Caltech has over 20,000 living alumni of whom 17 are Nobel Prize-winning scientists and has produced leaders in almost every field imaginable.
Following is a brief sampling of notable former Techers.
- Moshe Arens, former Israeli minister of defense and foreign affairs
- Arnold O. Beckman, founder and chairman emeritus, Beckman Instruments
- David Brin, science-fiction writer (Startide Rising; The Postman; Foundation's Triumph)
- Frank Capra, film director (It Happened One Night; Lost Horizon; It's a Wonderful Life)
- Chester F. Carlson, inventor of Xerography (photocopying)
- James E. Hall, founder and president, Jim Hall Racing
- Steingrimur Hermannsson, former prime minister, Iceland
- David Ho, director, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center; 1996 Time magazine Man of the Year
- Alan P. Lightman, theoretical physicist-cum-novelist and essayist (Einstein's Dreams; Dance for Two; Good Benito)
- Sandra Tsing Loh, writer/performer (Depth Takes a Holiday; Aliens in America; If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home by Now)
- Ruben F. Mettler, retired chairman and CEO, TRW Inc.
- Gordon E. Moore, chairman emeritus and cofounder, Intel Corp.
- Arati Prabhakar, former director, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Allen E. Puckett, chairman emeritus, Hughes Aircraft Co.
- Simon Ramo, cofounder, TRW Inc.
- Joseph Rhodes, former state representative, deputy secretary of commerce, and member of the Public Utility Commission, Pennsylvania
- Benjamin M. Rosen, chairman of the board, Compaq Computer Corp.
- Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut; former U.S. senator
- Charles E. (Chuck) Wheatley III, Senior Vice President of Technology, QUALCOMM, Inc.
- T. A. Wilson, chairman emeritus, Boeing Company
- Dean E. Wooldridge, cofounder, TRW Inc.
- Mark S. Wrighton, chancellor, Washington University, St. Louis
To learn more about Caltech alumni, visit the Caltech Alumni website and explore career profiles.
Read profiles of past winners of the Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor the Institute bestows upon a graduate, in recognition of "a particular achievement of noteworthy value, a series of such achievements, or a career of noteworthy accomplishment."
Selections are made by a faculty and alumni committee and confirmed by the Board of Trustees. Since the award's inception in 1966 Caltech has recognized a total of 221 alumni as standouts in science, engineering, business and the arts.