Robert Henry Risch (born 1939) is an American mathematician who worked on computer algebra and is known for his work on symbolic integration, specifically the Risch algorithm.[1] This result was quoted as a milestone in the development of mathematics:
Calculus students worldwide depend on the algorithm, whenever they appeal to Wolfram Alpha to do their homework.[2]
He is also known for results on algebraic properties of elementary functions.[3] He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1968[4] under the supervision of Maxwell A. Rosenlicht.[5] After his PhD, he worked at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center Mathematics of AI group[6] and, between 1970 and 1972, the Institute for Advanced Study.[7]