Default | NEWS

4/29/2004 12:15:00 AM

Tapia to collect honors for efforts to recruit minority students in science, engineering

A hectic month of May is ahead for Rice mathematician Richard Tapia. Tapia is nationally known for his efforts to recruit underrepresented minorities into science and engineering, and once commencement is over, he’ll be busy collecting a series of honors across the nation.

Tapia will receive an honorary degree from Carnegie Mellon University May 15, and he’ll be honored the following week by the alumni association of his alma mater, the University of California at Los Angeles, with the 2004 UCLA Award in Community Service.

The honorary degree is Tapia’s second in six months. He received the other in December from the Colorado School of Mines.

In July, Tapia will receive the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. The American Mathematical Society honored him with its Distinguished Public Service Award in January.

Tapia’s work is also drawing attention from those outside academia. He was recently named one of the 50 Most Important Hispanics in Technology and Business for 2004 by Hispanic Engineer and Information Technology Magazine.

Tapia, the Noah Harding Professor of Computational and Applied Mathematics, also serves as associate director of graduate studies and as director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education.

Tapia is a founding member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), the premier professional organization for Hispanic and Native American scientists. Among his many honors, Tapia was the first native-born Hispanic inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, and he was appointed by President Clinton to the National Science Board in 1996. That same year, Tapia was again recognized by the White House with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.