Carnegie Mellon University: A Legacy of Notable Alumni

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has a rich history of producing influential figures across various fields. From Nobel laureates to Tony Award winners, CMU alumni have made significant contributions to science, technology, arts, and business. This article highlights some of the most notable alumni who have shaped their respective industries and left a lasting impact on the world.

A Brief History of Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University was founded in 1967 through the merger of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research. The Carnegie Institute of Technology was established in 1900 with a $1 million investment from Andrew Carnegie, while the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research was co-founded in 1909 by Andrew Mellon and his brother, Richard. Today, Carnegie Mellon University has degree-granting locations across different continents.

Nobel Laureates

Three individuals affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University have been awarded Nobel Prizes in Physics and Economics:

  • John L. Hall: (B.S. 1956, M.S. 1958, Ph.D.) - Nobel Prize in Physics

  • Finn E. Kydland: (Ph.D.) - Nobel Prize in Economics

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  • Dale Thomas Mortensen: (Ph.D.) - Nobel Prize in Economics

  • John Forbes Nash: (B.S. 1948, M.S.) - Nobel Prize in Economics

  • Edward C. Prescott: (Ph.D.) - Nobel Prize in Economics

  • Clifford Shull: (B.S.) - Nobel Prize in Physics

  • Oliver E. Williamson: (Ph.D.) - Nobel Prize in Economics

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Pioneers in Computer Science and Technology

Carnegie Mellon has been at the forefront of computer science and technology, producing numerous innovators and leaders:

  • Alan Perlis: (B.S.) - A pioneer in programming languages and the first recipient of the Turing Award.

  • Ivan Sutherland: (B.S.) - A computer graphics pioneer, known for Sketchpad, and recipient of the Turing Award.

  • Edward Feigenbaum: (B.S.) - A pioneer in artificial intelligence and expert systems, and recipient of the Turing Award.

  • Shafi Goldwasser: (B.S.) - A cryptographer and computer scientist, recipient of the Turing Award.

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  • Robert Dennard: (Ph.D.) - Inventor of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM).

  • Mary Shaw: (Ph.D.) - A software engineering pioneer.

  • Luis von Ahn: (Ph.D.) - Founder of Duolingo and reCAPTCHA.

  • Stefan Savage: (B.S.) - A computer security and networking researcher.

  • Dawn Song: (M.S.) - A computer security researcher.

  • Marc Ewing: (B.S.) - Co-founder of Red Hat.

  • Andrew Ng: (B.S.) - Co-founder of Coursera and former chief scientist at Baidu.

  • Andy Bechtolsheim: (M.S.) - Co-founder of Sun Microsystems.

  • Joshua Bloch: (Ph.D.) - Former chief Java architect at Google, known for writing Effective Java.

  • Nathaniel Borenstein: (M.S. 1981, Ph.D.) - One of the creators of MIME, which enables multimedia email.

  • James Gosling: (M.S. 1983, Ph.D.) - Lead designer of the Java programming language.

  • Feng-hsiung Hsu: (Ph.D.) - Leader of the team that created Deep Blue, the chess-playing computer.

  • Kai-Fu Lee: (Ph.D.) - Former president of Google China and founder of Sinovation Ventures.

  • Qi Lu: (Ph.D.) - Former COO of Baidu and president of Microsoft's Applications and Services Group.

  • James G. Mitchell: (Ph.D.) - A computer scientist known for his work in programming languages and distributed systems.

  • John Ousterhout: (Ph.D.) - Creator of the Tcl scripting language and co-founder of Electric Cloud.

  • Randy Pausch: (Ph.D.) - Professor known for "The Last Lecture."

  • Mark Russinovich: (B.S., Ph.D.) - Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft Azure.

  • Harry Shum: (Ph.D.) - Former executive vice president at Microsoft, leading the Artificial Intelligence and Research Group.

  • Pradeep Sindhu: (Ph.D.) - Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Juniper Networks.

  • Avie Tevanian: (M.S. 1985, Ph.D.) - Former chief software technology officer at Apple Inc.

  • Richard Wallace: (Ph.D. 1989) - Chairman and co-founder of the A.L.I.C.E. AI Foundation.

Leaders in Business and Finance

The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University has produced numerous leaders in the world of business and finance:

  • David Tepper: Founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund. The business school at Carnegie Mellon University was renamed the David A. Tepper School of Business in 2004 after a donation from David of $55 million. Also owner of National Football League (NFL) team the Carolina Panthers.

  • Costas Azariadis: (MBA 1971, Ph.D. 1975) - Inaugural director of the Center for Dynamic Economics (CEDEC).

  • Yoshiaki Fujimori: (MBA Class of 1981) - President and CEO of JS Group Corporation (now LIXIL Group Corporation). Senior executive advisor of CVC Japan, a corporate venture capital fund, and chairman of Oracle Japan. Also a board member of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Boston Scientific, and Shiseido.

  • Dina Dublon: (MSIA Class of 1979) - Former executive vice president and CFO of JP Morgan Chase.

  • Sulajja Firodia Motwani: (MBA class of 1992) - Vice-chairperson of Kinetic Engineering Limited and founder and CEO of Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions Limited.

  • Nobuhiro Seki: (MBA class of 2002) - Executive vice president and general manager of the Asia Pacific region for Six Apart. Chief investment officer of Monozukuri Ventures.

  • Alan B. Thomas Jr.: (MBA class of 2000) - Chief Operating Officer at IntelliBridge.

  • Keith Law: (MBA class of 1999) - Writer, The Athletic.

  • Ted Decker: (M.B.A.) - CEO of The Home Depot.

  • Alexander Knaster: (B.S.) - A businessman and investor.

Influential Figures in Arts and Entertainment

Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama is consistently ranked as one of the world's best drama schools and is recognized as an international leader in arts and technology. CMU alumni have won 66 Tony Awards.