Rutgers People and Innovations: Changing Lives around the World
Throughout our 250-year history, Rutgers has produced world-renowned authors and artists, soldiers and scientists, governors, senators, and Supreme Court justices. Among these men and women are individuals who have been truly revolutionary—courageous students, professors, and alumni who changed the world. They include inventors, civil rights leaders, and others who have been responsible for everything from medical breakthroughs and genome sequencing to prison reform and improving airplane safety. Being a member of the Rutgers community is being part of a proud tradition of visionaries who have had a profound impact on many lives. We hope their stories will inspire others to follow their lead.
The Rutgers Revolutionary Series is produced by the Rutgers University Department of University Communications and Marketing, Rutgers University Libraries, and Rutgers University Alumni Association. Stories in the series can be viewed as a collection in booklet form and individually.
View the ebook. Download the PDF.
Oscar Auerbach | Julia Baxter Bates | Mary I. Bunting | James Dale | Simeon De Witt | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Michael Gottlieb | Christian Lambertsen | Katherine Lau | George McLaughlin | Joachim Messing | Thomas Nosker | Amanda O'Keefe | Bill Rasmussen | Paul Robeson | Donald Roden | Peter Rodino | Constantine Sarkos | Oscar Schofield, Scott Glenn, and the Marine Team | Selman Waksman
Oscar Auerbach • Professor Proved the Case against Tobacco Use
His work led to the 1964 U.S. Surgeon General Report directly linking smoking to lung cancer.
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Julia Baxter Bates • Proving the Scientific Case for Public School Desegregation
An unsung hero of the civil rights movement, the Rutgers alumna fought racism from within the system—and won.
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Mary I. Bunting • Dean Led Coeducation Fight at Top Universities
The program she created at Rutgers in 1958 for nontraditional female students lives on in her name at Douglass Residential College.
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James Dale • Alumnus Put a Spotlight on Discrimination against Gays
A legal challenge to the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gay scouts catalyzed the acceptance of gay youths as members.
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Simeon De Witt • Letters from the Revolutionary War
Simeon De Witt and his former classmates kept in touch through eight years of war.
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Our Revolutionary Spirit Film
Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Former Rutgers Law Professor Led the Campaign for Gender Equality
She recognized discriminatory laws hurt women—and men—and sought to revamp them one case at a time.
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Our Revolutionary Spirit Film
Michael Gottlieb • Alumnus First Identified AIDS
When the world was slow to grasp the epidemic's magnitude, he also became a leading AIDS activist.
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Christian Lambertsen • Alumnus Was a Father of Scuba Gear
His invention helped win World War II.
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Katherine Lau • A New Hand for Hailey
Biomedical engineering student led team that built 3-D-printed prosthesis for preschooler.
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NJTV Video
George McLaughlin • Fought for Civil Rights at a Woolworths Lunch Counter
Nonviolent protests and lunch counter sit-ins sparked national interest in the fight against segregation.
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Joachim Messing • Feeding the World
Microbiologist helped crack the genetic code that revolutionized medicine and agriculture.
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Thomas Nosker • Recycled Plastic Lumber Invented by Professor
His synthetic lumber—made from recycled plastic bottles, coffee cups, and other plastics—is used in bridges, railway ties, docks, and more.
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Amanda O'Keefe • Law Student Untangles Web of Services for the Developmentally Disabled
Amanda O'Keefe launched LEAD to improve her sister's quality of life and ease the plight of caregivers in her community.
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Bill Rasmussen • Alumnus Founded ESPN, Creating First 24-Hour TV Network
The self-proclaimed "sports junkie" changed sports broadcasting and how the world watches television.
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Paul Robeson • Renaissance Man Fought Injustice
Scholar, athlete was renowned international entertainer and human rights advocate.
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Our Revolutionary Spirit Film
Donald Roden • Professor Founded a Prison-to-College Program That Provides a Second Chance
The Mountainview Project at Rutgers has produced national scholars.
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NJTV Video
Peter Rodino • Alumnus Championed the Constitution
The House Judiciary Committee chair's nonpartisan conduct of the Watergate hearings ultimately led to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
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Constantine Sarkos • Alumnus Leads the FAA's Effort to Reduce Airliner Fire Hazards
His innovations give passengers precious extra time to escape plane crashes.
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Rutgers Today Video
Oscar Schofield, Scott Glenn, and the Marine Team • A New World Underwater
Rutgers scientists forever changed the field of oceanography and our understanding of weather and marine life.
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Selman Waksman • Nobel Prize Winner Advanced the Golden Age of Antibiotics
His work led to the discovery of at least 20 antibiotics, including streptomycin, the first effective treatment for tuberculosis.
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Our Revolutionary Spirit Film
