This is a list of notable Virginia Tech alumni.

Academia Belinda C. Anderson (1986, Ed.D.) – 11th president of Virginia Union University Julian Ashby Burruss (1898) – first president of Normal and Industrial School for Women (now James Madison University); eighth president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University William M. Clemons (1995 B.S.) – professor of biochemistry at California Institute of Technology Bill Dally (1979, BS) – computer scientist and Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University Thomas DiLorenzo – Austrian School economist and author; professor at Loyola University in Baltimore (Ph.D. in economics) Mark Embree (1996) – Rhodes Scholar; professor of mathematics at Virginia Tech;Leader of the Computational Modeling and Data Analytics (CMDA) department at Virginia Tech Willie Gilchrist (M.A., 1985) – chancellor of Elizabeth City State University Edwin D. Harrison (1948 M.S.) – sixth president of the Georgia Institute of Technology Joel Heinen (1982 M.S.) – professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Florida International University Richard Mines (1983) environmental engineer; Emeritus Professor of Environmental and Civil Engineering at Mercer University Enid Montague (2008, Ph.D.) – director of the Wellness and Health Enhancement Engineering Laboratory at DePaul University Robert Coleman Richardson (1958 BS; 1960 MS) – physicist at Cornell University; shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1996 for the discovery of superfluidity in He-3 Caitlin Rivers (2015, PhD) – assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Linwood H. Rose (1973) – fifth president of James Madison University Charles W. Steger (1969) – 15th president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Dianne Boardley Suber (1996, Ed.D.) – 10th president of Saint Augustine’s University Khodr Zaarour (2020, Ph.D.) – professor of international relations; founder of the Muslim American Public Affairs Council

Art and architecture

Markus Breitschmid (1994, M.S.) – internationally active Swiss architectural theoretician, historian, and author Thomas M. Price (1938) – architectVirginia Tech Magazine Class Notes

Business Steve Bannon (1976) – former executive chairman of Breitbart News and White House Chief Strategist for U.S. President Donald Trump Donaldson Brown (1902) – financial executive and corporate director with DuPont and General Motors Jim Buckmaster – CEO of Craigslist Dave Calhoun – former president and CEO of Boeing former global head of Private Equity, Blackstone Group; former CEO and chairman of the board, Nielsen Holdings James Cook – senior vice president of The U.S. Russia Investment Fund (TUSRIF) and Delta Capital Management; co-founder of Aurora Russia Limited Joseph DeSimone (1990 Ph.D.) – co-founder and CEO of Carbon Regina E. Dugan (1984 B.S., 1985 M.S.) – former vice president of Engineering, Facebook Inc.; former vice president of Advanced Technology and Projects at Google also known as the "Moonshot" project; 19th Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – the first woman to lead the agency Clifton C. Garvin (1943 B.S.; 1947 M.S.) – chairman and CEO of Exxon Corp. Henry C. Groseclose – considered to be the father of the Future Farmers of America organization Bashar Masri – businessman, billionaire Ajay Nanavati – former head of 3M India and current chairman of Syndicate Bank George Nolen (1978) – CEO, Siemens USA 2003–2009; CEO, Filtration Group Corporation 2017–2019 Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. (attended in the 1960s) – president and CEO of R.B. Pamplin Corporation Robert B. Pamplin, Sr. (1933) – CEO of Georgia Pacific Corp. Alan H. Shaw (1992) – president and CEO, Norfolk Southern Railway Edward F. Swinney (1875) – president of the American Bankers Association and later as president of the First National Bank of Kansas City (now a part of the Bank of America) Crime

Nidal Hasan (1997) – former Army major and psychiatrist; convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, subsequently dishonorably discharged Frank Sturgis, born Frank Angelo Fiorini (attended in the 1940s) – convicted for the Watergate burglaries that ultimately led to the resignation of US President Richard M. Nixon; served in the US Marines, Navy, and Army and as a covert operative in Latin America

Entertainment

Film and television Kylene Barker (1978) – Miss America 1978 Roger Craig (1999) – winner of the 2011 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions Sara Erikson – TV actress Azita Ghanizada – actress Hoda Kotb (1986) – television news anchor, TV host, and former long-time anchor of NBC's Today Rick Devens (2006) – Survivor competitor and Big Brother 28 winner Tim Leaton (2007) – filmmaker, editor Molly Line (1999) – reporter for Fox News Camille Schrier (2018) – Miss America 2020 Brian Sullivan (1993) – CNBC anchor Collette Wolfe – film actress Jimmy Heagerty (2022) - Big Brother 27

Music Gerry Beckley – founding member of the rock band America Keith Buckley – singer for metalcore band Every Time I Die Charlie Byrd (1946) – jazz guitarist Wild Nothing – real name Jack Tatum, pop Young Summer – real name Bobbie Allen, singer/songwriter

Government

Brett Blanton – 12th Architect of the Capitol Deborah Hersman – chairman, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Duff Holbrook – wildlife biologist and forester with the United States Forest Service Letitia Long (1982) – director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (2010–2014); first woman in charge of a major U.S. intelligence agency Lillian M. Lowery (2004) – superintendent, Maryland State Department of Education Tony McNulty – Minister for Police and Security in the UK government John H. Thompson (1973, B.S.; 1975 M.S.) – director of the United States Census Bureau Catherine Woteki (1971, M.S., Ph.D.) – under secretary for USDA's Research, Education, and Economics mission area

Law

Andrew S. Boutros (2001) – attorney best known for prosecuting Silk Road Frank Dunham, Jr. – lead lawyer for Zacarias Moussaoui Lawrence L. Koontz, Jr. (1962) – justice, Supreme Court of Virginia

Literature

Kwame Alexander – writer of children's literature Kathleen Ann Goonan (1974) – science fiction writer Homer Hickam (1964) – author Sharyn McCrumb (1985) – author Mike Michalowicz (1993) – author of business books and former columnist for The Wall Street Journal; MSNBC television personality Tijan Sallah (1984, MA and 1987, PhD, economics) – author, literary critic Steve Rasnic Tem (1973) – fantasy, horror, and science fiction author Martin Vengadesan (1990) – Malaysian journalist and writer

Military Virginia Tech and its Corps of Cadets have a long tradition of providing service to the military. Seven Medal of Honor recipients are alumni or former cadets at Virginia Tech.

William G. Boykin, US Army (1971) – deputy under secretary of Defense for Intelligence; commanding general, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School; commanding general, 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne); commander, 1st SFOD-D Jody A. Breckenridge, USCG (1975) – commander, Coast Guard, Pacific Area J. Scott Burhoe, USCG (1976) – 39th superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Rear Admiral; 10th president of Fork Union Military Academy Carlton D. Everhart II, USAF (1983) – commander, Air Mobility Command Robert E. Femoyer, USAAF (1944) – awarded the Medal of Honor for actions as an Army Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress navigator on a bombing mission over Germany Antoine A.M. Gaujot, US Army (1900) – awarded the Medal of Honor for actions as an Army Corporal at the Battle of San Mateo during the Philippine–American War; brother of Julien Gaujot (did not graduate) Earle D. Gregory, US Army (1923) – awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive during World War I; known as the "Sgt. York of Virginia" Julien E. Gaujot, US Army (1893) – awarded the Medal of Honor for actions on the Mexican border in 1914, the only soldier ever awarded the Medal for actions of a peacekeeping nature; brother of Antoine Gaujot (did not graduate) Joseph R. Inge, US Army (1969) – deputy commander, United States Northern Command; vice commander, U.S. Element, North American Aerospace Defense Command Jimmie W. Monteith, Jr., US Army (1944) – awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Normandy landings on D-Day during World War II (did not graduate) Lewis A. Pick, US Army Lieutenant General (1914) Thomas C. Richards, USAF (1956) – administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; deputy commander in chief, U.S. European Command; commandant of cadets, U.S. Air Force Academy Wallace H. Robinson, USMC (1940) – 20th quartermaster general of the Marine Corps; director of the Defense Supply Agency Richard Thomas Shea, US Army (1948) – awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Pork Chop Hill during the Korean War (did not graduate) Lance L. Smith, USAF (1969) – commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation and deputy commander, U.S. Central Command Herbert J. Thomas, USMC (1944) – awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on Bougainville Island during World War II; member of Virginia Tech's Athletic Hall of Fame (did not graduate) James F. Van Pelt Jr., USAAF (1940) – B-29 Superfortress navigator involved in both atomic bomb attacks against Japan, navigating the instrument ship in the first attack against Hiroshima, then navigating the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki Major Lloyd W. Williams, USMC (1907) – attributed with one of the more famous quotes of World War I: "Retreat? Hell! We just got here!"

Politics

J. Lindsay Almond, Jr. – member of the US House of Representatives from Virginia's 6th District (1945–1948), 26th attorney general of Virginia (1948–1957), 58th governor of Virginia (1958–1962), associate judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (1962–1973) William K. Barlow (1958) – member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 64th District (1992–2011) Chet Culver – former governor of Iowa (2007–2011); former Iowa secretary of state (1999–2007) William Dodd (1895 B.S.; 1897 M.S.) – ambassador to Germany, 1933–1937, under President Roosevelt; subject of Erik Larson's book In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin James Dunsmuir (attended VAMC in 1874) – Premier of British Columbia Kelly Gee (M.A.) – acting secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia (2023–present) Matt Lohr (1995) – delegate, Virginia House of Delegates Erika McEntarfer – 16th Commissioner of Labor Statistics Garrett McGuire – member of the Virginia House of Delegates Linda Swartz Taglialatela – United States ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS Rob Wittman – member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 1st District

Science and technology

Neal Agarwal – programmer and game designer Mohammad Alavi (2002) – game developer; known for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare campaign level "All Ghillied Up" and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign level "No Russian" Richard Baker (1998) – game designer Charles J. Camarda (1983, Ph.D.) – astronaut on board the space shuttle Discovery for the STS-114 mission Jess Cliffe – game designer; co-creator of Counter-Strike Roger K. Crouch (1968 M.S.; 1971 Ph.D.) – NASA astronaut Paige Kassalen (2015, B.S.) – electrical engineer; the only American, female engineer, and youngest member of the ground crew for the Solar Impulse 2 project Chris Kraft (1944) – NASA architect of Mission Control and its first flight director; author of Flight: My Life in Mission Control Newton Lee (1984 B.S.; 1985 M.S.) – computer scientist, author, futurist, and chairman of the California Transhumanist Party