Here follows a list of notable alumni of Purdue University.
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
Hank Foley, current President of the New York Institute of Technology
Tony Frank – President, Colorado State University
Domenico Grasso – Chancellor, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Richard J. Grosh – former President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Arthur G. Hansen – former President of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University
Edwin D. Harrison – former President of the Georgia Institute of Technology
Renu Khator – Chancellor of the University of Houston System and President of the University of Houston
Dorothy Leland – President, Georgia College & State University
Duane Litfin – President, Wheaton College
Sally Mason – President of the University of Iowa, former Provost of Purdue University
Hanna Nasser – former President of Birzeit University, political figure
Sunder Ramaswamy – President of the Monterey Institute of International Studies
Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw – Chancellor of Syracuse University
Gary Allan Sojka – President of Bucknell University
Hugo F. Sonnenschein – economist and educational administrator, President of the University of Chicago
James J. Stukel – former President of the University of Illinois
Blake Ragsdale Van Leer – former President of the Georgia Institute of Technology
Larry N. Vanderhoef – Chancellor of the University of California, Davis
Brent W. Webb – academic vice president of Brigham Young University
John T. Wolfe Jr. – former President of Savannah State University
Stephen Standifird - President of Bradley University
Deans
Srinivas Aravamudan – Dean of the Humanities, Duke University
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
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
Ibrahim (Abe) Baggili - professor of computer science and cyber security, Louisiana State University
Ronald A. Bosco – expert on Ralph Waldo Emerson, Puritan homiletics and poetics
Robert Owen Hutchins – professor organic chemistry at Drexel University
Ann E. Hagerman – professor of biochemistry at University of Miami
Ronald Breaker – Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University
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; 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
Kevin Granata – Adjunct Professor, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech; victim of the Virginia Tech massacre
Michael T. Goodrich – mathematician, computer scientist, department chair at the University of California, Irvine
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
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 Mechanical Engineering between 1976 and 1993; pioneer of gas turbine technology and developer of fuel spray technology; professor at Cranfield University, UK
G. V. Loganathan – Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech; 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 and 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; 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 – 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
John C. Reynolds – computer scientist
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 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pioneer of robotics and remote control technology
Carolyn Sherif – social psychologist
Stephen C. Smith PhD – Sociology 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
Yizhi Jane Tao – Rice University biochemist who mapped the structure of the influenza A virus nucleoprotein to an atomic level
James Tour – 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
Jill Zimmerman – computer scientist and the James M. Beall Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Goucher College
John W. Sutherland – Professor and Fehsenfeld Family Head of Environmental and Ecological Engineering (EEE), Purdue University
Science and technology
Astronauts and aviators
Neil Armstrong – Gemini 8, Apollo 11; first man to walk on the Moon
John Blaha – STS-29, STS-33, STS-43, STS-58, STS-79, STS-81
Roy D. Bridges – STS-51-F
Mark N. Brown – STS-28, STS-48
John H. Casper – STS-36, STS-54, STS-62, STS-77
Eugene Cernan – Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, Apollo 17; most recent man to walk on the Moon
Roger Chaffee – killed in Apollo 1 accident
Richard O. Covey – STS-51-I, STS-26, STS-38, STS-61
Andrew J. Feustel – STS-125, STS-134
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 Apollo 1 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 – NASA astronaut selected in 2017
Gary E. Payton – STS-51-C
Mark L. Polansky – STS-98, STS-116, STS-127
Jerry L. Ross – STS-61-B, STS-27, STS-37, STS-55, STS-74, STS-88, STS-110; holds the US record for spaceflights
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
Scott D. Tingle – Soyuz MS-07
Janice E. Voss – STS-57, 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
Donald E. Williams – STS-51-D, STS-34
David A. Wolf – STS-58, STS-86, Mir 24, STS-89, STS-112, STS-127
Engineers
Mohamed Atalla – Distinguished Engineering Alumnus, inventor of MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor), pioneer in silicon 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, Chief Program Officer at DataKind
Orestes H. Caldwell – one of the first five members of the Federal Radio Commission
Abraham Burton Cohen – civil engineer 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
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 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 – aerospace engineer
Henry Sampson – inventor and nuclear engineer
Malcolm Slaney – American Electrical Engineer and Research Scientist at Google
Games Slayter – chemical engineer, inventor of fiberglass
Researchers
Fernley H. Banbury – inventor of the Banbury mixer in 1916
Robert C. Baker – inventor of the chicken nugget
Myron L. Bender – biochemist, recipient of the Midwest Award of the American Chemical Society
Seymour Benzer – physicist and biologist, winner of the Wolf Prize in Medicine 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 and scientific administrator; Director of National Science Foundation
Ward Cunningham – inventor of the wiki concept
Harry Daghlian – physics, the first peacetime fatality of nuclear fission
Joel Emer – microprocessor 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"
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 psychedelics, founder of the 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 – 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
Yitang Zhang – mathematician known for his work with twin primes
Ming-Ming Zhou – structural and chemical biologist
Farhan Baqai - camera engineer at Apple Inc. and IEEE fellow
Arts and entertainment
Brynn Whitfield – Television breakout star of The Real Housewives of New York City reboot
Robert K. Abbett – book-cover illustrator and outdoor painter
George Ade – humorist
Ted Allen – Host of Chopped and Queer Eye
Max Armstrong – agriculture broadcaster in Chicago
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 as well as in the 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 and sitcoms
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
Steve Horton – New York Times bestselling graphic novelist
Rick Karr – journalist
Callie Khouri – screenwriter, director, and film producer
Jane King – business journalist
Michael King – political commentator, columnist, television producer
Harry Kloor – screenwriter, physicist, chemist
Mercedes Lackey – fantasy novelist
Wayne Lamb – Broadway and television dancer and Professor Emeritus of Theatre
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 – 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, screenwriter, director and voice actor at Pixar
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, inventor of the Centaur typeface
Dulquer Salmaan – Indian Actor, appeared in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi language movies.
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 – pitchman, television personality, wrestling broadcaster
Perry Wilson - Movie Critic, thecinemapsycho.com
Lebbeus Woods – artist and architect
Ian McCollum – YouTuber, Firearm Historian, owner and host of the website and YouTube channel, Forgotten Weapons.
Business and industry
Samuel R. Allen – 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 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, UPS
Gen Fukunaga – president of FUNimation
Greg Hayes (1982) – CEO and chair of RTX Corporation; Business Roundtable member
Gerald D. Hines (BSME 1948) – real estate developer and principal of 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 Google
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 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 – 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 – CEO of McDonald's
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 Ghana's ambassador to the United States of America
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 – 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 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania (R)
Fahmi Fadzil – member of Malaysian House of Representatives and 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 – 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
Keith J. Krach – former 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
Ann Stock – U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
Kevin Sullivan – White House Communications Director
Claude R. Wickard – former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Richard Llewellyn Williams – first U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia
Muhammad Lutfi, Indonesian diplomat, businessman, trade minister , ambassador to Japan, ambassador to the United States of America
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 – 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
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)
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)
Darlene Senger – member of the Illinois House of Representatives (R)
Wayne Townsend – member of both houses of the Indiana legislature and the Democratic candidate for governor in 1984 (D)
Frank Watson – member of the Illinois Senate (R)
Local office
Isaac Colton Ash – Los Angeles, California, City Council member
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
Marilyn Quayle – lawyer, novelist, and political figure, wife of former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle
Charles Mok – Hong Kong Legislative Council member
Sports
Baseball
Bernie Allen – 12-year career infielder with the Minnesota Twins, 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, NFL, Major League Soccer
Jay Buente – relief pitcher for the Florida Marlins
Michael Duursma – shortstop for the Netherlands national baseball team
Bob Friend – former MLB pitcher; 4-time All-Star, World Series Champion
Josh Lindblom – relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies
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 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 – former basketball player in the 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 – former NBA player, BAA Rookie of the Year (1947), NBA Champion (1948), former general manager for the 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 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 Missouri Tigers men's 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, 5 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 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 – Olympic Gold in basketball (1952), AAU National Champion (1952, 1953)
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
Football
Mike Alstott – former NFL and Super Bowl Champion 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
David Blough – NFL Quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals
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 – played quarterback for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons
Rosevelt Colvin – 2x Super Bowl Champion, professional football player in the 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 MVP
Jim Everett – Pro Bowl NFL quarterback; Saint Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers
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 Champion quarterback
Steve Griffin – former NFL and Arena Football League player
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 – NFL center for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Clarence Janecek – NFL offensive guard of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Dustin Keller – NFL tight end of the Miami Dolphins
Ryan Kerrigan – NFL linebacker of the 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 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 and currently associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach for the 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
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 – Olympic swimmer (silver, 1948)
Joe Corso – Olympic wrestler (1976)
Javier Díaz – Olympic swimmer for Mexico (2000, 2004)
Dick the Bruiser – professional wrestling champion. Real name was William Afflis. Also played in the NFL.
Amanda Elmore – Olympic rower (gold 2016)
Ray Ewry – ten-time 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.
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 – Olympic swimmer (2000)
Gyöngyvér Lakos – Olympic swimmer (2000)
Matt Mitrione – former 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 - 2008 Daytona 500 Champion, 2002 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year
Coralie O'Connor – swimming (1952)
Jake O'Brien – Boilermaker wrestler; current MMA fighter, previously the WEC and the 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 (attended), wrestler; current professional mixed martial arts fighter, former WEC Bantamweight Champion
Frank Verner – Olympic athlete (1904)
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 – LDS Church 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