Furman University has successfully educated numerous prominent individuals who achieved high-level national and international fame across science, business, entertainment, athletics, and public service. Among its most famous alumni are Charles Townes, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics and laid the theoretical groundwork for the laser; Brad Cox, creator of the Objective-C programming language; former CEO of Delta Air Lines David C. Garrett Jr.; acclaimed actor Ben Browder; comedian and actress Victoria Jackson; and Grammy-winning Christian recording artist Amy Grant, illustrating the institution's broad intellectual reach.