Richard Alfred Tapia (born March 25, 1939)[2] is an American mathematician and University Professor atRice University inHouston, Texas, the university's highest academic title.[3][4] In 1996,President Bill Clinton awarded Tapia with the Presidential Award for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Mentoring.[5] In 2011,President Obama awarded Tapia theNational Medal of Science.[6] He is currently the Maxfield and Oshman Professor of Engineering; Associate Director of Graduate Studies, Office of Research and Graduate Studies; and Director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education at Rice University.[7]
Richard Alfred Tapia was born on March 25, 1939[2] inSan Francisco, California to parents, Amado and Magda Tapia, who both emigrated to the United States from Mexico.[8] He and his twin brother were the oldest of five siblings, with two younger brothers and sister.[8] His father worked for Japanese-Americanhorticulturists in southern California.[9]
Tapia received hisB.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1961. He then earned hisM.A. in mathematics, also from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1966. In 1967, he received hisPh.D. fromUniversity of California, Los Angeles, in mathematics with the dissertation: "A Generalization ofNewton's Method with an Application to theEuler–Lagrange Equation"[10] under advisorsMagnus Hestenes and Charles Tompkins[11]
Tapia is currently the University Professor at Rice University. His professional academic career began in 1968 when he accept an assistant professor position at the Mathematics Research Center (MRC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After two years at the MRC, he moved to Rice University, where he remains to this day:
Tapia has published two books and authored or co-authored over 100 research papers in mathematics.[13]
Books
Tapia, Richard A.; Thompson, J.R. (1978).Nonparametric Density Estimation. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Tapia, Richard A.; Thompson, J.R. (1990).Nonparametric Function Estimation, Modeling, and Simulation. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).
In 1996,PresidentBill Clinton awarded Tapia the Presidential Award for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.[15] That same year, Clinton appointed Tapia to theNational Science Board, where he served until 2002.[14]
In 2001, the firstACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference was held in Houston, Texas with 164 attendees. The annual conference has grown to include thousands of attendees.[16]
In 2010, he was awarded theNational Medal of Science (Mathematics And Computer Science) for "For his pioneering and fundamental contributions in optimization theory and numerical analysis and for his dedication and sustained efforts in fostering diversity and excellence in mathematics and science education."[21] He received the award at theWhite House from PresidentBarack Obama on October 21, 2011.[22]
In 2014, Tapia received theVannevar Bush Award from theNational Science Foundation for "his distinguished contributions to mathematics....[and his] extraordinary leadership in increasing opportunities for underrepresented minorities in science and mathematics."[23] Also, in 2014,Blackwell-Tapia prize and conference were named for Tapia andDavid Blackwell.[24]
In 2016, Tapia received theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Public Engagement with Science Award. The award recognized Tapia for his “remarkable career blending world-class scholarship, admirable mentoring and profound contributions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and public engagement.”[25]
In 2022, Tapia published the bookLosing the Precious Few: How America Fails to Educate its Minorities in Science and Engineering.[27] The book examines the lack of representation of domestic minority groups in STEM fields, identifying key causes such as standardized testing, gaps in K-12 education, and racial biases. He emphasizes the importance of improving access to higher educationto address this disparity. The book offers insights for educators, students, and parents on fostering a more inclusive academic environment.[27]
Thompson, James R.; Tapia, Richard A. (1990).Nonparametric function estimation, modeling, and simulation. Philadelphia: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.ISBN0898712610.
"Tapia Video Biography", The Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics at Rice University.
