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List of Nobel laureates affiliated with Columbia University as alumni or faculty

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This list of Nobel laureates affiliated with Columbia University as alumni or faculty comprehensively shows alumni (graduates and attendees) or faculty members (professors of various ranks, researchers, and visiting lecturers or professors) affiliated with Columbia University in New York City who were awarded the Nobel Prize or the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. People who have given public lectures, talks or non-curricular seminars; studied as non-degree students; received honorary degrees; or served as administrative staff at the university are excluded from the list. Summer school attendees and visitors are generally excluded from the list, since summer terms are not part of formal academic years; the same rule applies to the extension school.

A picture of Alma Mater in front of Low Library
The central Alma Mater statue at Columbia University. As of the 2025 awards, 104 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Columbia University.

Alumni or faculty members of Barnard College after 1900 and Bard College by 1944 are included in the list.[1][2] Physicians and long-term medical staff of the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital are included in the list.[3][4]

The Nobel Prizes, established by the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel, are awarded to individuals who make outstanding contributions in the fields of Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine.[5] An associated prize, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (commonly known as the Nobel Prize in Economics), was instituted by Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, in 1968 and was first awarded in 1969.[6]

As of the 2025 awards, 104 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Columbia University as alumni or faculty. Among the 104 laureates, 72 are Nobel laureates in natural sciences;[a] 46 are Columbia alumni (graduates and attendees) and 34 have been long-term academic members of the Columbia faculty; and subject-wise, 33 laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Physics, more than any other subject. This list considers Nobel laureates as equal individuals and does not consider their various prize shares or if they received the prize more than once.

Summary

See also: List of Nobel laureates by university affiliation

All types of affiliations, namely alumni and faculty members, count equally in the following table and throughout the whole page.[b]

In the following list, the number following a person's name is the year they received the prize; in particular, a number with asterisk (*) means the person received the award while they were working at Columbia University (including emeritus staff). A name marked with a dagger (†) indicates that this person has already been listed in a previous category (i.e., multiple affiliations).

More information Category, Alumni ...
Summary of Columbia University's Nobel Laureates
Category Alumni Professors of various ranks Researchers or visitors
Total: 104 46 34 44
Physics (33)
  1. Robert Millikan – 1923
  2. Isidor Rabi – 1944
  3. Julian Schwinger – 1965
  4. Leon Cooper – 1972
  5. James Rainwater – 1975
  6. Arno Penzias – 1978
  7. Val Fitch – 1980
  8. Leon Lederman – 1988
  9. Melvin Schwartz – 1988
  10. Norman Ramsey – 1989
  11. Martin Perl – 1995
  12. Arthur Ashkin – 2018
  13. John Clauser – 2022
  1. Enrico Fermi – 1938
  2. Isidor Rabi† – 1944*
  3. Hideki Yukawa – 1949*
  4. Willis Lamb – 1955
  5. Polykarp Kusch – 1955*
  6. Tsung-Dao Lee – 1957*
  7. Charles Townes – 1964
  8. James Rainwater† – 1975*
  9. Samuel Ting – 1976
  10. Melvin Schwartz† – 1988
  11. Leon Lederman† – 1988
  12. Jack Steinberger – 1988
  13. Norman Ramsey† – 1989
  14. Horst Störmer – 1998*
  1. Emilio Segrè – 1959
  2. Maria Mayer – 1963
  3. Hans Bethe – 1967
  4. Murray Gell-Mann – 1969
  5. Aage Bohr – 1975
  6. Samuel Ting† – 1976
  7. Steven Weinberg – 1979
  8. Arthur Schawlow – 1981
  9. Carlo Rubbia – 1984
  10. Leon Lederman† – 1988
  11. Daniel Tsui – 1998
  12. John C. Mather – 2006
  13. Giorgio Parisi – 2021
Chemistry (16)
  1. Irving Langmuir – 1932
  2. John H. Northrop – 1946
  3. William H. Stein – 1972
  4. Roald Hoffmann – 1981
  5. Herbert Hauptman – 1985
  6. Sidney Altman – 1989
  7. William S. Knowles – 2001
  8. Robert Grubbs – 2005
  9. Robert Lefkowitz – 2012
  10. Louis E. Brus – 2023
  1. Harold Urey – 1934*
  2. Martin Chalfie – 2008*
  3. Martin Karplus – 2013
  4. Joachim Frank – 2017*
  5. Louis E. Brus† – 2023*
  1. Willard Libby – 1960
  2. Luis Leloir – 1970
Physiology or Medicine (23)
  1. Hermann J. Muller – 1946
  2. Edward C. Kendall – 1950
  3. Dickinson Richards – 1956
  4. Joshua Lederberg – 1958
  5. Konrad Bloch – 1964
  6. George Wald – 1967
  7. Konrad Lorenz – 1973
  8. Baruch Blumberg – 1976
  9. Baruj Benacerraf – 1980
  10. Harold Varmus – 1989
  11. Louis Ignarro – 1998
  12. Richard Axel – 2004
  1. Thomas H. Morgan – 1933
  2. André Cournand – 1956*
  3. Dickinson Richards† – 1956*
  4. Eric Kandel – 2000*
  5. Richard Axel† – 2004*
  6. James Rothman – 2013
  1. Hermann J. Muller† – 1946
  2. Joshua Lederberg† – 1958
  3. Konrad Bloch† – 1964
  4. Salvador Luria – 1969
  5. Baruch Blumberg† – 1976
  6. Carleton Gajdusek – 1976
  7. Daniel Nathans – 1978
  8. Baruj Benacerraf† – 1980
  9. Sune Bergström – 1982
  10. Donnall Thomas – 1990
  11. Linda Buck – 2004
  12. David Julius – 2021
Economics (17)
  1. Simon Kuznets – 1971
  2. Kenneth Arrow – 1972
  3. Milton Friedman – 1976
  4. Robert Fogel – 1993
  5. William Vickrey – 1996
  6. Robert C. Merton – 1997
  7. Alvin Roth – 2012
  1. George Stigler – 1982
  2. Gary Becker – 1992
  3. William Vickrey† – 1996*
  4. Robert Mundell – 1999*
  5. James Heckman – 2000
  6. Joseph Stiglitz – 2001*
  7. Edmund Phelps – 2006*
  1. Milton Friedman† – 1976
  2. Franco Modigliani – 1985
  3. Robert Solow – 1987
  4. Joseph Stiglitz† – 2001
  5. David Card – 2021
  6. Joshua Angrist – 2021
Literature (7)
  1. Louise Glück – 2020
  1. Orhan Pamuk – 2006
  1. Gabriela Mistral – 1945
  2. Joseph Brodsky – 1987
  3. Nadine Gordimer – 1991
  4. Derek Walcott – 1992
  5. Orhan Pamuk† – 2006
  6. László Krasznahorkai – 2025
Peace (8)
  1. Theodore Roosevelt – 1906
  2. Nicholas Butler – 1931
  3. Barack Obama – 2009
  1. Nicholas Butler† – 1931
  1. Elie Wiesel – 1986
  2. Al Gore – 2007
  3. Liu Xiaobo – 2010
  4. Leymah Gbowee – 2011
  5. Maria Ressa – 2021
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Nobel laureates by category

Nobel laureates in Physics

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Nobel Laureates in Physics
No. Image Name Year Affiliation with Columbia University
1 Portrait of Robert Andrews Millikan Robert Millikan 1923 PhD[7]
2 Portrait of Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi 1938 Professor[8]
3 Portrait of Isidor Isaac Rabi Isidor Rabi 1944 PhD; professor[9]
4 Portrait of Hideki Yukawa Hideki Yukawa 1949 Professor[10]
5 Portrait of Polykarp Kusch Polykarp Kusch 1955 Professor[11]
6 Portrait of Willis Lamb Willis Lamb 1955 Professor[12]
7 Portrait of Tsung-Dao Lee Tsung-Dao Lee 1957 Professor[13]
8 Portrait of Emilio Segrè Emilio Segrè 1959 Visitor (1935, 1936)[14][15]
9 Portrait of Maria Mayer Maria Mayer 1963 Researcher (1942–1945); Manhattan Project (1939–1945)[16]
10 Portrait of Charles Townes Charles Townes 1964 Professor[17]
11 Portrait of Julian Schwinger Julian Schwinger 1965 BA, PhD[18]
12 Portrait of Hans Bethe Hans Bethe 1967 Visiting professor (Spring 1941, 1948)[19][20]
13 Portrait of Murray Gell-Mann Murray Gell-Mann 1969 Visiting associate professor (Fall 1954)[21]
14 Portrait of Leon Cooper Leon Cooper 1972 BA, MA, PhD[22]
15 Portrait of Aage Bohr Aage Bohr 1975 Visiting Fellow (1949–1950)[23]
16 Portrait of James Rainwater James Rainwater 1975 MA, PhD; professor[24]
17 Portrait of Samuel Ting Samuel Ting 1976 Assistant professor (1965–1967) and instructor (1964–1965)[25]
18 Portrait of Arno Penzias Arno Penzias 1978 MA, PhD[26]
19 Portrait of Steven Weinberg Steven Weinberg 1979 Instructor (1957–1959)[27]
20 Portrait of Val Fitch Val Fitch 1980 PhD[28]
21 Portrait of Arthur Schawlow Arthur Schawlow 1981 Visiting associate professor (1960); fellow and research associate (1949–1951)[29]
22 Portrait of Carlo Rubbia Carlo Rubbia 1984 Research Fellow (1958–1959)[30]
23 Portrait of Leon Lederman Leon Lederman 1988 MA, PhD; professor[31]
24 Melvin Schwartz 1988 BA, PhD; professor; research associate[32]
25 Portrait of Jack Steinberger Jack Steinberger 1988 Professor[33]
26 Norman Foster Ramsey Jr. 1989 BA, PhD; associate professor[34]
27 Portrait of Martin Perl Martin Perl 1995 PhD[35]
28 Portrait of Horst Störmer Horst Störmer 1998 Professor[36]
29 Daniel C. Tsui 1998 Adjunct scientist[37]
30 Portrait of John C. Mather John C. Mather 2006 Lecturer (1975–1976)[38]
31 Portrait of Arthur Ashkin Arthur Ashkin 2018 BA[39]
32 Giorgio Parisi 2021 Researcher (1973–1974)[40]
33 John Clauser 2022 MA, PhD[41]
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Nobel laureates in Chemistry

More information No., Image ...
Nobel Laureates in Chemistry
No. Image Name Year Affiliation with Columbia University
1 Portrait of Irving Langmuir Irving Langmuir 1932 BS[42]
2 Portrait of Harold Urey Harold Urey 1934 Professor[43]
3 Portrait of John H. Northrop John H. Northrop 1946 BS, MA, PhD[44]
4 Willard Libby 1960 Head, Chemistry Division of the Columbia University branch of the Manhattan Project (1942–1945)[45][46][47]
5 Portrait of Luis Federico Leloir Luis Leloir 1970 Researcher, College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia (1944–1945)[48][49]
6 William H. Stein 1972 PhD[50]
7 Portrait of Roald Hoffmann Roald Hoffmann 1981 BA[51]
8 Portrait of Herbert Hauptman Herbert Hauptman 1985 MA[52]
9 Portrait of Sidney Altman Sidney Altman 1989 Graduate student in physics[53]
10 William S. Knowles 2001 PhD[54]
11 Portrait of Robert Grubbs Robert Grubbs 2005 PhD[55]
12 Portrait of Martin Chalfie Martin Chalfie 2008 Professor[56]
13 Portrait of Robert Lefkowitz Robert Lefkowitz 2012 BA, MD[57]
14 Portrait of Martin Karplus Martin Karplus 2013 Professor[58]
15 Portrait of Joachim Frank Joachim Frank 2017 Professor[59]
16 Louis E. Brus 2023 PhD; professor[60]
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Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine

More information No., Image ...
Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine
No. Image Name Year Affiliation with Columbia University
1 Portrait of Thomas H. Morgan Thomas H. Morgan 1933 Professor[61]
2 Portrait of Hermann J. Muller Hermann J. Muller 1946 BA, MA, PhD; instructor in Zoology (1918–1920)[62][63]
3 Portrait of Edward C. Kendall Edward C. Kendall 1950 BS, MS, PhD[64]
4 Portrait of André Cournand André Cournand 1956 Professor[65]
5 Portrait of Dickinson Richards Dickinson Richards 1956 MD; professor[66]
6 Portrait of Joshua Lederberg Joshua Lederberg 1958 BA; research assistant[67]
7 Portrait of Konrad Bloch Konrad Bloch 1965 PhD; researcher[68]
8 Portrait of George Wald George Wald 1967 PhD[69]
9 Portrait of Salvador Luria Salvador Luria 1969 Research assistant in Surgical Bacteriology (1940–1942)[70]
10 Portrait of Konrad Lorenz Konrad Lorenz 1973 Undergraduate attendee (1922, one semester of premedical studies)[71]
11 Portrait of Baruch Blumberg Baruch Blumberg 1976 MD; medical resident[72]
12 Portrait of Carleton Gajdusek Carleton Gajdusek 1976 Medical resident at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center[73][74][75]
13 Daniel Nathans 1978 Intern (1954–1955) and resident (1957–1959) in Medicine, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center[76]
14 Portrait of Baruj Benacerraf Baruj Benacerraf 1980 BS; researcher[77]
15 Portrait of Sune Bergström Sune Bergström 1982 Research Fellow (1940–1941)[78]
16 Portrait of Harold E. Varmus Harold Varmus 1989 MD[79]
17 Portrait of Edward Donall Thomas Donnall Thomas 1990 Physician-in-chief, Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital (1955–1963)[80][81]
18 Portrait of Louis Ignarro Louis Ignarro 1998 BA[82]
19 Portrait of Eric Kandel Eric Kandel 2000 Professor[83]
20 Portrait of Linda Buck Linda Buck 2004 Postdoctoral researcher (1980–1984)[84]
21 Portrait of Richard Axel Richard Axel 2004 BA; professor[85]
22 James Rothman 2013 Professor[86]
23 David Julius 2021 Postdoctoral researcher (1984–1990)[87][88]
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Nobel Memorial Prize laureates in Economics

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Nobel Memorial Prize Laureates in Economics
No. Image Name Year Affiliation with Columbia University
1 Portrait of Simon Kuznets Simon Kuznets 1971 BS, MA, PhD[89]
2 Portrait of Kenneth Arroww Kenneth Arrow 1972 MA, PhD[90]
3 Portrait of Milton Friedman Milton Friedman 1976 PhD; visiting professor[91]
4 George Stigler 1982 Professor[92]
5 Portrait of Franco Modigliani Franco Modigliani 1985 Instructor at Bard College (1942–1944)[93]
6 Portrait of Robert Solow Robert Solow 1987 Research Fellow (1949–1950)[94]
7 Portrait of Gary Becker Gary Becker 1992 Professor[95]
8 Portrait of Robert William Fogel Robert Fogel 1993 MA[96]
9 William Vickrey 1996 MA, PhD; professor[97]
10 Portrait of Robert C. Merton Robert C. Merton 1997 BS[98]
11 Portrait of Robert Mundell Robert Mundell 1999 Professor[99]
12 James Heckman 2000 Associate professor[100]
13 Portrait of Joseph E. Stiglitz Joseph Stiglitz 2001 Professor; Stern Visiting Professor[101]
14 Portrait of Edmund Phelps Edmund Phelps 2006 Professor[102]
15 Portrait of Alvin E. Roth Alvin Roth 2012 BS[103]
16 David Card 2021 Visiting professor (1990–1991)[104]
17 Joshua Angrist 2021 Visiting professor (2018)[105]
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Nobel laureates in Literature

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Nobel Laureates in Literature
No. Image Name Year Affiliation with Columbia University
1 Portrait of Gabriela Mistral Gabriela Mistral 1945 Visiting professor at Barnard College (1930–1931)[106][107][108]
2 Portrait of Joseph Brodsky Joseph Brodsky 1987 Adjunct professor (1978–1985)[109][110]
3 Portrait of Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer 1991 Adjunct professor (1971–1972, 1976–1978, 1983)[109]
4 Portrait of Derek Walcott Derek Walcott 1992 Visiting professor (1979, 1981–1983, 1984)[109]
5 Portrait of Orhan Pamuk Orhan Pamuk 2006 Professor; visiting scholar[111]
6 Portrait of Louise Glück Louise Glück 2020 Undergraduate attendee[112]
7 Portrait of László Krasznahorkai László Krasznahorkai 2025 Writer-in-residence (2014)[113]
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Nobel Peace Prize laureates

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Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
No. Image Name Year Affiliation with Columbia University
1 Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt 1906 Law student[114]
2 Portrait of Nicholas Butler Nicholas Butler 1931 BA, MA, PhD; professor; president[115]
3 Portrait of Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel 1986 Visiting professor at Barnard College (1997–1999)[116]
4 Portrait of Al Gore Al Gore 2007 Visiting professor (2001)[117][118]
5 Portrait of Barack Obama Barack Obama 2009 BA[119]
6 Liu Xiaobo 2010 Visiting scholar (1988–1989)[120][121]
7 Portrait of Leymah Gbowee Leymah Gbowee 2011 Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice at Barnard College (2013–2014)[122][123]
8 Maria Ressa 2021 Professor[124]
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Some visitors not qualified as faculty members

Visiting positions such as the "Global Fellowship" of SIPA and "Ernest Kempton Adams (EKA) Lectureship" at Columbia do not require employment-level duties, and thus are excluded from this list.[125][126][127] The EKA Fund was established in 1904, enabling Columbia to invite scientists to deliver a series of public lectures.[127][128]

Affiliates during the Manhattan Project, the scientific research project which developed the first nuclear weapons, who specifically worked for the military are also excluded from this list.

More information Name, Nobel Prize ...
Some visitors not qualified as faculty members
Name Nobel Prize Year Role in Columbia University
Hendrik Lorentz Physics 1902 EKA Lecturer about a month in the spring of 1906; Lorentz began his lectures on March 23, and gave his final lecture on April 27; later book Theory of Electrons was based on a course of lectures delivered during that period[129][128][130][131]
Wilhelm Wien Physics 1911 EKA Lecturer (1913); delivered six public lectures in April 1913[128][132]
Max Planck Physics 1918 EKA Lecturer (1909); delivered eight public lectures in the spring of 1909[128][132][133]
Walter Brattain Physics 1956 Physicist (1941–1943) at the Division of War Research under National Defense Research Committee, working on magnetic detection of submarines[134][135][136]
William Shockley Physics 1956 Research director (1942–1944) of the Antisubmarine Warfare Operations Research Group (set up by the US Navy Department at Columbia) for military projects[137][138]
John van Vleck Physics 1977 Visiting lecturer for summer school (1934)[139][140]
Kofi Annan Peace 2001 Global Fellow (Spring 2009), School of International and Public Affairs, for public lectures and seminars[125][126]
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Notes

  1. [a]
    The total number of laureates in natural sciences: Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology or Medicine.
  2. [b]
    This is because, according to Wikipedia policies on no original research and objectivity/neutrality, it is not possible in Wikipedia to subjectively assign various weights to different types of affiliations.

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