Levitt, architect
- John A. Macready, aviator, member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the only three-time winner of the Mackay Trophy
- Ximena McGlashan, entomologist, butterfly farmer
- Maura McNiel, supporter of feminism and women's rights
- Gregory Minor, one of three middle-management engineers who resigned from the General Electric nuclear reactor division in 1976 to protest against the use of nuclear power in the United States, an event which galvanized anti-nuclear groups across the country
- Ann M. O'Leary, senior policy advisor, Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
- Charles A. Ott, Jr., United States Army major general and director of the Army National Guard
- James Rucker, co-founder of Color of Change
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, sister of John F. Kennedy
- Paul Sohl, United States Navy Rear Admiral
- Piya Sorcar, founder and CEO, TeachAIDS
- Vanessa Southern, Unitarian minister and progressive advocate
- Walter A. Starr, Jr., mountaineer
- Theodore Streleski, murderer of Stanford professor Karel deLeeuw in 1978
- Gayle Wilson, First Lady of California
- John Zerzan, green anarchist philosopher
Politics
Presidents, Vice Presidents, Prime Ministers, and royalty
Cabinet Secretaries/Ministers
U.S. Senators
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives
Governors
U.S. Ambassadors
Other diplomats
Lieutenant Governors
U.S. Statewide officials other than Governors/Lieutenant Governors
California State Legislators
- Juan Arambula, former California State Assemblyman
- Wilma Chan, former California State Assembly Majority Leader
- Richard J. Dolwig, former California State Senator
- Nolan Frizzelle, former California State Assemblyman
- Lorena Gonzalez, California State Assemblywoman
- Gary K. Hart, former California State Senator
- Barry Keene, former California State Senator
- Sally J. Lieber, former California State Assemblywoman
- Michael Machado, former California State Senator
- Milton Marks, former California State Senator
- George W. Milias, former California State Assemblyman
- Becky Morgan, former California State Senator
- Robert W. Naylor, former California State Assembly Minority Leader
- Nicholas C. Petris, former California State Senator
- Curren Price, Los Angeles City Councilman and former California State Senator
- Albert S. Rodda, former California State Senator
- Ira Ruskin, former California State Assemblyman
- Alan Sieroty, former California State Senator
- Joe Simitian, former California State Senator
- Robert S. Stevens, former California State Senator
- William A. Sutherland, former California State Assemblyman
U.S. State Legislators outside California
- Tom Adelson, former Oklahoma State Senator
- Mary Kay Becker, former Washington State Representative
- Andy Berke, Mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee and former Tennessee State Senator
- Julie Bunn, former Minnesota State Representative
- Brian Bushweller, Delaware State Senator
- Capri Cafaro, former Ohio State Senate Minority Leader
- Charles Coiner, former Idaho State Senator
- William A. Collins, former Connecticut State Representative and Mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut
- Eric Croft, former Alaska State Representative
- Andy Fleischmann, Connecticut State Representative
- Mary Alice Ford, former Oregon State Representative
- Jon Hecht, Massachusetts State Representative
- Beth Kerttula, former Alaska House Minority Leader
- Patricia Lantz, former Washington State Representative
- Stephen R. Leopold, former Wisconsin State Assemblyman
- Brandon Shaffer, former president of the Colorado State Senate
- Cynthia Thielen, Hawaii State Representative
- Peter Wirth, New Mexico State Senate Majority Leader
Other non-U.S. political officials
- Diana Buttu, Palestinian political advisor
- Menzies Campbell, British Liberal Democrat Leader
- Lena Kolarska-Bobińska, a Polish Member of the European Parliament
- John Lipsky, acting managing director, International Monetary Fund, 2011; first deputy managing director
- Michael Stephen, member of Parliament of the United Kingdom
- :fi:Martti Tiuri|Martti Tiuri, member of Parliament of Finland
Other U.S. political officials
- Lawrence Clayton, member of the board of governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System
- Richard W. Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
- Matt Gonzalez, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
- Casey Gwinn, San Diego City Attorney
- Wilder W. Hartley, Los Angeles City Councilman
- John C. Holland, Los Angeles City Councilman
- Keith Hennessey, 7th director of the U.S. National Economic Council
- Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama
- Kristina M. Johnson, U.S. Undersecretary of Energy and provost of Johns Hopkins University
- Steven W. Mosher, Commissioner, Commission on Broadcasting to the People's Republic of China
- Bob Ronka, Los Angeles City Councilman
- Vice Admiral James Stockdale, independent U.S. Vice Presidential candidate in the 1992 presidential election with Ross Perot and the highest-ranking naval officer held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam
- Carmen Vali-Cave, first mayor of Aliso Viejo, California
- Kevin Warsh, member of the board of governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System
- Jared Weinstein, special assistant and personal aide to U.S. President George W. Bush
- Richard Sloan Wilbur, 9th Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
Law
National Supreme Court Justices
U.S. Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges
U.S. Federal Court of Appeals Judges outside the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Federal District Court Judges for the Northern District of California
U.S. Federal District Court Judges in California outside the Northern District
U.S. Federal District Court Judges Outside California
U.S. State Supreme Court Chief Justices
U.S. State Supreme Court Associate Justices
California Second District Court of Appeal Justices
California Court of Appeal Justices outside the Second District
- Cynthia Aaron, Associate Justice of the California Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One
- George A. Brown, Presiding Justice of the California Fifth District Court of Appeal ; Associate Justice
- Dennis A. Cornell, Associate Justice of the California Fifth District Court of Appeal
- Christopher Cottle, Presiding Justice of the California Sixth District Court of Appeal ; Associate Justice
- Thomas F. Crosby, Jr., Associate Justice of the California Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three
- Elena J. Duarte, Associate Justice of the California Third District Court of Appeal
- Daniel J. Kremer, Presiding Justice of the California Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One
- James A. McIntyre, Associate Justice of the California Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One
- Fred R. Pierce, Presiding Justice of the California Third District Court of Appeal ; Associate Justice
- Stuart R. Pollak, Associate Justice of the California First District Court of Appeal, Division Three
- Richard M. Sims, Jr., Associate Justice of the California First District Court of Appeal, Division One
U.S. state appellate court judges outside California
- Mary Kay Becker, Judge of the Washington Court of Appeals, Division I
- C. C. Bridgewater, Judge of the Washington Court of Appeals, Division II
- Peter Eckerstrom, Chief Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two ; Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two
- Rick Haselton, Chief Judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals ; Judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals
- Diane Johnsen, Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One
- David Schuman, Judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals
- William A. Thorne Jr., Judge of the Utah Court of Appeals
- Robert Y. Thornton, Judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals
Other
- Luke Cole, environmental lawyer, co-founder of the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment
- William Kaplan, lawyer, arbitrator, law professor, author
- Larry Krasner, District Attorney of Philadelphia
- Michael Nava, lawyer; frequent speaker and writer on the need to open the legal profession to traditionally underrepresented groups including people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, women and people with disabilities
- Neil Papiano, attorney for President Ronald Reagan, Elizabeth Taylor, Walter Matthau
- Robert Philibosian, 38th District Attorney of Los Angeles County, California
- Anthony Romero, first openly gay man and first Latino director of the ACLU
- Marc Rotenberg, president and executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center
- J. Tony Serra, radical civil rights attorney
Stanford faculty and affiliates
Aeronautics and astronautics
- Sigrid Close, Associate Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics; Electrical Engineering
- William F. Durand, Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics; Mechanical Engineering; Electrical Engineering
- Charbel Farhat, Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics; Mechanical Engineering
- G. Scott Hubbard, Adjunct Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics
- Antony Jameson, Emeritus Faculty, Aeronautics and Astronautics
- Sanjay Lall, Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics; Electrical Engineering
- Bradford Parkinson, Professor Emeritus, Aeronautics and Astronautics
- Stephen Rock, Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics
- Debbie Senesky, Assistant Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics; Electrical Engineering
- George Springer, Emeritus Faculty, Aeronautics and Astronautics
- Charles Steele, Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering
Biology/biochemistry/medicine
- George W. Beadle, professor of biology, co-winner of 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Paul Berg, emeritus professor of biochemistry, co-winner of 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, pioneer in recombinant DNA technology
- David Botstein, former professor of genetics, pioneer in Human Genome Project
- Patrick O. Brown, professor of biochemistry, inventor of DNA microarray technology
- Eugene C. Butcher, professor of pathology, 2004 Crafoord Prize winner
- Stanley Norman Cohen, professor of genetics and medicine, accomplished the first transplantation of genes between cells; winner of National Medal of Science, National Medal of Technology, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Carl Degler, professor of history, Pulitzer Prize for History
- William C. Dement, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, pioneer in sleep research
- Paul R. Ehrlich, professor of biology, 1990 Crafoord Prize winner
- James Ferrell, systems biologist and the first chair of the Dept. of Chemical and Systems Biology from its establishment until 2011
- Andrew Z. Fire, professor of genetics and pathology, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Thomas J. Fogarty, clinical professor of surgery; member of National Inventors Hall of Fame; owner of more than 100 surgical patents, including the Fogarty balloon catheter
- Toby Freedman Space Medicine
- Jessica Hellmann, professor of ecology at the University of Minnesota, director of the Institute on the Environment
- Daniel Herschlag, senior associate dean at Stanford University School of Medicine, graduate education and postdoctoral affairs and professor of biochemistry and, by courtesy, of chemistry
- Leonard Herzenberg, professor of genetics, winner of Kyoto Prize for development of fluorescent-activated cell sorting
- Andrew D. Huberman, professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology, known for discoveries of brain function, plasticity and regeneration
- Robert Kerlan Sports Medicine pioneer
- Peter S. Kim, professor of biochemistry, former president of Merck Research Laboratories, 2003–2013
- Brian Kobilka, professor in medical school, 2012 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry
- Arthur Kornberg, professor of biochemistry, winner of 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Roger D. Kornberg, professor of structural biology, winner of 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- William Langston, neurologist; founder, CEO, and scientific director of the Parkinson's Institute
- Joshua Lederberg, founder of the Stanford Department of Genetics, co-recipient of 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Michael Levitt, professor in medical school, 2013 Nobel prize winner in chemistry
- Kate Lorig, chronic disease self-management, patient education, director of the Stanford Patient Education Center
- José Gilberto Montoya, professor in medical school, founder of the Immunocompromised Host Service
- Peter Raven, professor of botany; coauthor with Paul Ehrlich in 1964 of the seminal work Butterflies and Plants: A Study in Coevolution; Missouri Botanical Garden, 1971–2010; board of trustees of National Geographic; International Prize for Biology, 1986; Pontifical Science Academy; Time Magazine "Hero for the Planet" 1999
- Robert Sapolsky, John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor in Biological Sciences, Neurology & Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery; author and recipient of awards including MacArthur Fellowship genius grant, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the Klingenstein Fellowship in Neuroscience
- Matthew P. Scott, professor of developmental biology, discoverer of homeobox genes
- Oscar Elton Sette, lecturer and Chief of Ocean Research, pioneer of fisheries oceanography and modern fisheries science
- Norman Shumway, professor at Stanford Medical School, father of the heart transplantation technique
- Lubert Stryer, professor of biology, 2006 National Medal of Science winner, known for micro-array gene chip
- Thomas Sudhof, professor at Stanford Medical School, winner of 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Edward L. Tatum, co-winner of 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Jared Tinklenberg, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences
Chemistry
- Carl Djerassi, professor emeritus in chemistry; father of birth control pill; winner of National Medal of Science, National Medal of Technology, and Wolf Prize; inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Paul Flory, former professor of chemistry, winner of 1974 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- William Johnson, former professor in chemistry, National Medal of Science winner
- Harden M. McConnell, professor emeritus in chemistry, National Medal of Science winner
- Vijay S. Pande, associate professor in the Chemistry Department, founder of Folding@home distributed computing project
- Linus Pauling, former professor in chemistry, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry and in Peace
- John Ross, professor emeritus in chemistry, National Medal of Science winner
- Henry Taube, former professor in Chemistry, winner of 1983 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Richard Zare, professor in chemistry, winner of National Medal of Science and Wolf Prize
Graduate School of Business
- Edward Lazear, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers ; professor, Graduate School of Business; Hoover Fellow
Communication
- Clifford Nass, co-creator of The Media Equation theory of human-computer interaction
- Darwin Teilhet, mystery novelist, taught journalism at Stanford
Computer science
- Vinton Cerf, former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Douglas Engelbart, Turing award-winning computer scientist, inventor of the computer mouse, former researcher, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Edward Feigenbaum, Turing award-winning computer scientist, father of expert system, coinventor of Dendral
- Robert Floyd, former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Alexandra Illmer Forsythe, wrote the first series of introductory computer science textbooks
- George Forsythe, founder of the Department of Computer Science and president of the Association for Computing Machinery
- Gene Golub, former faculty, a leading authority in numerical matrix analysis, inventor of the algorithm for Singular Value Decomposition
- Leonidas J. Guibas, Allan Newell award-winning pioneer in data structures and geometric algorithms
- John L. Hennessy, pioneer in RISC, president of Stanford
- Sir Antony Hoare, former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- John Hopcroft, former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Alan Kay, former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Donald Knuth, professor emeritus, computer science pioneer, creator of TeX, author of The Art of Computer Programming, Turing award winner
- Daphne Koller, professor in CS
- John Koza, pioneer in genetic programming
- Barbara Liskov, first woman to earn a PhD in CS from Stanford, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- John McCarthy, responsible for the coining of the term Artificial Intelligence, and inventor of the Lisp programming language and time sharing, Turing award winner
- Edward McCluskey, professor in EE, IEEE John Von Neumann Prize winner
- Robert Metcalfe, former faculty, co-inventor of Ethernet, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Robin Milner former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Allen Newell Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Andrew Ng, faculty in CS, winner of 2010 Computers and Thought Award
- John Ousterhout, faculty in CS, winner of Grace Murray Hopper award
- Amir Pnueli postdoc, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Raj Reddy, former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Ronald Rivest former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Tim Roughgarden, faculty in CS, winner of Grace Murray Hopper award
- Arthur Samuel, former faculty; pioneer in the field of computer gaming and artificial intelligence; his checkers-playing program appears to be the world's first self-learning program, and an early demonstration of the fundamental concept of artificial intelligence
- Dana Scott, former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Robert Tarjan, former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- Sebastian Thrun, director of Stanford AI LAB; team leader of Stanford driverless car racing team, whose entry Stanley won the 2005 DARPA grand challenge
- Jeff Ullman, professor in CS, IEEE John Von Neumann prize winner
- Terry Winograd, faculty in CS, winner of 2010 Computers and Thought Award
- Niklaus Wirth former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist, inventor of PASCAL
- Andrew Yao, former faculty, Turing award-winning computer scientist
- William Yeager, inventor of multi-protocol internet router
Economics
- Kenneth J. Arrow, Nobel Prize-winning economics professor
- Gary Becker, Nobel Prize-winning economics professor, Hoover Institution
- Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve
- Gérard Debreu, Nobel Prize winner in economics, former staff
- Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economics professor, Hoover Institution
- Francisco Gil Díaz, economist, former Secretary of Finance of Mexico
- Avner Greif, economist
- Caroline Hoxby, professor of economics
- Ro Khanna, former deputy assistant secretary in the United States Department of Commerce
- Jonathan Levin, professor of economics, won the 2011 John Bates Clark Medal
- Paul Milgrom, professor in economics, Hoover fellow
- Douglass North, Nobel Prize-winning economics professor, Hoover Institution
- Paul Romer, Nobel Prize-winning economics professor
- Alvin Roth, Nobel prize-winning economics professor
- Myron Scholes, Nobel Prize-winning economics professor
- William F. Sharpe, professor emeritus, School of Business, Nobel prize winner
- Thomas Sowell, economist and popular author, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution
- Michael Spence, professor emeritus, School of Business, Nobel prize winner in economics
- Joseph Stiglitz, professor emeritus, School of Business, Nobel prize winner in economics
- John B. Taylor, economist, Hoover Fellow, developed the Taylor rule, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International affairs
- Robert Wilson, professor in economics
Education
- Margaret Lee Chadwick, headmistress and founder of the Chadwick School and author
- William Damon, pioneer in peer collaboration and project-based learning
- Linda Darling-Hammond, education advisor to Barack Obama's presidential campaign
- Nathaniel Gage, pioneer in the scientific understanding of teaching
- Richard Wall Lyman, former provost of Stanford University
- Fred Swaniker, co-founder of African Leadership Academy, CEO and co-founder of African Leadership University
- Lewis Terman, creator of the Stanford Binet IQ test
- John Willinsky, Open Access educator, activist and author
Engineering
- Andreas Acrivos, former professor, National Medal of Science winner
- Stephen Barley, organizational theorist and developer of adaptive structuration, co-director of the Center for Work, Technology, and Organization
- Sally Benson, professor of engineering
- Arthur E. Bryson, Jr., professor emeritus in Aeronautics and Astronautics, father of modern optimal control theory
- Roland Doré, former president of the Canadian Space Agency
- William F. Durand, professor and head of Mechanical Engineering, aerodynamics pioneer and chair of NASA forerunner NACA
- Irmgard Flügge-Lotz, pioneer of discontinuous automatic control theory
- William Webster Hansen, former professor, father of microwave technology, co-inventor of klystron
- Siegfried Hecker, professor, former director of Los Alamos National Lab
- Ronald A. Howard, professor, father of decision analysis, founding director and former chairman of Strategic Decision Group
- Mark Z. Jacobson, professor of engineering
- Elizabeth Jens, NASA engineer
- Rudolf Kalman, former professor in EE, the father of modern control theory, noted for Kalman filter, National Medal of Science winner
- Rudolf Kompfner, former professor, National Medal of Science winner
- Bruce Lusignan, emeritus professor of electrical engineering, made contributions to communication satellites and reusable launch vehicles
- Bridgette Meinhold, artist and author with a focus on sustainability
- William Perry, engineer, entrepreneur, diplomat, and 19th Secretary of Defense of the United States
- Calvin Quate, professor, National Medal of Science winner
- Paul V. Roberts, pioneer of environmental engineering
- Stephen Timoshenko, pioneer of modern engineering mechanics
- Powtawche Valerino, NASA JPL space navigation engineer
History
- Thomas A. Bailey, professor of history, former Organization of American Historians president, former Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations president, author of numerous books on diplomatic history and the widely used textbook The American Pageant* Captain Edward L. Beach, Sr., USN, professor of military and naval history
- Bipan Chandra, emeritus professor of history, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and chairman, National Book Trust, New Delhi
- Don E. Fehrenbacher, Pulitzer Prize winner author ; William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies from 1953
- Paula Findlen, professor of history of science
- David M. Kennedy, professor of history and Pulitzer Prize-winning author
- Mark Edward Lewis, Kwoh-Ting Li Professor of Chinese Culture
- Sabine G. MacCormack, award-winning professor of late antique history
- Aron Rodrigue, historian
- Londa Schiebinger, professor of history of science
- James J. Sheehan, professor of history and former American Historical Association president
- Payson J. Treat, professor of Far Eastern history
- Gordon Wright, professor of history, former American Historical Association president
International relations
- Stephen D. Krasner, former director of policy planning for the United States Department of State
Law
- Benjamin Harrison, constitutional and international law professor and 23rd President of the United States
- William Lerach, guest lecturer on securities and corporate law
- Lawrence Lessig, IP and constitutional law professor
- Richard Posner, associate professor and Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Linguistics
- Jared Bernstein, Adjunct Professor
- Eve V. Clark, Richard Lyman Professor in the Humanities, Emerita
- Michael C. Frank, associate professor of psychology and, by courtesy, of linguistics
- Miyako Inoue, associate professor of anthropology and, by courtesy, of linguistics
- Dan Jurafsky, professor of linguistics and of computer science, and chair, Department of Linguistics
- Ronald M. Kaplan, Adjunct Professor
- Jussi Karlgren, Visiting Scholar
- Lauri Karttunen, Adjunct Professor
- Martin Kay, professor of linguistics
- Paul Kay, Adjunct Professor
- Paul V. Kiparsky, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences
- Beth Levin, William H. Bonsall Professor in the Humanities
- Jay McClelland, Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences and Professor, by courtesy, of Linguistics
- John R. Rickford, J. E. Wallace Sterling Professor in the Humanities, Emeritus
- Elizabeth Traugott, professor of linguistics and of English, emerita
- Tom Wasow, Clarence Irving Lewis Professor in Philosophy and professor of linguistics, emeritus and academic secretary to the university
- Annie Zaenen, Adjunct Professor
- Arnold M. Zwicky, Adjunct Professor
Literature and arts
- Judith Bettina, soprano
- Bahram Beyzai, Persian playwright and filmmaker
- Eavan Boland, Irish poet, professor
- George Hardin Brown, medieval literature
- Scott Bukatman, film and media professor
- Lowell Gallagher, literary theorist and associate professor, earned Ph.D in 1989
- Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, literary theorist
- D. R. MacDonald, creative writing
- Alexander Nemerov, professor of art and art history
- Juan Bautista Rael, linguist and folklorist
- Jack Rakove, professor in history, 1997 Pulitzer Prize winner
- Wallace Stegner, 1972 winner of Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Yvor Winters, poet and critic
Mathematics and statistics
- Theodore W. Anderson, professor in statistics, NAS member
- Harald Bohr, Danish Olympic silver medalist football player and mathematician; brother of Niels Bohr
- Emmanuel Candès, professor in mathematics and statistics, winner of Alan Waterman award
- Paul Cohen, former professor in mathematics, Fields Medal recipient, National Medal of Science winner
- Brian Conrad, professor in mathematics
- George Dantzig, former professor in operations research, inventor of the simplex algorithm, father of linear programming, National Medal of Science winner
- Keith Devlin, executive director Center for the Study of Language and Information
- Persi Diaconis, professor in statistics, MacArthur Fellow, NAS member
- David Donoho, professor in statistics, MacArthur Fellow, NAS member
- Bradley Efron, professor in statistics, inventor of bootstrap, National Medal of Science winner, MacArthur Fellow, NAS member
- Solomon Feferman, professor in mathematics and philosophy, Schock Prize recipient
- Jerome H. Friedman, professor in statistics, NAS member
- Samuel Karlin, professor in mathematics, National Medal of Science winner
- Joseph Keller, professor in mathematics, National Medal of Science winner
- Maryam Mirzakhani, professor in mathematics, Fields Medal recipient
- Amnon Pazy, Israeli mathematician; President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- George Pólya, former professor in mathematics, author of How to solve it
- Richard Schoen, professor in mathematics, MacArthur Fellow, NAS member
- David O. Siegmund, professor in statistics, NAS member
- Charles Stein, professor in statistics, NAS member
- Gábor Szegő, former professor in mathematics, founder of Stanford Math department
- Robert Tibshirani, professor in statistics, NAS member
- Ravi Vakil, professor in mathematics, one of seven four-time Putnam Fellows
- Shing-Tung Yau, former professor in mathematics, Fields Medal recipient
Political science
- Coit D. Blacker, political science professor, special assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; and senior director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian affairs, National Security Council; Executive Office of the President
- Larry Diamond, professor, mentor, senior fellow at the Hoover Institute
- Morris P. Fiorina, political scientist and author
- Francis Fukuyama, senior fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law since 2010
- Terry Karl, professor of Latin American studies
- Alexander Kerensky, Russian revolutionary leader, Hoover Institute fellow
- Condoleezza Rice, political science professor, Secretary of State
Philosophy
- Joshua Cohen, professor emeritus of philosophy
- Lala Hardayal, lecturer, Indian freedom fighter
- Patrick Suppes, National Medal of Science recipient, professor
Physics
- Felix Bloch, 1952 Nobel Laureate, physics professor
- Steven Chu, 1997 Nobel Prize-winning physics professor; professor at Stanford 1987–2004
- Eric Cornell, 2001 Nobel Prize winner in physics
- Jerome Friedman, 1990 Nobel prize winner in physics, worked at SLAC as research associate
- Sheldon Glashow, 1979 Nobel prize winner in physics, assistant professor
- Theodor Hänsch, 2005 Nobel prize winner in physics, worked at Stanford 1972–1986
- Conyers Herring, physics professor and the winner of Wolf Prize in Physics in 1984/85
- Robert Hofstadter, 1961 Nobel prize winner in physics, former professor
- Henry Way Kendall, 1990 Nobel prize winner in physics, assistant professor at Stanford
- Willis Eugene Lamb, former professor, 1955 Nobel prize winner in physics
- Robert Laughlin, 1998 Nobel Prize-winning physics professor, professor at Stanford 1989–2004
- Ann Nelson, 2018 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics recipient
- Douglas Osheroff, 1996 Nobel Prize-winning physics professor
- Martin L. Perl, 1995 Nobel Prize-winning physics professor
- Burton Richter, 1976 Nobel Prize-winning physics professor
- Arthur Schawlow, 1981 Nobel Prize-winning physics professor, co-inventor of laser, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Leonard Schiff, physics professor
- Melvin Schwartz, 1988 Nobel Prize-winning physics professor
- William Shockley, 1956 Nobel Prize-winning physics professor, co-inventor of transistor, inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Leonard Susskind, physics professor, originator of string theory
- Richard Taylor, 1990 Nobel Prize-winning physics professor
- Carl Wieman, 2001 Nobel Prize winner in physics
- Kenneth G. Wilson, 1982 Nobel Prize winner in physics, worked at SLAC
Psychology
- Richard Atkinson, professor of psychology 1956–1980, former president, University of California
- Albert Bandura, professor of psychology since 1964, David Starr Jordan Professor of Social Science in Psychology since 1973, known for his work on social learning theory and, more recently, on social cognitive theory and self efficacy
- Gordon H. Bower, professor of psychology, 2005 National Medal of Science winner
- Jennifer Eberhardt, professor of psychology, 2014 MacArthur Fellow
- Kalanit Grill-Spector, professor of psychology
- Roger Shepard, professor of psychology, National Medal of Science winner
- Edward Kellog Strong, Jr., professor of psychology at Stanford University 1923–1963
- Lewis Terman, former professor, pioneer in I.Q. testing
- Philip Zimbardo, former professor of psychology, former president of the APA, researcher
Hoover Fellows
- Jim Mattis, U.S. Secretary of Defense
- Abbas Milani, political scientist and historian
- George Shultz, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Secretary of Labor, also lectures at the Graduate School of Business
Coaches
- Dick Gould, greatest tennis coach in history; from 1966 to 2004 he won 17 NCAA Team titles with 50 All American players
- Payton Jordan, track coach 1957–1979; head coach of the 1968 US Olympic track team
- Bill Walsh, twice head coach of the football team; also served as interim athletic director; coach of the three-time Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers; inventor of the West Coast Offense
- Glenn Scobey Warner, College Football Hall of Fame coach known as "Pop" Warner, brought the following mechanics to football: the screen pass, spiral punt, single- and double-wing formations, the use of shoulder and thigh pads, designed helmets red for backs and white for ends
Other
- St. Clair Drake, sociology and anthropology, founding head of African American studies program
- James M. Hyde, metallurgist
- Scotty McLennan, Dean for Religious Life, Minister of Stanford Memorial Church, and inspiration for the Reverend Scot Sloan character in the comic strip Doonesbury
Stanford athletes
Baseball
- Rubén Amaro, Jr., Major League Baseball outfielder, former Phillies General Manager, and coach
- Bob Boone, retired Major League Baseball catcher and manager; played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the California Angels
- Eric Bruntlett, retired Major League Baseball infielder; played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros and the New York Yankees
- Jason Castro, Major League Baseball catcher for the Houston Astros
- Sam Fuld, Major League Baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics
- John Gall, retired Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman
- Ryan Garko, Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman and designated hitter; played for the Cleveland Indians, the San Francisco Giants, and the Texas Rangers
- Jody Gerut, retired Major League Baseball outfielder; played for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs
- Shawn Green, retired Major League Baseball right fielder and outfielder; played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks
- Jeremy Guthrie, Major League Baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals
- Jeffrey Hammonds, retired Major League Baseball outfielder; played for the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies
- Rick Helling, retired Major League Baseball pitcher
- Brian Johnson, retired Major League Baseball catcher; played for the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers and the San Francisco Giants
- Bob Kammeyer, retired Major League Baseball pitcher; played for the New York Yankees
- Jim Lonborg, retired Major League Baseball pitcher; played for the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies
- Andrew Lorraine, Major League Baseball pitcher; player for the California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and Milwaukee Brewers
- Jed Lowrie, Major League Baseball infielder with the Oakland Athletics
- John Mayberry, Jr., Major League Baseball outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies
- David McCarty, retired Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder; played for the Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Oakland Athletics and the Boston Red Sox
- Jack McDowell, retired Major League Baseball pitcher; played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians
- Mike Mussina, retired Major League Baseball pitcher; played for the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees
- Carlos Quentin, Major League Baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres
- Greg Reynolds, Major League Baseball pitcher; played for the Colorado Rockies
- Bruce Robinson, retired Major League Baseball catcher; played for Oakland A's and the New York Yankees
- Ed Sprague, retired Major League Baseball third baseman and current head baseball coach at the University of the Pacific; played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics and the Pittsburgh Pirates
- Michael Taylor, Major League Baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics
- Justin Wayne, retired Major League Baseball pitcher; played for the Florida Marlins
Basketball
- Jennifer Azzi, ABL and WNBA
- Curtis Borchardt and his wife Susan King Borchardt
- Mike Bratz, former NBA player
- Mariah Burton Nelson
- Greg Butler
- Josh Childress
- Jarron Collins
- Jason Collins, first openly gay active male athlete in a major North American professional team sport
- Landry Fields
- Kristin Folkl
- Dan Grunfeld
- Sonja Henning, ABL and WNBA
- Casey Jacobsen
- Teyo Johnson, basketball and football
- Adam Keefe
- Brevin Knight
- Brook Lopez
- Robin Lopez
- Todd Lichti
- Hank Luisetti
- Mark Madsen
- Carolyn Moos
- Vanessa Nygaard
- Chiney Ogwumike, current WNBA player; top WNBA draft pick and Rookie of the Year in 2014
- Nneka Ogwumike, current WNBA player; top WNBA draft pick and Rookie of the Year in 2012, and WNBA MVP in 2016
- Angie Paccione
- Kate Paye
- Nicole Powell, WNBA
- Olympia Scott, WNBA
- Kate Starbird
- Andrew Vlahov, four-time Olympian for Australia
- Jamila Wideman
- Candice Wiggins, WNBA
- Lindsey Yamasaki, volleyball and basketball, WNBA
- George Yardley, Basketball Hall of Fame member
Football
- Frankie Albert, former quarterback in the National Football League; played for the San Francisco 49ers
- Jon Alston, linebacker in the National Football League; played for the St. Louis Rams
- Lester Archambeau, retired defensive end in the National Football League; played for the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos
- Oshiomogho Atogwe, free safety in the National Football League; played for the St. Louis Rams and the Washington Redskins
- Brad Badger, guard and tackle in the National Football League; played for the Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings and the Oakland Raiders
- David Bergeron, linebacker in the National Football League; plays for the Carolina Panthers
- Colin Branch, free safety of the National Football League; played for the Carolina Panthers
- John Brodie, retired quarterback in the National Football League; played for the San Francisco 49ers, had a second career as a Senior PGA Tour professional golfer
- Greg Camarillo, wide receiver in the National Football League; played for the San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins
- Kirk Chambers, offensive tackle in the National Football League; played for the Cleveland Browns
- Trent Edwards, quarterback in the National Football League; plays for the Philadelphia Eagles
- John Elway, retired Hall of Fame National Football League quarterback and current executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos
- Toby Gerhart, running back in the National Football League; plays for the Minnesota Vikings
- Darrien Gordon, retired defensive back in the National Football League; played for the San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders
- Jerry Gustafson, BC Lions
- Coby Fleener, tight end in the National Football League; plays for the Indianapolis Colts
- Kwame Harris, offensive tackle in the National Football League; played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders
- Emile Harry, retired wide receiver in the National Football League; played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams
- Eric Heitmann, center in the National Football League; played for the San Francisco 49ers
- Tony Hill, three-time Pro Bowl National Football League wide receiver; played for the Dallas Cowboys
- James Lofton, retired wide receiver in the National Football League; played for the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Raiders, was the NCAA champion in the long jump in 1978 while attending Stanford University
- Erik Lorig, fullback in the National Football League; plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Bryce Love, running back in the National Football League; plays for the Washington Redskins; 2017 winner of the Doak Walker Award
- Andrew Luck, quarterback in the National Football League; plays for the Indianapolis Colts
- John Lynch, retired strong safety in the National Football League and current NFL on Fox color commentator; played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- John Macaulay, San Francisco 49ers center
- Ken Margerum, retired wide receiver in the National Football League; played for the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers
- Christian McCaffrey, running back for the Carolina Panthers; NCAA record holder for all-purpose yards in a single season ; 2015 Heisman Trophy finalist
- Ed McCaffrey, retired wide receiver in the National Football League; played for the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos
- Jim Merlo, retired linebacker in the National Football League; played for the New Orleans Saints
- Trent Murphy, outside linebacker in the National Football League; played for the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills
- Brad Muster, retired fullback in the National Football League; played for the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints
- Darrin Nelson, retired running back and Kick Returner in the National Football League; played for the Minnesota Vikings
- Ernie Nevers, former fullback for the Duluth Eskimos and the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League; former pitcher for the St. Louis Browns of Major League Baseball
- Hank Norberg, end for the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears
- Babatunde Oshinowo, defensive tackle in the National Football League; played for the Cleveland Browns
- Jim Plunkett, retired quarterback in the National Football League, 1970 Heisman Trophy winner; played for the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
- Jon Ritchie, retired fullback in the National Football League; played for the Oakland Raiders and the Philadelphia Eagles
- T.J. Rushing, cornerback and return specialist; played for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League
- Richard Sherman, cornerback in the National Football League; plays for the San Francisco 49ers
- Alex Smith, tight end in the National Football League; plays for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League
- Donnie Spragan, linebacker in the National Football League; played for the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers
- Will Svitek, offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League
- Leigh Torrence, cornerback in the National Football League; played for the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons
- Chris Walsh, retired wide receiver in the National Football League; played for the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings
- Bob Whitfield, retired tackle in the National Football League; played for the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Giants
- Tank Williams, safety in the National Football League; played for the Tennessee Titans and the Minnesota Vikings
- Coy Wire, linebacker and safety in the National Football League; played for the Buffalo Bills
- Kailee Wong, retired linebacker in the National Football League; played for the Minnesota Vikings and the Houston Texans
Golf
- Notah Begay III
- Hilary Lunke
- Casey Martin
- Tom Watson
- Michelle Wie
- Tiger Woods
- Patrick Rodgers
Gymnastics
- Amy Chow, Olympic gold medalist
- Nancy Goldsmith, Israeli Olympic gymnast
- Ivana Hong, U.S. Olympic team alternate and 2007 World Champion
- Carly Janiga, NCAA champion in uneven bars, 2010
- Heather Purnell, captain of 2004 Canadian Olympic Team
- Jennifer Sey, former U.S. National Gymnastics Champion
- Kerri Strug, Olympic gold medalist
Rowing
- Adam Kreek, rowing, Canadian National Team
- Elle Logan, two-time gold medal-winning rower in 2008 Beijing Olympics and in 2012 London Olympics
- Kent Mitchell, two-time Olympic champion, two-time national champion, member of Stanford Hall of Fame
- Jamie Schroeder, rowing, U.S. National Team
Soccer
- Nicole Barnhart, National Women's Soccer League and US national team; currently plays for Utah Royals FC
- Rachel Buehler, former National Women's Soccer League and US national team; formerly played for Portland Thorns FC
- Tierna Davidson, National women's soccer league and United States women's national team; currently plays with Chicago Red Stars
- Todd Dunivant, Major League Soccer; currently plays for Los Angeles Galaxy
- Simon Elliott, New Zealand national soccer team player; Chivas USA
- Julie Foudy, former US national team soccer player
- Adam Jahn, currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes
- Roger Levesque, former Major League Soccer soccer player
- Chad Marshall, Major League Soccer; currently plays for Columbus Crew
- Ryan Nelsen, New Zealand international soccer player; formerly with D.C. United in MLS, now with Blackburn Rovers in English Premiership
- Mariah Nogueira, former National Women's Soccer League; formerly played for Seattle Reign FC
- Teresa Noyola, Nadeshiko League Japan women's league and Mexico national team; currently plays for FC Kibi International University Charme
- Kelley O'Hara, National Women's Soccer League and US national team; currently plays for Utah Royals FC
- Christen Press, Damallsvenskan, National Women's Soccer League and US national team; currently plays for Utah Royals FC
- Ali Riley, Damallsvenskan and New Zealand national team; currently plays for FC Rosengård
- Lindsay Taylor, former National Women's Soccer League; played for Washington Spirit
- Ben Zinn, international soccer player and academic at Georgia Tech
Swimming
- Randall Bal
- Elaine Breeden, member of 2008 U.S. Olympic team
- Maya DiRado, double gold medal winner in the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Jason Dunford, member of 2008 Kenyan Olympic team
- Janet Evans, four time Olympic gold-medalist
- Catherine Fox, double gold medal winner in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta
- John Hencken
- Misty Hyman, gold medalist in the 2000 Olympic Games
- Jenna Johnson, three-time medalist in the 1984 Olympic Games
- Janel Jorgensen, member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team in Seoul, South Korea
- Tara Kirk
- Katie Ledecky, five-time Olympic gold medalist
- Peter Marshall
- Lea Loveless Maurer, formerly head coach of Stanford Cardinal women's swimming and diving team
- Pablo Morales, two-time gold medalist 1992 Olympics, medalist in 1984 Olympics
- Anthony Mosse, Olympic medalist, 1988
- Andrea Murez, Israeli-American Olympic swimmer for Israel
- Lia Neal, swimmer, two-time Olympic medalist
- Susan Rapp, medalist 1984 Olympics, member 1980 Olympic team
- Brian Retterer
- Markus Rogan
- Jeff Rouse
- Gabrielle Rose
- Summer Sanders
- Julia Smit, member of 2008 Olympic team
- Jenny Thompson
- Ben Wildman-Tobriner, double gold medal winner in the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, 2008 Gold Medal Olympic swimmer, former world record holder
Tennis
- Geoff Abrams
- Kristie Ahn
- Bob Bryan
- Mike Bryan
- Elise Burgin
- Pat DuPré
- Nicole Gibbs
- Paul Goldstein
- Dick Gould
- Jim Grabb
- Laura Granville
- Jim Gurfein
- Julie Heldman
- John Letts
- Scott Lipsky
- Sandy Mayer
- John McEnroe
- Patrick McEnroe
- Matt Mitchell
- Peter Rennert
- Jeff "Salzy" Salzenstein
- Jonathan Stark
- Roscoe Tanner
Track and field
- Mike Boit, bronze medal at 1972 Munich Olympics in 800m track
- Russell Wolf Brown, professional miler
- Jillian Camarena-Williams, shot put, 2008 Beijing Olympics
- Ian Dobson, track and field, 2008 Olympics
- Ryan Hall, cross country, track and field
- Regina Jacobs, cross country, track and field
- Bob Mathias, Decathlon, gold medal at 1948 and 1952 Olympics; U.S. Congressman
- Steven Solomon, track and field, 2012 Olympics
- Toby Stevenson, pole vault
Volleyball
- Scott Fortune, gold medal at 1988 Seoul Olympics, team captain of bronze medal team at 1992 Barcelona Olympics
- Ogonna Nnamani, 2004 Olympian, winner of 2005 Honda-Broderick Cup
- Beverly Oden, 1996 Olympian, 1990 AVCA Player of the Year, 1985 Honda-Broderick Award
- Kim Oden, 1988, 1992 Olympic team captain, Player of the Decade for 1980s AVCA's All-Decade Team
- Jon Root, gold medal at 1988 Seoul Olympics
- Erik Shoji, bronze medal at 2016 Rio Olympics
- Kawika Shoji, bronze medal at 2016 Rio Olympics
- Logan Tom, professional beach volleyball, 2000 Olympian
- Kerri Walsh Jennings, 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympic gold medalist in beach volleyball
Water polo
- Tony Azevedo
- Ellen Estes, Olympic water polo player
- Brenda Villa, Olympic water polo player
Other sports
- Nick Bravin, Olympic fencer
- Rachael Flatt, ice skater in 2010 Winter Olympics
- Matt Gentry, wrestler, 2008 Canadian Olympic team member, 2004 NCAA Div. I National Champion
- Eric Heiden, speed skater, 5 gold medals at 1980 Lake Placid Olympics; cycling, competed in 1985 Giro D'Italia, 1986 Tour de France
- Alexander Massialas, Olympic fencer, 2016 silver medalist in individual Men's Foil
- Sami Jo Small, Stanford University Men's Hockey, Pac-8 Conference MVP, goaltender in 2002 Winter Olympics
- Debi Thomas, figure skater
- Josh Thomson, wrestler, current mixed martial artist in the Ultimate Fighting Championship Lightweight Division
Notable current students
- Maudy Ayunda, Indonesian actress, singer
- Katie Ledecky, swimmer, five-time Olympic gold medalist and twelve-time world champion
- Simone Manuel, swimmer, four-time Olympic medalist and two-time Olympic gold medalist
- Elizabeth Price, gymnast
- Maggie Steffens, water polo, gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Fictional Stanford alumni
In film
- In Avatar, Grace Augustine wears a Stanford T-shirt.
- In The American President, President Andrew Shepherd mentions that he went to Stanford.
- Takagi in Die Hard graduated from Stanford Law School in 1962.
- The 1944 film Double Indemnity is about a wife who conspires with her lover to kill her husband in Palo Alto on his way to a Stanford reunion.
- The main character of Antitrust is depicted as a Stanford graduate.
- In Jason Bourne, Aaron Kalloor and Heather Lee attended Stanford.
In literature
- Chloe Steele in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins attended Stanford.
- Aron Trask in East of Eden by John Steinbeck is enrolled at Stanford University when he runs away to join the U.S. Army during World War I.
In television
- Star Trek character Jonathan Archer studied at Stanford.
- Dana Scully in The X-Files earned her medical degree from Stanford University.
- Chucks main character, Chuck Bartowski, is presented as a Stanford dropout.
- In Grey's Anatomy, Cristina Yang holds a Doctor of Medicine from Stanford, where her former boyfriend Colin Marlowe was a professor.
- Captain B. J. Hunnicutt in M*A*S*H graduated from Stanford.
- Kate Warner and Wayne Palmer in 24 have Stanford degrees.
- Stella in How I Met Your Mother attended Stanford as both an undergrad and medical school graduate.
- Detective Kate Beckett in Castle attended Stanford as a pre-law undergrad.
- Julia in Parenthood attended Stanford for law school.
- Lloyd in Entourage received his MBA from Stanford.
- The West Wing character Joey Lucas, portrayed by Marlee Matlin, graduated from Stanford.
- The West Wing character Surgeon General Millicent Griffith, portrayed by Mary Kay Place, graduated from Stanford.
- Supernatural character Sam Winchester, portrayed by Jared Padalecki, was studying law at Stanford.