{"id":55562,"date":"2022-01-03T12:02:10","date_gmt":"2022-01-03T18:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.wisc.edu\/?page_id=55562"},"modified":"2024-11-04T15:56:04","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T21:56:04","slug":"alumni","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/engineering.wisc.edu\/alumni\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni"},"content":{"rendered":"
Since our beginning, the College of Engineering has focused on impact\u2014true to the principles of the Wisconsin Idea. As a key college of the state\u2019s flagship university, we have a responsibility both to the citizens of Wisconsin, and those beyond. With a longstanding tradition of world-renowned research programs, academic excellence, and a knack for innovation, our college has been home to an endless array of breakthrough ideas that have positively altered the course of society forever.<\/p>\n
From astronauts to executives to professional engineers, alumni are among the driving forces of our impact, taking what they learned in our classrooms and labs and applying it in world-changing ways. Here is a short list of people whose contributions are exceptionally notable. From the 1800s until now, our alumni have been on the forefront of innovation and discovery. In fact, they’ve always been engineering the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>
John Bardeen<\/strong>\u2014BSEE \u201928, MSEE \u201929 Jack St. Clair Kilby<\/strong>\u2014MSEE \u201950 Rob Engelke<\/strong>\u2014BSEE \u201968 Patrick Hanrahan<\/strong>\u2014BSNE \u201977 Michael Dhuey<\/strong>\u2014BSEE \u201980 Edward Schildhauer<\/strong>\u2014BSEE 1897 John L. Savage<\/strong>\u2014BSCE 1903 Oscar Boldt<\/strong>\u2014BSCEE \u201948 David H. Geiger<\/strong>\u2014BSCEE \u201960 <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n William S. Harley<\/strong>\u2014BSME 1907 Charles Lindbergh<\/strong>\u2014BSME 1920-21x Richard V. Rhode<\/strong>\u2014BSME \u201925 James Lovell<\/strong>\u2014BS 1946-48x Brewster Shaw<\/strong>\u2014BSEMA \u201968, MSEMA \u201969 Adam Steltzner<\/strong>\u2014PhDEP \u201999 Thelma Estrin<\/strong>\u2014PhDEE \u201952 Mathukumalli Vidyasagar<\/strong>\u2014BS, MS, PhDEE \u201969 (Earned PhD at age 21) Randy L. Jirtle<\/strong>\u2014BSNE \u201970 Michael Amiridis<\/strong>\u2014PhDChE \u201991 Emily Hahn<\/strong>\u2014BSMiningEngr \u201926 William Marr<\/strong>\u2014PhDNE \u201969 Arthur Nielsen Sr.<\/strong>\u2014BSECE \u201918 Philip D. Reed<\/strong>\u2014BSEE \u201921 William Beverly Murphy<\/strong>\u2014BSChE \u201928 David Grainger<\/strong>\u2014BSEE \u201950 Claude Rockwood<\/strong> Whitney Jr.\u2014BSEE \u201950 Ken Wright<\/strong>\u2014BSCEE \u201951, MSCEE \u201957 Ernest Micek<\/strong>\u2014BSChE \u201959 Richard Wilkey<\/strong>\u2014BSMetE \u201959 Lee Raymond<\/strong>\u2014BSChE \u201960 Duane Collins<\/strong>\u2014BSME \u201961 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary Baker<\/strong>\u2014BSEMA \u201966 Kenneth Schroeder<\/strong>\u2014BSEE \u201967 Dong-Soo Hur<\/strong>\u2014BSChE \u201968, PhDChE \u201969 Keith Nosbusch<\/strong>\u2014BSEE \u201974 Michael Splinter<\/strong>\u2014BSEE \u201972, MSEE \u201974 Jeff Sprecher<\/strong>\u2014ChE \u201978 Valarie King-Bailey<\/strong>\u2014BSCEE \u201982 Thomas Werner<\/strong>\u2014BSIE \u201982 Winslow Sargeant<\/strong>\u2014PhDECE \u201995 Learn about our Early-Career and Distinguished Achievement Awards program here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\r\n
Inventor of the transistor; major advances in superconductivity<\/a>. Nobel Prize in physics, 1956 and 1972.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Co-inventor of the integrated circuit; Nobel Prize in physics, 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, Ultratec Inc.; advances in deaf-communication technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Developed Pixar\u2019s RenderMan animation software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Co-inventor of the Macintosh II and the iPod<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nInfrastructure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Chief electrical and mechanical engineer on the Panama Canal project<\/a> (opened on Aug. 15, 1914).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dam engineer<\/a>: Engineer of many dams, including Hoover Dam; member of the National Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chairman, The Boldt Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Designer of domed stadiums<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAutos and Aviation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Founder, Harley-Davidson<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aviation pioneer and innovator<\/a>; made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Awarded Wright Brothers Medal for aerodynamic loading research<\/a>, NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apollo 8 <\/em>and Apollo 13<\/em> astronaut<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Space Shuttle<\/em> astronaut<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chief engineer and development manager for the Mars rover <\/a>Curiosity<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nAcademia and Literature<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Professor of computer science, UCLA<\/a>; first female president of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society; tireless advocate for women in STEM, well before modern efforts<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Founded Department of Bioengineering in 2010 at the University of Texas, Dallas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Epigenetics and genomic imprinting pioneer<\/a>; senior scientist, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, UW-Madison; professor of epigenetics, Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Bedfordshire, UK; Time<\/em> magazine Person of the Year, 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chancellor, University of Illinois at Chicago (2015-)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First female UW-Madison engineering graduate<\/a>; journalist; author of 52 books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nuclear engineer, (Argonne); poet; artist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nExecutives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Founded the ACNielsen Co. (market research, Nielsen ratings) in 1923; elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971 and appointed a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1961 by Denmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President, General Electric (1937-1942, 1945-1958).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, Campbell Soup Co. (1953-1972).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President, The Grainger Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chairman and CEO, Allen Bradley Co.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, Wright Water Engineers; co-founder, Wright Paleohydrological Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, Cargill Corp. (1995-1999).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Founder, president and CEO, Fisher Barton Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, ExxonMobil (1999-2005).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chairman, Parker Hannifin Corp.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
President, ATA Engineering Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, KLA-Tencor (1999-2005).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chairman, GS Caltex Corp., Seoul, Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, Rockwell Automation (2004-).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, Applied Materials (2003-2015).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Founder, NEA Ventures; founder, chair and CEO, IntercontinentalExchange, which purchased the New York Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, Onshore Technology Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEO, SunPower Corp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chief Counsel for Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration; co-founder, AANetcom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>