List Of Nobel Laureates Affiliated With Columbia University As Alumni Or Faculty

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.

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

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. 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.

As of the 2023 awards, 103 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Columbia University as alumni or faculty. Among the 103 laureates, 72 are Nobel laureates in natural sciences; 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

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

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).

Summary of Columbia University's Nobel Laureates
Category	Alumni	Professors of various ranks	Researchers or visitors
Total: 103	46	34	43
Physics (33)	Robert Millikan – 1923 Isidor Rabi – 1944 Julian Schwinger – 1965 Leon Cooper – 1972 James Rainwater – 1975 Arno Penzias – 1978 Val Fitch – 1980 Leon Lederman – 1988 Melvin Schwartz – 1988 Norman Ramsey – 1989 Martin Perl – 1995 Arthur Ashkin – 2018 John Clauser – 2022	Enrico Fermi – 1938 Isidor Rabi^† – 1944* Hideki Yukawa – 1949* Willis Lamb – 1955 Polykarp Kusch – 1955* Tsung-Dao Lee – 1957* Charles Townes – 1964 James Rainwater^† – 1975* Samuel Ting – 1976 Melvin Schwartz^† – 1988 Leon Lederman^† – 1988 Jack Steinberger – 1988 Norman Ramsey^† – 1989 Horst Störmer – 1998*	Emilio Segrè – 1959 Maria Mayer – 1963 Hans Bethe – 1967 Murray Gell-Mann – 1969 Aage Bohr – 1975 Samuel Ting^† – 1976 Steven Weinberg – 1979 Arthur Schawlow – 1981 Carlo Rubbia – 1984 Leon Lederman^† – 1988 Daniel Tsui – 1998 John C. Mather – 2006 Giorgio Parisi – 2021
Chemistry (16)	Irving Langmuir – 1932 John H. Northrop – 1946 William H. Stein – 1972 Roald Hoffmann – 1981 Herbert Hauptman – 1985 Sidney Altman – 1989 William S. Knowles – 2001 Robert Grubbs – 2005 Robert Lefkowitz – 2012 Louis E. Brus – 2023	Harold Urey – 1934* Martin Chalfie – 2008* Martin Karplus – 2013 Joachim Frank – 2017* Louis E. Brus^† – 2023*	Willard Libby – 1960 Luis Leloir – 1970
Physiology or Medicine (23)	Hermann J. Muller – 1946 Edward C. Kendall – 1950 Dickinson Richards – 1956 Joshua Lederberg – 1958 Konrad Bloch – 1964 George Wald – 1967 Konrad Lorenz – 1973 Baruch Blumberg – 1976 Baruj Benacerraf – 1980 Harold Varmus – 1989 Louis Ignarro – 1998 Richard Axel – 2004	Thomas H. Morgan – 1933 André Cournand – 1956* Dickinson Richards^† – 1956* Eric Kandel – 2000* Richard Axel^† – 2004* James Rothman – 2013	Hermann J. Muller^† – 1946 Joshua Lederberg^† – 1958 Konrad Bloch^† – 1964 Salvador Luria – 1969 Baruch Blumberg^† – 1976 Carleton Gajdusek – 1976 Daniel Nathans – 1978 Baruj Benacerraf^† – 1980 Sune Bergström – 1982 Donnall Thomas – 1990 Linda Buck – 2004 David Julius – 2021
Economics (17)	Simon Kuznets – 1971 Kenneth Arrow – 1972 Milton Friedman – 1976 Robert Fogel – 1993 William Vickrey – 1996 Robert C. Merton – 1997 Alvin Roth – 2012	George Stigler – 1982 Gary Becker – 1992 William Vickrey^† – 1996* Robert Mundell – 1999* James Heckman – 2000 Joseph Stiglitz – 2001* Edmund Phelps – 2006*	Milton Friedman^† – 1976 Franco Modigliani – 1985 Robert Solow – 1987 Joseph Stiglitz^† – 2001 David Card – 2021 Joshua Angrist – 2021
Literature (6)	Louise Glück – 2020	Orhan Pamuk – 2006	Gabriela Mistral – 1945 Joseph Brodsky – 1987 Nadine Gordimer – 1991 Derek Walcott – 1992 Orhan Pamuk^† – 2006
Peace (8)	Theodore Roosevelt – 1906 Nicholas Butler – 1931 Barack Obama – 2009	Nicholas Butler^† – 1931	Elie Wiesel – 1986 Al Gore – 2007 Liu Xiaobo – 2010 Leymah Gbowee – 2011 Maria Ressa – 2021

Nobel laureates by category

Nobel laureates in Physics

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

Nobel laureates in Chemistry

Nobel Laureates in Chemistry
No.	Name	Year	Affiliation with Columbia University
1	Irving Langmuir	1932	BS
2	Harold Urey	1934	Professor
3	John H. Northrop	1946	BS, MA, PhD
4	Willard Libby	1960	Head, Chemistry Division of the Columbia University branch of the Manhattan Project (1942–1945)
5	Luis Leloir	1970	Researcher, College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia (1944–1945)
6	William H. Stein	1972	PhD
7	Roald Hoffmann	1981	BA
8	Herbert Hauptman	1985	MA
9	Sidney Altman	1989	Graduate student in physics
10	William S. Knowles	2001	PhD
11	Robert Grubbs	2005	PhD
12	Martin Chalfie	2008	Professor
13	Robert Lefkowitz	2012	BA, MD
14	Martin Karplus	2013	Professor
15	Joachim Frank	2017	Professor
16	Louis E. Brus	2023	PhD; Professor

Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine

Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine
No.	Name	Year	Affiliation with Columbia University
1	Thomas H. Morgan	1933	Professor
2	Hermann J. Muller	1946	BA, MA, PhD; Instructor in Zoology (1918–1920)
3	Edward C. Kendall	1950	BS, MS, PhD
4	André Cournand	1956	Professor
5	Dickinson Richards	1956	MD; Professor
6	Joshua Lederberg	1958	BA; Research Assistant
7	Konrad Bloch	1965	PhD; Researcher
8	George Wald	1967	PhD
9	Salvador Luria	1969	Research Assistant in Surgical Bacteriology (1940–1942)
10	Konrad Lorenz	1973	Undergraduate attendee (1922, one semester of premedical studies)
11	Baruch Blumberg	1976	MD; Medical Resident
12	Carleton Gajdusek	1976	Medical Resident at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
13	Daniel Nathans	1978	Intern (1954–1955) and Resident (1957–1959) in Medicine, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
14	Baruj Benacerraf	1980	BS; Researcher
15	Sune Bergström	1982	Research Fellow (1940–1941)
16	Harold Varmus	1989	MD
17	Donnall Thomas	1990	Physician-in-chief, Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital (1955–1963)
18	Louis Ignarro	1998	BA
19	Eric Kandel	2000	Professor
20	Linda Buck	2004	Postdoctoral Researcher (1980–1984)
21	Richard Axel	2004	BA; Professor
22	James Rothman	2013	Professor
23	David Julius	2021	Postdoctoral Researcher (1984–1990)

Nobel Memorial Prize laureates in Economics

Nobel Memorial Prize Laureates in Economics
No.	Name	Year	Affiliation with Columbia University
1	Simon Kuznets	1971	BS, MA, PhD
2	Kenneth Arrow	1972	MA, PhD
3	Milton Friedman	1976	PhD; Visiting Professor
4	George Stigler	1982	Professor
5	Franco Modigliani	1985	Instructor at Bard College (1942–1944)
6	Robert Solow	1987	Research Fellow (1949–1950)
7	Gary Becker	1992	Professor
8	Robert Fogel	1993	MA
9	William Vickrey	1996	MA, PhD; Professor
10	Robert C. Merton	1997	BS
11	Robert Mundell	1999	Professor
12	James Heckman	2000	Associate Professor
13	Joseph Stiglitz	2001	Professor; Stern Visiting Professor
14	Edmund Phelps	2006	Professor
15	Alvin Roth	2012	BS
16	David Card	2021	Visiting Professor (1990–1991)
17	Joshua Angrist	2021	Visiting Professor (2018)

Nobel laureates in Literature

Nobel Laureates in Literature
No.	Name	Year	Affiliation with Columbia University
1	Gabriela Mistral	1945	Visiting Professor at Barnard College (1930–1931)
2	Joseph Brodsky	1987	Adjunct Professor (1978–1985)
3	Nadine Gordimer	1991	Adjunct Professor (1971–1972, 1976–1978, 1983)
4	Derek Walcott	1992	Visiting Professor (1979, 1981–1983, 1984)
5	Orhan Pamuk	2006	Professor; Visiting Scholar
6	Louise Glück	2020	Undergraduate attendee

Nobel Peace Prize laureates

Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
No.	Name	Year	Affiliation with Columbia University
1	Theodore Roosevelt	1906	Law student
2	Nicholas Butler	1931	BA, MA, PhD; Professor; President
3	Elie Wiesel	1986	Visiting Professor at Barnard College (1997–1999)
4	Al Gore	2007	Visiting Professor (2001)
5	Barack Obama	2009	BA
6	Liu Xiaobo	2010	Visiting Scholar (1988–1989)
7	Leymah Gbowee	2011	Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice at Barnard College (2013–2014)
8	Maria Ressa	2021	Distinguished Fellow at the School of International and Public Affairs (2023–2024)

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. The EKA Fund was established in 1904, enabling Columbia to invite scientists to deliver a series of public lectures.

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.

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
Wilhelm Wien	Physics	1911	EKA Lecturer (1913); delivered six public lectures in April 1913
Max Planck	Physics	1918	EKA Lecturer (1909); delivered eight public lectures in the spring of 1909
Walter Brattain	Physics	1956	Physicist (1941–1943) at the Division of War Research under National Defense Research Committee, working on magnetic detection of submarines
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
John van Vleck	Physics	1977	Visiting lecturer for summer school (1934)
Kofi Annan	Peace	2001	Global Fellow (Spring 2009), School of International and Public Affairs, for public lectures and seminars

Notes

References

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