39 Notable alumni of Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Updated: June 22, 2026 EliteDegrees
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is ranked #705 in the world and #203 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 39 notable alumni from Worcester Polytechnic Institute sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Worcester Polytechnic Institute won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. James Ernest Smith
1881-1973 (aged 92)
electrical engineer
James Ernest Smith was an American engineer, entrepreneur, educator, and businessman. He was the co-founder and president of the National Radio Institute (NRI) in Washington D.C., which trained 1.5 million students through home study over its 88-year history. Smith was born on February 3, 1881, in Rochester, New Hampshire. He held a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering (B.S.E.E., 1906) from...
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2. William Stevens Lawton
1900-1993 (aged 93)
military personnel
William Stevens Lawton was a lieutenant general in the United States Army and served as the Army's Comptroller.
3. Henry Prentiss Armsby
1853-1921 (aged 68)
chemist
academic administrator
zoologist
Henry Prentiss Armsby was an American agricultural chemist, animal nutritionist, and academic administrator. He served as Vice Principal and Acting Principal of the Storrs Agricultural School (1881–1883), associate director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station (1883–1887), and director of the Agricultural Experiment Station (1887–1907) and the Institute of Animal Nutrition (1907–1921) at the Pennsylvania State University.
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4. William Lafayette Darling
1856-1938 (aged 82)
engineer
civil engineer
William Lafayette Darling, was a consulting engineer in St. Paul, Minnesota.
5. William Herbert Hobbs
1864-1953 (aged 89)
geologist
William Herbert Hobbs, Ph.D. was an American geologist.
6. Marc Zimmer
1961-. (aged 65)
chemist
Marc Zimmer is the Jean Tempel '65 Professor of Professor of Chemistry at Connecticut College. He has published seven books, written articles on science and medicine for the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Huffington Post, etc. He has been interviewed or quoted in the Economist, Science, Nature etc.
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7. Francis W. Treadway
1869-1925 (aged 56)
lawyer
politician
Francis Wilcox Treadway was an American politician who served as the 30th lieutenant governor of Ohio from 1909 to 1911.
8. Marcia Keith
1859-1950 (aged 91)
physicist
Marcia Anna Keith was an American physicist, teacher of physics to women, and a charter member of the American Physical Society since its founding in 1899.
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9. Leon P. Alford
1877-1942 (aged 65)
mechanical engineer
organizational theorist
Leon Pratt Alford was an American mechanical engineer, organizational theorist, and administrator for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. known for his seminal work in the field of industrial management.
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10. Oscar Nathaniel Solbert
1885-1958 (aged 73)
exhibition curator
military engineer
Oscar Nathaniel Solbert was an American general, business executive and the first director of the George Eastman Museum.
11. Jackson Nickerson
1962-. (aged 64)
university teacher
economist
Jackson Nickerson is an American academic who studies leadership, organizations, and strategy. He is the Edward Jones Dean of Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business at Saint Louis University. Nickerson was the Frahm Family Professor of Organization and Strategy (Emeritus) in Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. He also was the Associate Dean and Director of Brookings...
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12. Everett J. Lake
1871-1948 (aged 77)
politician
American football player
Everett J. Lake was an American politician and businessman who served as the 67th governor of Connecticut.
13. Michael Ahearne
1966-. (aged 60)
Michael Ahearne is Professor and C.T. Bauer Chair in Marketing at the C.T. Bauer College of Business, University of Houston. He is also the Research Director of the Sales Excellence Institute. He is an associate editor at several journals, including Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, and Journal of Service...
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14. Charles Grenfill Washburn
1857-1928 (aged 71)
lawyer
politician
Charles Grenfill Washburn was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
15. Jeremy Hitchcock
1981-. (aged 45)
academic
Jeremy Hitchcock is co-founder and CEO of wifi management and IoT security startup, Minim (NASDAQ: MINM), based in Manchester, NH. Jeremy is also a Partner at New North Ventures, which invests in artificial intelligence, cyber security and communication sectors.
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16. Emilio Sacristan Rock
1965-. (aged 61)
biomedical engineer
Emilio Sacristan Rock is a Mexican researcher, inventor and businessman in the field of medical technology. He is professor of electrical and biomedical engineering, Director and Founder of the National Center for Medical Instrumentation and Imaging Research, CI3M, at the UAM-Iztapalapa, Mexico City, and Mexican National Researcher level III. He holds a B.S. (1987) in EE and M.S. (1990) and...
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17. Kotaro Shimomura
1861-1937 (aged 76)
engineer
chemist
Kotaro Shimomura was a Japanese chemical engineer known for many famous inventions. He coined the term for chemical engineering, kagaku-kōgaku (化学工学), in Japanese in 1909.
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18. Joseph Mancuso
1941-. (aged 85)
writer
Joseph Mancuso was an American author, businessman and keynote speaker. He is known for writing 24 entrepreneurial books for entrepreneurs and CEOs.
19. Pascale Fung
1966-. (aged 60)
computer scientist
researcher
Pascale Fung is a professor in the Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering and the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology(HKUST). She is the director of the Centre for AI Research (CAiRE) at HKUST. She is an elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for her “contributions...
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20. David F. Emery
1948-. (aged 78)
politician
David Farnham Emery is an American politician from Maine. He served four terms as a Republican U.S. representative from 1975 to 1983.
21. Curtis Carlson
1945-. (aged 81)
scientist
Curtis Raymond Carlson was president and CEO of SRI International from 1998 to 2014.
22. George Cowan
1920-2012 (aged 92)
businessperson
chemist
George Arthur Cowan was an American physical chemist, a businessman and philanthropist.
23. David Gewirtz
editor
columnist
writer
computer scientist
journalist
David Allen Gewirtz is a journalist, author, and U.S. policy advisor working in technology and national security policy. He currently serves as director of the U.S. Strategic Perspective Institute.
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24. David Norton
1941-2023 (aged 82)
businessperson
David P. Norton was an American business theorist, business executive and management consultant, known as co-creator, together with Robert S. Kaplan, of the Balanced Scorecard. David P. Norton co-founded Palladium Group, Inc. (previously Balanced Scorecard Collaborative) and served as its chief executive officer.
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25. A. Atwater Kent
1873-1949 (aged 76)
inventor
businessperson
Arthur Atwater Kent Sr. was an American inventor and prominent radio manufacturer based in Philadelphia. In 1905, he invented the Unisparker which combined ignition points, condenser, centrifugal advance mechanism, and distributor in one unit, the system used in virtually every automobile until the development of fully electronic systems in the 1970s and '80s. In 1921, Kent patented the modern form...
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26. Jonathan Bird
1969-. (aged 57)
photographer
Jonathan Bird is an American cinematographer, photographer, director and television host known for underwater work. He is best known for his role as the host of Jonathan Bird's Blue World, a family-friendly underwater exploration program on public television in the United States.
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27. Elwood Haynes
1857-1925 (aged 68)
writer
inventor
entrepreneur
racing automobile driver
Elwood Haynes was an American inventor, metallurgist, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur, and industrialist. He invented the metal alloy stellite and independently co-discovered martensitic stainless steel along with Englishman Harry Brearley in 1912 and designed one of the earliest automobiles made in the United States. He is recognized for having created the earliest American design that was feasible for mass production and,...
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28. Naveen Selvadurai
1982-. (aged 44)
entrepreneur
businessperson
Naveen Selvadurai is an American internet entrepreneur and co-founder of location-based social networking site Foursquare.com. Until recently, he was working at startup studio Expa which was founded by co-founder of Uber and StumbleUpon - Garrett Camp, as a partner. He was featured in Inc Magazine's 30 under 30 list in the year 2010. He was also featured in Rediff.com's article...
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29. Richard T. Whitcomb
1921-2009 (aged 88)
engineer
military flight engineer
Richard Travis Whitcomb was an American aeronautical engineer who was noted for his contributions to the science of aerodynamics.
30. Mei Yiqi
1889-1962 (aged 73)
politician
Mei Yiqi or Mei Yi-chi, courtesy name Yuehan (Chinese: 月涵), was a Chinese educator who served as the president of National Tsinghua University between 1931 and 1948, making him the university's longest serving president. He also served two separate terms as Ministry of Education of the Republic of China, from 1948 to 1949 and from 1958 to 1961.
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31. Im Tae-kyung
1973-. (aged 53)
singer
recording artist
musician
Im Tae-Kyung, sometimes credited as Lim Tae-kyung, Im Tae-kyeong, or Lim Tae-kyeong, is a South Korean musical and television actor, and crossover tenor.
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32. Chartsiri Sophonpanich
1959-. (aged 67)
entrepreneur
Chartsiri Sophonpanich is a Thai banker. He currently serves as president of Bangkok Bank, the largest commercial bank in Thailand and one of the largest regional banks in Southeast Asia, and chairman of Bangkok Bank (China), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bangkok Bank. He held various senior management positions in Bangkok Bank before being appointed president in December 1994 and...
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33. Dean Kamen
1951-. (aged 75)
entrepreneur
inventor
Dean Lawrence Kamen is an American engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is known for his invention of the Segway and iBOT, as well as founding the non-profit organization FIRST with Woodie Flowers. Kamen holds over 1,000 patents.
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34. J. Geils
1946-2017 (aged 71)
jazz guitarist
guitarist
John Warren Geils Jr., was an American guitarist. He was known as the leader of the J. Geils Band.
35. Magic Dick
1945-. (aged 81)
musician
Richard Salwitz, known as Magic Dick, is an American musician, noted for playing the harmonica for the J. Geils Band. In addition to the harmonica, Salwitz plays the trumpet (the first instrument he learned) and saxophone.
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36. Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr
1896-1974 (aged 78)
military personnel
Edwin Eugene "Gene" Aldrin Sr. was an aviator and officer in the United States Army during World War I and World War II. He was assistant commandant of the Army's first test pilot school at McCook Field, Ohio, from 1919 to 1922, and founded the engineering school there that later became the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson...
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37. Robert H. Goddard
1882-1945 (aged 63)
astronomer
military flight engineer
mathematician
engineer
inventor
Robert Hutchings Goddard was an American physicist, inventor, and engineer credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which was successfully launched on March 16, 1926. By 1915 his pioneering work had dramatically improved the efficiency of the solid-fueled rocket, signaling the era of the modern rocket and innovation. He and his team launched 34 rockets between 1926...
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38. Anthony Zinno
1981-. (aged 45)
poker player
Anthony Zinno is a professional poker player from Cranston, Rhode Island. He has won three World Poker Tour (WPT) titles and four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets.
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39. Todd Akin
1947-2021 (aged 74)
politician
William Todd Akin was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Missouri's 2nd congressional district from 2001 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in New York City, Akin grew up in the Greater St. Louis area. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, Akin served in the U.S....
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