Dr. Richard A. Tapia is internationally recognized for his research in computational and mathematical sciences. In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded him the National Medal of Science—the highest honor given by the U.S. government to a scientist or engineer. He is also a renowned national leader in education and outreach. At Rice University in Houston, Texas, Tapia holds the titles of University Professor (one of only ten in the university’s 100-year history), Maxfield and Oshman Chair in Engineering, professor in the Department of Computational Applied Mathematics and Operations Research, and Faculty Director of the Tapia Center.
Born in Los Angeles to parents who emigrated separately from Mexico as teenagers, Tapia was the first in his family to attend college. He earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in mathematics from UCLA. He joined the UCLA mathematics faculty in 1967, later teaching at the University of Wisconsin before moving to Rice University in 1970. He became a full professor in 1976 and chaired the department from 1978 to 1983. Tapia has authored or co-authored two books and over 100 research papers in mathematics.
You Belong
Tapia has received numerous awards throughout his career. In 1992, he became the first Hispanic elected to the National Academy of Engineering. In 1996, he received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. That same year, President Bill Clinton appointed him to the National Science Board, where he served until 2002. He was the first Hispanic recipient of the National Science Board’s Vannevar Bush Award, and in 2016, he received the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Public Engagement with Science Award. From 2001 to 2004, Tapia chaired the National Research Council’s Board on Higher Education and the Workforce.
Professor Tapia is recognized as a leader in his field, delivering numerous invited addresses at national and international mathematics conferences and providing leadership at the national level. Two professional conferences have been named in his honor.
