You’re a Part of an Incredible Community
As a Carnegie Mellon student, you’re now part of a Tartan network that stretches around the globe. You’ll find the names of fellow CMU alumni on marquees, board rooms, courtrooms, stadiums, movie credits, record books and so much more!
We’re proud that you are a part of this CMU community and encourage you to explore some of the incredible achievements and advancements of those, like you, who truly put their heart into the work.
Did you know:
CMU Professors Herbert Simon and Allen Newell (TPR 1957) invented a programming language to model complete human problem-solving processes, which resulted in a “thinking machine.”
Astronaut Edgar Mitchell (TPR 1952) took the CMU flag to the moon on Apollo 14.
Gela Nash-Taylor (CFA 1978) co-founded Juicy Couture.
David Tepper (TPR 1982) owns the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
Swimmer Nada Arkaji (CMU 2016) was the first woman to represent Qatar at an Olympic Games in 2012.
Engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut Judith Resnik (ENG 1970), who tragically died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, was the fourth woman, second American woman and first Jewish woman of any nationality to fly in space, logging 145 hours in orbit.
Winner of eight Tony Awards, “Pippin” was written by Stephen Schwartz (CFA 1968) and first performed as part of CMU’s Scotch’n’Soda theater.
University Professor Red Whittaker (ENG 1975, 1979) and his robots helped clean up nuclear waste at Three Mile Island.
Alex Hills (ENG 1979) founded CMU’s first wireless initiative in 1994, laying the groundwork for today’s wi-fi.
A precursor to the TSA PreCheck system was designed by Heinz College students in 2003.
CMU has:
More than 130,000 total alumni
representing 148 countries
CMU alumni and current/former faculty have received:
- 20 Nobel Prizes
- 13 Academy Awards
- 146 Emmy Awards
- 64 Tony Awards
- 122 Fulbright Scholars
CMU alumni invented or introduced:
- Java computer programming language — James Gosling (MCS 1983, 1983)
- Kevlar fiber — Stephanie Kwolek (MCS 1946; HON 2001)
- The hashtag — Chris Messina (CFA 2003)
- The football penalty flag — Dwight Beede (CMU 1926)
- Early form of bouncing silicone rubber (AKA Silly Putty) — Earl L. Warrick (ENG 1933, 1934, 1943)
CMU alumni founded:
- Adobe — Charles M. Geschke (SCS 1973; HON 2013)
- Duolingo — Luis Von Ahn (SCS 2003, 2005) and Severin Hacker (SCS 2009, 2014)
- Coursera — Andrew Y. Ng (DC 1997)
- Red Hat — Marc Ewing (SCS 1992)
- Santa Fe Institute — George Cowan (MCS 1950, HON 2002)
CMU alumni stay connected through:
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8 Affinity Networks
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5 Identity-Based Networks
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22 International Networks
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20 Domestic Networks
The CMU Alumni Association Board has:
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23 members
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Representatives from all 7 schools and colleges
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Graduates from 6 different decades
