Famous people and where they studied

Abdus Salam

Physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1979 for electroweak unification

Imperial

1957–1996 · Professor

Studied

Mathematics, then theoretical physics

Scientific thought and its creation is the common and shared heritage of mankind.

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 1979, for electroweak unification
• Founded the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste

Alan Greenspan

Chairman of the US Federal Reserve 1987–2006

NYU

1945–1950 · Doctorate

Studied

Economics

How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values?

• Chairman of the Federal Reserve, 1987–2006, under five presidents
• Steered US monetary policy through the 1987 crash and the dot-com boom

Alan Turing

Mathematician, founder of computer science and Enigma codebreaker

Princeton

1936–1938 · Doctorate

Studied

Mathematics and mathematical logic

We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.

• Defined the Turing machine, the basis of computer science
• Broke the German Enigma cipher at Bletchley Park

Albert Einstein

Theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1921

ETH

1896–1900 · Graduate

Studied

Mathematics and physics (teaching diploma)

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

• Special relativity, 1905, and general relativity, 1915
• Nobel Prize in Physics, 1921, for the photoelectric effect

Alex Salmond

First Minister of Scotland 2007–2014

St Andrews

1973–1978 · Graduate

Studied

Economics and medieval history

• First Minister of Scotland, 2007–2014
• Led Scotland to its 2014 independence referendum

Alexander Fleming

Bacteriologist, Nobel Prize in Medicine 1945 for discovering penicillin

Imperial

1901–1955 · Professor

Studied

Medicine and bacteriology

One sometimes finds what one is not looking for.

• Discovered penicillin in 1928, opening the antibiotic era
• Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1945, with Florey and Chain

Amartya Sen

Economist and philosopher, Nobel Prize in Economics 1998

LSE

1971–1977 · Professor

Studied

Economics and philosophy

Development can be seen as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy.

• Nobel Prize in Economics, 1998, for welfare economics
• Showed famines happen in democracies almost never

Andre Geim

Physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 for graphene

Manchester

2001– · Professor

Studied

Condensed matter physics

Polishing was dead, long live Scotch tape!

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 2010, for isolating graphene
• Only person to hold both a Nobel and an Ig Nobel Prize

Andy Warhol

Artist, leading figure of pop art

Carnegie Mellon

1945–1949 · Graduate

Studied

Pictorial design

In the future, everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.

• Leading figure of pop art, painter of the Campbell's Soup Cans
• Ran the Factory, a studio for art, film and music

Angelina Jolie

Actor, director and humanitarian

NYU

Left without a degree

Studied

Film

We cannot close ourselves off to information and ignore the fact that millions of people are out there suffering.

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Girl Interrupted, 2000
• UNHCR Special Envoy, visiting refugees in over thirty countries

Anson Chan

Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong 1993–2001

HKU

1959–1962 · Graduate

Studied

English literature

• First woman to serve as Hong Kong's Chief Secretary, 1993–2001
• Campaigned successfully for equal pay in the civil service

Arthur C. Clarke

Science fiction writer, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

King's

1946–1948 · Graduate

Studied

Mathematics and physics

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

• Described the geostationary communications satellite in 1945
• Co-wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey with Stanley Kubrick

Arthur Conan Doyle

Physician and creator of Sherlock Holmes

Edinburgh

1876–1881 · Graduate

Studied

Medicine

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

• Created Sherlock Holmes, the most filmed literary character
• Overturned two wrongful convictions through his own investigations

Aude Billard

Roboticist, specialist in robots that learn from people

EPFL

2003– · Professor

Studied

Physics, then artificial intelligence and robotics

• Heads EPFL's Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory
• Pioneer of robots that learn skills by imitating people

Barack Obama

44th President of the United States

Harvard

1988–1991 · Graduate

Studied

Political science, then law

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for.

• 44th President of the United States, 2009–2017
• First Black president of the Harvard Law Review

Ben Bernanke

Chair of the US Federal Reserve 2006–14, Nobel Prize in Economics 2022

Harvard

1971–1975 · Graduate

Studied

Economics

The Great Depression is the holy grail of macroeconomics.

• Chair of the US Federal Reserve, 2006–2014
• Nobel Prize in Economics, 2022, for research on banking crises

Benedict Cumberbatch

Actor, known for Sherlock, The Imitation Game and Doctor Strange

Manchester

1996–1999 · Graduate

Studied

Drama

• Academy Award nomination for The Imitation Game, 2015
• Played Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series, 2010–2017

Bill Gates

Co-founder of Microsoft

Harvard

1973–1975 · Left without a degree

Studied

Applied mathematics and computer science

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.

• Co-founded Microsoft in 1975
• Built the world's largest private charitable foundation

Boyan Slat

Founder of The Ocean Cleanup

TU Delft

2013 · Left without a degree

Studied

Aerospace engineering, left after six months

• Founded The Ocean Cleanup at 18 with 300 euros
• Built systems that have removed millions of kilos of plastic

Brian May

Guitarist of Queen and astrophysicist

Imperial

1965–1974, 2007 · Doctorate

Studied

Physics, then astrophysics (zodiacal dust)

I never gave up on the PhD. It was just interrupted for 30 years.

• Guitarist and songwriter of Queen since 1970
• Completed his astrophysics PhD in 2007, 37 years late

Buzz Aldrin

Apollo 11 astronaut, second person to walk on the Moon

MIT

1959–1963 · Doctorate

Studied

Astronautics (doctorate on orbital rendezvous)

Magnificent desolation.

• Second person to walk on the Moon, Apollo 11, 1969
• Doctorate in orbital mechanics used by every docking mission since

Carl von Linde

Engineer, inventor of industrial refrigeration

TUM

1868–1879, 1891–1910 · Professor

Studied

Mechanical engineering and refrigeration technology

• Invented industrial refrigeration and the air liquefaction process
• Founded Linde, today a global industrial gases company

Catherine, Princess of Wales

Princess of Wales, patron of arts and early childhood charities

St Andrews

2001–2005 · Graduate

Studied

Art history

Our early childhoods shape our adult lives. Knowing more about this is how we will transform society.

• Launched the Shaping Us campaign on early childhood, 2023
• Founded the Centre for Early Childhood, 2021

Chaim Weizmann

Chemist and first President of Israel

Manchester

1904–1916 · Professor

Studied

Organic chemistry and fermentation

• Invented the industrial acetone fermentation process, 1916
• First President of Israel, 1949–1952

Charles Darwin

Naturalist, author of On the Origin of Species

Cambridge

1828–1831 · Graduate

Studied

Medicine, then theology and natural history

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one.

• Published On the Origin of Species in 1859
• Sailed five years on HMS Beagle as ship's naturalist

Chris Martin

Singer and songwriter of Coldplay

UCL

1996–1999 · Graduate

Studied

Ancient world studies (Greek and Latin)

We're just four blokes who met at university and we're still doing it.

• Founded Coldplay at UCL in 1996
• Seven Grammy Awards and over 100 million records sold

Christopher Nolan

Director of Inception, Interstellar and Oppenheimer

UCL

1989–1993 · Graduate

Studied

English literature

If you want to really try and make a great film, not a good film, but a great film, you have to take a lot of risks.

• Academy Award for Best Director, Oppenheimer, 2024
• Films have grossed over six billion dollars worldwide

Clive James

Critic, broadcaster and poet

Sydney

1957–1961 · Graduate

Studied

Psychology, then English literature

All I can do is turn a phrase until it catches the light.

• Television critic for The Observer for a decade
• Translated Dante's Divine Comedy into English verse, 2013

Daniel Borel

Co-founder of Logitech

EPFL

1973 · Graduate

Studied

Physics, then computer science

• Co-founded Logitech in a Swiss village in 1981
• Built the world's largest maker of computer mice

Daren Tang

Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization

NTU

Professor

Studied

Law, specialising in intellectual property

• Director General of WIPO since 2020
• First Singaporean to head a UN specialised agency

David Suzuki

Geneticist and broadcaster on the environment

UBC

1963–2001 · Professor

Studied

Genetics

We're part of nature, we emerge from nature and return to it when we die.

• Hosted CBC's The Nature of Things for over forty years
• Founded the David Suzuki Foundation in 1990

Desmond Tutu

Archbishop and anti-apartheid leader, Nobel Peace Prize 1984

King's

1962–1966 · Graduate

Studied

Theology

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.

• Nobel Peace Prize, 1984, for opposing apartheid
• Chaired South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Dorothy Hodgkin

Chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1964 for determining the structures of biochemical substances

Oxford

1928–1932, 1936–1977 · Professor

Studied

Chemistry and X-ray crystallography

I was captured for life by chemistry and by crystals.

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1964, for biochemical structures
• Determined the structures of penicillin, vitamin B12 and insulin

Edmund Barton

First Prime Minister of Australia

Sydney

1865–1868 · Graduate

Studied

Classics

For the first time in history we have a nation for a continent, and a continent for a nation.

• First Prime Minister of Australia, 1901–1903
• Led the campaign for Australian Federation

Eileen Chang

Novelist, one of the most important Chinese writers of the century

HKU

1939–1941 · Left without a degree

Studied

English literature

• Wrote Love in a Fallen City and Lust, Caution
• Won a University of London scholarship, blocked by the war

Elizabeth Blackburn

Molecular biologist, Nobel Prize in Medicine 2009 for telomeres

Melbourne

1966–1972 · Graduate

Studied

Biochemistry, then molecular biology

• Nobel Prize in Medicine, 2009, for discovering telomerase
• Discovered the enzyme with her student Carol Greider

Elon Musk

Founder of SpaceX and chief executive of Tesla

Penn

1992–1997 · Graduate

Studied

Physics and economics

When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favour.

• Founded SpaceX in 2002, first private company to reach orbit
• Led Tesla to mass-market electric cars

Emma Thompson

Actor and screenwriter, Academy Awards for acting and for writing

Cambridge

1978–1982 · Graduate

Studied

English literature

Newnham taught me how to think.

• Academy Award for Best Actress, Howards End, 1993
• Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Sense and Sensibility, 1996

Eric Schmidt

Chief executive of Google 2001–2011

UC Berkeley

1976–1982 · Doctorate

Studied

Electrical engineering, then computer science

We run this company on questions, not answers.

• Chief executive of Google, 2001–2011
• Co-authored the Unix tool lex as a graduate student

Ernest Lawrence

Physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1939 for inventing the cyclotron

UC Berkeley

1928–1958 · Professor

Studied

Physics

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 1939, for inventing the cyclotron
• Founded what is now Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Ernest Rutherford

Physicist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1908, father of nuclear physics

Manchester

1907–1919 · Professor

Studied

Physics and radioactivity

It was almost as incredible as if you fired a 15-inch shell at a piece of tissue paper and it came back and hit you.

• Discovered the atomic nucleus, 1911
• Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1908, for radioactive decay

Florence Nightingale

Founder of modern nursing and pioneer of medical statistics

King's

1860–1910 · Professor

Studied

Nursing and medical statistics

I attribute my success to this — I never gave or took an excuse.

• Founded the first secular nursing school in the world, 1860
• First woman elected to the Royal Statistical Society, 1858

Frances Arnold

Chemical engineer, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018 for the directed evolution of enzymes

Caltech

1986–2024 · Professor

Studied

Chemical engineering

Life — the biological world — is the greatest chemist, and evolution is her design process.

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2018, for the directed evolution of enzymes
• Fifth woman ever to win the chemistry Nobel

Francis Crick

Molecular biologist, Nobel Prize in Medicine 1962 for the structure of DNA

UCL

1934–1937 · Graduate

Studied

Physics, then molecular biology

We have discovered the secret of life.

• Co-discovered the double helix structure of DNA, 1953
• Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1962

Francis Ford Coppola

Director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now

UCLA

1960–1967 · Graduate

Studied

Film (Master of Fine Arts)

• Directed The Godfather and Apocalypse Now
• Five Academy Awards for writing, directing and producing

Frank Wang

Founder of DJI, the world's largest drone maker

HKUST

2003–2011 · Graduate

Studied

Electronic engineering

• Founded DJI in an HKUST dorm room, 2006
• Built the world's leading consumer drone maker

Frederick Banting

Physician, Nobel Prize in Medicine 1923 for discovering insulin

Toronto

1910–1916 · Graduate

Studied

Medicine

Insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world.

• Co-discovered insulin with Charles Best, 1921
• Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1923, at 32

Friedrich Hayek

Economist, Nobel Prize in Economics 1974

LSE

1931–1950 · Professor

Studied

Economics and political philosophy

The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

• Nobel Prize in Economics, 1974, for monetary and business cycle theory
• Wrote The Road to Serfdom, 1944

Geoffrey Hinton

Computer scientist, Turing Award 2018 and Nobel Prize in Physics 2024

Toronto

1987–2023 · Professor

Studied

Experimental psychology, then artificial intelligence

I console myself with the normal excuse: if I hadn't done it, somebody else would have.

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 2024, for neural networks
• Turing Award, 2018, with Bengio and LeCun

George Smoot

Astrophysicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 2006 for mapping the early universe

Caltech

1962–1966 · Graduate

Studied

Mathematics and physics, then cosmology

Every day I go to work I'm making a bet that the universe is simple, symmetric, and aesthetically pleasing.

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 2006, for mapping the early universe
• Led the COBE satellite team that found cosmic ripples

George Soros

Investor and philanthropist

LSE

1949–1954 · Graduate

Studied

Philosophy, under Karl Popper

The financial markets generally are unpredictable. So that one has to have different scenarios.

• Made a billion dollars shorting the pound on Black Wednesday, 1992
• Founded Open Society Foundations, giving away over $30 billion

Gerhard Ertl

Chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007 for surface chemistry

TUM

1965 · Doctorate

Studied

Physical chemistry

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2007, for surface chemistry
• Explained how ammonia is made on an iron catalyst

Germaine Greer

Writer and academic, author of The Female Eunuch

Melbourne

1956–1959 · Graduate

Studied

English and French literature

Women have very little idea of how much men hate them.

• The Female Eunuch, a defining text of second-wave feminism
• Professor of English literature at Warwick, 1998–2003

Gordon Brown

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2007–2010

Edinburgh

1967–1982 · Doctorate

Studied

History (PhD on the Labour Party in Scotland)

Education is the best economic policy there is.

• Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 2007–2010
• Chancellor of the Exchequer for ten years

Gordon Moore

Co-founder of Intel, author of Moore's law

Caltech

1950–1954 · Doctorate

Studied

Chemistry and physics

The complexity for minimum component costs has increased at a rate of roughly a factor of two per year.

• Co-founded Intel in 1968 with Robert Noyce
• Formulated Moore's law, which guided chips for sixty years

Gough Whitlam

Prime Minister of Australia 1972–1975

Sydney

1935–1946 · Graduate

Studied

Arts and law

Well may we say God save the Queen, because nothing will save the Governor-General.

• Prime Minister of Australia, 1972–1975
• Abolished university tuition fees and introduced universal healthcare

Gregory Peck

Actor, Academy Award for To Kill a Mockingbird

UC Berkeley

1936–1939 · Graduate

Studied

English

• Academy Award for Best Actor, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1963
• Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1969

H. G. Wells

Writer, father of modern science fiction

Imperial

1884–1887 · Graduate

Studied

Biology under Thomas Henry Huxley

Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.

• Wrote The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds
• Anticipated tanks, aerial bombing and the atomic bomb

Halimah Yacob

President of Singapore 2017–2023

NUS

1978, 2001 · Graduate

Studied

Law

• First woman President of Singapore, 2017–2023
• First woman Speaker of Singapore's Parliament, 2013

Herbert Simon

Economist and AI pioneer, Nobel Prize in Economics 1978 and Turing Award 1975

Carnegie Mellon

1949–2001 · Professor

Studied

Political science, economics and computer science

A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.

• Nobel Prize in Economics, 1978, for decision-making in organisations
• Turing Award, 1975, with Allen Newell

Hillary Clinton

US Secretary of State 2009–2013 and presidential nominee

Yale

1969–1973 · Graduate

Studied

Law

• United States Secretary of State, 2009–2013
• United States Senator for New York, 2001–2009

Ho Ching

Chief executive of Temasek Holdings 2004–2021

NUS

1976 · Graduate

Studied

Electrical engineering

• Chief executive of Temasek Holdings, 2004–2021
• Grew Singapore's state investor into a global fund

Ho Kwon Ping

Founder of Banyan Tree Holdings

NTU

Professor

Studied

Economics, journalism, then hospitality business

• Founded Banyan Tree and pioneered the pool villa resort
• Founding chairman of Singapore Management University

Holly Hunter

Actor, Academy Award for The Piano

Carnegie Mellon

1976–1980 · Graduate

Studied

Drama

• Academy Award for Best Actress, The Piano, 1994
• Two Emmy Awards and a Cannes best actress prize

Howard Hughes

Aviator, film producer and industrialist

Caltech

1921–1923 · Left without a degree

Studied

Mathematics and engineering, as a non-degree student

I put the sweat of my life into this thing. I have my reputation all rolled up in it.

• Set the world airspeed record in 1935
• Flew the H-4 Hercules, the largest wingspan ever built

I. M. Pei

Architect of the Louvre Pyramid, Pritzker Prize 1983

MIT

1935–1940 · Graduate

Studied

Architecture

Architecture is the very mirror of life. You only have to cast your eyes on buildings to feel the presence of the past.

• Pritzker Architecture Prize, 1983
• Designed the Louvre Pyramid, opened 1989

Ian Wilmut

Embryologist who led the team that cloned Dolly the sheep

Edinburgh

2005–2012 · Professor

Studied

Embryology and regenerative medicine

There was a slight feeling of sort of awe, if you like, at the potential impact.

• Led the team that cloned Dolly the sheep, 1996
• Proved an adult cell can be reset to build a whole animal

Isaac Newton

Physicist and mathematician, author of the Principia

Cambridge

1661–1701 · Professor

Studied

Mathematics, optics and natural philosophy

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

• Published the Principia in 1687, founding classical mechanics
• Formulated universal gravitation and the laws of motion

J. R. R. Tolkien

Philologist and author of The Lord of the Rings

Oxford

1911–1915, 1925–1959 · Professor

Studied

Classics, then English language and literature

Not all those who wander are lost.

• Wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
• Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, 1925–1945

J. Robert Oppenheimer

Physicist, director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory

Harvard

1922–1925 · Graduate

Studied

Chemistry, then theoretical physics

Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

• Scientific director of the Manhattan Project, 1942–1945
• Built America's leading school of theoretical physics at Berkeley

Jack Kerouac

Novelist, author of On the Road

Columbia

1940–1941 · Left without a degree

Studied

Liberal arts (left without a degree)

One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.

• Wrote On the Road, a landmark of American literature
• Defined the spontaneous prose style of the Beat writers

Jackie Robinson

Baseball player who broke the colour barrier in American professional sport

UCLA

1939–1941 · Left without a degree

Studied

Physical education (left before graduating)

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.

• First UCLA athlete to letter in four sports in one year
• Baseball Hall of Fame, 1962

Jacobus van 't Hoff

Chemist, first Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1901

TU Delft

1869–1871 · Graduate

Studied

Chemical technology, then physical chemistry

• First Nobel Prize in Chemistry ever awarded, 1901
• Founded stereochemistry with the tetrahedral carbon atom, 1874

James Black

Pharmacologist, Nobel Prize in Medicine 1988 for beta blockers

King's

1984–1992 · Professor

Studied

Medicine, then analytical pharmacology

The most fruitful basis for the discovery of a new drug is to start with an old drug.

• Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1988, for beta blockers
• Invented propranolol and cimetidine, both global best-sellers

James Clerk Maxwell

Physicist who unified electricity, magnetism and light

Edinburgh

1847–1850 · Graduate

Studied

Mathematics and natural philosophy

We can scarcely avoid the conclusion that light consists in the transverse undulations of the same medium which is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena.

• Unified electricity, magnetism and light in four equations
• First Cavendish Professor and founder of the Cavendish Laboratory

James Naismith

Inventor of basketball

McGill

1883–1888 · Graduate

Studied

Physical education and theology

I am sure that no man can derive more pleasure from money or power than I do from seeing a pair of basketball goals in some out of the way place.

• Invented basketball in 1891 with thirteen rules
• Saw his game enter the Olympics in 1936

Jawaharlal Nehru

First Prime Minister of India

Cambridge

1907–1910 · Graduate

Studied

Natural sciences: chemistry, geology and botany

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.

• First Prime Minister of India, 1947–1964
• Founded the Indian Institutes of Technology

Jeff Bezos

Founder of Amazon and Blue Origin

Princeton

1982–1986 · Graduate

Studied

Electrical engineering and computer science

We are stubborn on vision. We are flexible on details.

• Founded Amazon in 1994 as an online bookshop
• Founded the rocket company Blue Origin in 2000

Jennifer Doudna

Biochemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 for CRISPR gene editing

UC Berkeley

2002–2026 · Professor

Studied

Biochemistry

What started as a curiosity-driven, fundamental discovery project has now become a breakthrough strategy used by countless researchers.

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2020, for CRISPR genome editing
• Founded the Innovative Genomics Institute at Berkeley

Jensen Huang

Co-founder and CEO of Nvidia

Stanford

1990–1992 · Graduate

Studied

Electrical engineering

I don't like giving up on people. I'd rather torture them into greatness.

• Co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and still leads it
• Drove the GPU revolution behind modern artificial intelligence

Jodie Foster

Actor and director, two Academy Awards

Yale

1980–1985 · Graduate

Studied

Literature

• Two Academy Awards for Best Actress
• Graduated magna cum laude while working as a film actor

Johannes van der Waals

Physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1910 for the equation of state of gases and liquids

UvA

1877–1907 · Professor

Studied

Physics of gases and liquids

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 1910, for the equation of state
• Van der Waals forces are named after him

John Cornforth

Chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1975, deaf from his teens

Sydney

1933–1937 · Graduate

Studied

Organic chemistry

She has eased for me beyond measure the difficulties of communication that accompany deafness.

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1975, on enzyme-catalysed reactions
• Worked on the first industrial synthesis of penicillin

John Kerry

US Secretary of State 2013–2017 and climate envoy

Yale

1962–1966 · Graduate

Studied

Political science

• United States Secretary of State, 2013–2017
• United States Senator for Massachusetts, 1985–2013

John Legend

Singer and songwriter, winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony

Penn

1995–1999 · Graduate

Studied

English, with a focus on African American literature

• One of the few artists to win an EGOT
• Academy Award for the song Glory, 2015

John Napier

Mathematician, inventor of logarithms

St Andrews

1563 · Left without a degree

Studied

Mathematics and theology

• Invented logarithms, published 1614
• Created Napier's bones, a calculating device used for centuries

John Nash

Mathematician, Nobel Prize in Economics 1994 for game theory

Princeton

1948–1950 · Doctorate

Studied

Mathematics

Rationality of thought imposes a limit on a person's concept of his relation to the cosmos.

• Nobel Prize in Economics, 1994, for game theory
• Nash equilibrium, from a 27-page doctoral thesis

John Steinbeck

Novelist, Nobel Prize in Literature 1962

Stanford

1919–1925 · Left without a degree

Studied

English literature and marine biology

I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession.

• Nobel Prize in Literature, 1962
• Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath, 1940

John von Neumann

Mathematician, architect of the modern computer and game theory

ETH

1923–1926 · Graduate

Studied

Chemical engineering, then mathematics

In mathematics you don't understand things. You just get used to them.

• Designed the von Neumann architecture used by nearly every computer
• Founded game theory with Morgenstern, 1944

Jomo Kenyatta

First President of Kenya

UCL

1935–1936 · Graduate

Studied

Social anthropology

• First President of Kenya, 1964–1978
• Led Kenya to independence from Britain in 1963

Joseph Stiglitz

Economist, Nobel Prize in Economics 2001 for work on asymmetric information

Columbia

2001–2026 · Professor

Studied

Economics

• Nobel Prize in Economics, 2001, for markets with asymmetric information
• Chief economist of the World Bank, 1997–2000

Juan Manuel Santos

President of Colombia 2010–2018, Nobel Peace Prize 2016

LSE

1973–1975 · Graduate

Studied

Economics, then public administration

The war in Colombia is over. Now we must build peace, which is much harder.

• Nobel Peace Prize, 2016, for ending Colombia's civil war
• President of Colombia, 2010–2018

Julia Gillard

First female Prime Minister of Australia

Melbourne

1983–1986 · Graduate

Studied

Arts and law

I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. I will not. Not now, not ever.

• First female Prime Minister of Australia, 2010–2013
• Her misogyny speech became a global feminist landmark

Julie Payette

Astronaut and Governor General of Canada 2017–2021

McGill

1988–1990 · Graduate

Studied

Computer engineering

• First Canadian to board the International Space Station, 1999
• Two spaceflights, operating the robotic arm on both

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Basketball player, six-time NBA champion and author

UCLA

1965–1969 · Graduate

Studied

History

• Three consecutive national championships with UCLA
• Six NBA championships and six most valuable player awards

Kathryn Bigelow

Director, first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director

Columbia

1978–1981 · Graduate

Studied

Film (Master of Fine Arts)

• First woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director, 2010
• Directed The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty

Katie Bouman

Computer scientist behind the first image of a black hole

MIT

2011–2017 · Doctorate

Studied

Electrical engineering and computer science

No one of us could've done it alone. It came together because of lots of different people from many different backgrounds.

• Helped produce the first image of a black hole, 2019
• Developed the CHIRP imaging algorithm in her MIT thesis

Kim Campbell

First female Prime Minister of Canada

UBC

1964–1969 · Graduate

Studied

Political science, then law

• First and so far only female Prime Minister of Canada, 1993
• First woman to serve as Canada's defence minister

Kip Thorne

Theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 2017 for detecting gravitational waves

Caltech

1967–2009 · Professor

Studied

Theoretical physics

With this discovery, we humans are embarking on a marvelous new quest: to explore the warped side of the universe.

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 2017, for detecting gravitational waves
• Co-founded the LIGO project

Kishore Mahbubani

Diplomat and author on Asia's rise

NUS

1971, 2004–2017 · Professor

Studied

Philosophy, then diplomacy and public policy

• Founding dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School, 2004–2017
• Singapore's ambassador to the UN and Security Council president

Kofi Annan

UN Secretary-General 1997–2006, Nobel Peace Prize 2001

MIT

1971–1972 · Graduate

Studied

Management (Sloan Fellows programme)

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.

• Seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, 1997–2006
• Nobel Peace Prize, 2001, shared with the UN

Lady Gaga

Singer, songwriter and actor

NYU

2003–2005 · Left without a degree

Studied

Music and performing arts (CAP21 at Tisch)

Don't you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can't be exactly who you are.

• Academy Award for Best Original Song, Shallow, 2019
• Thirteen Grammy Awards and over 170 million records sold

Larry Page

Co-founder of Google

Stanford

1995–1998 · Left without a degree

Studied

Computer science (doctoral research)

If you're changing the world, you're working on important things. You're excited to get up in the morning.

• Co-founded Google in 1998 with Sergey Brin
• Co-invented PageRank, the algorithm behind web search

Leonard Cohen

Singer, songwriter and poet

McGill

1951–1955 · Graduate

Studied

English literature

There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.

• Wrote Hallelujah, one of the most covered songs ever
• Published poet and novelist before his first album

Lester B. Pearson

Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Peace Prize 1957

Toronto

1913–1919 · Graduate

Studied

History

The grim fact is that we prepare for war like precocious giants and for peace like retarded pygmies.

• Nobel Peace Prize, 1957, for inventing UN peacekeeping
• Prime Minister of Canada, 1963–1968

Linus Pauling

Chemist, the only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes

Caltech

1922–1925 · Doctorate

Studied

Physical chemistry

The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1954, on the chemical bond
• Nobel Peace Prize, 1962, against nuclear weapons testing

Louis Kahn

Architect of the Salk Institute and the Bangladesh parliament

Penn

1920–1924 · Professor

Studied

Architecture

You say to a brick, 'What do you want, brick?' And brick says to you, 'I like an arch.'

• Designed the Salk Institute and the Kimbell Art Museum
• Designed the national parliament complex of Bangladesh

Mahathir Mohamad

Prime Minister of Malaysia, 1981–2003 and 2018–2020

NUS

1947–1953 · Graduate

Studied

Medicine

• Prime Minister of Malaysia, 1981–2003 and 2018–2020
• Drove the industrialisation that transformed Malaysia

Mahatma Gandhi

Leader of the Indian independence movement

UCL

1888–1891 · Graduate

Studied

Law

If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change.

• Led India to independence through non-violent resistance
• Created satyagraha, adopted by King and Mandela

Malala Yousafzai

Education campaigner, youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Oxford

2017–2020 · Graduate

Studied

Philosophy, politics and economics

One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.

• Nobel Peace Prize, 2014, at seventeen — the youngest ever
• Founded Malala Fund for girls' education in eight countries

Malcolm Gladwell

Journalist and author of Outliers and The Tipping Point

Toronto

1980–1984 · Graduate

Studied

History

Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good.

• Five consecutive number one New York Times bestsellers
• Staff writer at The New Yorker since 1996

Margaret Atwood

Novelist, author of The Handmaid's Tale

Toronto

1957–1961 · Graduate

Studied

English literature

A word after a word after a word is power.

• Booker Prize twice, in 2000 and 2019
• The Handmaid's Tale, translated into more than forty languages

Margaret Thatcher

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1979–1990

Oxford

1943–1947 · Graduate

Studied

Chemistry, specialising in X-ray crystallography

You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning.

• First woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1979–1990
• Longest-serving British prime minister of the twentieth century

Maria Ressa

Journalist, Nobel Peace Prize 2021

Princeton

1982–1986 · Graduate

Studied

English, with a certificate in theatre and dance

Imagine what you're most afraid of, touch it and hold it so that you rob it of its power.

• Nobel Peace Prize, 2021, for defending freedom of expression
• Co-founded the news site Rappler in 2012

Mark Zuckerberg

Co-founder and CEO of Meta (Facebook)

Harvard

2002–2004 · Left without a degree

Studied

Psychology and computer science

The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.

• Founded Facebook in a Harvard dorm room, 2004
• Leads Meta, used by more than three billion people

Martin Scorsese

Director of Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and The Departed

NYU

1960–1968 · Graduate

Studied

English, then film-making

Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out.

• Academy Award for Best Director, The Departed, 2007
• Founded The Film Foundation, which has restored over 1,000 films

Martin Vetterli

Engineer and president of EPFL

EPFL

1993– · Professor

Studied

Electrical engineering and signal processing

• President of EPFL since 2017
• Wavelet research behind JPEG 2000 and medical imaging

Maurice Wilkins

Biophysicist, Nobel Prize in Medicine 1962 for the structure of DNA

King's

1946–1981 · Professor

Studied

Physics, then biophysics

• Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1962, for the structure of DNA
• Began the X-ray diffraction work on DNA at King's

Meryl Streep

Actor, three Academy Awards and a record 21 nominations

Yale

1972–1975 · Graduate

Studied

Acting (Master of Fine Arts)

Acting is not about being someone different. It's finding the similarity in what is apparently different.

• Three Academy Awards and a record number of nominations
• Played about forty roles in three years at Yale

Michael Grätzel

Chemist, inventor of the dye-sensitised solar cell

EPFL

1977– · Professor

Studied

Physical chemistry and photonics

• Invented the dye-sensitized solar cell, the Grätzel cell, 1991
• Millennium Technology Prize, 2010

Michael Smith

Biochemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993 for site-directed mutagenesis

UBC

1966–2000 · Professor

Studied

Biochemistry

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1993, for site-directed mutagenesis
• Gave away all of his Nobel Prize money

Michelle Obama

Lawyer and First Lady of the United States 2009–2017

Princeton

1981–1985 · Graduate

Studied

Sociology, then law

When they go low, we go high.

• First Lady of the United States, 2009–2017
• Becoming, one of the best-selling memoirs ever published

Mick Jagger

Singer of the Rolling Stones

LSE

1961–1963 · Left without a degree

Studied

Economics and accounting

I'd rather be dead than singing Satisfaction when I'm forty-five.

• Co-founded the Rolling Stones in 1962
• Co-wrote most of the band's songs with Keith Richards

Mileva Marić

Physicist and mathematician

ETH

1896–1901 · Graduate

Studied

Physics and mathematics

• Fifth woman admitted to ETH's physics and mathematics section
• One of the first women in Europe to study physics at university

Natalie Portman

Actress, Academy Award for Best Actress 2011

Harvard

1999–2003 · Graduate

Studied

Psychology

I'd rather be smart than a movie star.

• Academy Award for Best Actress, Black Swan, 2011
• Co-authored two published neuroscience papers as a student

Niklaus Wirth

Computer scientist, Turing Award 1984, designer of Pascal

ETH

1959 · Professor

Studied

Electronics engineering, then computer science

Software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware is getting faster.

• Designed Pascal, Modula-2 and Oberon
• Turing Award, 1984, for a sequence of innovative languages

Noam Chomsky

Linguist and political thinker, founder of generative grammar

Penn

1945–1955 · Doctorate

Studied

Linguistics

Language is a process of free creation.

• Founded generative grammar with Syntactic Structures, 1957
• One of the most cited scholars in the humanities

Oliver Hart

Economist, Nobel Prize in Economics 2016 for contract theory

Warwick

1971–1972 · Graduate

Studied

Mathematics, then economics

Contracts are incomplete. They can't anticipate everything, so someone has to have the right to decide.

• Nobel Prize in Economics, 2016, for contract theory
• Explained who should own a firm and when to privatise

Oscar Wilde

Playwright and author of The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oxford

1874–1878 · Graduate

Studied

Classics (Literae Humaniores)

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

• Wrote The Importance of Being Earnest and Dorian Gray
• Took a double first at Oxford, the highest possible result

Paul Krugman

Economist, Nobel Prize in Economics 2008 for trade theory

Yale

1970–1974 · Graduate

Studied

Economics

Economics is not a morality play.

• Nobel Prize in Economics, 2008, for trade and economic geography
• Professor of economics at Princeton, 2000–2015

Peter Doherty

Immunologist, Nobel Prize in Medicine 1996

Melbourne

1988–2024 · Professor

Studied

Immunology

What could be more gratifying than to discover, describe and explain some basic principle that no human being has ever understood before?

• Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1996, on immune cell recognition
• Australian of the Year, 1997

Peter Higgs

Physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 2013 for the Higgs boson

Edinburgh

1960–1996 · Professor

Studied

Theoretical physics

Today I wouldn't get an academic job. It's as simple as that. I don't think I would be regarded as productive enough.

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 2013, for the Higgs mechanism
• Predicted the Higgs boson in 1964, confirmed at CERN in 2012

Pieter Zeeman

Physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1902 for the effect of magnetism on light

UvA

1900–1935 · Professor

Studied

Experimental physics, magnetism and light

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 1902, for the Zeeman effect
• Showed magnetic fields split spectral lines

Prince William

Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne

St Andrews

2001–2005 · Graduate

Studied

Art history, then geography

The Earthshot Prize is about optimism. We have the ingenuity to repair our planet.

• Founded the Earthshot Prize for environmental solutions, 2020
• Served seven years as a rescue and air ambulance pilot

Raj Reddy

Computer scientist, Turing Award 1994 for work on artificial intelligence

Carnegie Mellon

1969–2025 · Professor

Studied

Computer science, speech recognition and robotics

Technology is the great equalizer. It can bring the best of education and information to the poorest of the poor.

• Turing Award, 1994, for large-scale artificial intelligence systems
• Founded the world's first Robotics Institute, 1979

Ralph Bunche

Diplomat, Nobel Peace Prize 1950, first Black laureate

UCLA

1923–1927 · Graduate

Studied

International relations, then government

• Nobel Peace Prize, 1950, for mediation in the Middle East
• First African American to earn a political science doctorate in the US

Reese Witherspoon

Actress and producer, Academy Award for Best Actress 2006

Stanford

1994–1995 · Left without a degree

Studied

English literature

If you want something done, ask a busy woman.

• Academy Award for Best Actress, Walk the Line, 2006
• Founded the production company Hello Sunshine, 2016

Rem Koolhaas

Architect and theorist, Pritzker Prize 2000

TU Delft

1988–1989 · Professor

Studied

Architecture and urban research

• Pritzker Architecture Prize, 2000
• Founded OMA in 1975 and its research arm AMO

Richard Feynman

Physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1965

MIT

1935–1939 · Graduate

Studied

Physics

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.

• Nobel Prize in Physics, 1965, for quantum electrodynamics
• The Feynman Lectures on Physics, still taught worldwide

Robert Mundell

Economist, Nobel Prize in Economics 1999, intellectual father of the euro

UBC

1949–1953 · Graduate

Studied

Economics

The optimum currency area is not the world.

• Nobel Prize in Economics, 1999
• Theory of optimum currency areas became the basis of the euro

Roberta Bondar

Neurologist and Canada's first woman in space

Toronto

1971–1974 · Doctorate

Studied

Neurobiology

To fly in space is to see the reality of Earth, alone. To touch Earth after, is to see beauty for the first time.

• First Canadian woman in space, Discovery, 1992
• World's first neurologist to fly in space

Roger Bannister

Athlete and neurologist, first man to run a mile in under four minutes

Imperial

1952–1954 · Graduate

Studied

Physiology, then clinical medicine

The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.

• First man to run a mile under four minutes, 6 May 1954
• Became a leading consultant neurologist in autonomic disorders

Rosalind Franklin

Chemist whose X-ray images revealed the structure of DNA

Cambridge

1938–1945 · Graduate

Studied

Physical chemistry and X-ray diffraction

Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.

• Produced Photo 51, the X-ray image that revealed DNA's helix
• Founded the structural study of viruses, including tobacco mosaic

Rudolf Diesel

Engineer, inventor of the diesel engine

TUM

1875–1880 · Graduate

Studied

Mechanical engineering and thermodynamics

• Invented the diesel engine, patented in 1893
• Graduated with the best marks in the institution's history

Rudolf Mössbauer

Physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1961 at the age of 32

TUM

1958 · Professor

Studied

Physics

• Discovered the Mössbauer effect as a doctoral student
• Nobel Prize in Physics, 1961, at the age of 32

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Justice of the US Supreme Court 1993–2020

Columbia

1958–1959 · Graduate

Studied

Law

Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.

• Justice of the US Supreme Court, 1993–2020
• Columbia Law School's first tenured female professor, 1972

Sally Ride

First American woman in space

Stanford

1970–1978 · Graduate

Studied

Physics and English literature

All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.

• First American woman in space, 18 June 1983
• Served on both shuttle accident investigation boards

Santiago Calatrava

Architect and structural engineer

ETH

1975–1981 · Doctorate

Studied

Civil engineering, after training as an architect

• Doctorate on the foldability of space frames, ETH, 1981
• Designed the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia

Sara Seager

Astrophysicist, pioneer of exoplanet atmospheres

Harvard

1994–1999 · Doctorate

Studied

Mathematics and physics, then astronomy

• Pioneered the theory of exoplanet atmospheres
• MacArthur Fellowship, 2013

Scott Fahlman

Computer scientist, inventor of the emoticon

Carnegie Mellon

Professor

Studied

Electrical engineering and artificial intelligence

I propose the following character sequence for joke markers: :-) Read it sideways.

• Invented the emoticon in a bulletin board post, 1982
• Created the Cascade-Correlation neural network learning algorithm

Sergey Brin

Co-founder of Google

Stanford

1993–1998 · Left without a degree

Studied

Computer science (doctoral research)

Obviously everyone wants to be successful, but I want to be looked back on as being very innovative, very trusted and ethical.

• Co-founded Google in 1998 with Larry Page
• Led Google X, the company's moonshot laboratory

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Mathematician, self-taught genius of number theory

Cambridge

1914–1919 · Graduate

Studied

Pure mathematics: number theory and infinite series

An equation for me has no meaning unless it expresses a thought of God.

• Compiled nearly 3,900 results in number theory and analysis
• Elected Fellow of the Royal Society at thirty-one

Stefanie Sun

Singer, one of the best-selling Mandopop artists

NTU

2000 · Graduate

Studied

Marketing

• Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist, 2001
• Debut album Yan Zi sold over half a million copies

Stephen Hawking

Theoretical physicist, author of A Brief History of Time

Oxford

1959–1962 · Graduate

Studied

Physics, then cosmology and general relativity

However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. Where there's life, there's hope.

• Discovered Hawking radiation, showing black holes evaporate
• Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, 1979–2009

Stephen Merchant

Writer and director, co-creator of The Office

Warwick

1993–1996 · Graduate

Studied

Film and literature

• Co-created The Office, remade in more than a dozen countries
• Three BAFTAs and two Emmy Awards

Steve Wozniak

Co-founder of Apple, designer of the Apple I and II

UC Berkeley

1971–1986 · Graduate

Studied

Electrical engineering and computer science

Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window.

• Designed the Apple I and Apple II single-handedly
• Co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976

Sting

Singer and bassist of the Police, solo artist

Warwick

1969 · Left without a degree

Studied

Left university after one term; later trained as a teacher

I'd rather be a bad poet than a good clerk.

• Seventeen Grammy Awards with the Police and solo
• Wrote Roxanne, Every Breath You Take and Fields of Gold

Sun Yat-sen

Revolutionary and first president of the Republic of China

HKU

1887–1892 · Graduate

Studied

Medicine

The world trend is vast and mighty; those who follow it prosper, those who resist it perish.

• One of the first two graduates of the Hong Kong medical college
• First provisional president of the Republic of China, 1912

T. S. Eliot

Poet, Nobel Prize in Literature 1948

Harvard

1906–1914 · Graduate

Studied

Philosophy and English literature

April is the cruellest month.

• Nobel Prize in Literature, 1948
• Wrote The Waste Land, 1922, and Four Quartets, 1943

Tang Xiaoou

Computer vision researcher, founder of SenseTime

MIT

1992–1996 · Doctorate

Studied

Ocean engineering, then computer vision

• His DeepID system beat human face recognition accuracy, 2014
• Co-founded SenseTime, 2014

Tiger Woods

Golfer, 15-time major champion

Stanford

1994–1996 · Left without a degree

Studied

Economics

No matter how good you get you can always get better, and that's the exciting part.

• Fifteen major championships, second all-time
• NCAA individual champion while at Stanford, 1996

Tim Berners-Lee

Inventor of the World Wide Web

Oxford

1973–1976 · Graduate

Studied

Physics

The Web as I envisaged it, we have not seen it yet. The future is still so much bigger than the past.

• Invented the World Wide Web at CERN, 1989
• Turing Award, 2016

Tobias Asser

Jurist, Nobel Peace Prize 1911

UvA

1862–1893 · Professor

Studied

Commercial and private international law

• Nobel Peace Prize, 1911, for international arbitration
• Founded the Hague Conference on Private International Law

Tom Kilburn

Engineer who built the first stored-program computer

Manchester

1947–1981 · Professor

Studied

Mathematics, then computer engineering

The most exciting time was June 1948 when the first machine worked. Without question. Nothing could ever compare with that.

• Ran the first stored-program computer on 21 June 1948
• Founded Britain's first computer science department

Tony Chan

Mathematician and university president

HKUST

2009–2018 · Professor

Studied

Engineering and applied mathematics

• President of HKUST, 2009–2018
• Pioneered total variation methods for image restoration

Tony Wheeler

Co-founder of Lonely Planet guidebooks

Warwick

1971–1972 · Graduate

Studied

Business administration (MBA)

All you've got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over.

• Co-founded Lonely Planet in 1973 at a kitchen table
• Built the world's largest independent travel publisher

Vint Cerf

Co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols, a father of the internet

UCLA

1967–1972 · Doctorate

Studied

Computer science

• Co-designed TCP/IP, the protocols that run the internet
• Turing Award, 2004, with Robert Kahn

Warren Buffett

Investor, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

Columbia

1950–1951 · Graduate

Studied

Business, then economics

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

• Built Berkshire Hathaway over almost sixty years
• Pledged to give away most of his fortune

Wilhelm Röntgen

Physicist, first Nobel Prize in Physics 1901 for discovering X-rays

ETH

1865–1868 · Graduate

Studied

Mechanical engineering, then physics

• Discovered X-rays in 1895 and refused to patent them
• First Nobel Prize in Physics ever awarded, 1901

William Osler

Physician, founder of modern medical education

McGill

1870–1872 · Graduate

Studied

Medicine

Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.

• Created the hospital residency system used worldwide
• Founding professor of Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1889

William Shatner

Actor, Captain Kirk in Star Trek

McGill

1948–1952 · Graduate

Studied

Commerce

I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now — I don't want to lose it.

• Played Captain Kirk in Star Trek from 1966
• Oldest person to travel to space, aged ninety, 2021

Willy Messerschmitt

Aircraft designer

TUM

1918–1923 · Graduate

Studied

Mechanical engineering, specialising in aircraft

• Designed the Bf 109, the second most-produced warplane ever
• Built gliders while still a student and founded his firm at 25

Wim Duisenberg

First President of the European Central Bank

UvA

1970–1973 · Professor

Studied

Macroeconomics

• First President of the European Central Bank, 1998–2003
• Oversaw the launch of euro notes and coins in 2002

Woodrow Wilson

28th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize 1919

Princeton

1875–1879 · Professor

Studied

History and political science

The use of a university is to make young gentlemen as unlike their fathers as possible.

• President of Princeton University, 1902–1910
• 28th President of the United States, 1913–1921

Wubbo Ockels

First Dutch astronaut and professor of sustainable engineering

TU Delft

2003–2014 · Professor

Studied

Physics, then sustainable aerospace engineering

• First Dutch citizen in space, Spacelab D1, 1985
• Professor of sustainable engineering at Delft from 2003

Yann LeCun

Computer scientist, Turing Award 2018 for deep learning

NYU

2003–2025 · Professor

Studied

Computer science and machine learning

Our intelligence is what makes us human, and AI is an extension of that quality.

• Invented convolutional neural networks, the basis of modern vision
• Turing Award, 2018, with Hinton and Bengio

Yo-Yo Ma

Cellist, winner of 20 Grammy Awards

Harvard

1972–1976 · Graduate

Studied

Anthropology

Culture is not a luxury. It is a necessity, a way of understanding one another.

• Nineteen Grammy Awards
• Founded the Silkroad Ensemble, 1998

Yuen Kwok-yung

Microbiologist who helped identify the SARS coronavirus

HKU

1976–1981 · Professor

Studied

Medicine, then microbiology

• Led the team that identified the SARS coronavirus, 2003
• Traced SARS-like coronaviruses to horseshoe bats