Ramesh K. Agarwal (Ph.D. in AA, 1975), William Palm Professor of Engineering at Washington University, computational fluid dynamicist
Susan Athey (Ph.D. in business school), winner of the John Bates Clark Medal (2007) in Economics of Technology and professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences at the Stanford Graduate School of Business
Cara Drinan (J.D. 2002), author and professor of law at Catholic University
Ronald N. Bracewell AO (Ph.D. 1949), professor of electrical engineering, pioneer of radio astronomy, designed and operated the spectroheliograph used to map the temperature of the Sun during the NASA Moon landing
Ricardo Felipe Munoz (B.A. 1972), Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at Palo Alto University
Nils Nilsson (Ph.D. 1958 computer science), led the effort in developing Shakey the robot at SRI, professor of engineering, emeritus in computer science at Stanford University
John Kenneth Salisbury, Jr. (Ph.D.), roboticist and professor emeritus at Stanford's Computer Science Department and Stanford School of Medicine's Department of Surgery[10]
Jan Crull Jr. (enrollee, summer quarter 1967), Native American Rights activist and iconoclastic filmmaker, first proposed the need for an Indian college fund as an aide to U.S. Congressman Paul Simon
Gregory Minor (M.S. 1966), resigned from the General Electric nuclear reactor division in 1976 to protest the use of nuclear power, galvanizing anti-nuclear groups across the U.S.
Richard Harvey Chambers (LL.B. 1932), chief judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1959–1976), judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1954–1959)[69]
Daniel P. Collins (J.D. 1988), judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (2019–present)[70]
Procter Ralph Hug Jr. (LL.B. 1958), chief judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1996–2000), judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1977–1996; 2000–2002)[83]
Pamela Ann Rymer (LL.B. 1964), judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1989–2011), judge of the Central District of California (1983–1989)[95]
Oliver Seth (A.B. 1937), chief judge of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (1977–1984), judge of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (1962–1977)[96]
Sri Srinivasan (A.B. 1989, M.B.A. 1995, J.D. 1995), chief judge of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals (2020–present), judge of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals (2013–2020)[97]
Holly A. Thomas (A.B. 2000), judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (2022–present)[98]
Haywood Gilliam (J.D. 1994), judge of the Northern District of California (2014–present)[114]
Irma Elsa Gonzalez (A.B. 1970), chief judge of the Southern District of California (2005–2012), judge of the Southern District of California (1992–2005; 2012–2013)[115]
Phyllis J. Hamilton (A.B. 1974), chief judge of the Northern District of California (2014–2021), judge of the Northern District of California (2000–2014)[118]
Harry Lindley Hupp (A.B. 1953, LL.B. 1955), judge of the Central District of California (1984–1997)[119]
Susan Illston (J.D. 1973), judge of the Northern District of California (1995–2013)[120]
Fred Kunzel (A.B. 1925, LL.B. 1927), chief judge of the Southern District of California (1967–1969), judge of the Southern District of California (1959–1967)[122]
Charles A. Legge (A.B. 1952, LL.B. 1954), judge of the Northern District of California (1984–2001)[123]
Kimberly J. Mueller (J.D. 1995), chief judge of the Eastern District of California (2020–present), judge of the Eastern District of California (2010–2020)[129]
Robert Francis Peckham (A.B. 1941, LL.B. 1945), chief judge of the Northern District of California (1976–1988), judge of the Northern District of California (1966–1976)[133]
Vaughn Walker (LL.B. 1970), chief judge of the Northern District of California (2004–2010), judge of the Northern District of California (1989–2004; 2010–2011)[146]
James Ware (J.D. 1972), chief judge of the Northern District of California (2010–2012), judge of the Northern District of California (1990–2010)[147]
Claudia Ann Wilken (A.B. 1971), chief judge of the Northern District of California (2012–2014), judge of the Northern District of California (1993–2012)[149]
David Keith Winder (LL.B. 1958), chief judge of the judge of the District of Utah (1993–1997), judge of the District of Utah (1979–1993)[150]
Barbara Durham (LL.B. 1968), 1st Female chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court (1995–1998), associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court (1985–1995, 1998–1999)[161]
Charles L. McNary (A.B. 1897), associate justice of the Oregon Supreme Court (1913–1915), United States Senator (1917–1944), United States Senate Minority Leader (1933–1944)[171]
Gordon R. Thompson (LL.B. 1943), chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nevada (1966–1968, 1973–1974), associate justice of the Nevada Supreme Court (1961–1965, 1969–1972, 1975–1980)[179]
Donald Wright (A.B. 1929), 24th chief justice of California (1970–1977)[180]
Walton J. Wood (A.B. 1901), associate justice of the California Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two (1935–1945), first public defender in the history of the United States (1914–1921)[189]
Law
Attorney
Luke Cole (A.B. 1984), environmental lawyer, cofounder of the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment
David Benaron (postdoc), former professor in pediatrics and neonatology, digital health entrepreneur, specialist in medical imaging, monitoring and analysis, and co-inventor of "glowing mice" imaging technique
Marcia Stefanick (Ph.D. 1982) director of the Stanford Women's Health and Sex Differences in Medicine Center
Nicholas Tatonetti (Ph.D. 2012), bioscientist who is vice chair of operations in the Department of Computational Biomedicine and associate director of computational oncology in the Cancer Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Karl Deisseroth (Ph.D. 1998, M.D. 2000), neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and bioengineer; known for creating, developing, and applying the technologies of optogenetics and CLARITY, and for coining the names of these fields
Esther Lederberg (A.M. 1946), pioneer of bacterial genetics; contributions include the discovery of lambda phage, the transfer of genes between bacteria by specialized transduction, the development of replica plating, and the discovery of bacterial fertility factor F
Kumar Patel (M.S., Ph.D., EE), inventor of carbon dioxide laser (the most widely used laser), IEEE Medal of Honor winner, National Medal of Science winner
John Elway (A.B. 1982), retired Hall of Fame National Football League quarterback and current executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos[348]
Jennifer Sey, former U.S. National Gymnastics Champion
Samantha Shapiro, a five-time member of the USA Gymnastics National Team, 2007 U.S. junior uneven bars champion, 2008 U.S. junior uneven bars, and balance beam champion
Nick Bravin, Olympic fencerJohn Coyle (B.S. 1990 Engineering), Olympic speed skater, silver medalist at the 1994 Winter Olympics as a member of the men's 5,000-meter relay team
Eric Heiden (B.S. 1984, M.D. 1991), speed skater, 5 gold medals at 1980 Lake Placid Olympics; cycling, competed in 1985 Giro D'Italia, 1986 Tour de France
Alexandra Botez (B.A. 2017), chess player and commentatorMatt Gentry (B.A. 2004), wrestler, 2008 Canadian Olympic team member, 2004 NCAA Div. I National Champion
Malin Burnham, a sailor who was the youngest skipper to win a World Championship in the International Star Class
Steve Fossett (B.S.), sailor, aviator, and adventurer who was the first person to circumnavigate the globe solo in a balloon
Takagi in Die Hard graduated from Stanford Law School in 1962.[391]
The 1944 film Double Indemnity is about a wife who conspires with her lover to kill her husband in Palo Alto on his way to a Stanford reunion.[390]
The main character of Antitrust is depicted as a Stanford graduate.[390][392]
In Bourne, Aaron Kalloor and Heather Lee attended Stanford.
In The Family Plan, attending Stanford is a key theme throughout including the final scene.[393]
In High School Musical 3, a key plot point centres on the lead character Gabriella Montez receiving early acceptance to Stanford thanks to her achievements in high school mathematics.
Aron Trask (aka Aaron Trask) in East of Eden (1952) by John Steinbeck is enrolled at Stanford University when he runs away to join the U.S. Army during World War I.
^"First Junior College for County Opens". Ridgewood Herald-News. Ridgewood, New Jersey. September 14, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved January 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^Bakemeier, Richard F. (2009). "In memoriam: David Alvra wood, MD December 21, 1904-November 6, 1996". Journal of Cancer Education. 12 (1): 5–6. doi:10.1080/08858199709528439 (inactive January 31, 2024).((cite journal)): CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)
^"WEDDINGS; Vanessa Southern, Rohit Menezes". The New York Times. May 2, 1999. Retrieved July 31, 2011. The Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern ... graduated from Stanford University ...