44 Notable alumni of University of Neuchatel
Updated: June 02, 2026 EliteDegrees
University of Neuchatel is ranked #906 in the world and #10 in Switzerland by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 44 notable alumni from University of Neuchatel sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with University of Neuchatel won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Justin Picard
entrepreneur
engineer
Justin Picard is a Swiss-Canadian engineer and entrepreneur who currently serves as the chief technology officer of Scantrust, a company he co-founded in 2013. He is the inventor of the copy detection pattern, a digital authentication technology for detecting product and document counterfeiting.
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2. Louis François de Pourtalès
1824-1880 (aged 56)
naturalist
zoologist
Louis François de Pourtalès was a Franco-American naturalist, born at Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
3. Alain M. Robert
1941-2025 (aged 84)
mathematician
university teacher
Alain M. Robert was a Swiss mathematician and professor at University of Neuchâtel. He received his PhD from the University of Neuchâtel in 1967, where he studied under Roger Bader. His dissertation Quelques Questions d'Espaces Vectoriels Topologiques concerned topological vector spaces.
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4. Paul Besson
1848-1932 (aged 84)
theologian
Paul-Henri Besson was a Swiss Baptist missionary, biblical scholar, linguist, writer and historian. Paul Besson is considered the initiator of the Evangelical Baptist Convention of Argentina. He is known for his translation of the New Testament, the first in all of Latin America, from koine Greek into Spanish. Besson was recognized by the entire Argentine Protestant movement.
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5. Naima Sahlbom
1871-1957 (aged 86)
peace activist
chemist
Naima Sahlbom was a Swedish chemist, mineralogist, and peace activist. She is considered to be one of Sweden's most notable women chemists of the early 20th century.
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6. Jamie McGrigor
1949-2025 (aged 76)
politician
Sir James Angus Rhoderick Neil McGrigor, 6th Baronet was a Scottish Conservative Party politician, who was an Argyll and Bute Councillor for the Oban South and the Isles Ward from 2017 to 2022. He had previously served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 1999 until 2016.
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7. Otto Schneider-Orelli
1880-1965 (aged 85)
botanist
oenologist
entomologist
Otto Schneider-Orelli was a Swiss entomologist.
8. Mimi Khalvati
1944-. (aged 82)
poet
writer
Mimi Khalvati is an Iranian-born British poet. She is the recipient of the King's Gold Medal for Poetry for 2023, awarded for "her outstanding talent and ability to draw on diverse cultural traditions – Iranian, English and American – to enrich British poetry".
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9. Philippe Bauer
1962-. (aged 64)
politician
Philippe Bauer is a Swiss politician who is a member of the Council of States of Switzerland.
10. Thomas Hefti
1959-. (aged 67)
lawyer
politician
Thomas Hefti is a politician from Switzerland who served as President of the Swiss Council of States from 2021 to 2022 and Member of the Swiss Council of States from 2014.
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11. Valentine Python
1975-. (aged 51)
climatologist
politician
Valentine Python is a Swiss climatologist and a member in the National Council of Switzerland of the Green Party of Switzerland (GPS).
12. Jörg De Bernardi
1973-. (aged 53)
politician
Jörg De Bernardi is a Swiss diplomat and politician. He held the office of Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland between August 2016 and December 2018 and is currently serving as acting Vice-Chancellor, in charge of the Federal Council's affairs.
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13. Catherine Gfeller
1966-. (aged 60)
artist
Catherine Gfeller is a Swiss artist. She currently lives and works in Paris and Southern France after having lived in New York from 1995 to 1999.
14. Eugénie Droz
1893-1976 (aged 83)
romanist
editing staff
philologist
publisher
literary historian
Eugénie Droz was a Swiss romance scholar, editor publisher and writer, originally from the Suisse Romande. She created the Librairie Droz, a publisher and seller of academic books, at Paris in 1924, moving the business to Geneva at the end of the war.
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15. Robert Forrest Burgess
1927-. (aged 99)
novelist
Robert Forrest Burgess is an American author of non-fiction adventure books, as well as sport fishing and scuba diving magazine articles. His photographs illustrate his material.
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16. Monique Laederach
1938-2004 (aged 66)
translator
poet
literary critic
writer
Monique Laederach was a Swiss writer and translator. She published poems, novels, radio plays, plays for the theatre and literary criticism. Laederach also translated works by German-language writers such as Kafka, Rilke, Erika Burkart and Adolf Muschg into French. Laederach was a member of the Gruppe Olten. A complete collection of her poems was published in 2003. She received the...
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17. René M. Stulz
1952-. (aged 74)
economist
René M. Stulz is a professor of finance at the Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University, where he has been on the faculty since 1983. After earning his undergraduate degree at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, he earned his Ph.D. in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980 and has taught at a variety...
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18. Henri-Alexandre Junod
1863-1934 (aged 71)
entomologist
scientific collector
theologian
anthropologist
zoological collector
Henri-Alexandre Junod was a Swiss-born South African missionary, ethnographer, anthropologist, linguist and naturalist, stationed for much of his career at Shiluvane mission station outside Tzaneen in Limpopo Province. He received an early training in Protestant ministry at Neuchâtel, Basel and Berlin. He was one of the founding members of the Lemana Training College at Njhakanjhaka village near the Township of...
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19. Anne-Lise Grobéty
1949-2010 (aged 61)
writer
novelist
poet
journalist
Anne-Lise Grobéty was a French-language Swiss journalist and an author of short stories, poetry and radio plays.
20. Ye Peijian
1945-. (aged 81)
engineer
military flight engineer
Ye Peijian is a Chinese aerospace engineer. He is the Chief Commander and Chief Designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.
21. Damien Cottier
1975-. (aged 51)
politician
Damien Cottier is a Swiss politician. He was elected to the National Council in 2019, where he represents Neuchâtel. He also represents Switzerland at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Cottier is a member of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party.
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22. Robert Comtesse
1847-1922 (aged 75)
lawyer
judge
politician
Robert Comtesse was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1899-1912).
23. Raphaël Comte
1979-. (aged 47)
lawyer
politician
Raphaël Comte is a Swiss lawyer and politician. He has served as a member of the Council of States from 1 March 2010 to 1 December 2019, and was its president from 2015 to 2016.
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24. Charles Juillard
1962-. (aged 64)
politician
Charles Juillard is a Swiss politician who is a member of the Council of States of Switzerland and former Minister and President of the Republic and Canton of Jura.
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25. Avrahm Yarmolinsky
1890-1975 (aged 85)
historian
literary critic
journalist
translator
Avrahm Yarmolinsky was an author, translator, and the husband of Babette Deutsch.
26. Dick Marty
1945-2023 (aged 78)
jurist
lawyer
politician
prosecutor
Dick Marty was a Swiss politician (FDP.The Liberals) and state prosecutor of the canton of Ticino. He was a member of the Swiss Council of States (from 1995 to 2011) and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
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27. Philippe Lazzarini
1964-. (aged 62)
administrator
economist
Philippe Lazzarini is a Swiss humanitarian who has been serving as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2020.
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28. Pierre Aubert
1927-2016 (aged 89)
lawyer
screenwriter
politician
Pierre Aubert was a Swiss politician, lawyer and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1978–1987) from the canton of Neuchâtel. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS).
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29. Alison Wolf
1949-. (aged 77)
economist
aristocrat
university teacher
politician
Alison Margaret Wolf, Baroness Wolf of Dulwich, DBE is a British economist, academic, and life peer. She is the Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management at King's College London; Director of the International Centre for University Policy Research, King's Policy Institute; and Director of the university's MSc program in Public Sector Policy and Management. Her latest book, The...
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30. Pierre Graber
1908-2003 (aged 95)
politician
Pierre Graber was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1970–1978).
31. Céline Vara
1984-. (aged 42)
lawyer
politician
Céline Vara is a Swiss-Italian lawyer and politician of the Green Party of Switzerland (GPS). She is currently a member of the Council of States of Switzerland.
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32. Frédéric Louis Godet
1812-1900 (aged 88)
university teacher
theologian
Frédéric Louis Godet was a Swiss Protestant theologian.
33. Huang Jiqing
1904-1995 (aged 91)
geologist
Huang Jiqing, also known by his courtesy name Huang Degan (Chinese: 黄德淦; Te-Kan Huang), was a Chinese geologist. He was born March 30, 1904, in Renshou, Sichuan to an intellectual family. In 1928 he obtained his bachelor's degree at Peking University, and in 1935 he got his PhD at University of Neuchâtel, Swiss. After returning to China he taught at...
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34. Denis de Rougemont
1906-1985 (aged 79)
essayist
university teacher
writer
philosopher
translator
Denys Louis de Rougemont, known as Denis de Rougemont ( French: [dəni də ʁuʒmɔ̃]), was a Swiss writer and cultural theorist who wrote in French. One of the non-conformists of the 1930s, he addressed the perils of totalitarianism from a Christian point of view. After the Second World War, he promoted European federalism.
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35. Jean Piaget
1896-1980 (aged 84)
pedagogue
philosopher
university teacher
malacologist
biologist
Jean William Fritz Piaget ( UK: /piˈæʒeɪ/, US: /ˌpiːəˈʒeɪ, pjɑːˈʒeɪ/; French: [ʒɑ̃ pjaʒɛ]; (9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called genetic epistemology.
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36. Gianni Infantino
1970-. (aged 56)
sports official
Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino is a football administrator and the president of FIFA since 2016. He has also been an International Olympic Committee member since 2020.
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37. Alain Berset
1972-. (aged 54)
politician
economist
Alain Berset is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2012 to 2023. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), he headed the Federal Department of Home Affairs from when he took office. Berset served as President of the Swiss Confederation for 2018 and 2023.
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38. Didier Burkhalter
1960-. (aged 66)
politician
economist
Didier Eric Burkhalter is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2009 to 2017. A member of FDP.The Liberals, he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2014.
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39. Ünal Aysal
1941-. (aged 85)
entrepreneur
businessperson
Ünal Aysal is a Turkish businessman. He was the chairman of Galatasaray S.K.
40. Elisabeth Baume-Schneider
1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Élisabeth Baume-Schneider is a Swiss politician who currently serves on the Federal Council (Switzerland) for the Social Democratic Party since 2023. She was elected on 7 December 2022, as the first representative of the Canton of Jura.
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41. Saeed Nafisi
1896-1966 (aged 70)
writer
historian
literary scholar
translator
poet
Saeed Nafisi was an Iranian scholar, fiction writer and poet. He was a prolific writer in Persian.
42. Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau
1869-1928 (aged 59)
diplomat
jurist
politician
Ulrich Karl Christian Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau was a German diplomat who became the first Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic. In that capacity, he led the German delegation at the Paris Peace Conference but resigned over the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. He was also the German ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1928.
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43. Mohammad Mosaddegh
1882-1967 (aged 85)
diplomat
writer
politician
Mohammad Mosaddegh was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of the Iranian parliament from 1923, and served through a contentious 1952 election into the 17th Iranian Majlis, until his government was overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état aided...
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44. Emma Twigg
1987-. (aged 39)
rower
Emma Kimberley Twigg MNZM is a New Zealand rower. A single sculler, she was the 2014 world champion and won gold in her fourth Olympics in Tokyo in July 2021. Previous Olympic appearances were in 2008 (ninth place), 2012 (fourth place), and 2016 (fourth place). She has retired from rowing twice, first for master-level studies in Europe in 2015 and...
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