Unexpected Scientists: Famous People with Science Backgrounds

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The discussion revolves around the surprising academic backgrounds of various well-known figures, particularly in science and engineering. Participants share notable examples, including Rowan Atkinson with a Master's in Electrical Engineering, Angela Merkel with a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, and Tim Berners-Lee, who holds a degree in Physics. Other mentions include Brian Kernighan, a co-inventor of the C programming language, and Greg Graffin from the band Bad Religion, who has a Ph.D. in Biology. The conversation also touches on unexpected degrees held by public figures, such as Osama bin Laden's alleged civil engineering background and the scientific credentials of various entertainers. The thread highlights the intersection of fame and academic achievement, emphasizing how these backgrounds can be surprising given their public personas.
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Hi all.

During the past, there have been a few times where I have looked up someones profile online ("someone" meaning e.g. politicians, actors etc.) to find out that they have a background in physics/engineering.

I thought it could be fun to make a list of these "discoveries".

Mine are

Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) holds a M.Sc. in EE
Angela Merkel (the Prime Minister of Germany) holds a Ph.d. in physical chemistry
Brian Kernighan (one of the inventors of C) holds a B.Sc. in engineering physics
Tim Berners-Lee (invented the WWW) holds a B.Sc. in physics
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Why are the last two surprising?
 
They were for me. I thought they were computer scientists.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_May" , lead guitarist for Queen...and an astrophysicist.
 
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Sarah Palin has a B.S... that surprised me.
 
I don't want to bother looking them up, but many of the writers for Futurama hold PhD's in various maths and sciences.
 
Philip Rosedale the founder of Second Life was a physics major.
 
Sorry! said:
Sarah Palin has a B.S... that surprised me.

depends on what B.S. stands for...
 
Maggie Thatcher (British PM in the 80s) had a BSc in chemistry. In an interview somebody asked if her science knowledge had every come in handy, she mentioned some report on US star-wars where the advocate had said they need 10^20W (or whatever) to shoot down a missile and in tests had managed 10^10W - the other politicians had said "excellent so we are half-way there"!
 
  • #11
Oh yeah, I forgot me... Flatmaster Physics major, chem minor. I might have a masters in science education, I'm not sure.
 
  • #12
flatmaster said:
Oh yeah, I forgot me... Flatmaster Physics major, chem minor. I might have a masters in science education, I'm not sure.

...an unexpected Master's degree...?
 
  • #13
Random credits from several universities. Someone might give me a masters.
 
  • #14
Lizzy Hawker -one of the best ultramarathon runners in the world- has a PhD in environmental science (as far as I remebember she is an oceanographer)

Greg Graffin (singer in the punk-rock band Bad Religion) has a PhD in biology and actually teaches a course at UCLA...
 
  • #16
  • #17
or civil ungineering
 
  • #18
lisab said:
Sure it's not uncivil engineering?

Or civil deengineering?
 
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  • #20
Lots of rich Saudis are educated in the sciences. The men, at least.
 
  • #21
Isaac Asimov had a Ph.D. in biochemistry (okay, so that's probably not so surprising; many SF types have Ph.Ds or at least a degree or two in hard sciences / engineering):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov

and Alfred Hitchcock went to Engineering school:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock

EDIT: Another list, but mostly Civil types. I'd heard somewhere that Carlos Mencia was an EE:
http://ertw.com/engineering/FamousEngineers.html

Also, Dolph Lundgren (the giant Russian from Rocky IV) has a Master's in Chemical Engineering:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolph_Lundgren
 
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  • #22
Taxi's Judd Hirsch has a degree in physics.
 
  • #23
Ashton Kutcher was in biomedical engineering before leaving uni because he was making more money modeling.
 
  • #24
Topher925 said:
Osama bin Laden apparently might have a degree in civil engineering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden

Random fact: After the 9/11 attacks he said he was surprised the towers collapsed. Being a civil engineer, that's not just a random guess.
 
  • #25
f95toli said:
Greg Graffin (singer in the punk-rock band Bad Religion) has a PhD in biology and actually teaches a course at UCLA...
I remember hearing them in interview a while back saying that all of the members had degrees. I don't remember who had what though and I am sure that their line up has changed since then.

I've heard that all of the members of GWAR have had white collar office jobs and that the original purpose of their costumes and fake names was to keep people from finding out who they really were. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any sites talking about what their real day jobs are/were. I wonder if any of them are scientists or engineers.
 
  • #26
Elena Ceausescu, wife of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, was a polymer chemist. Her scientific achievements are disputed; she probably forced prominent scientists to write papers in her name.
 
  • #27
Eva Longoria (from Desperative Housewives) has a B.Sc. in kinesiology
 
  • #28
Niles said:
Eva Longoria (from Desperative Housewives) has a B.Sc. in kinesiology

That's really not surprising. One of my roommates is a kinesiology grad student. All he does it talk about how much weight he just lifted and his time for his last run.
 
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  • #29
maverick_starstrider said:
That's really not surprising. One of my roommates is a kinesiology grad student. All he does it talk about how much weight he just lifted and his time for his last run.

The universities around here kinesiology is pretty hard to get into. Actually it's easier to get into something like biomedical sciences than kines...
 
  • #31
Sorry! said:
The universities around here kinesiology is pretty hard to get into. Actually it's easier to get into something like biomedical sciences than kines...

Is biomedical science hard to get into?
 
  • #32
ed witten has a BA in history
 
  • #33
Niles said:
They were for me. I thought they were computer scientists.

Are you saying computer scientists aren't scientists...because that doesn't make any sense at all.
 
  • #34

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