List of some notable people associated with the University of Colorado Boulder
University of Colorado Boulder
The following is a list of some notable people associated with the
University of Colorado Boulder .
Nobel laureate faculty and staff
Thomas R. Cech , Nobel laureate in
Chemistry , 1989
Stanley Cohen , Nobel laureate in
Physiology or Medicine , 1986
Eric Allin Cornell , Nobel laureate in
Physics , 2001
John L. Hall , Nobel laureate in Physics, 2005
Paul Komor, co-recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize , 2007
[1]
Herbert Kroemer , Nobel laureate in Physics, 2000
Carl Wieman , Nobel laureate in Physics, 2001
David J. Wineland , Nobel laureate in Physics, 2012
Muhammad Yunus , Nobel Peace Prize, 2006
Notable faculty and staff
Waleed Abdalati , scientist, Chief Scientist of NASA
Patricia A. Adler , professor emerita of sociology
Bernard Amadei , civil engineer, founder of
Engineers Without Borders
Mark Amerika , artist and author
Fred Anderson , historian, author of The Crucible of War
Albert Allen Bartlett , physicist, popular writer on exponential growth in populations and energy resources
Petr Beckmann , physicist, engineer
Kenneth Boulding , economist
Stan Brakhage , filmmaker
Sara Branham Matthews , microbiologist
Storm Bull , Professor Emeritus at the College of Music and Head of the Division of Piano
Adolf Busemann , pioneering aerospace engineer
Sarvadaman Chowla , mathematician
Ward Churchill , former ethnic studies professor noted for inflammatory statements dealing with
9/11 , dismissed from CU-Boulder 2007
Robert T. Craig ,
communication theorist and author of
Communication Theory as a Field
William Duane , physicist
Max Mapes Ellis , explorer and physiologist
Larry Esposito , discoverer of
Saturn 's fourth ring
Charbel Farhat , Chairman of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Stanford University
George Gamow ,
physicist and
cosmologist
Brad Goode , jazz trumpeter
Alice F. Healy , psychologist
Clayton Heathcock , Professor of Chemistry and Dean of the College of Chemistry at the
University of California, Berkeley
Robert Hill , harpsichordist and fortepianist
Linda Hogan , Native American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories
Janet L. Jacobs , gender and religion sociologist
Deborah S. Jin , physicist
Daniel Kellogg , composer
Patricia Nelson Limerick , historian and occasional
New York Times columnist
Margaret Murnane , physicist, pioneer of femto-second laser research; MacArthur fellow
Carter Pann , composer
Steven Pollock , physicist,
U.S. Professor of the Year
Hobart Muir Smith , most published herpetologist of all time;
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Phil Solomon , filmmaker, mentor
Joseph R. Tanner , former astronaut
John Taylor , physicist
Stanislaw Ulam , mathematician
James Voss , former astronaut
James F. Williams , Dean of Libraries
Muriel Sibell Wolle , artist and author
Betty Woodman , ceramic artist
George Woodman , ceramicist, painter, and photographer
Melanie Yazzie , sculptor, painter, and printmaker
Academia, science and technology
Len Ackland , professor at the
University of Colorado and co-director of the Center for Environmental Journalism
Elaine Anderson , paleontologist
George J. Armelagos , Goodrich C. White Professor of Anthropology at
Emory University
John Christian Bailar , statistician, Professor Emeritus at the
University of Chicago
Janet Bonnema , civil engineer
Kathryn Bullock , electrochemist
Steve Chappell , aerospace engineer and NASA scientist
Erica Chenoweth , political scientist, expert on
civil resistance movements and faculty member at the
Josef Korbel School of International Studies
[2]
Robert Corruccini , biological anthropologist and author of numerous monographs and articles on the theory of
malocclusion
Hilda Counts , electrical engineer
Patrick Curran , professor of
quantitative psychology at the
University of North Carolina and Director of the L. L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory
Ward Darley , president, University of Colorado
William E. Davis , former university president and United States Senate candidate
Vine Deloria, Jr. , academic and political author on Native American subjects
W. Edwards Deming , manufacturing quality expert
Marla Dowell , physicist, director of
NIST Communications Technology Laboratory
Patricia Louise Dudley ,
zoologist specializing in
copepods
Elsie Eaves , civil engineer
Kristian Skrede Gleditsch , Regius professof of political science at the University of Essex, and former president of the
International Studies Association (2021-22)
Steve H. Hanke , professor of economics at
Johns Hopkins University , adviser to presidents, currency reformer and commodity and currency trader
David Haussler , professor,
University of California, Santa Cruz
Gretchen Hofmann , professor of ecological physiology of marine organisms at the
University of California, Santa Barbara
Tom Hornbein , developed the standard breathing mask after climbing Mt. Everest in 1963
Charles Hoskinson , Mathematician, founder of Cardano and co-founder of Ethereum
Moriba Jah ,
astrodynamicist ; associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at the
University of Texas at Austin ; Core Faculty of the
Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences ; former spacecraft navigator for NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
[3]
Alan Kay ,
computer scientist ,
Turing Award winner
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross , Swiss-born psychiatrist and the author of the groundbreaking book
On Death and Dying
Ron Larson , professor of mathematics at
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Emory Lindquist ,
Rhodes scholar , Swedish American historian, president of
Bethany College and
Wichita State University
Theodore Harold Maiman , demonstrated the first laser
Tom Maniatis , Edelma Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Christopher McKay , planetary scientist at
NASA Ames Research Center
Lou Alta Melton , civil engineer and bridge engineer
Kenneth Miller , biologist at
Brown University
Kathe Perez , speech-language pathologist
[4]
Ralph Prator , first president of
California State University, Northridge
Philip Radovic , podiatric surgeon
Kay Schallenkamp , president of
Emporia State University , and later
Black Hills State University
Leon Silver , geologist at California Institute of Technology, past president of Geological Society of America, trained Apollo astronauts in field geology
Christopher Sorensen , Cortelyou-Rust University Distinguished Professor and a University Distinguished Teaching Scholar in the Kansas State University Physics Department
[5]
Gary Stormo , geneticist and pioneer of
bioinformatics and
genomics
Michael T. Voorhees , entrepreneur, engineer, designer, geographer, and aeronaut
3OH!3 , electronic music group
Linda Alterwitz , artist and photographer
Josephine Antoine ,
coloratura soprano with the
Metropolitan Opera
Brandon Barnes , drummer for the band
Rise Against and Pinhead Circus
Charles L. Bestor , composer and music educator
Rodney Carswell , painter
Chairlift , electronic-pop group
Derek Cianfrance , screenwriter and film director
Lydia Cornell , actress, author
Eli Craig , screenwriter and film director
Eric Darnell , director
Joey Diaz , comedian
Brian Dietzen , actor
Lisa Donovan , actress and writer
Patricia Elliott , actress
Joe Flanigan , actor
Tanner Foust , television host, stunt driver, professional racing driver
Nicole Fox , model, winner of
America's Next Top Model , Cycle 13
Drew Goddard , film and television screenwriter, director and producer
Jake Goldberg , actor
Dave Grusin , composer, winner of three Academy and three Grammy awards
Heather Hach , wrote the screenplay for the 2003 remake of
Freaky Friday and the book of the Broadway musical
Legally
Blonde
Erinn Hayes , actress
Jonah Hill , actor
David "GrandPooBear" Hunt ,
speedrunner and streamer well known for retro
Super Mario games
Angus T. Jones , actor
R. J. Kern , artist and photographer
Shawn King , drummer, percussionist, trumpeter, accordionist, organist for the band
DeVotchKa
Chaney Kley , actor
Land of the Loops , electronica musician
William Lewis , opera
tenor and academic
Larry Linville , actor (
M*A*S*H )
Low vs Diamond , rock band
Erin Macdonald , science consultant for
Star Trek
Ross Marquand , actor
Christopher Meloni , actor
Glenn Miller , composer, big band leader
Joan Moment , painter and educator
Nathaniel Motte , singer, songwriter, producer, performer, film composer, instrumentalist, and playwright
Thomas Noel , historian
Peter O'Fallon , director, producer and writer
Trey Parker , co-creator of
South Park
Caroline Polachek , singer-songwriter
Robert Redford , actor (did not graduate), Oscar winner, founder of the
Sundance Film Festival
Dean Reed , actor, singer and songwriter, director, and social activist
Joe Safdie , poet
Aaron Simpson , Emmy-nominated animation producer
Susan Arnout Smith , award-winning playwright and novelist
Paul Soldner , artist
Matt Stone , co-creator of South Park
Eric Stough , producer and the director of animation on South Park
Steve Taylor , singer/songwriter and film director
Dalton Trumbo , writer, Academy Award winner
Joan Van Ark , actress
Townes Van Zandt , country-folk singer-songwriter, withdrew in his sophomore year
Linda Williams , professor of film studies at the
University of California, Berkeley
Chris Wood , electronic musician
Pamela Z , composer, performer, and media artist
Dean Zanuck , motion picture executive and producer
Loren Acton ,
NASA astronaut
Patrick Baudry ,
CNES astronaut
Vance D. Brand , NASA astronaut
Scott Carpenter , NASA astronaut in second orbital flight (fourth crewed) of
Project Mercury
Kalpana Chawla , NASA astronaut, died on
Columbia
Takao Doi , NASA astronaut
Samuel T. Durrance , NASA astronaut
John Herrington , NASA astronaut
Richard Hieb , NASA astronaut
Marsha Ivins , NASA astronaut
John M. Lounge , NASA astronaut
George Nelson , NASA astronaut
Ellison Onizuka , NASA astronaut, died on
Challenger in January 1986
Stuart Roosa , NASA astronaut, flew on
Apollo 14
Ronald M. Sega , NASA astronaut
Steven Swanson , NASA astronaut
Jack Swigert , NASA astronaut, flew on
Apollo 13
James Voss , NASA astronaut
Bobby Anderson , former
NFL running back for the
Denver Broncos
Dick Anderson , former NFL safety for the
Miami Dolphins
Tom Ashworth , former NFL offensive tackle for the
Seattle Seahawks
Sal Aunese , Big Eight Newcomer of the Year
Chidobe Awuzie , NFL cornerback for the
Dallas Cowboys
David Bakhtiari , NFL offensive tackle for the
Green Bay Packers
Justin Bannan , former NFL defensive tackle for the
Denver Broncos
Dede Barry , cyclist, won silver in the 2004 Summer Olympics in the women's time trial
Mitch Berger , former NFL
punter
Greg Biekert , former NFL linebacker for the
Oakland Raiders and
Minnesota Vikings
Eric Bieniemy , former NFL running back and offensive coordinator for the
Kansas City Chiefs
Chauncey Billups ,
Detroit Pistons of the
NBA , 2004 NBA Finals MVP
Abhinav Bindra , shooter, won gold for India in the
2008 Summer Olympics in the
10 metre air rifle
Joan Birkland , Colorado state women's amateur golf and tennis champion
Jeremy Bloom , Olympic skier (played football for Colorado), drafted by
Philadelphia Eagles
Cliff Branch , former wide receiver with the
Oakland Raiders
Tyler Brayton , NFL defensive end, plays for the
Carolina Panthers
Carlon Brown , basketball player, 2013-14
top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League
Chris Brown , former NFL running back for the
Houston Texans
Heidi Browning , NHL chief marketing officer
Rae Carruth , former
wide receiver for the
Carolina Panthers
Franklin Clarke , former
All-Pro
wide receiver for the
Dallas Cowboys
Emma Coburn , mid-distance runner, Olympian 2016 Bronze Medalist Steeplechase, 2017 World Champion
Mark Cooney , former NFL linebacker for the
Green Bay Packers
Joe Cooper , former NBA center
Mason Crosby , NFL kicker for the
Green Bay Packers
Alan Culpepper , runner, Olympian, 2000 and 2004
Koy Detmer , former NFL quarterback
Spencer Dinwiddie , NBA guard for the
Brooklyn Nets
Boyd Dowler , former NFL wide receiver for the
Green Bay Packers
Jon Embree , former head football coach for the
Colorado Buffaloes
Christian Fauria , NFL tight end for the
Carolina Panthers
Peter Foley (born 1965 or 1966), former snowboarding coach; suspended for 10 years for sexual misconduct
Bill Frank , Canadian Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the
Toronto Argonauts and the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Tom Garfinkel , president and CEO of the Miami Dolphins
David Gibbs , former NFL head coach
Taylor Gold (born 1993), snowboarder; Olympic bronze medalist
Adam Goucher , professional runner with Nike, Olympian 2000
Kara Goucher , runner, Olympian 2008, 2012
Daniel Graham , former NFL tight end for the
Denver Broncos
Natalia Grossman ,
IFSC Climbing World Cup champion sport climber
Alex Gurney , professional
auto racing driver
Andre Gurode , former
All-Pro center for the
Dallas Cowboys
D.J. Hackett , former NFL wide receiver for the
Carolina Panthers
Tyler Hamilton , cyclist with many impressive finishes at the Tour de France, Summer Olympics
David Harrison , former NBA center
Don Hasselbeck , former NFL tight end
Steven J. Hatchell , president and CEO of the
National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Inc.
Jimmie Heuga , alpine skiing,
1964 Olympic bronze medalist in
slalom
Katie Hnida , football place kicker (graduated from the
University of New Mexico )
Jay Howell , retired
Major League Baseball pitcher of 15 years
Jay Humphries , former NBA guard
Hale Irwin ,
golfer , three-time
U.S. Open champion
Brian Iwuh , former NFL linebacker for the
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jonathan Kaye (born 1970), professional golfer on
PGA Tour
Billy Kidd , alpine skiing,
1964 Olympic silver medalist in
slalom ,
1970 World Champion (
combined )
Joe Klopfenstein , former NFL tight end for the
Buffalo Bills
Stuart Krohn (born 1962), professional
rugby union player
Sepp Kuss , cyclist, winner of the
2023 Vuelta a España
Matt Lepsis , former NFL offensive tackle for the
Denver Broncos
Michael Lewis , former
All-Pro safety for the
San Francisco 49ers
Phillip Lindsay , NFL running back for the
Denver Broncos
Dave Logan , former NFL receiver, broadcaster
Eliot Marshall , retired
mixed martial arts fighter
[6]
Nikki Marshall , NWSL defender for the
Portland Thorns FC
Scotty McKnight , former NFL WR for the
New York Jets
Matt Miller , former NFL offensive tackle for the
Cleveland Browns
William Nelson , professional runner, Olympian 2008; Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the CU XC/Track & Field Teams
Isaiah Oliver , NFL cornerback for the
Atlanta Falcons
Tyler Polumbus , former NFL offensive tackle for the
Washington Redskins
Vince Rafferty , former NFL center and guard for the
Green Bay Packers
Marcus Relphorde (born 1988). basketball player in the
Israeli National League
Paul Richardson , former NFL wide receiver for the
Seattle Seahawks
Dathan Ritzenhein , professional runner with
Nike , Olympian 2004, 2008, and 2012
Paul Robinson , professional rock climber
Bill Roe , former NFL and USFL linebacker
Spider Sabich , alpine skiing,
1968 Olympian (5th in
slalom ), and pro champion, 1971 and 1972
Rashaan Salaam , former NFL running back, 1994
Heisman Trophy winner
Cory Sandhagen ,
mixed martial artist who is currently ranked #5 in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight rankings
Brendan Schaub , former NFL candidate; retired
mixed martial artist for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship ; stand-up comedian
Laviska Shenault , NFL wide receiver for the
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jenny Simpson , 1500 meter runner, Olympian 2008, 2012, 2016 Bronze Medalist
Jimmy Smith , NFL cornerback for the
Baltimore Ravens
Nate Solder , NFL offensive tackle for the
New York Giants
John Stearns , former catcher for Philadelphia Phillies and NY Mets
Alexandra Stevenson , tennis player
Kordell Stewart , former NFL quarterback for the
Pittsburgh Steelers
Bill Symons , former CFL All-Star for the
Toronto Argonauts
Debi Thomas ,
Olympic figure skater in
1988
Tedric Thompson , NFL safety for the
Kansas City Chiefs
Bill Toomey , Olympic gold medalist in the
1968
decathlon
Rachel Wacholder , model and beach volleyball player
Ward Walsh , former NFL running back
Scott Wedman , former NBA forward
Michael Westbrook , former NFL wide receiver
Terrence Wheatley , former NFL cornerback for the
New England Patriots , first-team All-Big 12
Damen Wheeler , former NFL and XFL cornerback
Alfred Williams , former NFL linebacker, 1990 Butkus Award winner
Ahkello Witherspoon , NFL cornerback for the
San Francisco 49ers
John Wooten , All-American; played for the
Cleveland Browns ; former vice president/director for the
Philadelphia Eagles ; assistant director for the
Baltimore Ravens
Mohamed Al-Mady , president of
SABIC
Jake Burton Carpenter , founder of
Burton Snowboards
John Dendahl , retired business executive and member of the 1960 US Olympic ski team
Steve Ells , founder, chairman, and CEO of
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Thorleif Enger , former boss of
Yara International ; indicted in 2012 in relation to
the company's business practices in Libya
[7]
Richard S. Fuld , former
Lehman Brothers chairman and CEO
Tim Gill , founder and former Chairman of
Quark, Inc.
Ron Gordon , former president of
Atari
Brent Handler , entrepreneur and pioneer of the destination club industry
Michael Karlan , founder of the nation's largest social and networking group,
Professionals in the City
David Kennedy , co-founder of
Wieden + Kennedy advertising agency, known for its 1980s "Just Do It" campaign for
Nike
Matt Larson , founder and CEO of
Confio Software
Lieutenant Colonel
Thita Rangsitpol Manitkul , former
congresswoman ,
politician , female officer of
Royal Thai Armed Forces ,
Ministry of Defence (Thailand) Spokesperson and Deputy Secretary of
Ministry of Defence (Thailand)
[8]
Sanford McDonnell , President of
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
Chris Myers , former vice president of Business Development at
Lockheed Martin and former mayor of
Medford, New Jersey
Scott Oki , former senior vice president of sales and marketing for
Microsoft who conceived and built Microsoft's international operations
Lucy Sanders , CEO and co-founder of the
National Center for Women & Information Technology
[9]
Steuart Walton , attorney and grandson of
Sam Walton
John Branch , sports writer for
The New York Times and recipient of the 2013
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing
Dave Briggs , co-host of
Fox & Friends Weekend ,
Fox News Channel
Benedict Carey , medical and science writer for
The New York Times
Dan Carlin , television/radio journalist and podcaster
Linda Chavez , political analyst and Fox News commentator
Kevin Corke , White House correspondent, Fox News
Tom Costello , NBC News, Washington-based correspondent
Chris Fowler , ESPN
Jim Gray , sports reporter
Tom Keene , editor-at-large for
Bloomberg News
Herb Keinon , columnist and journalist for
The Jerusalem Post
Joe Kernen , CNBC anchor
Zachery Kouwe , former financial journalist
Robert Palmer ,
Emmy Award winner, news editor and executive editor
Carl Quintanilla , CNBC News anchor
Lara Jo Regan , documentary and fine art photographer, photojournalist, author, winner of World Press Photo of the Year
Rick Reilly , ESPN commentator and former
Sports Illustrated writer, ten-time National Sportswriter of the Year
Jonathan Weil , columnist for
Bloomberg News and former writer for the
Wall Street Journal
Christine Arguello (born 1955), federal court judge, Denver, Colorado
Roger S. Burdick ,
Chief Justice of the
Idaho Supreme Court
Howard Jenkins Jr. , labor lawyer and civil servant
Louis O. Kelso , inventor of the
employee stock ownership plan
William Lee Knous , former associate justice of the
Colorado Supreme Court
Ashby Pate , Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court of Palau
Wiley Rutledge , former Associate Justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court
John Suthers , former Attorney General of Colorado
Bethuel M. Webster , lawyer and founder of
Webster & Sheffield
Byron White , former associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Molly Bloom , author
Ed Dorn , poet
John Fante , author of
Ask the Dust
Mark Leyner , author
Jean Stafford ,
Pulitzer Prize winner for
The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford
Luís Alberto Urrea , Mexican American poet, novelist, and essayist
Carrie Vaughn , author
Jack Williamson PhD, science fiction author and educator
Congressman
Joe Neguse
former congressman
Ed Perlmutter
Former Oregon Governor Kate Brown
Donald G. Brotzman , former
U.S. Representative for
Colorado
Hank Brown , U.S. Senator; U.S. Representative; former president of the
University of Northern Colorado , and the
University of Colorado system
Kate Brown , 38th
Governor of Oregon and former Secretary of State
George Alfred Carlson , 20th
Governor of Colorado
Morgan Carroll , Colorado State Senate Majority Leader
Mary Ann Casey , Ambassador to
Algeria ,
Tunisia
Mike Coffman , Mayor of
Aurora, Colorado , former
U.S. Representative for
Colorado
John J. Easton, Jr. ,
Attorney General of Vermont
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj , leader of non-violent revolution that brought democracy to
Mongolia ,
President of Mongolia ,
Prime Minister of Mongolia
Maria Handley , member-at-large of the
Democratic National Committee
Greg Harris , member of Illinois House of Representatives
Vicki Huddleston , Ambassador to
Madagascar ,
Mali , Chief of U.S. Interests Section
Havana, Cuba
Wayne Harold Johnson (
Master of Public Administration ), Republican member of both houses, consecutively, of the
Wyoming State Legislature from
Cheyenne , 1993–2017
Mark Leno California politician
Karen Middleton , member,
Colorado House of Representatives
Ed Perlmutter , former
U.S. Representative for
Colorado
Bill Ritter (Colorado Law School), Denver
District Attorney , Advisor to the
U.S. Attorney General ,
Governor of Colorado (
D )
Roy Romer (Colorado Law School), former Colorado governor
Kenneth Rutherford , activist in the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , president of
Liberia
Richard A. Sossi ,
Maryland politician
John Suthers , former Mayor of
Colorado Springs , Former
Attorney General of Colorado , former
United States Attorney for the
District of Colorado , Former District Attorney for the
4th Judicial District of Colorado
Llewellyn Thompson , Ambassador to USSR, consul to Moscow, received the Medal of Freedom
Purnomo Yusgiantoro , Minister of Defense of
Indonesia , former secretary general of
OPEC
Academics Student life
Athletics People Residence halls
Founded : 1876
Students : 32,201
Endowment : $1.09 billion
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40°00′31″N 105°16′22″W / 40.0087°N 105.2728°W / 40.0087; -105.2728 (University of Colorado Boulder )