35 Notable alumni of Youngstown State University
Updated: June 13, 2026 EliteDegrees
Youngstown State University is ranked #1,674 in the world and #412 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 35 notable alumni from Youngstown State University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Youngstown State University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Mikko Niemi
1985-. (aged 41)
basketball player
Mikko Otto Petteri Niemi is a Finnish retired basketball player. 185 cm tall point guard Niemi played in Korisliiga for his foster club Tampereen Pyrintö (Pyrbasket) for three seasons before departing to Youngstown State University, where he stayed between 2005 and 2009. After that he played for one more season in Korisliiga, this time in Lappeenrannan NMKY.
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2. Alverna Bennett
1918-2007 (aged 89)
aircraft pilot
Alverna Babbs Williams was the first American pilot with disabilities to earn a pilot's license.
3. Margarita Prentice
1931-2019 (aged 88)
politician
Margarita López Prentice was a Washington state legislator. A Democrat, she represented the 11th District, which includes Seattle's Beacon Hill, South Park and portions of Renton, Kent, Tukwila, Burien, and SeaTac.
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4. George Cappuzzello
1954-. (aged 72)
baseball player
George Angelo Cappuzzello is an American former baseball player who pitched for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. He played with two different teams over two seasons and ended his playing career in 1982.
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5. Dov Nisman
1954-. (aged 72)
swimmer
Dov Nisman is an Israeli former Olympic swimmer who competed for Youngstown State University.
6. John L. Volakis
1956-. (aged 70)
engineer
electrical engineer
John Leonidas Volakis is a Greek-American electrical engineer and academic specializing in computational electromagnetics, antenna design, and RF materials. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Academy of Inventors, and a recipient of the URSI Booker Gold Medal. He served as President of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society...
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7. Hassan Niknafs
academic administrator
mechanical engineer
Hassan Niknafs is an Iranian Azerbaijani mechanical engineer and academic administrator. He became president of Khazar University in 2015. Niknafs was dean of the school of engineering and applied sciences at Khazar University from 2013 to 2015.
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8. Paula Brooks
1953-. (aged 73)
politician
Paula L. Brooks is an American politician who is a former member of the Franklin County, Ohio Board of Commissioners.
9. Steven R. Little
1977-. (aged 49)
chemical engineer
Steven R. Little is an American chemical engineer and pharmaceutical scientist. He currently holds the title of department chair, distinguished professor, and George M. and Eva M. Bevier Endowed Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. He also holds secondary appointments in bioengineering, pharmaceutical sciences, immunology, ophthalmology and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine...
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10. Patricia Haynes Smith
1946-. (aged 80)
businessperson
politician
Patricia Haynes Smith is an American politician who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2008 to 2020, representing District 67. Smith is affiliated with the Democratic party. Her platform focused on promoting access to healthcare and other resources for underprivileged communities and improving education in public schools.
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11. Chris Sainato
1959-. (aged 67)
politician
Christopher Sainato is an American politician who represented the 9th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1995 to 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
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12. Charles J. Carney
1913-1987 (aged 74)
trade unionist
politician
Charles Joseph Carney was an American politician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio from 1970 to 1979.
13. Peter C. Economus
1943-. (aged 83)
lawyer
judge
Peter Constantine Economus is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
14. Harry Meshel
1924-2017 (aged 93)
politician
Harry Meshel was an American Democratic politician. He served as the president of the Ohio State Senate and chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. Meshel is noted for his legislative efforts on behalf of the disabled, economic development, and solid and hazardous waste disposal.
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15. Robert M. Nemkovich
1942-. (aged 84)
presbyter
Robert M. Nemkovich is an American prelate and was the sixth Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church, elected by the twenty-first General Synod of this denomination in 2002 and serving until 2010.
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16. Vytautas Šulskis
1988-. (aged 38)
basketball player
Vytautas Šulskis is a Lithuanian professional basketball player.
17. Jay Williams
1981-. (aged 45)
basketball player
Roy Kojo Jawara "Jay" Williams is a United States politician who served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development from 2014 to 2017. Previously, he served as the executive director of the federal Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers and as Mayor of Youngstown, Ohio. Since July 17, 2017, he has served as the President and CEO...
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18. Ronald A. Parise
1951-2008 (aged 57)
astronaut
Ronald Anthony Parise was an Italian American scientist who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle missions as a payload specialist.
19. Sam Bahour
1964-. (aged 62)
businessperson
Sam Bahour is an American businessman and entrepreneur of Palestinian descent.
20. Desiré Dubounet
1951-2025 (aged 74)
film director
drag queen
performing artist
homeopath
physician
Desiré D. Dubounet was an American alternative medicine inventor, filmmaker and performer who lived in Budapest, Hungary. Dubounet developed the pseudoscientific Electro Physiological Feedback Xrroid, an energy medicine device that is considered to be dangerous to health and has been described as a scam.
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21. Abdul Wadud
1947-2022 (aged 75)
jazz musician
cellist
Abdul Wadud was an American cellist known for his work in jazz and classical settings. Jazz musician and fellow composer Tomeka Reid hailed Abdul Wadud's "Camille" in a 2020 feature in the New York Times on music that one could play to make friends fall in love with the cello.
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22. Nathaniel R. Jones
1926-2020 (aged 94)
lawyer
judge
journalist
Nathaniel Raphael Jones was an American attorney, judge, and law professor. As general counsel of the NAACP, Jones fought to end school segregation, including in the northern United States. From 1979 until 1995, he served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit before assuming senior status, and in 2002 retired...
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23. Phil Klein
1989-. (aged 37)
baseball player
Phil William Klein is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies; and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
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24. Hiral Tipirneni
1967-. (aged 59)
politician
Hiral Vyas Tipirneni is an Indian-American politician and physician. She worked for a decade in Phoenix, Arizona, area emergency departments, is a cancer research advocate, and serves on the board of directors of the Maricopa Health Foundation. In 2018, she was the Democratic nominee for special election for Arizona's 8th congressional district, which was called to fill the congressional seat...
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25. Avery Moss
1994-. (aged 32)
American football player
Avery Moss is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Youngstown State Penguins, and was selected by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft.
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26. Marcus Keene
1995-. (aged 31)
basketball player
Marcus Johnny Rashaan Keene is an American professional basketball player for SIG Strasbourg of the French LNB Pro A.
27. Thomas Bopp
1949-2018 (aged 69)
astronomer
Thomas Joel Bopp was an American amateur astronomer. In 1995, he discovered comet Hale–Bopp; Alan Hale discovered it independently at almost the same time, and it was thus named after both of them. At the time of the comet discovery he was a manager at a construction materials factory and an amateur astronomer. On the night of July 22, Bopp...
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28. Riyad Mansour
1947-. (aged 79)
diplomat
Riyad H. Mansour is a Palestinian diplomat and since 2005 has been the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations. Previous to Mansour's appointment to Permanent Observer, Mansour served as the Deputy Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations from 1983 to 1994. In 2005, President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas appointed him to succeed Nasser...
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29. Tim Hagan
1946-. (aged 80)
politician
Timothy Hagan is an American politician who served as Cuyahoga County Commissioner and other local offices from the 1980s through 2000s, and was his party's nominee for the governorship of Ohio in 2002.
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30. Kris Pavone
1980-. (aged 46)
teacher
professional wrestler
Kris Pavone is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he wrestled under the ring name Caylen Croft. He was one half of the DudeBusters tag team with Trent Barreta.
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31. Pat Narduzzi
1966-. (aged 60)
head coach
Patrick Regan Narduzzi is an American college football coach and former player. Since 2015, he has been the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh. He was formerly the defensive coordinator at Michigan State. He attended Youngstown State University and the University of Rhode Island. He earned his master's degree from Miami University.
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32. Ed O'Neill
1946-. (aged 80)
comedian
television actor
American football player
film actor
teacher
Edward Leonard O'Neill is an American actor, comedian, and former football player. Over his career, he has earned four Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
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33. Mark Mangino
1956-. (aged 70)
coach
head coach
American football coach
Mark Thomas Mangino is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Kansas from 2002 to 2009. In 2007, Mangino received several national coach of the year honors after leading the Jayhawks to their only 12-win season in school history and an Orange Bowl victory. However, he resigned as coach at...
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34. Amy Acton
researcher
epidemiologist
university teacher
public health physician
Amy Stearns Acton is an American physician and researcher who is currently running for governor of Ohio. Acton previously served as the director of the Ohio Department of Health from 2019 to 2020. She led Ohio's COVID-19 pandemic response and accompanied Governor DeWine during his daily afternoon press conferences throughout the spring of 2020. Prior to and immediately after serving...
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35. James Traficant
1941-2014 (aged 73)
American football player
sheriff
radio personality
politician
James Anthony Traficant Jr. was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. A staunch economic populist known for his flamboyant personality, he represented the 17th congressional district, which centered on his hometown of Youngstown and included parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley.
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