John A. Swanson, 1957
American Bank Note Company Merit Scholarship
Mechanical engineer, founder of ANSYS, Inc., 2004 John Fritz Medal recipient, philanthropist
Elvin R. Bishop, 1960
A. O. Smith Merit Scholarship
Musician, rock and blues legend
Stephen J. DeCanio, 1960
National Merit Scholarship
Professor of Economics, Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara, shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1960
Lilly Endowment Merit Scholarship
Professor of Economics at Columbia University, awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics, Former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank
Amory Bloch Lovins, 1964
National Merit Scholarship
Environmentalist and physicist, Chairman Emeritus and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, author, MacArthur Fellow
Robert B. Reich, 1964
National Merit Scholarship
Carmel P. Friesen Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, former Secretary of Labor, author
Thomas R. Cech, 1966
National Merit Scholarship
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder, awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, former president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Alexa I. Canady, 1967
FMC Achievement Scholarship
First African-American female neurosurgeon, former Chief of Neurosurgery at the Children's Hospital of Michigan
Mitchell Daniels, Jr., 1967
National Merit Scholarship
President of Purdue University, former Governor of Indiana
Roger Y. Tsien, 1968
National Merit Scholarship
Former Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, former Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California-San Diego, awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Jerry Greenfield, 1969
Bache Corporation Foundation Merit Scholarship
Co-founder, Ben & Jerry's, philanthropist
Merrick B. Garland, 1970
National Merit Scholarship
United States Attorney General, former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Paul R. Krugman, 1970
National Merit Scholarship
Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University, awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, Author, OpEd Columnist for the New York Times
Ben S. Bernanke, 1971
National Merit Scholarship
Distinguished Senior Fellow with the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution; former Chairman, Federal Reserve
Evelynn M. Hammonds, 1971
National Achievement Scholarship
Former Dean of Harvard College, The Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and Professor of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University
Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1972
National Merit Scholarship
Economist, University Professor and Director, Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General António Guterres
Steven A. Ballmer, 1973
National Merit Scholarship
Owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association, former Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation
William H. "Bill" Gates III, 1973
National Merit Scholarship
Former Chairman, Microsoft Corporation, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, philanthropist
Jim Cramer, 1973
National Merit Scholarship
Host of CNBC's Mad Money, author, financial advisor
Mae Carol Jemison, 1973
Bell Telephone Laboratories Achievement Scholarship
Retired NASA astronaut, physician, first African-American woman in space
John G. Roberts, 1973
National Merit Scholarship
Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
Elena Kagan, 1977
National Merit Scholarship
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
Lisa P. Jackson, 1979
Nabisco Achievement Scholarship
Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives for Apple, Inc. and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Benjamin Alvin Drew, 1980
National Achievement Scholarship
Colonel in the United States Air Force, Air Force pilot, NASA astronaut
Gabe L. Newell, 1980
National Merit Scholarship
Co-founder and President of Valve Corporation, developer behind popular game franchises like Half-Life and Portal
Lisa J. Randall, 1980
National Merit Scholarship
Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University, author
Susan E. Rice, 1982
National Achievement Scholarship
Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council, Distinguished visiting Research Fellow at American University's School of International Service, Former United States National Security Advisor and former U.S. Ambassador for the United Nations
Jeffrey P. Bezos, 1982
National Merit Scholarship
Founder and Executive Chairman, Amazon.com, owner of The Washington Post
Peter A. Thiel, 1985
National Merit Scholarship
Author, entrepreneur, co-founder of PayPal
Preetinder S. Bharara, 1986
National Merit Scholarship
Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University School of Law; CNN Senior Legal Analyst, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Linda D. Rottenberg, 1986
National Merit Scholarship
CEO and co-founder of Endeavor, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author
Manoj "M. Night" Shyamalan, 1988
New York University Merit Scholarship
Director, filmmaker, two-time Academy Award nominee, known for films such as The Sixth Sense and Signs
James Michael McCullers, 1989
BellSouth Merit Scholarship
Writer and director; co-wrote two Austin Powers films and wrote and directed the film Baby Mama
Melissa Harris-Perry, 1991
National Achievement Scholarship
Maya Angelou Presidential Chair in Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, Host of WNYC's The Takeaway, former Editor-at-Large at Elle.com, author, former host of MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry show
Stephenie Meyer, 1992
Brigham Young University Merit Scholarship
Bestselling author of the Twilight series, film producer
Vivek H. Murthy, 1994
Nalco Chemical Company Merit Scholarship
21st and 19th United States Surgeon General, Vice Admiral of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
Kathryn Felicia Day, 1995
University of Texas Merit Scholarship
Bestselling author and producer, writer, and lead actress of The Guild; appeared in House, Monk, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, and Eureka, Founder of online media company Geek & Sundry
Terence S. Carter, 1997
National Achievement Scholarship
Co-President and Head of Television at Westbrook Studios, former Executive Vice President, Drama and Comedy Development for Twentieth Century Fox Television
Peter P. Buttigieg, 2000
National Merit $2000 Scholarship
United States Secretary of Transportation, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana
Lauren A. Underwood, 2004
National Achievement Scholarship
United States Representative for Illinois's 14th Congressional District