Richard Tapia
| Richard A. Tapia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 25, 1939 Los Angeles |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Rice University |
| Alma mater | UCLA |
| Doctoral advisor | Magnus Hestenes, Charles Tompkins |
| Known for | mathematical optimization, |
| Notable awards | Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, National Medal of Science |
Richard Alfred Tapia (born March 25, 1939) is an American mathematician and champion of under-represented minorities in the sciences. In recognition of his broad contributions, in 2005, Tapia was named "University Professor" at Rice University in Houston, Texas, the University's highest academic title. The honor has been bestowed on only six professors in Rice's ninety-nine-year history. On September 28, 2011, President Barack Obama announced that Tapia was among twelve scientists to be awarded the National Medal of Science, the top award the United States offers its researchers. Tapia 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.
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