Clinton Nominates Tapia to National Science Board

CONTACT: Lia Unrau
PHONE: (713) 831-4793

CLINTON NOMINATES TAPIA TO NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD

President Clinton has announced his intention to
nominate Richard A. Tapia, Noah Harding Professor of Computational and Applied
Mathematics at Rice University, to the National Science Board.

Tapia is an expert in the field of computational and applied mathematics, and
he has received numerous awards for his significant contributions to minority
education. He is director of human resources and education for the Center for
Research on Parallel Computation (CRPC), headquartered at Rice.

Tapia directs the Spend a Summer with a Scientist program, which brings
minority students to campus during the summer to assist a faculty member with
research. He also established the CRPC Mathematical and Computational Sciences
Awareness Workshops, which teach elementary and secondary teachers about
opportunities in math and science for minorities.

Tapia formerly served on the National Board of Directors of the Society for
Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Sciences, and he is a member of
the National Academy of Engineering. Tapia earned his Ph.D. from the University
of California, Los Angeles.

“This is an extremely important time to have strong leadership from the board
in developing NSF policies,” Tapia said. “These are trying times, and some hard
financial decisions will have to be made. I’m looking forward to being involved
with those decisions, and sharing my understanding.”

Malcolm Gillis, Rice University president, said, “This is a richly deserved
honor for one of Rice’s most outstanding faculty. We are immensely proud of
Richard’s contributions to engineering and science and his efforts to make math
and science education more accessible and interesting for minority students. We
are very pleased, but not surprised, that President Clinton would select
Professor Tapia for membership on the National Science Board.”

Michael M. Carroll, dean of engineering at Rice, said, “As an award winning
teacher, outstanding researcher and research mentor, and very effective
administrator in the area of minority recruitment and retention, Richard Tapia
is a most appropriate selection for the National Science Board. I am delighted
to have one of our distinguished faculty as a member of this influential policy
making group.”

The National Science Board (NSB) is the governing body of the National
Science Foundation. Established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950,
the NSB has 24 members appointed by the president with the advice and consent of
the Senate. Members serve six-year rotating terms, and eight members are
appointed every two years. The board members are selected from industry and
academia, and they represent a variety of science and engineering disciplines.
They are selected for their distinguished service in research, education or
public service.

Members of the NSB will recommend broad national policies for promoting basic
research and education in the sciences and engineering. Tapia is one of three
nominees Clinton announced on Friday.

The other nominees are Mary K. Gaillard, professor of physics at the
University of California, Berkeley, and faculty senior scientist at Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory; and Eamon M. Kelly, president of Tulane University
in New Orleans and an economist in the fields of applied economics and health
development.

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