Here follows a list of notable alumni of

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Notable alumni

Academia

College chancellors, presidents and vice-presidents

* Robert Altenkirch – former President of the New Jersey Institute of Technology and University of Alabama in Huntsville * Rebecca Ehretsman – eighteenth president of

Wartburg College Wartburg College is a Private college, private Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Waverly, Iowa. History Wartburg College was founded in 1852 in Saginaw, Michig ...

* Hank Foley – current President of the

New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a Private university, private research university, research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York (state), New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long I ...

* Tony Frank – President,

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

* Domenico Grasso – Chancellor, University of Michigan-Dearborn * Richard J. Grosh – former President of

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

* Arthur G. Hansen – former President of the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

and

* Edwin D. Harrison – former President of the

* Renu Khator – Chancellor of the University of Houston System and President of the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

* Dorothy Leland – President, Georgia College & State University * Duane Litfin – President, Wheaton College * Sally Mason – President of the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, former Provost of

* Hanna Nasser – former President of

Birzeit University Birzeit University () is a public university in the West Bank, Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as a charitable organization. It is accredited by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Mini ...

, political figure * Sunder Ramaswamy – President of the Monterey Institute of International Studies * Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw – Chancellor of

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

* Gary Allan Sojka – President of

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

* Hugo F. Sonnenschein – economist and educational administrator, President of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

* James J. Stukel – former President of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

* Blake Ragsdale Van Leer – former President of the

* Larry N. Vanderhoef – Chancellor of the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

* Brent W. Webb – academic vice president of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

* John T. Wolfe Jr. – former President of Savannah State University

Deans

* Srinivas Aravamudan – Dean of the Humanities,

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

* Arthur J. Bond – Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology at Alabama A&M University and civil rights activist * Paul Weber – Dean of Faculties and interim president of the Georgia Institute of Technology

Professors

* Nolan B. Aughenbaugh – Antarctic explorer and professor emeritus of Geological Engineering at the University of Mississippi * Ibrahim (Abe) Baggili – CSE Division Chair and Roger Richardson professor of computer science and cybersecurity, Louisiana State University * James R. Barker – professor of Organizational Theory and Strategy, Waikato University * Michael Baye – Bert Elwert Professor of Business Economics, Indiana University * L. W. Beineke – professor of graph theory at Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne * Ronald A. Bosco – expert on Ralph Waldo Emerson, Puritan homiletics and poetics * Ronald Breaker – Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

* Monty Buell – chair of the Department of History and Philosophy at Walla Walla University * George Casella – statistician at Rutgers University, Cornell University, and the University of Florida * James Samuel Coleman – author of the Coleman Report on the sociology of education * Carl W. Condit – architectural historian, Northwestern University * Clarence Cory – the first Professor in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

; received BME degree from Purdue University in 1889 at the age of 16 and a Doctor of Engineering degree from Purdue University in 1914 * Bruce E. Dale – Professor of Chemical Engineering, Michigan State University * Kenneth E. deGraffenreid – Professor of Intelligence Studies, Institute of World Politics * Victor Denenberg – developmental psychobiologist * Ralph Faudree – mathematician, combinatorialist, provost at University of Memphis * James Fieser – professor of philosophy at the University of Tennessee at Martin * Allan Friedman – Guy L. Odom Professor of Neurological Surgery at Duke University Medical Center * Michael T. Goodrich – mathematician, computer scientist, department chair at the University of California, Irvine * Kevin Granata – adjunct professor, Department of Engineering Science and

Mechanics Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...

and

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

; victim of the Virginia Tech massacre * Ann E. Hagerman – professor of biochemistry at

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

* William D. Haseman – computer science professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Carnegie Mellon University * Larry Howell – professor of mechanical engineering, Brigham Young University * Robert Owen Hutchins – professor organic chemistry at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

* Roger G. Ibbotson – professor of finance, Yale School of Management * Richard Ian Kimball – professor of history, Brigham Young University * Benn Konsynski – Goizueta Business School, Emory University * Lawrence Landweber – John P. Morgridge Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison * Arthur H. Lefebvre – professor; Head of the Department of

between 1976 and 1993; pioneer of

gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...

technology and developer of fuel spray technology; professor at Cranfield University, UK * G. V. Loganathan – professor, Department of Civil and

Environmental Engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering Academic discipline, discipline related to environmental science. It encompasses broad Science, scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiolo ...

; victim of the Virginia Tech massacre * Fred Mannering – professor, College of Engineering, University of South Florida * Donald Matthews – political scientist, University of Washington * James McDonald – economist at Brigham Young University * Deborah E. McDowell – English professor and author * Scott A. McLuckey – John A. Leighty Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University * Dorothy Runk Mennen – theatre professor, author, founding president of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association * Gary Milhollin – law professor, anti–nuclear weapons activist * William F. Miller – vice president and provost, Stanford University * William E. Moore – chemistry professor and vice chancellor for academic affairs at

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

; Moore was the first Black PhD in chemistry to graduate from Purdue * Toby Moskowitz – financial economist, University of Chicago * David Mount – computer scientist, University of Maryland * J. Keith Murnighan – Harold H. Hines Jr. Distinguished Professor of Risk Management at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University * Donna J. Nelson – chemistry professor; Nelson Diversity Surveys author, scientific workforce scholar (Postdoctorate 1980–1983) * Robert W. Newcomb – professor of electrical engineering at the University of Maryland * Dallin D. Oaks – linguistics professor at Brigham Young University * Peter N. Peregrine – anthropologist and archaeologist * Larry L. Peterson – computer scientist at Princeton University *

Ronald L. Phillips Ronald L. Phillips (1940 – 25 August 2023) was an American biologist and a regents professor at the University of Minnesota. In 1985 he was elected a fellow and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and in 1991 he was elected ...

– biologist, University of Minnesota * T. Pradeep – Professor of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India * Steven Pray – Bernhardt Professor of Nonprescription Products and Devices at Southwestern Oklahoma State University * Dhananjay Ravat – Professor of Geophysics, University of Kentucky, developed many exploration geophysics and heat flow methods * John C. Reynolds –

computer scientist A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...

* Sherwin Rosen – labor economist * Lyle F. Schoenfeldt – business management professor, known for a standard textbook on human resources * Granville Sewell – mathematician and intelligent design advocate * Thomas B. Sheridan – Professor of

Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, pioneer of

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

and

remote control A remote control, also known colloquially as a remote or clicker, is an consumer electronics, electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operat ...

technology * Carolyn Sherif – social psychologist * Stephen C. Smith PhD –

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

professor and researcher. Also practicing family therapist * Murray Sperber – Professor Emeritus of English and American Studies at Indiana University, author of several books on college sports * John W. Sutherland – professor and Fehsenfeld Family Head of Environmental and Ecological Engineering (EEE), Purdue University * Yizhi Jane Tao – Rice University biochemist who mapped the structure of the influenza A virus nucleoprotein to an atomic level *

James Tour James Mitchell Tour is an American chemist and nanotechnologist. He is the T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and a Professor of Materials Science & Nanoengineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Education Tour received degr ...

– synthetic organic chemist and nanotechnologist at Rice University * Ralph von Frese – geophysicist who identified the Wilkes Land mass concentration in Antarctica * Gregory Weeks – international relations scholar at Webster University Vienna * Donald Weeks - Maxcy Professor Emeritus of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln * Jill Zimmerman – computer scientist and the James M. Beall Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

Science and technology

Astronauts and aviators

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...

–

Gemini 8 Gemini 8 (officially Gemini VIII) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was the sixth crewed spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini, Gemini program. It was launched on March 16, 1966, and was the 14th crew ...

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

; first man to walk on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

* John Blaha – STS-29, STS-33, STS-43, STS-58, STS-79, STS-81 * Roy D. Bridges –

STS-51-F STS-51-F (also known as Spacelab 2) was the 19th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the eighth flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 29, 1985, and landed eight days later on Au ...

* Mark N. Brown –

STS-28 STS-28 was the 30th NASA Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle mission, the fourth shuttle mission dedicated to United States Department of Defense (DoD) purposes, and the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The ...

, STS-48 * John H. Casper – STS-36, STS-54, STS-62, STS-77 *

Eugene Cernan Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, United States naval aviator, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. Cernan traveled into space three times and ...

– Gemini 9A, Apollo 10,

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...

; most recent man to walk on the

* Roger Chaffee – killed in

Apollo 1 Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was planned to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first low Earth orbital ...

accident *

Richard O. Covey Richard Oswalt Covey (born August 1, 1946) is a retired United States Air Force officer, former NASA astronaut, and a member of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. Early life Born August 1, 1946, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, he considers ...

– STS-51-I, STS-26, STS-38,

STS-61 STS-61 was NASA's first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission launched on December 2, 1993, from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The missi ...

* Andrew J. Feustel –

STS-125 STS-125, or HST-SM4 (Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4), was the fifth and final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The launch of the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' occurred on May 11, 2009, at 2:01 pm EDT. Land ...

STS-134 STS-134 (ISS assembly sequence, ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier ...

* Guy S. Gardner – STS-27, STS-35 * Henry C. Gordon – Air Force colonel selected for Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar program * Virgil I. Grissom – second American in space, Gemini 3, killed in

accident * Guy Gruters – fighter pilot and prisoner of war in the Vietnam War * Gregory J. Harbaugh – STS-39, STS-54, STS-71, STS-82 * Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr. – flying ace of the Korean War, first pilot to fly above 100,000 feet (30,480 m) * Michael J. McCulley – STS-34 * Loral O'Hara – Soyuz MS-24 * Gary E. Payton – STS-51-C * Mark L. Polansky – STS-98,

STS-116 STS-116 (also known as ISS-12A) was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shuttle '' Discovery''. ''Discovery'' lifted off on December 9, 2006 for her 33rd flight at 20:47:35 Easte ...

, STS-127 * Jerry L. Ross – STS-61-B, STS-27, STS-37, STS-55, STS-74, STS-88,

STS-110 STS-110 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on 8–19 April 2002 flown by Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. The main purpose was to install the S0 Truss segment, which forms the backbone of the truss structure on the ...

; holds the US record for

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly objects, usually spacecraft, into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such ...

s * Karl Schoen – one of the first U.S. flying aces of World War I * Loren J. Shriver – STS-51-C, STS-31, STS-46 * Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger – pilot of US Airways flight 1549 which successfully ditched in the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

* Scott D. Tingle – Soyuz MS-07 * Janice E. Voss –

STS-57 STS-57 was a NASA Space Shuttle- Spacehab mission of that launched June 21, 1993, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Crew Spacewalk * Personnel: Low and Wisoff * Date: June 25, 1993 (13:07–18:57 UTC) * Duration: 5 hours and 50&n ...

, STS-63, STS-83, STS-94, STS-99 * Charles D. Walker – STS-41-D, STS-51-D, STS-61-B * Mary E. Weber – STS-70, STS-101 * George Welch – World War II fighter pilot and test pilot; best known for shooting down four Japanese planes during the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

* Donald E. Williams – STS-51-D, STS-34 * David A. Wolf – STS-58, STS-86, Mir 24,

STS-89 STS-89 was a Space Shuttle mission to the ''Mir'' space station flown by Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Endeavour, ''Endeavour'', and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 22 January 1998. Crew Crew notes STS-89 was originally scheduled ...

, STS-112, STS-127

Engineers

* Joy Lim Arthur – first woman engineer at

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, where the Trinity t ...

Mohamed Atalla Mohamed M. Atalla (; August 4, 1924 – December 30, 2009) was an Egyptian-American engineer, physicist, cryptographer, inventor and entrepreneur. He was a semiconductor pioneer who made important contributions to modern electronics. He is best ...

– Distinguished Engineering Alumnus, inventor of

MOSFET upright=1.3, Two power MOSFETs in amperes">A in the ''on'' state, dissipating up to about 100 watt">W and controlling a load of over 2000 W. A matchstick is pictured for scale. In electronics, the metal–oxide–semiconductor field- ...

(metal–oxide–semiconductor

field-effect transistor The field-effect transistor (FET) is a type of transistor that uses an electric field to control the current through a semiconductor. It comes in two types: junction FET (JFET) and metal-oxide-semiconductor FET (MOSFET). FETs have three termi ...

), pioneer in

silicon Silicon is a chemical element; it has symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid (sometimes considered a non-metal) and semiconductor. It is a membe ...

semiconductors and security systems, founder of Atalla Corporation * Stephen Bechtel Jr. – Chairman emeritus of Bechtel Group * Don R. Berlin – chief designer of several military aircraft of World War II * Afua Bruce – Executive Director of the National Science and Technology Council in the Office of Science Technology and Policy at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

, Chief Program Officer at DataKind * Orestes H. Caldwell – one of the first five members of the

Federal Radio Commission The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by ...

* Abraham Burton Cohen –

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

notable for designing record-breaking concrete bridges such as the Tunkhannock Viaduct * John P. Costas – electrical engineer, inventor of the Costas loop and the

Costas array In mathematics, a Costas array can be regarded geometry, geometrically as a set of ''n'' points, each at the center of a square in an ''n''×''n'' square tiling such that each row or column contains only one point, and all of the ''n''(''n''& ...

* Wayne Hale – NASA engineer * Mamoon Hamid – Managing Member and General Partner at Kleiner Perkins * Richard E. Hayden – acoustics engineer, won the Wright Brothers Medal in 1973 for a research paper on noise reduction for

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...

aircraft * John H. McMasters – aeronautical engineer * John Joseph Martin – mechanical engineer, author of ''Atmospheric Entry'' * Elwood Mead – Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation for construction of Grand Coulee, Hoover and Owyhee dams; namesake of Lake Mead * Benjamin Franklin Miessner – engineer and inventor (did not graduate) *

Daniel Raymer Daniel P. Raymer is an Aerospace engineering, aerospace design engineer widely recognized as an expert in the fields of aircraft conceptual design, design engineering, aircraft configuration, and layout. Career Dan Raymer was born in 1954 at the ...

– aerospace engineer * Henry Sampson – inventor and nuclear engineer * Malcolm Slaney – electrical engineer and research scientist at

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

* Games Slayter – chemical engineer, inventor of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

Researchers

* Robert C. Baker – inventor of the chicken nugget * Fernley H. Banbury – inventor of the Banbury mixer in 1916 * Farhan Baqai – camera engineer at Apple Inc. and IEEE fellow * Myron L. Bender – biochemist, recipient of the Midwest Award of the American Chemical Society *

Seymour Benzer Seymour Benzer (October 15, 1921 – November 30, 2007) was an American physicist, molecular biologist and behavioral geneticist. His career began during the molecular biology revolution of the 1950s, and he eventually rose to prominence in the ...

–

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, winner of the

Wolf Prize The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for "achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of natio ...

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

in 1991 * Henry Luke Bolley – botanist, plant pathologist, and football coach * Richard Bootzin – clinical and research psychologist * Robert D. Cess – atmospheric scientist * Rita R. Colwell – environmental

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

and scientific administrator; Director of

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

Ward Cunningham Howard G. Cunningham (born May 26, 1949) is an American computer programmer who developed the first wiki Excerpt from 2014 book '' The Innovators''. and was a co-author of the '' Manifesto for Agile Software Development''. Called a pioneer, and ...

– inventor of the

wiki A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...

concept * Harry Daghlian –

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, the first peacetime fatality of

nuclear fission Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactiv ...

* Joel Emer –

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...

architect and Intel Fellow * Dan Farmer – computer security researcher * Martin Feinberg – mathematician and chemical engineer * Elizabeth J. Feinler – information scientist and Internet pioneer * Gloria Niemeyer Francke – pharmacist and science writer * William H. Gerstenmaier – associate administrator at NASA * Norman E. Gibbs – software engineering researcher * Millicent Goldschmidt – microbiologist and 2006 "Outstanding Alumni", Purdue Department of Biological Sciences * Jonathan Grudin – researcher of human–computer interaction and computer-supported cooperative work * Kun-Liang Guan – biochemist * Clarence Hansell – research engineer who pioneered investigation into the biological effects of ionized air * Obed Crosby Haycock – researcher of the upper atmosphere * Jesse E. Hobson – director of SRI International * Deng Jiaxian – physicist, "father of the Chinese A-bomb" * Bradford Keeney – psychotherapist, ethnographer, cybernetician * Gerhard Klimeck – nanotechnologist * Harry Kloor – physicist, chemist, screenwriter * Bertram Kostant – mathematician * Markus Kuhn (computer scientist), Markus Kuhn – computer scientist * Matthew Luckiesh – "father of the science of seeing" * Robert W. Lucky – electrical engineer, inventor, and research manager * Andrew Majda – ISI highly cited researcher in mathematics * Herbert Newby McCoy – chemist * Elwood Mead – former Head, Bureau of Reclamation; oversaw the construction of Hoover Dam * Marilyn T. Miller – pediatric ophthalmologist * Ben Roy Mottelson – Nobel Laureate in Physics in 1975 * Ian Murdock – founder of the Debian Project * David E. Nichols – pharmacologist, world-renowned expert on psychedelic drug, psychedelics, founder of the Heffter Research Institute, Heffter Institute * Alex Golden Oblad – chemist and chemical engineer who worked on catalysis * Edward Mills Purcell – Nobel Laureate in Physics in 1952 * C. N. R. Rao – solid-state and materials chemist * Malcolm Ross (balloonist), Malcolm Ross – director of the US Navy manned balloon program Project Strato-Lab; set the current altitude record for manned balloon flight with Victor Prather in 1961 * Stacy Sims – exercise physiologist with a focus on women's health and fitness * Yitang Zhang – mathematician known for his work with twin primes * Ming-Ming Zhou – structural and chemical biologist

Arts and entertainment

* Dulquer Salmaan – Actor and film producer, known for his role as Aji Mathew in Comrade in America, also Bangalore Days. * Robert K. Abbett – book-cover illustrator and outdoor painter * George Ade – humorist * Ted Allen – host of ''Chopped (TV series), Chopped'' and ''Queer Eye (2003 TV series), Queer Eye'' * Max Armstrong – agriculture broadcaster in Chicago * Donald Bain (writer), Donald Bain – author and ghostwriter (''Murder, She Wrote'', ''Coffee, Tea or Me'') * Karen Black – actress * Monte Blue – actor of the silent film era, later a character actor * Millie Bobby Brown – actress, known for her role in the television series ''Stranger Things (TV series), Stranger Things'' as well as in the ''Enola Holmes (film), Enola Holmes'' films. * Jack Cashill – author, journalist, blogger, contributor to ''WorldNetDaily'' * Kenneth Choi – actor, known for his role as Jim Morita in ''Captain America: The First Avenger'', also ''Red Dawn (2012 film), Red Dawn'' and sitcoms * Kate Collins (author), Kate Collins – author (Flower Shop Mysteries) * Trevor Collins – Manager at Achievement Hunter * Thomas James De la Hunt – Indiana historian and columnist * Eric Dill – musician, member of the band The Click Five * Simone Elkeles – young-adult romance writer * Dick Florea – television personality in Fort Wayne, Indiana * William R. Forstchen – novelist * Jim Gaffigan – comedian and actor * JoAnn Giordano – textile artist * Mass Giorgini – punk rock producer of bands such as Rise Against and Anti-Flag and bassist for Screeching Weasel and Squirtgun * Gerald Jay Goldberg – novelist * Harold Gray – creator of ''Little Orphan Annie'' comic strip * Jeff Grubb – author and game designer * Gabriel Gudding – essayist and poet * Moira Gunn – host of National Public Radio programs ''Tech Nation'' and ''BioTech Nation'' * John Guzlowski – author * Jack Horkheimer – host of astronomy television program ''Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer'' * Benjamin Bean Horner – architect and photographer * Steve Horton – ''New York Times'' bestselling graphic novelist * Rick Karr – journalist * Callie Khouri – screenwriter, director, and film producer * Jane King (journalist), Jane King – business journalist * Michael King (Project 21), Michael King – political commentator, columnist, television producer * Harry Kloor – screenwriter, physicist, chemist * Mercedes Lackey – fantasy novelist * Wayne Lamb – Broadway theatre, Broadway and television dancer and Professor Emeritus of Theatre * Ian McCollum – YouTuber, firearm historian; owner and host of the website and YouTube channel Forgotten Weapons * John T. McCutcheon – cartoonist, recipient of a Pulitzer Prize in 1931 * Delita Martin – printmaker and mixed media artist * Hoshang Merchant – poet * Felicia Middlebrooks – radio news broadcaster * Gavin Mikhail – pianist, singer-songwriter * Karen Marie Moning – novelist * Tom Moore (director), Tom Moore – theater director * Carrie Newcomer – singer and songwriter * Clifton Nicholson – sculptor and jewelry designer * Mark O'Hare – writer and cartoonist who has worked on various Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network programs * Bree Olsen – adult film actress * Chubby Parker – folk musician * George Peppard (attended) – actor * Bob Peterson (animator), Bob Peterson – animator, screenwriter, director and voice actor at Pixar * Julian Phillips (TV presenter), Julian Phillips – Emmy Award winner, co-host of weekend ''Fox & Friends'', Fox TV * Carol Plum-Ucci – young-adult novelist and essayist * Pat Proctor – war game developer, U.S. Army lieutenant colonel * Bruce Rogers (typographer), Bruce Rogers – typographer, inventor of the Centaur typeface * Peter Schneider (film executive), Peter Schneider – film executive, the Walt Disney Company * Dave Schulthise – punk rock bass guitarist for the Dead Milkmen * Gary Mark Smith – artist, author, master global street photographer * Richard Sprague – author and researcher of the John F. Kennedy assassination * Martha Hopkins Struever – dealer and scholar of American Indian art * Elizabeth Stuckey-French – short story writer and novelist * Booth Tarkington – novelist * Stephanie S. Tolan – children's book author * Martin Walls – poet * Don West (sportscaster), Don West – pitchman, television personality, wrestling broadcaster * Perry Wilson – movie critic, thecinemapsycho.com * Lebbeus Woods – artist and architect

Business and industry

* Samuel R. Allen (BS 1977) – CEO of John Deere * Chuck Armstrong – president of the Seattle Mariners * Joyce Beber – advertising executive, promoter of hotelier Leona Helmsley * Stephen Bechtel Jr. – chairman emeritus and director of Bechtel, Bechtel Group, Inc. * Paul Bevilaqua – chief engineer, Advanced Development Projects, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works * Gordon Binder – former CEO of Amgen (1988–2000) * Michael Birck – chairman and founder of Tellabs, Inc. * Charles F. Bowman – co-founder of Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn * Beth Brooke – global vice chair of Public Policy for Ernst & Young * Susan Bulkeley Butler – first female partner at Accenture; author of ''Become the CEO of You, Inc.'' * Herman Cain (MS '71) – businessman, politician, and columnist; former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza * James Cash Jr. – member of the boards of directors at General Electric, Microsoft, and Walmart * JoMei Chang – co-founder of Tibco Software * Allen Chao – co-founder of Watson Pharmaceuticals * Richard E. Dauch – co-founder of American Axle & Manufacturing * Rodger Dean Duncan – author and business consultant * Michael L. Eskew – chairman and CEO, United Parcel Service, UPS * Gen Fukunaga – president of FUNimation * Gregory J. Hayes, Greg Hayes (1982) – CEO and chair of RTX Corporation; Business Roundtable member * Gerald D. Hines (BSME 1948) – real estate developer and principal of Hines Interests Limited Partnership, Hines * John R. Horne (BS 1960) – former CEO of Navistar * Brian Lamb – co-founder, chairman, and CEO of C-SPAN * Howard Lance – CEO of Maxar Technologies * Marshall Larsen – former chairman, president, and CEO of Goodrich Corporation * Cook Lougheed – entrepreneur and philanthropist * Bala S. Manian – medical technology entrepreneur * Preston McAfee – economist at

* Steven McGeady – former Intel executive * Wade Miquelon – executive vice president and chief financial officer for Walgreens * Herman H. Pevler – former president of the Norfolk and Western Railway and of the Wabash Railroad * Patricia Kessler Poppe – president & CEO, CMS Energy, CMS and Consumers Energy * Orville Redenbacher – business leader and agriculturalist; co-founder of Orville Redenbacher's popcorn * Donald Rice – CEO of Agensys and board member of Wells Fargo Bank * Lee Schmidt – American Society of Golf Course Architects, golf course architect, co-founder of Lee-Schmidt Design, Inc. * Edmund Schweitzer – president of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories * Ruth Siems – home economist with General Foods, inventor of Stovetop Stuffing * Venu Srinivasan – chairman of TVS Motor * Don Thompson (executive), Don Thompson – CEO of McDonald's * James Thomson (executive), James A. Thomson – president and CEO, Rand Corporation * Paul C. Varga – former chief executive officer and Chairman of Brown–Forman * Gregory Wasson – president and chief operating officer, Walgreens corporation * Sanjiva Weerawarana – co-founder, chairman and CEO of WSO2

Government and law

National office

* Akinwumi Adesina – President of the African Development Bank * Rashid al-Rifai – ambassador and government minister in Iraq * Joseph Kingsley Baffour-Senkyire – Ghanaian academic, politician and diplomat; member of parliament in the first republic of Ghana and formerly Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C.#List of Ambassadors, Ghana's ambassador to the United States of America * Jim Baird (American politician), Jim Baird – U.S. Representative from Indiana's 4th district (R) * Donald W. Banner – former U.S. Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks * Joe L. Barton – U.S. Representative from 6th District of Texas (R) * Birch Bayh – former United States Senator from Indiana (D) * Earl L. Butz – former Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (R) * Chang Chia-juch – former Minister of Economic Affairs of Taiwan * Bob Charles (politician), Bob Charles – former member of the Australian House of Representatives * Mark Chen – former Secretary-General and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan * Curt Clawson – U.S. Representative from Florida's 19th congressional district (R) * Chuck Conner – Acting Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture * Margaret E. Curran – United States Attorney for Rhode Island * Harry Allison Estep – Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania (R) * Fahmi Fadzil – member of Malaysian Dewan Rakyat, House of Representatives and Minister of Communications and Digital (Malaysia), Minister of Communications and Digital * Mauricio Fernández Garza – former Mayor of San Pedro Garza García (1989–1991) and former Mexican Senator from Nuevo León (1994–2000) * Gary A. Grappo – U.S. Ambassador to Oman * John H. Hager – Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education (R) * Keith Hall (Commissioner), Keith Hall – former Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics * Clifford M. Hardin – former Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (R) * Ralph Harvey – U.S. Representative from Indiana (R) * Adnan Kahveci – Turkish Minister of State and Minister of Finance, founding member of the Motherland Party (Turkey), Motherland Party * Keith J. Krach – former Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, U.S. Under Secretary of State; Chairman/CEO of DocuSign and Ariba; Chairman of Purdue Board of Trustees * Suwat Liptapanlop – government minister in Thailand * David McKinley – U.S. Representative for West Virginia (R) * Ted McKinney – U.S. Under Secretary, Trade & Foreign Agricultural Affairs, USDA; CEO of National Association of State Departments of Agriculture-NASDA * Anthony W. Miller – United States Deputy Secretary of Education * Marwan Muasher – Deputy Prime Minister, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan * Essam Sharaf – former Prime Minister of Egypt * Jefferson Shreve – U.S. Representative from Indiana's 6th congressional district (6) * Ann Stock – U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs * Kevin Sullivan (operative), Kevin Sullivan – White House Communications Director * Claude R. Wickard – former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture * Richard Llewellyn Williams – first U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia * Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu – Member of Parliament in India * Mathukumilli Bharat – Member of Parliament in India

Military

* Terry M. Cross – former vice commandant of the United States Coast Guard * Nelson F. Gibbs – U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Air Force * Sun Liren – Chinese Nationalist general who excelled in the Burma Campaign during World War II * Carter B. Magruder – four-star general, U.S. Army * Glen W. Martin – Inspector General of the U.S. Air Force * B. J. Penn (United States Navy), B. J. Penn – former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Navy * Carol M. Pottenger – vice admiral, U.S. Navy * Jerald D. Slack – U.S. Air National Guard major general, Adjutant General of Wisconsin * Carol I. Turner – former Chief of the United States Navy Dental Corps * James C. Van Sice – former Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy * Russell R. Waesche – commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II * Fahmi Fadzil – Member of Parliaments in Malaysia * David D. Thompson – United States Space Force general who has served as the first vice chief of space operations * Derek Tournear - Director of the Space Development Agency

Sub-national office

* Ron Alting – Indiana State Senator (R) * Brian Bosma – Speaker of the Indiana General Assembly * Robert J. Burkhardt – former Secretary of State of New Jersey (D) * Suzanne Crouch – 52nd Lieutenant Governor of Indiana (R) * Sue Ellspermann – Lieutenant Governor of Indiana (R) * Kirk Fordice – former Governor of Mississippi (R) * Kent Gaffney – former member of the Illinois House of Representatives (R) * Chuck Goodrich – member of the Indiana House of Representatives * Jerry E. Hinshaw (Class of 1940) – former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (R) * Elaine Hopson (BA 1959) - Oregon state representative (D) * Matt Hostettler – member of the Indiana House of Representatives (R) * Ralph S. Johnson (Class of 1930) – aviator; former member of the Wyoming House of Representatives (R) * Delores G. Kelley – Maryland State Senator (D) * Sheila Klinker – member of the Indiana House of Representatives (D) * J. Tom Lendrum – member of the Ohio House of Representatives (R) * Harry G. Leslie – former Governor of Indiana (R) * Alan Olsen – Oregon State Senator (R) * Paul Parks – Massachusetts Secretary of Education (D) * Zach Payne – member of the Indiana House of Representatives * Scott Reske – member of the Indiana House of Representatives (D) * William Ridenour – member of the West Virginia House of Delegates (R) * Darlene Senger – member of the Illinois House of Representatives (R) * Wayne Townsend – member of both houses of the Indiana legislature and the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic candidate for governor in 1984 (D) * Frank Watson (American politician), Frank Watson – member of the Illinois Senate (R)

Local office

* Isaac Colton Ash – Los Angeles, California, City Council member * Jane Baker (mayor), Jane Baker – first female mayor of San Mateo, California * John J. Barton – former mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana (D) * Marty Blum – former mayor of Santa Barbara, California * Elgin English Crull – longest serving city manager of Dallas, Texas to date (1952 to 1966); was city manager when John F. Kennedy was assassinated * A.E. Henning – Los Angeles, California, City Council member, 1929–33 * Robert J. LaFortune – former mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma * Bart Peterson – former mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana (D) * David H. Rodgers – former mayor of Spokane, Washington (R)

Other political and legal figures

* Nels Ackerson – lawyer, 2008 candidate for U.S. Congress from Indiana (D) * Allen Alley – Oregon Republican Party chairman * Roberto Feliberti Cintrón – Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico * Uthum Herat – Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Alternate Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund * Jeffrey M. Lacker – president of Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond * Charles Mok – Hong Kong Legislative Council member * Marilyn Quayle – lawyer, novelist, and political figure, wife of former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle

Sports

Baseball

* Bernie Allen – 12-year career infielder with the Minnesota Twins, History of the Washington Senators, Washington Senators, New York Yankees and Montreal Expos; also played for the Boilermakers * Jermaine Allensworth – former Major League Baseball player * Roger Bossard – head groundskeeper for the Chicago White Sox, sports turf consultant for MLB, National Football League, NFL, Major League Soccer * Jay Buente – relief pitcher for the Florida Marlins * Michael Duursma – shortstop for the Netherlands national baseball team * Bob Friend – former Major League Baseball, MLB pitcher; 4-time All-Star, World Series Champion * Josh Lindblom – relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies * Joseph McCabe (baseball), Joe McCabe – former Major League baseball player * Cameron Perkins – infielder for the Philadelphia Phillies * Kevin Plawecki – catcher for the Boston Red Sox * Moose Skowron – former Major League Baseball player; 6-time All-Star, 5-time World Series Champion * Nick Wittgren – Relief Pitcher for the Miami Marlins

Basketball

* Brian Cardinal – NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, former professional National Basketball Association, NBA basketball player from 2000 to 2012 * Joe Barry Carroll – NCAA Final Four 1980, former NBA basketball player, 1st pick overall in NBA Draft (1980) * Terry Dischinger – former NBA basketball player, (1962–73) NBA Rookie of the Year; Olympic Gold in basketball (1960) * Katie Douglas (basketball), Katie Douglas – former basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA * Ray Eddy – former Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball head coach * Carsen Edwards – NBA player Boston Celtics, twice named an All-American * Herm Gilliam – NBA Champion Portland Trail Blazers, NBA player (1969–77), NCAA Finals 1969 * Paul Hoffman (basketball), Paul Hoffman – former NBA player, Basketball Association of America, BAA Rookie of the Year (1947), NBA Champion (1948), former general manager for the Baltimore Bullets (1963–73), Baltimore Bullets * Robbie Hummel – 1st Team All-Big Ten; professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves * JaJuan Johnson – Big-Ten Player of the Year; current professional basketball for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League * Carl Landry – 1st Team All-Big Ten; current professional NBA player for the Sacramento Kings * Billy Keller – NCAA Finals 1969, 3-time American Basketball Association (2000–present), ABA Champion, former University of Indianapolis men's basketball coach * Frank Kendrick – former NBA player and NBA Champion (1975), Golden State Warriors * Alan Major – former head coach of the Charlotte 49ers * Cuonzo Martin – current head coach of the University of Missouri, Missouri Tigers men's basketball * Brad Miller (basketball), Brad Miller – former NBA basketball player, two-time NBA All-Star * E'Twaun Moore – 1st Team All-Big Ten; currently an NBA free agent, last played for the Phoenix Suns * Rick Mount – three-time All-American at Purdue and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year; NCAA Finals 1969; former American Basketball Association basketball player * Matt Painter – current Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball head coach, former coach at Southern Illinois University, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances * Glenn Robinson – 1994 NCAA Player of the Year (John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Awards and four other polls), two-time 1st Team All-American; former NBA player, 1st pick overall in NBA draft (1994); NBA champion (2005) with San Antonio Spurs * Amy Ruley – North Dakota State Bison basketball, North Dakota State University women's basketball coach * Dave Schellhase – first-team All-American at Purdue; former Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball head coach, former Minnesota State-Moorhead head coach * Jerry Sichting – NBA Champion Boston Celtics, NBA player (1980–90), NCAA Final Four 1980 * Kevin Stallings – current Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball head coach, former coach at Illinois State University * Caleb Swanigan—NCAA National Player of the year 2017, NBA first round draft pick, Big Ten Player of the year 2017 * Howie Williams (basketball), Howie Williams – Olympic Gold in basketball (1952), AAU National Champion (1952, 1953) * Trevion Williams (born 2000) – basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. , Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League * John Wooden – Basketball Hall of Fame honoree as both player and coach; 10-time NCAA Champion coach at UCLA; 1932 National champion and All-American as player * Zach Edey - 2-time consensus national player of the year (2023-2024), 2 time all American; Currently playing for the Memphis Grizzlies. * Stephanie White - - (1995-1999) former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. * Jaden Ivey - (2020-2022) Top 5 pick in NBA Draft. Currently plays for Detroit Pistons

Football

* Mike Alstott – former NFL and Super Bowl Champion Fullback (American football), fullback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Purdue's all-time leading rusher * Cliff Avril – NFL defensive end of the Seattle Seahawks; Champion Super Bowl XLVIII and participated in XLIX * Ryan Baker – NFL defensive end for the Miami Dolphins, 2009–2012 * Erich Barnes – NFL defensive back, four-time All-Pro * David Blough – NFL assistant quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders * Drew Brees (Class of 2000) – Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowl MVP, All-Pro, Pro Bowl quarterback, San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints; Maxwell Award; 2 x Heisman Trophy Finalist; Rose Bowl Game * George Bolan – Chicago Staleys (1921), Bears (1922–24) * Dave Butz – 16-year, 2x Super Bowl Champion NFL Lineman with the Washington Redskins and selected to the all NFL 1980s Team * Scott Campbell (American football), Scott Campbell – played quarterback for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons * Rosevelt Colvin – 2x Super Bowl Champion, professional football player in the National Football League, NFL with the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots * Gary Danielson – former NFL quarterback; current TV announcer, College Football * Len Dawson – Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl IV Super Bowl MVP, MVP * Jim Everett – Pro Bowl NFL quarterback; Los Angeles Rams, Saint Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers * Tim Foley (defensive back), Tim Foley – Former Defensive Back for Purdue and Defensive Back for Miami Dolphins Super Bowl Champions * Gilbert Gardner – NFL linebacker, member of the Super Bowl XLI-winning Indianapolis Colts * Wayne Gift – NFL player with the Cleveland Rams * Bob Griese – Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback with the Miami Dolphins; lead Dolphins to 17-0-0 perfect season; 2x Super Bowl Champion quarterback; College Football Hall of Fame, Rose Bowl Game, Rose Bowl Champion quarterback * Steve Griffin – former NFL and Arena Football League player * Nick Hardwick (American football), Nick Hardwick – former NFL center of the San Diego Chargers * Matt Hernandez – NFL offensive tackle * Mark Herrmann – former NFL quarterback with the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers; 3-time Bowl game MVP with Purdue, Heisman Trophy finalist * Paul Humphrey (American football), Paul Humphrey – NFL center for the Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL), Brooklyn Dodgers * Clarence Janecek – NFL offensive guard of the Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL), Pittsburgh Pirates * Dustin Keller – NFL tight end of the Miami Dolphins * Ryan Kerrigan – NFL linebacker of the Washington Commanders, Washington Redskins / Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles; 1st Team All-American * Ed Klewicki – Detroit Lions, 1930s * Jon Krick – Arena Football League player * John Letsinger – Pittsburgh Pirates, 1933 * Matt Light – NFL left tackle of the New England Patriots; 3x Super Bowl Champion Super Bowl (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX), and participated in XLII * Jim Looney – NFL linebacker of the San Francisco 49ers * Marc May – NFL tight end of the Minnesota Vikings * Rondale Moore – NFL wide receiver of the Arizona Cardinals * Raheem Mostert – NFL running back for the San Francisco 49ers * Wave Myers – former coach at Ball State * Mike Neal – NFL defensive tackle of the Green Bay Packers * Rob Ninkovich – linebacker for the New England Patriots; has also played for the New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins * Kyle Orton – quarterback, drafted by the Chicago Bears had played for several NFL teams. * Curtis Painter – backup quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, drafted in 2009 to succeed Peyton Manning * Shaun Phillips – NFL defensive end of the Tennessee Titans * Mike Phipps – College Football Hall of Fame former NFL Quarterback, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, Heisman Trophy Runner-up * Bernard Pollard – NFL safety of the Tennessee Titans * Ed Rate – former NFL blocking back for the Milwaukee Badgers * Karl Singer – AFL tackle for the Boston Patriots * Joe Skibinski – former NFL guard for the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers * Ed Skoronski – NFL player * Blane Smith – former NFL linebacker for the Green Bay Packers * Anthony E. Spencer II, Anthony Spencer – NFL linebacker drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2007 * John Standeford – NFL wide receiver of the Detroit Lions, member of the Super Bowl XLI-winning Indianapolis Colts * Darryl Stingley – former NFL wide receiver with the New England Patriots * Hank Stram – Pro Football Hall of Fame coach of the Kansas City Chiefs * Taylor Stubblefield – NCAA Division 1 football career receptions leader, played for the St. Louis Rams * Kevin Sumlin (Class of 1989)– Former the Head coach of the Arizona Wildcats football, Arizona Wildcats and currently associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach for the Maryland Terrapins football, University of Maryland * Michael Terrizzi – played briefly for the San Francisco 49ers * Calvin Williams – NFL wide receiver of the Philadelphia Eagles; rookie of the year * Clem Woltman – former NFL tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles * Rod Woodson – Super Bowl Champion (XXXV) Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back, 11-time Pro-Bowler (at three different positions) and former NFL cornerback * Aiden O’Connell - Quarterback Drafted in the 5th Round 135th Pick in 2023 Currently plays for the Las Vegas Raiders

Other sports

* Stephan Bonnar – appeared on the first season of ''The Ultimate Fighter'', retired professional mixed martial artist, two-time Golden Gloves Champion, UFC Hall of Fame member * David Boudia – Olympic diver (2008, gold 2012, silver 2016) * Larry Burton – Olympic runner (1976) * Keith Carter (swimmer), Keith Carter – Olympic swimmer (silver, 1948) * Joe Corso – Olympic wrestler (1976) * Javier Díaz (swimmer), Javier Díaz – Olympic swimmer for Mexico (2000, 2004) * Dick the Bruiser – professional wrestling champion; real name William Afflis; also played in the NFL * Amanda Elmore – Olympic rower (gold 2016) * Ray Ewry – ten-time Olympic Games, Olympic champion in track and field (gold, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908) * Jon Fitch – Boilermaker team captain wrestler; professional mixed martial artist, formerly with the Ultimate Fighting Championship * Cliff Furnas – Olympic runner (1920) * Ray Gunkel – AAU Champion wrestler, NCAA semifinalist and professional champion * Edward Glover (athlete), Ed Glover – Olympic pole-vaulter (bronze, 1906) * Matt Hamill (attended) – three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling, silver and gold medalist of the 2001 Summer Deaflympics; mixed martial artist who fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship; retired * Lacey Hearn – Olympic athlete (1904) * Chris Huffins – Olympic decathlete (1996, 2000) * Steele Johnson – Olympic diver (silver 2016) * Pariya Junhasavasdikul – Thai professional golfer who plays on the Asian Tour * Shiv Kapur – Professional golfer * Gerald Koh (swimmer), Gerald Koh – Olympic swimmer (2000) * Gyöngyvér Lakos – Olympic swimmer (2000) * Matt Mitrione – former National Football League, NFL player and current Heavyweight fighter for Bellator MMA * Nate Moore – Boilermaker team captain wrestler; current MMA competitor, formerly fighting for Strikeforce (mixed martial arts) * Nedzad Mulabegovic – shot put for Croatia (2012) * Betty Mullen-Brey – 100-meter butterfly (1956) * Ryan Newman (racing driver), Ryan Newman – 2008 Daytona 500 Champion, 2002 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year * Coralie O'Connor – swimming (1952) * Jake O'Brien (fighter), Jake O'Brien – Boilermaker wrestler; current MMA fighter, previously the World Extreme Cagefighting, WEC and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC * Ike Olekaibe – Olympic athlete (2000) * Carol Pence-Taylor – Olympic swimmer (1948) * Kara Patterson – Javelin (2012) * Eric Rodwell – professional bridge player * Joan Rosazza – Olympic swimmer (silver, 1956) * Chris Schenkel – sportscaster * Lauren Sesselmann – Women's Soccer for Canada (2012) * Doug Sharp – Olympic bobsledder (2002) * Miguel Torres (fighter), Miguel Torres (attended), wrestler; current professional mixed martial arts fighter, former World Extreme Cagefighting, WEC Bantamweight Champion * Frank Verner – Olympic athlete (1904) * Fred Wampler (golfer), Fred Wampler – PGA Tour golfer * Beth Whittall – 100-meter butterfly for Canada (1956) * Jeanne Wilson-Vaughn – Olympic swimmer (1948) * Fred Wilt – Olympic runner (1948)

Other alumni

* David A. Bednar – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Church Apostle (Latter Day Saints), Apostle; former President of BYU-Idaho * Vikram Buddhi – imprisoned for threatening the life of U.S. President George W. Bush * Theodore M. Burton – LDS Church leader * Kathy Calvin – chief executive officer, United Nations Foundation * Russell Mawby – chairman emeritus, W.K. Kellogg Foundation * Sarah Jo Pender – convicted murderer and prison escapee * Eric Justin Toth – fugitive on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list * Richard Leroy Walters – homeless philanthropist

References

{{Purdue University system Purdue University alumni, * Lists of people by university or college in Indiana, Purdue University alumni