Prestigious Faculty and Alumni, and University Achievements

The faculty and alumni of the University of Minnesota have included some of the most renowned teachers, researchers, and public figures in the world. They have won Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, and other awards for their inventions and discoveries, and in other innovative ways continue to shape society today.

Prestigious Faculty

• Nobel Prize
• Regents Professors
• McKnight Presidential Endowed Chairs
• Distinguished McKnight University Professors
• McKnight Land-Grant Professors

Prestigious Alumni

• Nobel Prize
• Architecture
• Arts and Literature
• Business
• Education
• Journalism
• Law, Politics, and Public Service
• Medicine, Science, and Technology

University Achievements

• Research

Nobel Prize Faculty

• Leonid Hurwicz, Economics, 2007
• Edward C. Prescott, Economics, 2004
• Paul D. Boyer, Chemistry, 1997
• George Stigler, Economics, 1982
• John H. Van Vleck, Physics, 1977
• Saul Bellow, Literature, 1976
• William N. Lipscomb, Chemistry, 1976
• John Bardeen, Physics, co-winner in 1956 and 1972
• Philip S. Hench and Edward O. Kendall with Tadeus Reichstein, Medicine, 1950
• Arthur Compton, Physics, 1927

Regents Professors

• Frank Bates, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
• Ellen S. Berscheid, Department of Psychology
• Thomas S. Clayton, Department of English
• H. Ted Davis, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
• Sara M. Evans, Department of History
• Apostolos P. Georgopoulos, Department of Neuroscience
• Richard J. Goldstein, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Megan Gunnar, Institute of Child Development
• Ashley T. Haase, Department of Microbiology
• Patricia Hampl, Department of English
• Robert P. Hebbel, Department of Medicine
• Allen F. Isaacman, Department of History
• Richard Leppert, Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature
• Elaine Tyler May, Department of American Studies
• Matt McGue, Department of Psychology
• Ronald L. Phillips, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics
• Peter Reich, Department of Forest Resources
• Lanny D. Schmidt, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
• Kathryn Sikkink, Department of Political Science
• John L. Sullivan, Department of Political Science
• G. David Tilman, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
• Donald Truhlar, Department of Chemistry
• David S. Weissbrodt, Law School
• James G. White, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology

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McKnight Presidential Endowed Chairs

• Dante Cicchetti, Institute of Child Development
• Gunda Georg, Institute for Therapeutic Discovery
• Apostolos P. Georgopoulos, Department of Neuroscience
• Leonid Glazman, Department of Physics and Astronomy
• Phyllis E. Moen, Department of Sociology
• Ronald L. Phillips, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics
• Mark Snyder, Department of Psychology
• G. David Tilman, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
• Kamil Ugurbil, Department of Radiology
• Catherine M. Verfaillie, Department of Medicine
• John Wagner, Department of Pediatrics

Distinguished McKnight University Professors

2007

• Gary J. Balas, Department of Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics, Development and Application of Robust Feedback Control to Complex Systems

  

• Bernardo Cockburn, Department of Mathematics, Computational Mathematics

• Uwe R. Kortshagen, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cold Gas and Hot Electrons: Plasma Research for Microelectronics and Energy Technologies

• Claudia Neuhauser, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior, Analysis of Mathematical Models in Ecology and Development of Statistical Tools in Population Genetics

• Nikos P. Papanikolopoulos, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Robots and Vision-Based Algorithms—Breaking New Frontiers

• Eric Weitz, Department of History, Germany in a Global and Comparative Context: Mass Movements and Genocides in the 19th and 20th Centuries

  

2006

• John C. Bischof, Department of Mechanical Engineering; biomaterial cryopreservation and thermal therapies: temperature, injury, and their connection
• Karin Musier-Forsyth, Department of Chemistry; biochemical and biophysical studies of protein-nucleic acid interactions
• J. Ilja Siepmann, Department of Chemistry; molecular simulation of complex chemical systems and processes
• Christopher Uggen, Department of Sociology; the effect of life course transitions on crime and deviance

McKnight Land-Grant Professors

2008

	Taner Akkin, Biomedical Engineering Ph.D., University of Texas Non-invasive optical imaging of tissue microstructure and function
	Alptekin Aksan, Mechanical Engineering Ph.D., Michigan StateUniversity Biopreservation by confinement
	Elizabeth Beaumont, Political Science Ph.D., Stanford University Exploring democratic citizenship: bridging the theory and practice of democracy and constitutional rule
	Mark A. Bee, Ecology, Evolution & Behavior Ph.D., University of Missouri Studying non-traditional animal models to discover the behavioral and neural mechanisms for separating continuous streams of sensory input
	Nicholas Hopper, Computer Science & Engineering Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University Provable security analysis of privacy-related technologies
	Chris H. Kim, Electrical & Computer Engineering Ph.D., Purdue University Design for reliability:  making future generation chips resilient to aging
	Kirill A. Martemyanov, Pharmacology Ph.D., Russian Academy of Sciences Regulation of cellular signaling in health and disease
	Katsumi Matsumoto, Geology & Geophysics Ph.D., Columbia University Climate change and carbon cycling in oceans and lakes
	Jason McGrath, Asian Languages & Literatures Ph.D., University of Chicago Inscribing the real:  Chinese cinema from the silent era to the twenty-first century
	Shana J. Sturla, Medicinal Chemistry Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chemistry in cancer research:  understanding how cancers are initiated, and advancing treatment using chemical tools
	Elizabeth J. Wilson, Public Affairs Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University Responding to climate change: energy within a carbon managed world
	Michael L. Wilson, Anthropology Ph.D., Harvard University Using 40 years of data to better understand intergroup aggression and vocal communication in chimpanzees
	Hui Zou, Statistics Ph.D., Stanford University Statistical methods for knowledge discovery in the information age

2007

• Daniel R. Bond, Biotechnology Institute; Using bacteria to make electricity and useful products from renewable resources
• Kathleen A. Collins, Department of Political Science; The rise of Islam and Islamism in Central Asia and the Caucasus
• Christy L. Haynes, Department of Chemistry; Development of analytical tools to study cellular function and dysfunction
• Karen Ho, Department of Anthropology; From Wall Street to microfinance: the culture and consequences of financial markets
• Nihar Jindal, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering; Pushing the limits of wireless communication networks
• Marta Lewicka, Department of Mathematics; Partial Differential Equations: propagation of waves in fluid dynamics
• Helene C. Muller-Landau, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior; Mechanisms underlying tropical forest diversity
• William Schuler, Department of Computer Science & Engineering; Incorporating referential meaning into spoken language interfaces
• Kathleen D. Vohs, Department of Marketing and Logistics Management; Why do people fail at self-control?
• Christophe M. Wall-Romana, Department of French & Italian; How film culture transforms poetic texts and writing practices
• Chun Wang, Department of Biomedical Engineering; Biologically guided design and application of biomaterials

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Nobel Prize Alumni

• Norman Borlaug, peace winner in 1970; agronomist credited with launching the "Green Revolution"

  
  Norman Borlaug is one of only five people in history to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, Nobel Peace Prize, and Presidential Medal of Freedom.

• Walter H. Brattain, physics co-winner for developing the transistor (tiny switches that allow information to be stored and retrieved)

  
  Walter Brattain (right), John Bardeen (left), and William Shockley (center) were the Nobel Prize co-winners in physics in 1956.

• Melvin Calvin, chemistry winner for describing the chemical reaction that occurs in photosynthesis

  Melvin Calvin won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1961.

• Louis J. Ignarro, medicine and physiology winner in 1998 for contributions leading to the development of Viagra

  
  Louis J. Ignarro (left) receiving his Nobel Prize from the King of Sweden

• Ernest O. Lawrence, physics winner in 1939 for developing the cyclotron, an accelerator of subatomic particles

  
  Ernest Lawrence at the controls of the 37-inch cyclotron (about 1938)

• Edward B. Lewis, physiology winner in 1995 for his work in genetics

  Edward B. Lewis discovered a class of genes that controls embryonic development in all animals.

• Daniel McFadden, economics winner for his work in microeconometrics

  Daniel McFadden won the Nobel prize in 2000 for his theory on analyzing discrete choice.

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Architecture

• Leslie Kerr, public-sector landscape architect
• J.J. Leibenberg, designer of more than 200 grand Art Deco movie theaters
• William Pedersen, architect and founding member of KPF Associates

  
  The Shanghai World Financial Center, designed by KPF Associates, is the world's second tallest building.

• Sarah Susanka, architect; author of The Not So Big House

Arts and Literature

• Emilie Buchwald, co-founder of Milkweed Editions
• Kimberly Elise, actor, director, and playwright
• Patricia Hampl, writer of fiction, poetry, and memoir
• Greg Howard, cartoonist of Sally Forth
• Garrison Keillor, author; creator of NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion"

  
  Garrison Keillor (left) with "A Prairie Home Companion" guest

• Libby Larsen, composer for orchestra, dance, opera, choral, chamber, and solo performance
• Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
• Maria Schneider, Grammy-winning jazz composer, conductor, and pianist
• Gale Sondergaard, winner of the first Academy Award given for Best Supporting Actress (Anthony Adverse, 1936)
• David Zinman, conductor; Aspen Music Festival and School director

Business

• Earl Bakken, transistorized cardiac pacemaker inventor; founder of Medtronic, Inc.
• Paul Brainerd, Aldus® PageMaker® creator; founder of Social Venture Partners
• Curtis L. Carlson, founder of Carlson Companies, Inc.
• Archie Givens, Jr., CEO of Legacy Management
• Jim Johnson, CEO of Fannie Mae
• Dave Kappell, creator of Magnetic Poetry®
• Harvey Mackay, chairman and CEO of Mackay Envelope Corporation; author of five New York Times bestsellers
• Frank Mullaney, co-founder (with Seymour Cray) of Control Data Corporation
• Lee Raymond, Chairman and CEO, ExxonMobil
• Irving Shapiro, chair and CEO of E. I. du Pont Company; a director of Citicorp
• Hicks Waldron, CEO of Avon

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Education

• Ronald Abler, executive vice president and provost, The Pennsylvania State University
• Robert Berdahl, chancellor, University of California, Berkeley
• Bob Brown, provost of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Endesha Ida Mae Holland, professor of theatre and women's studies, University of Southern California; playwright; civil rights activist
• Fred Hovde, president of Purdue University
• Jolene Koester, president of California State University at Northridge
• Lester Monts, University of Michigan professor of music; and senior vice provost for academic affairs and senior counselor to the president
• Somwung Pitiyanuwat, vice president for research, Chulalongkorn University of Thailand
• Kevin P. Reilly, president of the University of Wisconsin system
• Fouzia Saeed, well-known human rights activist and the founding member of Bedari, a women's educational and advocacy group
• Tong-in Wosothorn, president of Sukothai Thammatirat University of Thailand
• James Zumberge, president of the University of Southern California and Southern Methodist University; geologist; namesake of Cape Zumberge in Antarctica

  
  Cape Zumberge in Antarctica was named after alumnus James Zumberge.

Journalism

• Daryl Royster Alexander, editor of the New York Times Magazine and Essence magazine
• Sam Dillon, New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter
• Hedley Donovan, editor-in-chief of TIME Inc.; adviser to President Carter
• Dick Durrell, creator of People magazine
• Tom Gjelten, author and National Public Radio correspondent
• Chris Ison, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter
• Judy Olausen, photojournalist
• Harry Reasoner, reporter for CBS News and ABC News
• Carl Rowan, author, television commentator, and syndicated columnist
• April Saul, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist
• Harrison Salisbury, journalist; Pulitzer Prize winner

  
  Harrison Salisbury (seen in this photo with Robert F. Kennedy) covered the southern civil rights movement in 1960.

• Eric Sevareid, reporter for CBS News

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Law, politics, and public service

• Clara Adams-Ender, retired brigadier general
• Warren Burger, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
• Orville Freeman, agriculture commissioner in the Kennedy administration and Minnesota governor
• Hubert H. Humphrey, United States vice president and senator

  
  Hubert Humphrey at a political rally in Minnesota (1968)

• Max Kampelman, political scientist, lawyer, teacher, diplomat, champion of democracy and human rights; in the 1980s, was chief U.S. nuclear arms-reduction negotiator with the U.S.S.R.
• Eugene McCarthy, United States representative and senator
• Mildred McWilliams-Jeffrey, founder, National Women's Political Caucus and winner of the Medal of Freedom
• Mee Moua, first Hmong state legislator elected in the U.S.
• Walter Mondale, United States vice president and ambassador to Japan
• Alan Page, Minnesota Supreme Court justice; NFL Hall of Fame member; University regent; and recipient of the NCAA's 2004 Theodore Roosevelt Award
• Patricia Schroeder, United States Congresswoman from Colorado
• Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich, executive director and chief operating officer of the Black Leadership Forum, Inc.; scholar and leader in the civil rights movement
• Gene Sperling, White House economic adviser to President Clinton and director of the National Economic Council
• Harold Stassen, Minnesota governor and assistant to President Eisenhower on disarmament
• Carl Stokes, first African American mayor of a major U.S. city (Cleveland)
• Y. S. Tsiang, secretary general to the president of Taiwan
• Roy Wilkins, civil rights activist and head of the NAACP

  
  Whitney Young (second from left) with John Lewis, Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, and Roy Wilkins (far right) in 1963

• Whitney Young, civil rights activist who worked with Martin Luther King, Jr.; vice president of the NAACP; and director of the Urban League

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Medicine, science, and technology

• Christiaan Barnard, world's first human heart transplant surgeon
• Susan Berget, geneticist and research collaborator with Philip Sharp, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine
• Michele Brekke, first woman NASA flight director
• Duane Carey, space shuttle pilot and astronaut
• Seymour Cray, founder of Cray Research and co-founder of Control Data Corporation
• Jack Dangermond, developer of geographic information systems software
• Robert Gore, inventor of GORE-TEX®
• C. Walton Lillehei, open heart surgery pioneer who helped develop the heart pacemaker
• John Mallet-Paret, mathematician
• Michael Osterholm, epidemiologist and director of the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
• Norman Shumway, performed the first U.S. heart transplant and the first U.S. heart-lung transplant

  
  Norman Shumway performed the first U.S. heart-lung transplant in 1981.

• Deke Slayton, Mercury astronaut
• Paul Volberding, pioneer in AIDS research and patient care
• Owen Wangensteen, inventor of the heart-lung machine

In addition, University alumni have founded 2,600 technology companies in the state that employ 175,000 Minnesotans and add $46 billion annually to the state's economy.

Research

• Among its current and past faculty, the University has 29 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 26 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 33 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 8 members of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
• From 1988 through the 2005-06 academic year, 91 University faculty members have won Fulbright Scholarships to work in 52 countries.
• Since 2000, seven University faculty members have been awarded Guggenheim Fellowships.
• Three faculty members have won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, prose, or music.

Current and former University of Minnesota faculty members are known for their significant contributions to the state of Minnesota, the nation, and the world. Listed below are some of those contributions.

Owen Wangensteen, a pioneer in open heart surgery

Faculty innovations in medicine include the following:

• first heart-lung machine and its use in the first open heart surgery
• first heart pacemaker and heart valves

  
  C. Walton Lillehei developed prosthetic heart valves in the 1960s and 1970s.

• ultrasound screening for cancer
• synthetic compounds which led to the AIDS drug Ziagen
• first artificial liver
• first bone marrow transplant
• functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

  
  MRI images of human brain activation associated with performance of a task that utilizes motor, visual, and planning cognitive processes

• first stem cell institute

Faculty innovations in agriculture include the following:

• the development of more than 120 new varieties of 20 different crops including apples, soybeans, strawberries, potatoes, wheat, and bluegrass for golf courses

  
  University faculty members developed the Mesabi™ strawberry variety.

• the eradication of many poultry and livestock diseases

Accomplishments of our faculty members in science and technology include:

• development of the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)
• invention of the "black box" flight recorder
• invention of synthetic rubber and retractable seat belts

  
  Professor James "Crash" Ryan, inventor of retractable seat belts

• isolation of uranium 235
• development of the Autoscope traffic management system

Further evidence of the spirit of innovation includes:

• University research awards in fiscal year 2006 totaled $576 million, a 2.7% increase over fiscal year 2005.
• University research expenditures increased by 1.5% in fiscal year 2006 to $518 million.
• The gross revenue from patents and licenses in fiscal year 2006 was $56 million
• In fiscal year 2006, patent and licensing activity increased by 18.6%.
• The Milken Institute ranked the University 6th in technology transfer and commercialization in 2006.

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