Richard A. Tapia
Richard A. Tapia | |
|---|---|
Tapia in 2011 | |
| Born | Richard Alfred Tapia March 25, 1939 |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (BA, MA, PhD) |
| Known for | Mathematical optimization |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Rice University |
| Thesis | A Generalization of Newton's Method with an Application to the Euler-Lagrange Equation (1967) |
| Doctoral advisor | Magnus Hestenes Charles Brown Tompkins |
| Other academic advisors | David A. Sánchez |
| Doctoral students | |
Richard Alfred Tapia (born March 25, 1939) is an American mathematician and University Professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas, the university's highest academic title. In 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded Tapia with the Presidential Award for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Mentoring. 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 centered on mathematical optimization and iterative methods for nonlinear problems, with his current work focused on algorithms for constrained optimization and interior point methods for linear and nonlinear programming.