Richard A. Tapia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 25, 1938 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) |
| Known for | Mathematical optimization |
| Awards | Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, National Medal of Science |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Rice University |
| Thesis | A Generalization of Newton's Method with an Application to the Euler-Lagrange Equation |
| Doctoral advisor | Magnus Hestenes Charles Brown Tompkins |
| Doctoral students | Jorge Nocedal |
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.[1][2] In 2011, President Obama awarded Tapia the National Medal of Science.[3] 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.[4]
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.
- ^ "Award #0634516 — Empowering Leadership: Computing Scholars of Tomorrow". National Science Foundation. March 1, 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-06. Tapia is the Principal investigator on a $2 million NSF grant (2007-2010) addressing networking for a "minority student or faculty at a majority institution".
- ^ "Tapia promoted to University Professor: Hispanic pioneer earns university's top academic title" (Press release). Rice University. October 14, 2005.
- ^ "Twelve Researchers Take Home Top Medals". Science Insider. September 28, 2011. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
- ^ "Richard A. Tapia — Brief Bio". Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics, Rice University.