Alumni with Nobel Prizes

• Edward Doisy, B.S. 1914, M.S. 1916 - Nobel laureate (Physiology or Medicine, 1943)
• Vincent Du Vigneaud, B.S. 1923, M.S. 1924 - Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1955), faculty member of UIUC
• Robert W. Holley, B.A. 1942 - Nobel laureate (Physiology or Medicine, 1968)
• Jack Kilby, B.S. 1947 - Nobel laureate (Physics, 2000). Inventor of the microchip.
• Edwin G. Krebs, B.A. 1940 - Nobel laureate (Physiology or Medicine, 1992)
• Polykarp Kusch, M.S. 1933, Ph.D. 1936 - Nobel laureate (Physics, 1955)
• John Schrieffer, M.S. 1954, PhD 1957 - Nobel laureate (Physics, 1972), faculty member of UIUC
• Phillip Sharp, Ph.D. 1969 - Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1993)
• Wendell Stanely, M.S. 1927, PhD. 1929 - Nobel laureate (Chemistry 1946)
• Rosalyn Yalow, M.S. 1942, Ph.D. 1945 - Nobel laureate (Physiology or Medicine, 1977)

Alumni with Pulitzer Prizes

• Barry Bearak, M.S. 1974 - awarded the 2002 Pulitzer Prize (International Reporting)
• Michael Colgrass, B.A. 1956 - awarded the 1978 Pulitzer Prize ( Music )
• George Crumb, M.A. 1952 - awarded the 1968 Pulitzer Prize ( Music )
• David Herbert Donald, M.A. 1942, Ph.D. 1946 - awarded the 1961 Pulitzer Prize(Biography), 1988 Pulitzer Prize(Biography)
• Roger Ebert, B.S. 1964 - movie critic, awarded the 1975 Pulitzer Prize (Criticiscm)
• Roy J. Harris, B.A. 1925 - awarded the 1950 Pulitzer Prize (Public Service)
• Hugh F. Hough, B.S. 1951 - awarded the 1974 Pulitzer Prize (Local General Spot News Reporting)
• Paul Ingrassia, B.S. 1972 - awarded the 1993 Pulitzer Prize (Beat Reporting)
• Monroe Karmin, B.S. 1950 - awarded the 1967 Pulitzer Prize (National Reporting)
• Allan Nevins, B.A. 1912, M.A. 1913 - awarded the 1933 Pulitzer Prize (Biography), 1937 Pulitzer Prize (Biography)
• James Reston, B.S. 1932 - awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize (National Reporting), 1957 Pulitzer Prize (National Reporting)
• Robert Lewis Taylor, B.A. 1933 - awarded the 1959 Pulitzer Prize (Fiction)
• George Thiem, B.S. 1921 - awarded the 1950 Pulitzer Prize (Public Service)
• Carl Van Doren, B.A. 1907 - awarded the 1939 Pulitzer Prize (Biography)
• Mark Van Doren, B.A. 1914 - awarded the 1940 Pulitzer Prize (Poetry)
• Abe Zaidan, B.S. 1953 - awarded the 1971 Pulitzer Prize (Local Reporting)

Technology and Innovation

• Donald Bitzer & H. Gene Slottow, 2003 Emmy Award in Technical Achievement for the invention of the plasma display.
• Marc Andreessen, B.S. 1993, co-creator of the Mosaic web browser, and later co-founder of Netscape
• Ed Boon, B.S. 1986, creator of Mortal Kombat video game
• Steve Dorner, B.S. 1983 creator of Eudora (email software)
• Lawrence Ellison, founder of Oracle Corporation (dropped out)
• Michael Hart, B.A. 1973, founder of Project Gutenberg
• Max Levchin, B.S. 1997, founder of PayPal
• Bob Miner, B.A. (mathematics) 1963, co-founder of Oracle Corporation
• Ray Ozzie, B.S. 1979, creator of Lotus Notes
• Jerry Sanders, B.S. 1958, co-founder and former CEO of Advanced Micro Devices
• Tom Siebel, B.A. 1975, M.B.A. 1983, M.S. 1985, founder of Siebel Systems
• Jack Welch, M.S. and Ph.D. 1960, former CEO of General Electric
• Sohaib Abbasi, B.S. and M.S. 1980, President and CEO of Informatica

Science

• Charles W. Woodworth, BS 1885, MS 1886, founder of the Division of Entomology, University of California, Berkeley. The PBESA gives the annual C.W. Woodworth Award.
• Alfred Y. Cho, B.S. 1960, M.S. 1961, Ph.D. 1968 - father of Molecular beam epitaxy. He also received the National Medal of Science in 1993
• Donald Johanson, B.S. 1966, paleoanthropologist

Literature, Media, and Entertainment

• Dave Eggers, writer
• Hugh Hefner, B.A. 1949, founder of Playboy magazine
• Robert Johnson, founder of BET Television Network
• Ang Lee, movie director
• Roger Ebert, film critic
• Andy Richter, actor/comedian
• Iris Chang, B.A. 1989, author of The Rape of Nanking

Society

• John Anderson, congressman and 1980 presidential candidate
• Ronald Cohn, co-founder of The Gorilla Foundation, researcher and cameraman who helped document Koko, the mountain gorilla
• Atef Ebeid, former prime minister of Egypt
• Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist
• Donald Johanson, anthropologist
• Annette Lu, vice-president of the Republic of China
• Francine Patterson, co-founder of The Gorilla Foundation, researcher who taught a modified version of American Sign Language to a mountain gorilla named Koko
• Fidel Ramos, former president of the Philippines

Astronauts

• Scott Altman, B.S. 1981 - NASA astronaut
• Lee J. Archambault, B.S. 1982, M.S. 1984 - NASA astronaut
• Dale A. Gardner, B.S. 1970 - NASA astronaut
• David H. Matthiesen, B.S. 1980, M.S. 1982 - NASA astronaut
• Steven R. Nagel, B.S. 1969 - NASA astronaut
• Joseph R. Tanner, B.S. 1973 - NASA astronaut