This is a list of notable alumni of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Awards received by Cooper Union alumni include one Nobel Prize in Physics, a Pritzker Prize, fifteen Rome Prizes, 26 Guggenheim Fellowships, three MacArthur Fellowships, nine Chrysler Design Awards, three American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Awards for Public Architecture, a SEA Write Award, and one Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. The school also boasts 39 Fulbright Scholars since 2001, and thirteen National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships since 2004."Facts about Cooper Union" on the Cooper Union website
To ensure that this list remains useful to all, please refer to Wikipedia's standards for notability before adding anyone to this list.
A George G. Adams (engineer), mechanical engineer Jon Agee, author and illustrator of children's books John Alcorn (1935–1992), illustrator Stan Allen, former Dean of the School of Architecture, Princeton University Daniel Arsham, artist, with alumnus Alex Mustonen established Snarkitecture David Attie (1920–1982), photographer
B Donald Baechler, painter Firelei Báez, artist Alex Bag, video artist Elizabeth Gowdy Baker (1860–1927), portraitist Katherine M. Ball (1859-1952), art educator, especially of Asian art Shigeru Ban, pioneer of "Paper Architecture", winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize (2014) Karen Bausman, Rome Prize recipient, the only American woman architect to hold both the Eliot Noyes (Harvard) and Eero Saarinen (Yale) chairs Max Becher, artist and educator Dave Berg (1920–2002), cartoon artist and main contributor of Mad magazine illustrations Renata Bernal, painter Theodore H. Berlin (1917-1962), theoretical physicist Emile Berliner (1851–1929), invented the vinyl record Billy Bitzer (1872–1944), cinematographer Victor Gustav Bloede (1849–1937), chemist and philanthropist; protege' of Peter Cooper Louise Brann (1906–1982), muralist Norman Bridwell (1928–2014), cartoonist and creator of Clifford the Big Red Dog Kadar Brock, contemporary abstract artist Steve Brodner, cartoonist Ronald Brookmeyer, public health researcher; professor of biostatistics at UCLA Dik Browne (1917–1989), cartoonist and creator of Hägar the Horrible Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (1850-1936), artist Lee Brozgol (1941–2021), visual artist, educator, and social worke Kevin Burke, CEO of Consolidated Edison
C Albert Carnesale, former chancellor of UCLA and dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Alfred Clark (1873–1950), inventor, cinematic director, and media executive Martin Charnin (1934–2019), Tony Award-winning lyricist, writer, and theatre director Remy Charlip (1929–2012), choreographer, writer, and illustrator Ching Ho Cheng (1946–1989), artist John Walter Christie (1865–1944), engineer and inventor Seymour Chwast, graphic designer, co-founder of Push Pin Studios Clio Newton, artist Guy Coheleach, wildlife artist Anna Botsford Comstock (1854-1930), leader in the nature study educational movement, author, illustrator, and first female professor at Cornell University Anna Conway, painter Miriam Cooper (1891–1976), actress E. Miriam Coyrière, educator and entrepreneur Will Cotton, painter William L. Coulter (1865–1907), architect Joshua Lionel Cowen (1877–1965), inventor of the flash-lamp and co-founder of Lionel Corporation Amy Cutler, artist
D Noah Davis (1983-2015), painter and founder of the Underground Museum in Los Angeles Peggy Deamer, Emeritus Professor of Architecture at Yale Roy DeCarava (1919–2009), photographer William Francis Deegan (1882–1932), architect and political leader, namesake of the Major Deegan Expressway Bruce Degen, illustrator for The Magic School Bus Freda Diamond (1905–1998), industrial designer known for designing mass market home goods Elizabeth Diller, with Ricardo Scofidio, the first architects to win a MacArthur Prize co-founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro Michael Doret, graphic designer, font designer, lettering artist Lou Dorfsman (1918–2008), graphic designer art director for CBS Eric Drooker, painter and author William Dubilier (1888–1969), inventor of the mica capacitor and radio pioneer Clive Dym, chair of the engineering department at Harvey Mudd College; professor at Stanford
E John M. Eargle (1931–2007), Oscar and Grammy-winning audio engineer and musician Thomas Edison (1847–1931), inventorTopper, Robert. "Thomas Edison, Chemistry and Cooper Union" on the Cooper Union websiteRobert Conot, Thomas A. Edison: A Streak of Luck (Da Capo Press, New York, 1979). Allegra Eggleston (1860–1933), artist and illustrator Malachi Leo Elliott (1886-1967), architect Phillip Eng, president of the Long Island Rail Road and general manager of the MBTA Jeffrey Epstein (1953–2019), financial advisor and convicted sex offender. Did not graduate. Mark Epstein, property developer, brother of Jeffrey Epstein. Mitch Epstein, photographer
F Isidor Fankuchen (1905-1964), material scientist and solid-state physicist; pioneer of crystallography Adriana Farmiga, visual artist and Dean at Cooper Union School of Art Robert Feintuch, painter Joel H. Ferziger (1937–2004), mechanical engineer and expert in computational fluid dynamics Anthony Fiala (1869-1950), American explorer Irving Fierstein (1915–2009), painter, designer Liana Finck, cartoonist and author Israel F. Fischer (1858–1940), US Representative, judge James Fitzgerald (1851-1922), American jurist and politician Thom Fitzgerald, filmmaker Audrey Flack, pioneer of photorealism Max Fleischer (1883–1972), animator, inventor, film director and producer; co-creator of Betty Boop Mary Hallock Foote (1847–1938), author and illustrator Charles R. Forbes (1878–1952), politician and military officer; first Director of the US Veterans' Bureau Laura Ford, sculptor Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Brad Friedmutter, architect Martin Feinberg, chemical engineer and mathematician
G Hope Gangloff, painter Janet Gardner, filmmaker Lenora Garfinkel (1930–2020), architect Paul Garrin, filmmaker Amy Gartrell, artist Louis D. Gibbs, lawyer, politician, judge Philip Gips (1931–2019), film poster artist Milton Glaser (1929–2020), graphic designer, creator of the I Love New York logo, co-founder of Push Pin Studios Harold S. Goldberg, electrical engineer; first chair of the IEEE Minetta Good (1895–1946), muralist, painter and printmaker Harry H. Goode (1909-1960), computer engineer and systems engineer; professor at the University of Michigan Aaron Goodelman, sculptor Sidney Gordin (1918–1996), visual artist, professor T.J. Gottesdiener, architect and manager of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Harold Grad (1923-1986), applied mathematician Aaron Green (1917-2001), architect and protege of Frank Lloyd Wright; lecturer at Stanford University Charles Greenfield (1885-1979), engineer Leonard Gross, mathematician; Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Cornell University
H Hans Haacke, artist Dimitri Hadzi (1921–2006), sculptor William Harnett (1848–1892), painter Irving Harper (1916–2015), industrial designer Matthew Harrison, film director Sagi Haviv, partner, Chermayeff & Geismar; designer of the Library of Congress and Armani Exchange logos Palmer Hayden (1890–1973), artist famous for depictions of African-American life Dorothy E. Hayes (1935–2015), early Black graphic designer, educator, curatorDeMarko, Sharon (February 19, 1971). "Black Artists Graphics Displayed at Art Center". Pensacola News Journal. p. 11– 12. – via Newspapers.com. John Hejduk (1929–2000), one of New York Five, a group of five New York City architects Eva Hesse (1936–1970), sculptor Angela Hill, professional mixed martial arts fighter Edith Hillinger, mixed media artist, painter, founding member of second wave feminism Julian Hirsch (1922–2003), electrical engineer and audio critic Chuck Hoberman, winner of the Chrysler Design Award for Innovation and Design Kim Holleman, artist, MIT Media Lab Social Computing Group Emil Clemens Horst (1867–1940), inventor Sharon Horvath (born 1958), mixed media artist, painter, educator Shelby Hughes (1981–2014), artist and designer Russell Hulse, 1993 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics Elizabeth Bullock Humphrey (1841–1889), illustrator
I Alexander Isley, graphic designer
J Francis Jehl (1860–1941), electrochemist and inventor Patty Jenkins, filmmaker Herman Jessor (1894-1990), architect and engineer Sandy Jimenez, comic book artist Bonnie E. John, cognitive psychologist Crockett Johnson (1906–1975), (David Johnson Leisk), comic strip artist and author of Harold and the Purple Crayon Willard F. Jones (1890–1967), naval architect, head of National Safety Council's marine section and Vice President of Gulf Oil Mimi Jung (born 1981), artist
K Bob Kane (1915–1998), comic book artist and writer, creator of BatmanBoxer, Sarah. "Bob Kane, 83, the Cartoonist Who Created 'Batman,' Is Dead", The New York Times, November 7, 1998. Retrieved August 28, 2008. Gideon Kanner, law professor, consultant, author, and lecturer Michael Kasha (1920–2013), physical chemist, educator, and guitar designer Alex Katz, figurative artist Luke A. Keenan (1872-1924), politician Arthur C. Keller (1901-1983), electrical engineer; pioneer of recording technologies Otto Kempner (1858-1914), lawyer, politician, and judge Owen M. Kiernan, member of the New York State Assembly Owen Kildare (1864-1911), realist writer Dave King, novelist and poet William King (1925–2015), artist R.B. Kitaj (1932–2007), painter Murray S. Klamkin (1921-2004), mathematician Vera Klement, professor at the University of Chicago Herman Charles Koenig (18931959), book collector, friend of H. P. Lovecraft Fred Kohler, inventor, author, and lecturer Lee Krasner (1908–1984), painter Kathleen Kucka, painter Heather Kulik, computational materials scientist and chemical engineer; professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Moses Kunitz (1887-1978), biochemist Harvey Kurtzman (1924–1993), cartoonist, editor and co-founder of Mad
L
Lucien Marc Smith, American artist, designer, philanthropist, and restauranteur Lokanātha, Italian buddhist monk. Marisa Lago, attorney; Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Alfred A. Lama (1899–1984), New York State Assemblyman and co-sponsor of Mitchell-Lama housing legislation Thomas W. Lamb (1871–1942), architect and designer of theaters and cinemas Morgan Foster Larson (1882–1961), Governor of New Jersey, 1929–1932 Benjamin Lax (1915-2015), solid-state and plasma physicist Joseph Lechleider (1933-2015), electrical engineer; inventor of DSL technology Aaron J. Levy (1881-1955), lawyer and politician Janet Cook Lewis, painter, librarian, and bookbinder Daniel Libeskind, architect for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center Whitfield Lovell, artist Herb Lubalin (1918–1981), graphic designer, creative director for publications Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde; designed the typeface ITC Avant Garde Samuel Lubkin (1906-1972), mathematician and computer scientist; pioneer in the early history of computing Marie Luhring Early woman truck designer in United States, first woman associate member of the American Society of Automotive Engineers Ellen Lupton, graphic designer, writer, curator and educator Wauhope Lynn (1856–1920), lawyer, judge, and politician Noah Lyon, artist
M Jay Maisel, photographer Sylvia Plimack Mangold Fred Marcellino (1939–2001), illustrator Christian Marclay, artist, composer Judith Margolis, artist, essayist, book designer, curator Joseph Margulies (1896–1984), artist Jacob Marks (1861–1965), lawyer, New York State Senator, Municipal Court Justice Leonidas D. Marinelli (1906-1974), radiological physicist; founded the field of Human Radiobiology Leslie Martinez, artist, abstract painting