100 Notable alumni of Iowa State University

Jeremie Miller is an American software developer and entrepreneur best known for his role in the development of Jabber and the release of jabberd, an early implementation of an XMPP server, in 1999. His work contributed to the standardization of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) by the Internet Engineering Task Force in 2004, and variations of XMPP have...

Mary Anita "Neta" Snook Southern was a pioneer aviator who achieved a long list of firsts. She was the first woman aviator in Iowa, first woman student accepted at the Curtiss Flying School in Virginia, first woman aviator to run her own aviation business and first woman to run a commercial airfield. Yet "Snooky", as her friends called her, was...

Captain Robert C. Truax was an American rocket engineer in the United States Navy, and companies such as Aerojet and Truax Engineering, which he founded. Truax was a proponent of low-cost rocket engine and vehicle designs.

Alex Hershaft is an American Holocaust survivor, and co-founder and president of the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), the United States' oldest (1976) organization devoted exclusively to promoting the rights of animals not to be raised for food. Previously, he has had a 30-year career in materials science and environmental consulting and a role in movements for religious freedom and...

Lucca Staiger is a German former professional basketball player. Standing at 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), he played the shooting guard position. He played collegiate basketball for Iowa State University.

Betty Lou Bumpers was an American politician, advocate for childhood immunizations, and world peace activist, who served as the First Lady of Arkansas from 1971 to 1975. Together, she and Rosalynn Carter ran a successful campaign to ensure that all American school children were immunized. Bumpers was the wife of Dale Bumpers, who served as governor of Arkansas from 1971...

Dustin Hogue is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro CantùPallacanestro Cantù of the Serie A2. He played college basketball for Indian Hills Community College and Iowa State Cyclones. Hogue entered the 2015 NBA draft, but was not selected in the draft's two rounds.

Thomas Michael Franklin "Frank" Cownie is an American politician who served as mayor of Des Moines, Iowa from 2004 to 2024. He also owns and operates Cownie Furs, a store that has been in his family for generations.

Zaid Abdul-Aziz is an American former professional basketball player. He was known as Don Smith until he changed his name when he converted to Islam in 1976.

Guor Mading Maker, also known as Guor Marial, is a South Sudanese Olympic track and field athlete. He is a Dinka tribesman.

Berkley Warren Bedell was an American Democratic Party politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 6th congressional district from 1975 to 1987. After starting a successful business in his youth, Berkley Fly Co., he ran for Congress in 1972, but was defeated by incumbent Wiley Mayne. In 1974 however, Bedell beat Mayne and was elected to...

Georgios Tsalmpouris is a Greek professional basketball player for Panionios of the Greek Basketball League. Tsalmpouris is 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) tall, weighs 240 pounds (110 kg), and plays at the power forward and center positions.

John David Melcher was an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Montana for four terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and as a United States senator for two terms from 1977 until 1989.

Donald Ray Cressey was an American penologist, sociologist, and criminologist who made innovative contributions to the study of organized crime, prisons, criminology, the sociology of criminal law, white-collar crime.

Robert Doyle Bullard is an American academic who is the former Dean of the Barbara Jordan - Mickey Leland School Of Public Affairs (October 2011 – August 2016) and is currently a Distinguished Professor at Texas Southern University. Previously Ware Professor of Sociology and Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, Bullard is known as the...

Ashley Rose Joens is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Athinaikos of the Greek Women's Basketball League. She played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones of the Big 12 Conference. She plays both the small forward and shooting guard positions. Joens had been considered one of the top prospects in the 2022 WNBA draft, but...

Lauretta Bender was an American child neuropsychiatrist known for developing the Bender-Gestalt Test, a psychological test designed to evaluate visual-motor maturation in children. First published by Bender in 1938, the test became widely used for assessing children's neurological function and screening for developmental disorders. She performed research in the areas of autism spectrum disorders in children, suicide and violence. She...

Craig Lee Brackins is an American former professional basketball player.

Darleane Christian Hoffman was an American nuclear chemist who was among the researchers who confirmed the existence of seaborgium, element 106. She was a faculty senior scientist in the Nuclear Science Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor in the graduate school at UC Berkeley. In acknowledgment of her many achievements, Discover magazine recognized her in 2002 as...

Henry Cantwell Wallace was an American farmer, journalist, and political activist who served as the secretary of agriculture from 1921 to 1924 under Republican presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. He was the father of Henry A. Wallace, who would follow in his father's footsteps as secretary of agriculture and later became vice president under Democratic President Franklin D....

Henry Otley Beyer was an American anthropologist, who spent most of his adult life in the Philippines teaching Philippine indigenous culture. A.V.H. Hartendorp called Beyer the "Dean of Philippine ethnology, archaeology, and prehistory".

Xavier Hutchinson is an American professional football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Blinn and Iowa State.

Bruce Lowell Braley is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was defeated in his attempt to win an open seat in the 2014 United States Senate election in Iowa.

Bourke Blakemore Hickenlooper, was an American politician and member of the Republican Party, first elected to statewide office in Iowa as lieutenant governor, then 29th governor of Iowa, then U.S. senator.

Matthew Albert Blair was an American professional football linebacker who played for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) for all 12 seasons of his career from 1974 to 1985. He played college football for the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norsemen and the Iowa State Cyclones.

Julián Arca Banzón was a Filipino biochemist and a National Scientist of the Philippines. Banzon is credited for his research in alternative fuel. He researched on the production of ethyl ester fuels from sugarcane and coconuts and devised a method of extracting residual coconut oil through chemical means.

Frank Steunenberg was the fourth governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He was assassinated in 1905 by onetime union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association. Orchard attempted to implicate leaders of the radical Western Federation of Miners in the assassination. The labor leaders were found...

Tyrus Bresdon McGee is an American professional basketball player who last played for SIG Strasbourg of the French LNB Pro A. He has previously played for Iowa State.

Bridget Elizabeth Carleton is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and USK Praha of the Czech Women's Basketball League. She played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones. She competes internationally with the Canada national team.

Philip Julian Klass was an American aviation and aerospace journalist and UFO researcher, best known for his skepticism regarding UFOs. In the ufological and skeptical communities, Klass inspires polarized appraisals. He has been called the "Sherlock Holmes of UFOlogy". Klass demonstrated "the crusader's zeal for what seems 'right,' regardless of whether it brings popular acclaim," a trait he claimed his...

Eric Richard Cooper was an American professional baseball umpire, whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned 1999 until his death in October 2019. He wore umpire uniform number 56. As a Major League umpire, Cooper officiated in ten Division Series, four League Championship Series, three Wild Card Games, one All-Star Game, and one World Series.

Parviz Davoodi was an Iranian education and principlist politician. He was the third first vice president from 2005 to 2009, and a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.

Jackson Brett Vroman was an American-born Lebanese professional basketball player who starred at Iowa State University. Mr. Vroman was naturalized as a Lebanese citizen to play for the Lebanon national basketball team, replacing the other naturalized American Lebanese player, Joe Vogel. He is the son of former NBA player Brett Vroman, who played briefly for the Utah Jazz in the...

Eugene Burton Ely was an American aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft takeoff and landing.

Michael Maurice Crow is an American academic administrator who has been serving as the 16th president of Arizona State University (ASU) since July 2002. He proposed the New American University model at ASU. He served as executive vice provost at Columbia University from 1998 to 2002.

Diante Maurice Garrett is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Iowa State Cyclones. He played college basketball for the Cyclones from 2007 to 2011.

Lindell Shamar Wigginton is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones.

LeRoy Edward Cain is an American aerospace engineer who worked for NASA as a flight director, launch integration manager and deputy manager of the Space Shuttle Program. Cain may be best known to the public from footage and documentaries showing his work as the entry flight director for STS-107, the mission that ended in the catastrophic disintegration of Space Shuttle...

Darryl Peterson is an American musician, actor and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling as Maxx Payne, and in the World Wrestling Federation as Man Mountain Rock.

Danny Lee Harris is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the 400-meter hurdles (400 mH), in which he won silver medals at the 1984 Olympics and the 1987 World Championships.

David Wayne Loebsack is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he also is an emeritus professor of political science at Cornell College, where he had taught since 1982. On April 12, 2019, Loebsack announced he would not seek reelection.

Wilbert McDonald IV is an American professional football defensive end for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones and was selected by the Jets as the 15th pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Jared William Homan is an American professional basketball player who last played for Maccabi Ashdod of the Israeli Premier League. His natural position is power forward, but he is also a center.

Melvin Obinna Ejim is a Nigerian-Canadian professional basketball player for Força Lleida of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones before playing professionally in Italy, Russia and Spain, as well as the NBA G League.

Darnell Marcus Lamar Fizer is an American former professional basketball player.

Sehat Sutardja was an Indonesian-born American billionaire businessman who was the co-founder of Marvell Technology. Marvell was involved with industry segments including data storage, mobile and smart TVs. At the time of his death, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$1.3 billion, making him the 2,390th richest person in the world.

Graham Basil Spanier is a South African-born American sociologist and university administrator who became the 16th president of Pennsylvania State University on September 1, 1995. On November 9, 2011, in the wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, Spanier and longtime football coach Joe Paterno were “removed from their positions” by the Penn State board of trustees.

Kevin Andre Jackson is an American retired freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, and mixed martial artist. Following his competitive career, Jackson would become a wrestling coach.

Jamaal Lee Tinsley is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Tinsley played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones. Following his senior year, he was drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies with the 27th pick of the 2001 NBA draft and was immediately dealt to the Atlanta Hawks, and then to the Indiana Pacers on...

Nate Mooney is an American actor best known for his recurring role as Ryan McPoyle on the FX comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Justin Anthony Hamilton is a Croatian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a video coordinator and player development coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones and the LSU Tigers.

Aaron James Klein is an American former professional football linebacker who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft.

Terry Alan Anderson was an American journalist and combat veteran. He reported for the Associated Press. In 1985, he was taken hostage by Shia Hezbollah militants of the Islamic Jihad Organization in Lebanon and held until 1991. In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio State Senate.

Hadley Alexander Wickham is a New Zealand statistician known for his work on open-source software for the R statistical programming environment. He is the chief scientist at Posit PBC and an adjunct professor of statistics at the University of Auckland, Stanford University, and Rice University. His work includes the data visualisation system ggplot2 and the tidyverse, a collection of R...

Nazareth Jersey Mitrou-Long is a Canadian–Greek professional basketball player for Napoli Basket of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A. He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones. Born in Mississauga, Ontario, he played high school basketball at Father Michael Goetz in his hometown. In 2012, he started playing college basketball for Iowa State. He later played a total of...

Antti Herlin is a Finnish billionaire businessman and the chairman of the Finnish KONE Corporation, as well as the richest person in Finland – as of January 2025 Forbes reported his net worth as $4.1 billion, naming him the 819th richest person in the world. He is also the former chairman of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (Elinkeinoelämän Keskusliitto EK).

Kelechi Keith Ayo Osemele is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft, and was a rookie starter throughout the team's Super Bowl XLVII championship run...

Carrie Chapman Catt was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1900 to 1904 and 1915 to 1920. She founded the League of Women Voters in 1920 and the...

Matthew William Thomas is an American professional basketball player for Beşiktaş Gain of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and EuroCup. He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones before starting his professional career in Europe, then moving to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and back to Europe again.

Thomas Richard Harkin is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa's 5th congressional district from 1975 to 1985. He is the longest-serving senator to spend the entire tenure as a state's junior senator.

Howard Robard Hughes Sr. was an American businessman and inventor who founded the Hughes Tool Company. He invented the "Sharp–Hughes" two-cone rotary drill bit during the Texas Oil Boom. Hughes was the father and namesake of Howard Hughes (Howard Robard Hughes Jr.), the American business tycoon and founder of Hughes Aircraft.

Nawal El Moutawakel is a Moroccan former hurdler, who won the inaugural women's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and is the first Moroccan, Arab, African, and Muslim woman to win an Olympic gold. She is currently a vice president of the International Olympic Committee. In August 2024, the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) voted her as...

Breece Maelik Hall is an American professional football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones, where he was a two-time All-American and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Hall was selected by the Jets in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Monté Robert Morris is an American professional basketball player for Olympiacos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones.

Firouz Michael Naderi was an Iranian American scientist who spent 36 years in various technical and executive positions at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where he contributed to some of America's robotic space missions.

Danny Mack Gable is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a World Wrestling Championships gold medalist, and an Olympic gold medalist. Gable was only the third wrestler to be inducted into the United World Wrestling's Hall of...

Wesley JaMarr Johnson is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a player development assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones and Syracuse Orange. He was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft.

Fredrick Kristian Hoiberg is an American college basketball coach and former player. He has served as the men's head basketball coach at the University of Nebraska since 2019. Hoiberg grew up in Ames, Iowa, and played college basketball at Iowa State University in Ames where he earned the nickname "the Mayor". He was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA)...

Georges Maguette Niang, nicknamed "the Minivan" and "G Wagon" is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player for the Iowa State Cyclones.

Talen Jalee Horton-Tucker is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the EuroLeague. Horton-Tucker played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones.

Royce Alexander White is an American political candidate and former professional basketball player who was the Republican Party's nominee in the 2024 United States Senate election in Minnesota.

Betty Gabriel is an American actress. For her work in horror films, particularly Blumhouse films, Gabriel has been established as a scream queen. She has been nominated for two Black Reel Awards, an NAACP Image Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Jeffrey John Hornacek is an American professional basketball coach and a former player who is a coaching consultant for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously was the head coach for both the Phoenix Suns (2013–2016) and the New York Knicks (2016–2018). He was also an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets. He played shooting guard...

Joni Kay Ernst is an American politician and retired military officer serving since 2015 as the junior United States senator from Iowa. She is a member of the Republican Party.

Tyrese John Haliburton is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed Hali and "the Haliban", he is a two-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA Third Team selection.

Henry Agard Wallace was the 33rd vice president of the United States, serving from 1941 to 1945, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He served as the 11th U.S. secretary of agriculture and the 10th U.S. secretary of commerce. He was the nominee of the new Progressive Party in the 1948 presidential election.

Brock Richard Purdy is an American professional football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones and was selected by the 49ers with the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft, becoming that year's Mr. Irrelevant.

George Washington Carver was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the early 20th century.

Florin Vasile Cîțu is a Romanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between December 2020 and November 2021 (acting/ad interim between October and November 2021). Sometimes labeled as Romania's first libertarian Prime Minister, he was also the leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) between September 2021 and April 2022.

Randall Lee Feenstra is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district. The district covers the state's western border and its northwestern quadrant, including Sioux City, Ames, Council Bluffs, and Marshalltown. Feenstra is retiring in 2026 to run for Governor of Iowa. A member of the Republican Party, Feenstra served in the Iowa...

Thomas Paul Latham is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative for Iowa from 1995 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. On December 17, 2013, Latham announced he would not seek reelection next term, becoming the third member of the U.S. House to announce his retirement on the same day (along with Frank Wolf...

James Firman Daly was an American actor. Recognized for his work on stage and screen, he is perhaps best known for his role as Paul Lochner in the hospital drama series Medical Center, in which he played Chad Everett's superior.

Theresa Greenfield is an American businesswoman, government official, and former political candidate. She was the Democratic nominee for the 2020 United States Senate election in Iowa, losing to incumbent Republican Joni Ernst.

Kimberly Kay Reynolds is an American politician serving since 2017 as the 43rd governor of Iowa. A member of the Republican Party, she is the first female governor in Iowa history.

Clayton Conrad Anderson is a retired NASA astronaut. Launched on STS-117, he replaced Sunita Williams on June 10, 2007 as a member of the ISS Expedition 15 crew. He is currently an author, a motivational speaker, and a Professor of Practice at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. In 2022, he became the president and CEO of the Strategic Air...

Harvey Bernard Gantt is an American architect and Democratic politician active in North Carolina. The first African-American student admitted to Clemson University after attending Iowa State University, Gantt graduated with honors in architecture, earned a master's at MIT, and established an architectural practice in Charlotte with a partner.

John Cooper is an American businessman who was the mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 2019 to 2023. He served as a councilman at-large on the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County from 2015 until 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the brother of former U.S. representative Jim Cooper, who represented Tennessee's 5th congressional district, which was...

Lauro Fred Cavazos Jr. was an American educator and politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Education and was the first Hispanic to serve in the United States Cabinet.

Ezra Taft Benson was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower and as the 13th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1985 until his death in 1994.

Dennis A. Muilenburg is an American engineer, business executive and a former president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Boeing, a multinational aerospace and defense company. He was CEO from 2015 to 2019, when he was fired in the aftermath of two crashes of the 737 MAX and its subsequent groundings.

John Vincent Atanasoff OCM was an American physicist and inventor credited with inventing the first electronic digital computer. Atanasoff invented the first electronic digital computer in the 1930s at Iowa State College (now known as Iowa State University). Challenges to his claim were resolved in 1973 when the Honeywell v. Sperry Rand lawsuit ruled that Atanasoff was the inventor of...

Deonte DeAngelo Burton is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Osos de Manatí of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Iowa State Cyclones.

Yang Hung-duen is a Taiwanese physicist. Yang was the president of National Sun Yat-sen University from 2008 to 2016, when he was selected to lead the National Science and Technology Council.

Lee Teng-hui was a Taiwanese statesman, economist, and agronomist who served as the president of the Republic of China and chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He was the first president to be born in Taiwan, the last to be indirectly elected, and the first to be directly elected.

Isa Kalantari is an Iranian politician and former vice president, former head of Urmia Lake Restoration Program, and the former head of Department of Environment, serving from 2017 to 2021. He served as minister of agriculture in last year of Khamenei's presidency, in both terms of Rafsanjani's presidency and also in first term of President Khatami.

Subra Suresh is an Indian-born American engineer, materials scientist, and academic leader. He is currently Professor at Large at Brown University and Vannevar Bush Professor of Engineering Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and board member at the Villars Institute. He was Dean of the School of Engineering at MIT from 2007 to 2010 before being appointed as Director...

Luis Ernesto Derbez Bautista is a Mexican politician and rector of the Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP). He served as Mexico's Secretary of Economy from 2000 to 2002 and Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2006.

John Garang De Mabior was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M, Now known as South Sudan People's Defense Forces) as a commander in chief during the Second Sudanese Civil War. He served as First Vice President of Sudan for three weeks, from the comprehensive peace agreement of 2005...

Theaster Gates is an American social practice installation artist and a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he still lives and works.