100 Notable alumni of
Rice University
Updated:
Rice University is 245th in the world, 106th in North America, and 101st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Rice University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. 2 individuals affiliated with Rice University won Nobel Prizes in Chemistry.
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Howard Hughes
- Occupations
- aircraft pilotproducermilitary flight engineerentrepreneurfilm producer
- Biography
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Howard Robard Hughes Jr. was an American aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, investor, philanthropist and aircraft pilot. He was best known during his lifetime as one of the richest and most influential people in the world. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness.
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Joyce Carol Oates
- Occupations
- screenwriternovelistpoetdiaristprofessor
- Biography
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Joyce Carol Oates is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), and Blonde (2000), and her short story collections The Wheel of Love (1970) and Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories (2014) were each finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. She has won many awards for her writing, including the National Book Award, for her novel Them (1969), two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize (2019).
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George P. Bush
- Occupations
- businesspersonmilitary officerpoliticianteacherlawyer
- Biography
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George Prescott Bush is an American politician and attorney who served as the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Bush unsuccessfully campaigned for the party's nomination in the 2022 Texas Attorney General election.
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Glenn Youngkin
- Enrolled in Rice University
- 1985-1990 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- business executivepoliticianwriterinvestment bankerbasketball player
- Biography
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Glenn Allen Youngkin is an American businessman and politician serving as the 74th governor of Virginia since 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he spent 25 years at the private-equity firm The Carlyle Group, where he became co-CEO in 2018. He resigned from the position in 2020 to run for governor.
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Ali Koç
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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Yıldırım Ali Koç is a Turkish businessman. He is a third-generation member of Turkey's wealthiest Koç family and the youngest son of Rahmi Koç. In June 2018, he became the 37th president of Fenerbahçe Sports Club.
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Anthony Rendon
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Anthony Michael Rendon is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World Series championship team.
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Candace Bushnell
- Occupations
- essayistcolumnistnovelistwriterjournalist
- Biography
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Candace Bushnell is an American author, journalist, and television producer. She wrote a column for The New York Observer (1994–96) that was adapted into the bestselling Sex and the City anthology. The book was the basis for the HBO hit series Sex and the City (1998–2004) and two subsequent movies.
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Larry McMurtry
- Enrolled in Rice University
- In 1960 graduated with Master of Arts in English studies
- Occupations
- screenwriterbusinesspersonopinion journalistwriterhistorian
- Biography
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Larry Jeff McMurtry was an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas. His novels included Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966), and Terms of Endearment (1975), which were adapted into films. Films adapted from McMurtry's works earned 34 Oscar nominations (13 wins). He was also a prominent book collector and bookseller.
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Peggy Whitson
- Enrolled in Rice University
- 1981-1985 graduated with Doctor of Philosophy in biochemistry
- Occupations
- astronautbiochemist
- Biography
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Peggy Annette Whitson is an American biochemistry researcher, and astronaut working for Axiom Space. She retired from NASA in 2018, after serving as Chief Astronaut. Over all her missions, Whitson accumulated a total of 675 days in space, more than any other American or woman.
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Josh Earnest
- Occupations
- journalistpress secretary
- Biography
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Joshua Ryan Henry Earnest is an American political advisor who served as White House press secretary under President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017. He was Obama's third Press Secretary and the 29th to hold the position. He succeeded Jay Carney as Obama's press secretary, in 2014, and was succeeded by President Donald Trump's first presidential press secretary, Sean Spicer. He is Executive Vice President of Communications and Advertising for United Airlines.
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Lola Astanova
- Occupations
- composerpianistrecord producer
- Biography
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Lola Astanova is an Uzbek-born American pianist.
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Ben Rhodes
- Occupations
- adviserspeechwriterwriterpolitical adviser
- Biography
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Benjamin J. Rhodes is an American writer, a political commentator, and a former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting under President Barack Obama. With Jake Sullivan, he is the co-chair of National Security Action, a political NGO. He contributes to NBC News and MSNBC regularly as a political commentator. He is also a Crooked Media contributor, and co-host of the foreign policy podcast Pod Save the World.
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Jim Bridenstine
- Enrolled in Rice University
- In 1998 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianconsultantmilitary officer
- Biography
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James Frederick Bridenstine is an American military officer and politician who served as the 13th administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Bridenstine was the United States representative for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district, based in Tulsa from January 3, 2013, to April 23, 2018. He is a member of the Republican Party. Bridenstine currently works in the private sector and holds positions at Voyager Space Holdings, Viasat, Acorn Growth Companies and Firefly Aerospace.
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Alberto Gonzales
- Occupations
- judgepoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Alberto R. Gonzales is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General from 2005 to 2007 and was the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive government in American history until the appointment of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State in 2025. He previously served as Secretary of State of Texas, as a Texas Supreme Court Justice, and as White House Counsel, becoming the first Hispanic to hold that office.
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Jiankui He
- Enrolled in Rice University
- 2009-2010 graduated with Doctor of Philosophy in biophysics
- Occupations
- biomedical engineergeneticistbiologistphysicist
- Biography
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He Jiankui is a Chinese biophysicist. He was named as the inaugural director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Wuchang Technical College, a private undergraduate college in Wuhan, in September 2023. Before January 2019, He served as associate professor at the Department of Biology of the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Earning a PhD from Rice University in Texas on protein evolution, including that of CRISPR, He learned gene-editing techniques (CRISPR/Cas9) as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University in California.
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John Doerr
- Occupations
- computer scientistbusinessperson
- Biography
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L. John Doerr is an American investor and venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins in Menlo Park, California. In February 2009, Doerr was appointed a member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide the President and his administration with advice and counsel in trying to fix America's economic downturn. Forbes ranked Doerr as the 40th richest person in tech in 2017, and as of August 1, 2023, as the 146th richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$11.9 billion. Doerr is the author of Measure What Matters, a book about goal-setting, and Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now.
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Luke Willson
- Occupations
- baseball playerAmerican football player
- Biography
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Luke Michael Willson is a Canadian former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL).
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Lance Berkman
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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William Lance Berkman, nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the former head baseball coach of the Houston Christian Huskies. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. Berkman is a six-time MLB All-Star and won a World Series championship and the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award with the Cardinals in 2011. He stands 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), and weighs 220 pounds (100 kg). Berkman spent various seasons of his career as a regular at all three outfield positions.
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L. Patrick Gray
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Louis Patrick Gray III was acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from May 3, 1972, to April 27, 1973. During this time, the FBI was in charge of the initial investigation into the burglaries that sparked the Watergate scandal, which eventually led to the resignation of President Nixon. Gray was nominated as permanent director by Nixon on February 15, 1973, but failed to win Senate confirmation. He resigned as acting director on April 27, 1973, after admitting to destroying documents that had come from convicted Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt's safe—documents received on June 28, 1972, 11 days after the Watergate burglary, and given to Gray by White House counsel John Dean.
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Luke McCaffrey
- Enrolled in Rice University
- Studied in 2021-2023
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Luke McCaffrey is an American professional football wide receiver and return specialist for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Rice Owls, originally at quarterback before switching to wide receiver at Rice. McCaffrey was selected by the Commanders in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft. A member of the McCaffrey football family, he is the son of Ed and the youngest brother of Max, Christian, and Dylan.
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Chris Boswell
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Christopher Lynn Boswell is an American professional football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rice and was signed by the Houston Texans in 2014 as an undrafted free agent and has also spent time with the New York Giants. He is currently the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history on field goal attempts of 50 yards or more.
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Brock Holt
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Brock Wyatt Holt, nicknamed "The Brock Star", is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals, and Texas Rangers.
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David Eagleman
- Occupations
- university teacherauthorneuroscientistpsychologist
- Biography
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David Eagleman is an American neuroscientist, author, and science communicator. He teaches neuroscience at Stanford University and is CEO and co-founder of Neosensory, a company that develops devices for sensory substitution. He also directs the non-profit Center for Science and Law, which seeks to align the legal system with modern neuroscience and is Chief Science Officer and co-founder of BrainCheck, a digital cognitive health platform used in medical practices and health systems. He is known for his work on brain plasticity, time perception, synesthesia, and neurolaw.
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Caroline Shaw
- Occupations
- composerviolinistsinger
- Biography
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Caroline Adelaide Shaw is an American composer of contemporary classical music, violinist, and singer. She won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her a cappella piece Partita for 8 Voices. Shaw received the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her Narrow Sea, and the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for her Rectangles and Circumstance.
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Robert Wilson
- Enrolled in Rice University
- 1953-1957 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- astronomerphysicistresearcher
- Biography
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Robert Woodrow Wilson is an American astronomer who, along with Arno Allan Penzias, discovered cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) in 1964. The pair won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for its discovery.
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Annise Parker
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Annise Danette Parker is an American politician who served as the 61st Mayor of Houston, Texas, from 2010 until 2016. She also served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council from 1998 to 2003 and city controller from 2004 to 2010.
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Andrew Sendejo
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Andrew Victor Sendejo is a former American football safety. He played college football for the Rice Owls, and was signed by the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League (UFL) as a free agent in 2010. Sendejo was also a member of the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, and Indianapolis Colts.
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Shannon Walker
- Occupations
- astronautphysicistastrophysicist
- Biography
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Shannon Walker is an American physicist and a NASA astronaut selected in 2004. She launched on her first mission into space on June 25, 2010, onboard Soyuz TMA-19 and spent over 163 days in space.
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Joe Wong
- Occupations
- television presentercomedianresearch scientist
- Biography
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Joe Wong is a Chinese American biochemist and comedian.
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Dean Ornish
- Occupations
- photographerphysiciannutritionist
- Biography
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Dean Michael Ornish is an American physician and researcher. He is the president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. The author of Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease, Eat More, Weigh Less and The Spectrum, he advocates for diet and lifestyle changes he believes can treat and prevent heart disease.
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Vance McDonald
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Vance Coman McDonald is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls. McDonald was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft, and spent four seasons with the team. He also played four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Gus Sorola
- Occupations
- actortelevision producerscreenwriterevent producervoice actor
- Biography
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Gustavo Raul "Gus" Sorola III is an American actor and podcast host.
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Steve Jackson
- Occupations
- businesspersongame designerwriterpublisherrole-playing game designer
- Biography
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Steve Jackson is an American game designer whose creations include the role-playing game GURPS and the card game Munchkin.
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Tommy Kramer
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Thomas Francis Kramer is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) from 1977 to 1990. He played college football for the Rice Owls and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round (27th overall) of the 1977 NFL draft after being named MVP of the 1977 Senior Bowl. He was inducted with the 2012 class into the College Football Hall of Fame.
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James Craig
- Occupations
- film actorscreenwritertelevision actoractor
- Biography
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James Craig was an American actor. He is best known for appearances in films like Kitty Foyle (1940) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), and his stint as a leading man at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s where he appeared in films like The Human Comedy (1943).
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Linda Ham
- Born in
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United States - Biography
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Linda Ham is a former Constellation Program Transition and Technology Infusion Manager at NASA. She was formerly the program integration manager in the NASA Space Shuttle Program Office and acting manager for launch integration. In this position, she chaired the mission management team for all shuttle flights between 2001 and 2003, including shuttle mission STS-107 that ended with the catastrophic destruction of Columbia upon its planned reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.
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Dominic Lee Tsz-king
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Dominic Lee Tsz-king is a Hong Kong politician. He is a member of the New People's Party and a Legislative Council Member representing the New Territories North East. He is a former member of the Sham Shui Po District Council for Yau Yat Tsuen from 2015 to 2019 and the former chairman of the Liberal Party Youth Committee.
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Larry Izzo
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Lawrence Alexander Izzo is an American professional football coach and former linebacker who is the special teams coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Miami Dolphins in 1996. A three-time Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro selection for the New England Patriots, he won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and one as a coach with the New York Giants.
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Philip Humber
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Philip Gregory Humber is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and Houston Astros in seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Although he debuted in the major leagues in 2006 and had worked mostly as a starter in the minor leagues, he did not become a regular MLB starter until 2011.
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Dennis Sullivan
- Enrolled in Rice University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- topologistuniversity teachermathematician
- Biography
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Dennis Parnell Sullivan is an American mathematician known for his work in algebraic topology, geometric topology, and dynamical systems. He holds the Albert Einstein Chair at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and is a distinguished professor at Stony Brook University.
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Elizabeth Moon
- Occupations
- writerscience fiction writernovelistmilitary officer
- Biography
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Elizabeth Moon is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Her other writing includes newspaper columns and opinion pieces. Her novel The Speed of Dark won the 2003 Nebula Award. Prior to her writing career, she served in the United States Marine Corps.
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Richard Smalley
- Occupations
- professorchemistscientist
- Biography
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Richard Errett Smalley was an American chemist who was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy at Rice University. In 1996, along with Robert Curl, also a professor of chemistry at Rice, and Harold Kroto, a professor at the University of Sussex, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of a new form of carbon, buckminsterfullerene, also known as buckyballs. He was an advocate of nanotechnology and its applications.
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Takao Doi
- Occupations
- astronautengineer
- Biography
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Takao Doi is a Japanese astronaut, engineer and veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions.
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Arsalan Kazemi
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Arsalan Kazemi Naeini is an Iranian professional basketball player for Shahrdari Gorgan of the Iranian Basketball Super League. He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks and the Rice Owls basketball teams. He was the 54th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards, becoming the first Iranian to be drafted into the league. His rights were later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
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Warren Robinett
- Occupations
- engineercomputer scientistprogrammer
- Biography
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Joseph Warren Robinett Jr. is an American video game designer. He is most notable as the developer of the Atari 2600's Adventure and as a founder of The Learning Company, where he designed Rocky's Boots and Robot Odyssey. More recently he has worked on virtual reality projects.
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Christian Covington
- Occupations
- Canadian football playerAmerican football player
- Biography
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Christian Coral Cleveland Covington is a Canadian professional football defensive end for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Rice and was selected by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions.
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Frank Ryan
- Enrolled in Rice University
- Graduated with Doctor of Philosophy
- Occupations
- mathematicianAmerican football player
- Biography
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Frank Beall Ryan was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams (1958–1961), Cleveland Browns (1962–1968), and Washington Redskins (1969–1970). He played college football for the Rice Owls. A three-time Pro Bowl selection with Cleveland, Ryan led the Browns to their most recent National Football League title in 1964. He was also a mathematician, serving as a faculty member at Case Western Reserve University from 1967 to 1974.
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Germaine Franco
- Occupations
- composermusician
- Biography
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Germaine Franco is an American film composer, conductor, songwriter, arranger, record producer, and percussionist. She is a Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated composer. Her extensive resume, coupled with her curiosity, and inventiveness, has made her a trailblazer. Franco was the first Latina to win a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media with her score for Encanto, and the first to receive the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature with Coco in 2018. In addition, Encanto received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, an SCL Award for Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film, an Annie Award for Best Music in a Feature, a Billboard Music Award, and a World Soundtrack Awards nomination for Film Composer of the Year in 2022. She is also the first Latina to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score, as well as the first to join the music branch of the Academy. She recently completed work on the Netflix smash hit The Mother directed by Niki Caro. The film is one of Netflix's most successful releases to date, going No.1 in 82 countries.
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Dylan Ennis
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Dylan Jonathan Ennis is a Canadian-born Jamaican-American naturalized Serbian professional basketball player for UCAM Murcia of the Spanish Liga ACB. He played college basketball for Rice, Villanova, and Oregon. He also holds Canadian and Serbian citizenship.
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Jack Burke
- Occupations
- golfer
- Biography
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John Joseph Burke Jr. was an American professional golfer who was most prominent in the 1950s. The son of a professional golfer, Jack Burke Sr., he won two major titles, both in 1956, the Masters and PGA Championship, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
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John Danny Olivas
- Enrolled in Rice University
- In 1996 graduated with master's degree in mechanical engineering
- Occupations
- astronautengineer
- Biography
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John Daniel "Danny" Olivas is an American engineer and a former NASA astronaut. Olivas has flown on two space shuttle missions, STS-117 and STS-128. He performed EVAs on both missions, totaling 34hrs 28min.
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Jim Whitehurst
- Occupations
- executivebusiness executive
- Biography
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James Moon Whitehurst is an American business executive. He has been interim chief executive officer and president of Unity Technologies since October 2023. He was previously the president at IBM, chair of the board and chief executive officer at Red Hat, and chief operating officer at Delta Air Lines. Prior to working at Delta in 2001, he was vice president and director of the Boston Consulting Group and held various management roles at its Chicago, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Atlanta offices.
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Pete Olson
- Enrolled in Rice University
- In 1985 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianbasketball playerlawyermilitary officer
- Biography
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Peter Graham Olson is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 2009 to 2021. His district included much of southern Houston, as well as most of the city's southwestern suburbs such as Katy, Pearland, and Sugar Land. He is a member of the Republican Party. On July 25, 2019, Olson announced that he would retire at the end of his term. He was succeeded by fellow Republican Troy Nehls.
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Linda Coffee
- Enrolled in Rice University
- In 1965 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Linda Nellene Coffee is an American lawyer living in Dallas, Texas. Coffee is best known, along with Sarah Weddington, for arguing the precedent-setting United States Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.
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Robert Curl
- Occupations
- university teacherchemist
- Biography
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Robert Floyd Curl Jr. was an American chemist who was Pitzer–Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences and professor of chemistry at Rice University. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for the discovery of the nanomaterial buckminsterfullerene, and hence the fullerene class of materials, along with Richard Smalley (also of Rice University) and Harold Kroto of the University of Sussex.
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Jeffrey A. Hoffman
- Occupations
- academicastronaut
- Biography
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Jeffrey Alan Hoffman is an American former NASA astronaut and currently a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT.
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Gong Byeong-ho
- Occupations
- writereconomist
- Biography
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Gong Byeong-Ho is a South Korean economist and author. After graduating from Korea University, Gong received his Ph.D. in Economics at Rice University in 1987. Some books authored include 10 Years Later, Gong Byeong-Ho's Self-Management, Standing Up as a One-Man Company, Thoughts of a Rich Man and Poor Man, and Gong Byeong-Ho's Greek Classics. In 2013, Gong wrote Gong Byeong-Ho’s Life Philosophy, To My Son in the Military, Korea, 5 Years Later through the Lens of Developmental Psychology. In 2014, Gong wrote Gong Byeong-Ho’s Bible Study, God that Gong Byeong-Ho Met, Jesus that Gong Byeong-Ho Met. Gong is the president of the Gong Institute.
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Maryana Iskander
- Enrolled in Rice University
- 1993-1997 graduated with bachelor's degree in sociology
- Occupations
- business executivesocial entrepreneurexecutive directorlawyer
- Biography
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Maryana Iskander is an Egyptian-born American social entrepreneur and lawyer. In 2022, she became the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Wikimedia Foundation, succeeding Katherine Maher. Prior to her position, Iskander was the CEO of the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator and a former chief operating officer of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in New York.
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Sam McGuffie
- Occupations
- bobsledderAmerican football player
- Biography
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Samuel Terrence McGuffie is an American bobsledder for the United States men's national team, a former professional football running back and wide receiver and a former rugby union player. In Canadian football, he most recently was a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Previously in the National Football League (NFL), he had spent time with the Oakland Raiders in training camp in 2013, and then was briefly a practice squad player for the Arizona Cardinals and later the New England Patriots. He played his freshman season of college football at Michigan before transferring to Rice to play his final three seasons in his native state of Texas.
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Lynn Harrell
- Occupations
- university teachermusiciancellistmusic educator
- Biography
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Lynn Harrell was an American classical cellist. Known for the "penetrating richness" of his sound, Harrell performed internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with major orchestras over a career spanning nearly six decades.
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Tobin Rote
- Occupations
- Canadian football playerAmerican football player
- Biography
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Tobin Cornelius Rote was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos of the American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls.
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O. J. Brigance
- Occupations
- Canadian football playerAmerican football player
- Biography
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Orenthial James Brigance is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He is the senior advisor to player development for the Baltimore Ravens.
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Louis E. Brus
- Occupations
- physicistuniversity teacherchemist
- Biography
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Louis Eugene Brus is an American chemist, and currently the Samuel Latham Mitchell Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University. He is the co-discoverer of the colloidal semi-conductor nanocrystals known as quantum dots. In 2023, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
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Harold Sonny White
- Enrolled in Rice University
- In 2008 graduated with Doctor of Philosophy
- Occupations
- engineerphysicistmilitary flight engineer
- Biography
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Harold G. "Sonny" White is a mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, and applied physicist who is known for proposing new Alcubierre drive concepts and promoting advanced propulsion projects.
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José Cruz, Jr
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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José Luis Cruz Jr., is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder and coach who is the current head baseball coach for the Rice Owls. He played college baseball at Rice University from 1992 to 1995 and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons from 1997 to 2008. In 2021, he returned to his alma mater, Rice.
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John Kline
- Enrolled in Rice University
- In 1969 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianmilitary officer
- Biography
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John Paul Kline Jr. is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota's 2nd congressional district from 2003 to 2017. The district included most of the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities. A member of the Republican Party, Kline served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce from 2011 until 2017. Kline retired from Congress at the end of his term in January 2017.
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Gwynne Dyer
- Occupations
- screenwriterjournalisthistorian
- Biography
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Michael Gwynne Dyer OC is a British-Canadian military historian, author, professor, journalist, broadcaster, and retired naval officer. Dyer rose to prominence in the 1980s with the release of his television series War in 1983 and the publication of an accompanying book in 1985. Since the 1960s he has lived in London, England, where he works as a syndicated columnist. Dyer is a noted expert in Middle Eastern affairs, having completed his graduate work in this area and written several books on the subject. More recently he has focused on climate change and its geopolitical consequences.
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David Aardsma
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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David Allan Aardsma is an American former professional baseball pitcher, currently serving in the Toronto Blue Jays front office as a coordinator of player development. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2004 to 2015 for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves.
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Kermit Beahan
- Enrolled in Rice University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- aircraft pilotair force officer
- Biography
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Kermit King Beahan was a career officer in the United States Air Force and its predecessor United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He was the bombardier on the crew flying the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bockscar on August 9, 1945 (his 27th birthday), that dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.
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Tim League
- Born in
- United States
- Occupations
- film producer
- Biography
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Tim League is an American entrepreneur and film producer based in Austin, Texas. He is the founder of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain and the founder of Drafthouse Films, a film distribution company, where he produced The ABCs of Death and other films He is co-founder of Fantastic Fest, a film festival, Mondo, an entertainment merchandise company, and Neon, a film production and distribution company.
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James Allred
- Occupations
- judgepoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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James Burr V. Allred was the 33rd governor of Texas. He later served, twice, as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
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Norm Charlton
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Norman Wood Charlton III, nicknamed "the Sheriff", is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
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Phillip Gaines
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Phillip Gaines is an American former professional football cornerback. He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at Rice.
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Jack Fox
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Jack Edward Fox is an American professional football punter for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls. Fox joined the Lions as a rookie in 2019, since earning two Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections; a first-team selection in 2024 and a second-team selection in 2020. He is the active leader for the most yards per punt average in NFL history.
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Tony Cingrani
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Anthony Michael Cingrani is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to playing professionally, he played for his high school baseball team at Lincoln-Way Central High School and for the college baseball teams at South Suburban College and Rice University.
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Bruce Mau
- Occupations
- scenographerdesignergraphic designer
- Biography
-
Bruce Mau RCA is a Canadian designer and educator. He began his career a graphic designer and has since applied his design methodology to architecture, art, museums, film, eco-environmental design, education, and conceptual philosophy. Mau is the chief executive officer of Massive Change Network, a Chicago-based design consultancy he co-founded with his wife, Bisi Williams. In 2015, he became the Chief Design Officer at Freeman, a global provider of brand experiences. Mau is also a professor and has taught at multiple institutions in the United States and Canada.
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Janice E. Voss
- Occupations
- astronautengineer
- Biography
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Janice Elaine Voss was an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. Voss received her B.S. in engineering science from Purdue University, her M.S. in electrical engineering from MIT, and her PhD in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT. She flew in space five times, jointly holding the record for American women. Voss died in Arizona on February 6, 2012, from breast cancer.
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Jeff Abbott
- Occupations
- writernovelist
- Biography
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Jeff Abbott is an American suspense novelist. He has degrees in History and English from Rice University. He lives in Austin, Texas. Before writing full-time, he was a creative director at an advertising agency. His early novels were traditional detective fiction, but in recent years he has turned to writing thriller fiction. A theme of his work is the idea of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary danger and fighting to return to their normal lives. His novels are published in several countries and have also been bestsellers in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, France and Portugal. He is also Creative Director at Springbox, a Prophet company.
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Jim Turley
- Occupations
- chief executive officer
- Biography
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James S. Turley is an American business executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Ernst & Young from 2001 to 2013. He was the National President of the Boy Scouts of America from 2018 to 2019.
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Jade Simmons
- Occupations
- beauty pageant contestantpianist
- Biography
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Jade Simmons is an American classical concert pianist who was an independent presidential candidate in 2020.
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Lucas Luetge
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Lucas Lester Luetge is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves.
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Kurt Roper
- Occupations
- head coach
- Biography
-
Kurt Roper is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach at North Carolina State University. Roper was the interim head football coach at University of Colorado Boulder for the final game of the 2018 season. He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of South Carolina for two seasons. He also served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Florida in 2014 and Duke University for six seasons prior to that. A native of Ames, Iowa, he was starting quarterback for Ardmore (OK) High School, where he led the Tigers to a 1990 state championship. Roper earned three varsity letters as a quarterback and defensive back at Rice before graduating in 1995. He earned a master's degree from the University of Tennessee in 1998. His coaching career has been much associated with that of David Cutcliffe.
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Tamara E. Jernigan
- Occupations
- astronautengineer
- Biography
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Tamara Elizabeth "Tammy" Jernigan is an American astrophysicist and former NASA astronaut. During her career she completed five Space Shuttle program missions (three on Columbia and one each on Endeavour and Discovery), logging over 1512 hours in space. Jernigan left NASA in 2001, and is Deputy Principal Associate Director in the Weapons and Complex Integration (WCI) organization at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
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Hector Ruiz
- Occupations
- businesspersonengineer
- Biography
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Hector de Jesus Ruiz Cardenas is the chairman and CEO of Advanced Nanotechnology Solutions, Inc. and former CEO & executive chairman of semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).
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George Chang
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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George Chang or Chang Tsan-hung is a Taiwanese politician, chemical engineer, and independence activist. He was the mayor of Tainan City from 1997 to 2001.
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James Casey
- Occupations
- baseball playerAmerican football player
- Biography
-
James Byron Casey is an American professional football coach and former player who is the tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL as a tight end and fullback. He was selected by the Houston Texans in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL draft and has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls and played baseball and football at Azle High School.
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Don Lincoln
- Enrolled in Rice University
- In 1994 graduated with Doctor of Philosophy
- Occupations
- university teachertelevision producerYouTuberphysicist
- Biography
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Don Lincoln is an American physicist, author, host of the YouTube channel Fermilab, and science communicator. He conducts research in particle physics at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and was an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame, although he is no longer affiliated with the university. He received a Ph.D. in experimental particle physics from Rice University in 1994. In 1995, he was a co-discoverer of the top quark. He has co-authored hundreds of research papers, and more recently, was a member of the team that discovered the Higgs boson in 2012.
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Edward N. Zalta
- Years
- 1952-.. (age 73)
- Occupations
- university teacherphilosopher
- Biography
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Edward Nouri Zalta is an American philosopher who is a senior research scholar at the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University. He received his BA from Rice University in 1975 and his PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1981, both in philosophy. Zalta has taught courses at Stanford University, Rice University, the University of Salzburg, and the University of Auckland. Zalta is also the Principal Editor of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
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David A. Cox
- Occupations
- mathematicianuniversity teacher
- Biography
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David Archibald Cox is a retired American mathematician, working in algebraic geometry.
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Maurice Ewing
- Occupations
- geophysicistseismologistoceanographeruniversity teachergeologist
- Biography
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William Maurice "Doc" Ewing was an American geophysicist and oceanographer.
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Morris Almond
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Morris Almond is an American former professional basketball player. Almond is the founder of Almond Athletics. His last professional appearance would be for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League (D-League).
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Merritt Ruhlen
- Occupations
- anthropologistuniversity teacherlinguist
- Biography
-
Merritt Ruhlen was an American linguist who worked on the classification of languages and what this reveals about the origin and evolution of modern humans. Amongst other linguists, Ruhlen's work was recognized as standing outside the mainstream of comparative-historical linguistics. He was the principal advocate and defender of Joseph Greenberg's approach to language classification.
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Charles Duncan, Jr
- Enrolled in Rice University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- businesspersonengineer
- Biography
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Charles William Duncan Jr. was an American businessman, administrator, and politician best known for serving as U.S. Secretary of Energy in the Cabinet of President Jimmy Carter from 1979 to 1981. He had previously served as Carter's United States Deputy Secretary of Defense during the Iranian Revolution. Earlier, Duncan had run the family business, Duncan Coffee Company of Houston, Texas, for seven years, until the Coca-Cola Company acquired it in 1964. After seven years on the Coke board, Duncan became the corporation's president.
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William Pettus Hobby, Jr
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
-
William Pettus Hobby Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served a record eighteen years as the 37th lieutenant governor of Texas. He held that office from January 16, 1973, to January 15, 1991, for an unprecedented five terms; he was the last lieutenant governor to serve a two-year term and the first elected to a four-year term when the Texas Constitution was amended to lengthen terms for statewide elected officeholders to four years beginning with the 1974 elections. The principal duty of the Texas lieutenant governor is to preside over the Texas State Senate.
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Jay Bailey
- Occupations
- engineer
- Biography
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James Edward Bailey, generally known as Jay Bailey, was an American pioneer of biochemical engineering, particularly metabolic engineering. In a special issue of a journal dedicated to his work, the editor said "Jay was one of biochemical engineering's most creative thinkers and spirited advocates, a true innovator who played an enormous role in establishing biochemical engineering as the dynamic discipline it is today". His numerous contributions in biotechnology and metabolic engineering have led to multiple awards including the First Merck Award in Metabolic Engineering.
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R. Bowen Loftin
- Occupations
- physicist
- Biography
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Richard Bowen Loftin, better known as R. Bowen Loftin, is an American academic and physicist who was the 22nd Chancellor of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Prior to his appointment as chancellor, he served as the 24th president of Texas A&M University.
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Suleiman Braimoh
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
-
Suleiman Okhaifoede Braimoh Jr. is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Al-Ittihad Jeddah of the Saudi Basketball League (SBL). He played college basketball for Rice University before playing professionally in the NBA Development League, Qatar, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Germany, Russia, France, Israel, Turkey, and the Philippines.
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Larycia Hawkins
- Occupations
- writersociologistpolitical scientist
- Biography
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Larycia Alaine Hawkins is an American scholar, author, and speaker, who in 2013, became the first female African-American tenured professor at Wheaton College, a Christian Protestant liberal arts college. There she served as an associate professor of political science. She now teaches and researches at Lincoln university, where she is jointly appointed as assistant professor in the departments of politics and religious studies.
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Mike Wilks
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
-
Michael Sharod Wilks Jr. is an American coach and former professional basketball player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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James H. Newman
- Years
- 1956-.. (age 69)
- Occupations
- astronautphysicist
- Biography
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James Hansen Newman is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions.
