Richard Alfred Tapia (born March 25, 1938) is an American mathematician and University Professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas, the university's highest academic title. In 2011, President Obama awarded Tapia the National Medal of Science. 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. Tapia's mathematical research is focused on mathematical optimization and iterative methods for nonlinear problems. His current research is in the area of algorithms for constrained optimization and interior point methods for linear and nonlinear programming.

Early life and education

Tapia was born in Santa Monica, California to parents, Amado and Magda Tapia, who both emigrated to the United States from Mexico. His father worked for Japanese-American horticulturists in southern California. Tapia received his B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1961. He then earned his M.A. in mathematics, also from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1966. In 1967, he received his Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles, in mathematics with the dissertation: "A Generalization of Newton's Method with an Application to the Euler–Lagrange Equation" under the advisors: Magnus Hestenes, Charles Tompkins Tapia also holds honorary doctorates from Carnegie Mellon University and the Colorado School of Mines.

Career and awards

In 1992, Tapia became the first Hispanic elected to the National Academy of Engineering. In 1996, Tapia was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the National Science Board, he served until 2002. From 2001 to 2004, Tapia chaired the National Research Council's Board of Higher Education and workforce. In 2004, Tapia received the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Prize for Distinguished Service to the Profession, in Portland, and Distinguished Public Service Award, American Mathematical Society, in Phoenix. In 2009, he received Hispanic Heritage Award in Math and Science and he was chosen to have a "Celebration of Diversity in Computing" [conference] named after him (usually held annually or biennially ). In 2010, he was awarded the National 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." He received the award at the White House from President Barack Obama on October 21, 2011. In 2014, the Blackwell-Tapia prize and conference were named for Tapia and David Blackwell. In 2021, he received the award Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. In 2022, Tapia published the book Losing the Precious Few.

Personal life

He married Jean Tapia, a Nuyorican (daughter of Puerto Rican who grew up in New York) and had 2 children: Circee and Richard.