As of the 2023 awards, 103 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Columbia University as alumni or faculty. Among the 103 laureates, 72 are Nobel laureates in natural sciences;[a] 46 are Columbia alumni (graduates and attendees) and 34 have been long-term academic members of the Columbia faculty; and subject-wise, 33 laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Physics, more than any other subject. This list considers Nobel laureates as equal individuals and does not consider their various prize shares or if they received the prize more than once. It includes alumni and faculty of
Barnard College after 1900 and those of
Bard College by 1944, as well as physicians and long-term medical staff of the
Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital.
In the following list, the number following a person's name is the year they received the prize; in particular, a number with asterisk (*) means the person received the award while they were working at Columbia University (including
emeritus staff). A name marked with a dagger (†) indicates that this person has already been listed in a previous category (i.e., multiple affiliations).
Stephen Smale—former professor of mathematics, Columbia; winner of the
Fields Medal in 1966 and the
Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 2006/7, one of only twelve Fields Medallists to win both prizes
Franklin Delano Roosevelt—(law, attended fall of 1904 to spring 1907) (posthumous J.D., class of 1907),[3] 32nd president of the United States (1933–1945); consistently ranked as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents in
scholarly surveys; Governor of New York; Assistant Secretary of the navy
Dwight Eisenhower—34th president of the United States (1953–1961); Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; president of
Columbia University
Barack Obama—(B.A. 1983) 44th president of the United States (2009–2017);
Nobel Peace Prize recipient; Democratic senator from Illinois (2005–2008); first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review
Richard Clarida—C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Columbia University and current vice chair of the
Federal Reserve
Jon Jaques—professional basketball player, assistant basketball coach (Cornell University)
Eric Kandel—neuroscientist, 2000
Nobel laureate; Biophysicist, uncovered secrets of synapses. Professor Physicians & Surgeons (1974–); research with the Biomedical Engineering department
James Kent—first professor of law at
Columbia College (1793–98), legal scholar and jurist, author of seminal "Commentaries on American Law"; the "Commentaries" treated state, federal, and international law, and the law of personal rights and property
Klaus Lackner—professor of environmental engineering
Serge Lang—former professor of mathematics, recipient of the 1960
Cole Prize, and political activist
Arthur M. Langer—professor of professional practice, academic director of the
M.S. in professional technology program and founder of Workforce Opportunity Services
Jaron Lanier—visiting scholar at the Computer Science department
Robert S. Neuwirth—Babcock Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; pioneer in the use of gynecological endoscopy
Kimberly Noble–Professor of Neuroscience and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University; American Psychological Association Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest Award
Rebecca Oppenheimer—Astronomical instrument builder; pioneer in studying exoplanet and substellar atmospheres; co-discoverer of first known brown dwarf
Edward W. Said—university professor, professor of English and comparative literature, Palestinian activist, author of Orientalism, widely considered founder of Postcolonial studies
Mario Salvadori—architect, structural engineer, professor (1940s–1990s), consultant on
Manhattan Project, inventor of thin concrete shells
Andrew Sarris—film studies professor and auteur theorist
James Schamus—film studies professor, co-president of Focus Features, three-time
Academy Award-nominated and
BAFTA Award-winning film screenwriter and producer
Ruth Westheimer (born Karola Siegel, 1928; known as "Dr. Ruth"), German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former
Haganah sniper.
^Shell E (January 1, 2002). "Chapter 4: On the Cutting Edge". The Hungry Gene: The Inside Story of the Obesity Industry. Atlantic Monthly Press.
ISBN978-1422352434.
^Shell E (January 1, 2002). "Chapter 5: Hunger". The Hungry Gene: The Inside Story of the Obesity Industry. Atlantic Monthly Press.
ISBN978-1422352434.
As of the 2023 awards, 103 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Columbia University as alumni or faculty. Among the 103 laureates, 72 are Nobel laureates in natural sciences;[a] 46 are Columbia alumni (graduates and attendees) and 34 have been long-term academic members of the Columbia faculty; and subject-wise, 33 laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Physics, more than any other subject. This list considers Nobel laureates as equal individuals and does not consider their various prize shares or if they received the prize more than once. It includes alumni and faculty of
Barnard College after 1900 and those of
Bard College by 1944, as well as physicians and long-term medical staff of the
Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital.
In the following list, the number following a person's name is the year they received the prize; in particular, a number with asterisk (*) means the person received the award while they were working at Columbia University (including
emeritus staff). A name marked with a dagger (†) indicates that this person has already been listed in a previous category (i.e., multiple affiliations).
Stephen Smale—former professor of mathematics, Columbia; winner of the
Fields Medal in 1966 and the
Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 2006/7, one of only twelve Fields Medallists to win both prizes
Franklin Delano Roosevelt—(law, attended fall of 1904 to spring 1907) (posthumous J.D., class of 1907),[3] 32nd president of the United States (1933–1945); consistently ranked as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents in
scholarly surveys; Governor of New York; Assistant Secretary of the navy
Dwight Eisenhower—34th president of the United States (1953–1961); Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; president of
Columbia University
Barack Obama—(B.A. 1983) 44th president of the United States (2009–2017);
Nobel Peace Prize recipient; Democratic senator from Illinois (2005–2008); first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review
Richard Clarida—C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Columbia University and current vice chair of the
Federal Reserve
Jon Jaques—professional basketball player, assistant basketball coach (Cornell University)
Eric Kandel—neuroscientist, 2000
Nobel laureate; Biophysicist, uncovered secrets of synapses. Professor Physicians & Surgeons (1974–); research with the Biomedical Engineering department
James Kent—first professor of law at
Columbia College (1793–98), legal scholar and jurist, author of seminal "Commentaries on American Law"; the "Commentaries" treated state, federal, and international law, and the law of personal rights and property
Klaus Lackner—professor of environmental engineering
Serge Lang—former professor of mathematics, recipient of the 1960
Cole Prize, and political activist
Arthur M. Langer—professor of professional practice, academic director of the
M.S. in professional technology program and founder of Workforce Opportunity Services
Jaron Lanier—visiting scholar at the Computer Science department
Robert S. Neuwirth—Babcock Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; pioneer in the use of gynecological endoscopy
Kimberly Noble–Professor of Neuroscience and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University; American Psychological Association Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest Award
Rebecca Oppenheimer—Astronomical instrument builder; pioneer in studying exoplanet and substellar atmospheres; co-discoverer of first known brown dwarf
Edward W. Said—university professor, professor of English and comparative literature, Palestinian activist, author of Orientalism, widely considered founder of Postcolonial studies
Mario Salvadori—architect, structural engineer, professor (1940s–1990s), consultant on
Manhattan Project, inventor of thin concrete shells
Andrew Sarris—film studies professor and auteur theorist
James Schamus—film studies professor, co-president of Focus Features, three-time
Academy Award-nominated and
BAFTA Award-winning film screenwriter and producer
Ruth Westheimer (born Karola Siegel, 1928; known as "Dr. Ruth"), German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former
Haganah sniper.
^Shell E (January 1, 2002). "Chapter 4: On the Cutting Edge". The Hungry Gene: The Inside Story of the Obesity Industry. Atlantic Monthly Press.
ISBN978-1422352434.
^Shell E (January 1, 2002). "Chapter 5: Hunger". The Hungry Gene: The Inside Story of the Obesity Industry. Atlantic Monthly Press.
ISBN978-1422352434.