Nobel laureates
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] 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).
Founding Fathers of the United States
Founding Fathers of the United States are the political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence or the United States Constitution , or otherwise participated in the American Revolution as leaders of the Patriots.
Alexander Hamilton —Founding Father, American Revolutionary War officer and aide-de-camp to George Washington , initiator and co-author of The Federalist Papers U.S. Secretary of the Treasury , economist, one of the first U.S. constitutional lawyers (picture appears on U.S. ten-dollar bill)John Jay —Founding Father, president of the Continental Congress, co-author of The Federalist Papers U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs , first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court , diplomat, architect of Jay's Treaty with Great BritainRobert Livingston —Founding Father, drafter of the Declaration of Independence , first U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs , U.S. Minister to France, negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase Gouverneur Morris —Founding Father, author of large sections of the Constitution of the United States , U.S. Minister Plenipotentiary to France , United States Senator from New York, creator of the Manhattan street grid system, a builder of the Erie canalEgbert Benson —Founding Father, member of the Continental Congresses ; with Alexander Hamilton , delegate from New York to the Annapolis Convention ; ratifier of the United States Constitution ; served in the First and Second United States Congresses
Notable faculty
See also above at Nobel Laureates ("Alumni" and "Faculty") for separate listing of 41 notable faculty
Alfred Aho —Canadian computer scientist known for co-authorship of the AWK programming language ; IEEE John von Neumann Medal (2003)Anne Marie Albano –professor of medical psychology; known for clinical work and research on anxiety disorders Hattie Alexander —professor of pediatrics, microbiologist; known for Haemophilus influenzae , antibiotic resistance Dimitris Anastassiou —professor of electrical engineering , developer of MPEG-2 technologyEdwin Armstrong —professor, winner of the 1941 Franklin Medal and the 1942 Edison Medal , inventor and the Father of FM Radio Karen Barkey —professor of sociologyCharles A. Beard —(Ph.D. 1904) American historian of the first half of the 20th centuryPeter Bearman —professor of sociologyDaniel Bell —(graduate study, 1938–1939) professor of sociologyJ. Bowyer Bell —adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, and research associate at the Institute of War and Peace StudiesJagdish Bhagwati —professor of economics and law, author of In Defense of Globalization Franz Boas —father of American AnthropologySophie Body-Gendrot –French sociologistC. Louise Boehringer , first female superintendent of schools, Yuma County and first female to be elected to office in Arizona .Lee Bollinger —(J.D.) University President/law professor, First Amendment scholar, Affirmative Action advocateHjalmar Hjorth Boyesen —professor of Germanic languagesGeovanny Vicente —associate faculty of strategic communications for professionalsRobert Branner —professor of art history and archeology (1957-1969, 1971-1973)Ronald Breslow —university professor of chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and engineering; Priestley Medal (1999); Perkin Medal (2010)Alan Brinkley —professor of American history and university provost; son of newscaster David Brinkley Zbigniew Brzezinski —National Security Advisor under the Carter Administration, taught Foreign AffairsRichard Bulliet —history professor and Middle East scholar, author of Kicked to Death by a Camel John Burgess —founder of modern political scienceSantiago Calatrava —(honorary doctorate, 2007), architect, sculptor and structural engineer , designer of Montjuic Communications Tower and World Trade Center Transportation Hub Stephen Cameron —financial analyst and adjunct associate professor (2003–present) and former associate professor (1994–2003) of International and Public Affairs ; noted for studies on GED Gabo Camnitzer —Artist, and educatorNeil W. Chamberlain —business professor and industrial relations scholarCharles F. Chandler —chemist, first Dean of Columbia University 's School of Mines Kartik Chandran —environmental engineer, MacArthur Fellowship Recipient 2015[4] Partha Chatterjee —anthropologist and scholar of postcolonial nationalismThomas J. Christensen —political scientist and interim dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University Richard Clarida —C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Columbia University and current vice chair of the Federal Reserve Hillary Clinton —First Lady of the United States , United States senator from New York, 67th United States Secretary of State George R. Collins —professor of art history (1946-1986)Lee Saunders Crandall —ornithologist and general curator of the Bronx Zoo Hamid Dabashi —cultural and literary criticAlexander Dallin —history and political science professor, director of Russian InstituteSamuel J. Danishefsky —professor of chemistry, winner of the Wolf Prize Chemistry in 1995/96Pierre Dansereau —Canadian ecologist known as one of the "fathers of ecology".Arthur Danto —Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy emeritus, art criticWilliam Theodore de Bary —scholar and translator of East Asian texts, particularly classical Chinese canonAndrew Delbanco —2012 National Humanities Medal ; director of American Studies at Columbia UniversityEmanuel Derman —professor and director of Columbia's financial engineering program, co-authors of the Financial Modelers' Manifesto Donald Dewey —former Economics professorJohn Dewey —former Philosophy professorWilliam Diver —linguistics professor, founder of the Columbia School of Linguistics Theodosius Dobzhansky —(researcher, graduate study, professor in population genetics); National Medal of Science in 1964; the Franklin Medal in 1973Andrew Dolkart —architectural historianAnn Douglas — cultural critic, recipient of the Beveridge Award and Merle Curti Award Karen Duff —Potamkin Prize winning pathologistJohn R. Dunning —physicist who played key roles in the development of the atomic bomb Samuel Eilenberg —winner of the Wolf Prize Arnold Eisen —chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary of America Jon Elster —Robert Merton Professor of Social Science, leading theorist of rational choice theory , Marxism , and social theory Niki Erlenmeyer-Kimling —professor of clinical psychiatryWilliam Maurice Ewing —earth scientist and pioneerAwi Federgruen , Affiliate Professor of Operations Research and Industrial EngineeringEnrico Fermi —Manhattan Project member, Nobel laureate Edgar Fiedler (1929–2003) - economistMiloš Forman —film director, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Amadeus The People vs. Larry Flynt Academy Awards Annette Baker Fox —international relations scholarWilliam T. R. Fox —political scientist and international relations theoreticianDavid Freedberg —art historianFerdinand Freudenstein —Higgins Professor Emeritus of Mechanical EngineeringFred W. Friendly —CBS News producer and media scholarErich Fromm —noted psychologistVirginia Page Fortna —American political scientist, recipient of the 2010 Karl Deutsch Award from the International Studies Association Zvi Galil (born 1947)—Israeli computer scientist, mathematician, and President of Tel Aviv University Patrick X. Gallagher —professor emeritus of mathematicsHerbert J. Gans —professor of sociology; author of Popular Culture and High Culture Kristine Gebbie —professor of nursing and Bill Clinton 's first AIDS Czar Frank Gehry —Pritzker Prize -winning architectHarry Gideonse (1901–1985), President of Brooklyn College , and Chancellor of the New School for Social Research Dorian M. Goldfeld —professor of mathematicsRobert Gooding-Williams —M. Moran Weston/Black Alumni Council Professor of African-American Studies and Professor of PhilosophyAl Gore —Vice President of the United States of AmericaBenjamin Graham —father of value investing, mentor of Warren Buffett Brian Greene —mathematics and physics professor, researcher and author in String Theory Victoria de Grazia —professor of history, founding editor of Radical History Review Sunil Gulati —professor of economics and chair of the U.S. Soccer Federation Joan Dye Gussow —food policy expertRichard S. Hamilton —Davies Professor of mathematics; awarded Shaw Prize (2011), Leroy P. Steele Prize (2009), Clay Research Award (2003), Veblen Prize (1996)Georg Friedrich Haas —professor of compositionGisue Hariri —professor of architectureCyril M. Harris —professor of electrical engineering and architectCarl Hart —first African American tenured sciences professor at ColumbiaRoss Hassig —anthropologist and Mesoamerica scholarHoward Hibbard —Professor of Italian Baroque ArtRoger Hilsman —political scientist, author, and government officialGeovanny Vicente —political strategist, author, Associate Professor of Strategic Communications for professional, award-winning columnist for CNN Richard Hofstadter —noted historianRalph Holloway —physical anthropologistCarl Hovde —professor and Dean during the Columbia University protests of 1968 .[5] Andreas Huyssen —Villard Professor of German and Comparative LiteratureDavid Ignatow —poet, Bollingen Prize -winnerLawrence R. Jacobs — political scientist and founder and director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance (CSPG) at the University of Minnesota Kenneth T. Jackson —historian of New York CityHervé Jacquet —professor emeritus of mathematicsJon 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 departmentThomas Christian Kavanagh —professor of civil engineeringDonald Keene —Japanese studies expertJames 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 propertyRashid Khalidi —Middle East historianCinta Laura Kiehl — Indonesian actress, singer, model and ambassador of anti-violence against women and children by the Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection Philip Kim —professor of applied physics and mathematicsGrayson L. Kirk —former president and instrumental in the founding of the United Nations Security Council Kenneth Koch —poetMasatake Kuranishi —professor emeritus of mathematicsKlaus Lackner —professor of environmental engineeringSerge Lang —former professor of mathematics, recipient of the 1960 Cole Prize , and political activistArthur M. Langer —professor of professional practice, academic director of the M.S. in professional technology program and founder of Workforce Opportunity ServicesJaron Lanier —visiting scholar at the Computer Science departmentLeon M. Lederman —Nobel Laureate , discoverer of muon neutrino '62, bottom quark '77. Professor (1951–1989); M.A., Ph.D. ColumbiaTsung Dao Lee —physics professor, Nobel laureate Rudolph Leibel —Christopher J. Murphy Memorial Professor of Diabetes; Co-discovered the hormone leptin , and cloned the leptin and leptin receptor genes, which have had a major role in the area of understanding human obesity .[6] [7] Mark Lilla —professor of humanities; historian of ideas[8] Konrad Lorenz —psychology professor, Nobel laureate (Physiology or Medicine, 1973)Walther Ludwig —classical studies professorNicholas F. Maxemchuk —professor of electrical engineering Dusa McDuff —professor of mathematicsMyrtle Byram McGraw —psychologist, neurobiologist, and child development researcherJohn Anthony McGuckin —professor of Byzantine Christian StudiesRustin McIntosh —former pediatrics professorMargaret Mead —professor of anthropologyDon Melnick —professor of environmental biology and advisor to the UN on environmental issuesEdward Mendelson —Lionel Trilling Professor in the HumanitiesRobert K. Merton —professor of sociology; founder of sociology of science ; National Medal of Science Jacob Millman —professor of electrical engineering , creator of Millman's Theorem C. Wright Mills —professor of sociologyEben Moglen —Law and the Internet Society, general counsel of FSF Sidney Morgenbesser —John Dewey Professor of PhilosophyRobert Mundell —economics professor, 1999 Nobel laureate in EconomicsJohn Hine Mundy —professor of medieval history, former president of the Medieval Academy of America Tristan Murail —professor of music composition, French composerP. T. Narasimhan —theoretical chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureateMira Nair —director of Monsoon Wedding Shree K. Nayar —professor of computer science , scholar noted for his work in the fields of Computational Imaging and Computer Vision Franz Leopold Neumann —political science professor, Communist spy in Redhead groupGertrude Fanny Neumark — expert on doping wide-band semiconductors Robert S. Neuwirth —Babcock Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; pioneer in the use of gynecological endoscopyKimberly Noble –Professor of Neuroscience and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University; American Psychological Association Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest AwardRebecca Oppenheimer —Astronomical instrument builder; pioneer in studying exoplanet and substellar atmospheres; co-discoverer of first known brown dwarfRobert G. O'Meally —Grammy Award -nominated producer, professor of English and comparative literatureKevin O'Rourke —Irish economist, now Chichele Professor of Economic History at the University of OxfordJohn Ordronaux —Civil War army surgeon, professor of medical jurisprudence , mental health commissionerVictor Perlo —economics professor, Soviet spymaster involved in Harold Ware spy ring and Perlo group as shown in Venona list of suspected subversives in the U.S.Edmund Phelps —economist and Nobel laureate Lorenzo da Ponte —first professor of Italian language and literature at Columbia; librettist to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Charles Lane Poor —astronomerPeter Pouncey — classicist, novelist, college dean 1972–1976, former president of Amherst College Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin —professor, Serbian physicist and physical chemist whose inventions include the Pupin coil Isidor Isaac Rabi —professor, Ph.D. from Columbia (1927), Nobel Laureate , discoverer of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Eliezer Rafaeli —founding President of the University of Haifa Shivaram Rajgopal Vice Dean for research at Columbia Business School and a professor of accounting and auditingNorman Foster Ramsey Jr. —professor (1940–1947) (B.A. 1935, Ph.D. 1940, Columbia); 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics , IEEE Medal of Honor , Discovery of deuteron electric quadrupole moment, molecular beam spectroscopy Hyman G. Rickover —developer of the nuclear submarine, master's degree in electrical engineeringMichael Riffaterre —university professor, French & Romance philology, semioticianMary Robinson —7th president of Ireland , professor of practice in international affairs Joseph Rothschild —political science and history professor, teacher of Contemporary CivilizationJeffrey Sachs —head of the United Nations Millennium Project to end poverty, author of The End of Poverty .Edward W. Said —university professor, professor of English and comparative literature, Palestinian activist, author of Orientalism Mario Salvadori —architect, structural engineer, professor (1940s–1990s), consultant on Manhattan Project , inventor of thin concrete shellsAndrew Sarris —film studies professor and auteur theoristSaskia Sassen —Dutch-American sociologist noted for analyses of globalization and international human migration ; coined the term global city Simon Schama —history ProfessorJames Schamus —film studies professor, co-president of Focus Features, three-time Academy Award -nominated and BAFTA Award -winning film screenwriter and producerRobert Y. Shapiro —chairman of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research , president of the Academy of Political Science , editor of the Political Science Quarterly Avinoam Shalem —art historian, 24th director of the American Academy in Rome Warner R. Schilling —political scientist and international relations scholarMarshall D. Shulman —scholar of Soviet studies and the founding director of the Russian InstituteSonia Sotomayor —lecturer in law, Columbia Law School (1999–); nominated by President Barack Obama , on May 26, 2009, to be a justice of the United States Supreme Court Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak —English professorHenry Spotnitz —affiliate professor of biomedical engineeringClifford Stein —professor of operations research and industrial engineering Julian Steward —anthropologist, authority of Cultural ecology Joseph Stiglitz —economics professor, 2001 Nobel laureate in EconomicsGilbert Stork —winner of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1995/6Horst Ludwig Störmer —I.I. Rabi professor of physics and applied physics , winner of 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics Mark Strand —poet, former U.S. Poet Laureate , Bollingen and Pulitzer Prize -winnerBjarne Stroustrup —creator of the C++ programming languageMan-Chung Tang —professor of civil engineering and former chairman of American Society of Civil Engineers Alan M. Taylor —economistMarco Tedesco —ClimatologistEdward Lee Thorndike —father of American experimental psychologyRobert Thurman —Je Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, first American Tibetan Buddhist monk, father of actress Uma Thurman Charles Tilly —professor of sociologyWilliam York Tindall —James Joyce scholarAdam Tooze —historianOliver Samuel Tonks —lecturer of Ancient Greek Olivier Toubia —Glaubinger Professor of BusinessCharles Hard Townes —professor and Nobel Prize-winning physicist who helped to invent the laser [9] Joseph F. Traub —founding chairman of the computer science department at ColumbiaLionel Trilling —literary scholarHarold Clayton Urey —professor, Nobel Laureate (1934), extensive development in the Manhattan Project , discoverer of Deuterium Carl Van Doren —Pulitzer Prize -winning biographerCharles Van Doren —English professor whose national disgrace was the subject of the Oscar-nominated film Quiz Show Mark Van Doren —Pulitzer Prize -winning poetVladimir Vapnik —professor of computer science and co-developer of Vapnik–Chervonenkis theory Geovanny Vicente — associate professor of strategic communications and CNN columnistKenneth Waltz —political science professor and noted neorealism scribeDuncan Watts —professor of sociology and author of "Six Degrees" and "Small Worlds"Sheldon Weinig —professor of operations research and industrial engineering and founder of Materials Research Corporation Maxine Weinstein David Weiss Halivni —rabbi, founder of Union for Traditional Judaism and developer of source-critical analysis of the Talmud 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.Nancy Wexler —Higgins Professor of NeuropsychologyHarrison White —professor of sociologyEnos Wicher —professor and Soviet spy named in Venona list of suspected subversives in the U.S., stepfather of State Department Soviet spy Flora Wovschin Peter Woit —mathematics professor, skeptic of string theory Michael Wood — professor of English and comparative literature, holds endowed chair of English at PrincetonHoward Wriggins —political science and international relations professor, also U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka and the MaldivesChien-Shiung Wu —physics professor, first woman to head the American Physical Society and winner of the Wolf Prize Physics in 1978David Tannor (born 1958), theoretical chemist , visiting professor, Hermann Mayer Professorial Chair in the Department of Chemical Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science Mihalis Yannakakis —professor of computer science , scholar noted for his work in the fields of Computational complexity theory , Databases Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi —Salo Wittmayer Baron Professor of Jewish History at Culture and SocietyShou-Wu Zhang , former professor of mathematics; specializes in number theory and arithmetical algebraic geometry ; winner of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009 and Fields Medal finalistTheodore Zoli —adjunct professor of civil engineering and structural engineer 