Tapia named to Texas Science Hall of Fame

Tapia
named to Texas Science Hall of Fame
…………………………………………………………………

BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News Staff

A mathematician at Rice is among this year’s inductees
to the Texas Science Hall of Fame.

Richard Tapia,
the Noah Harding Professor of Computational and Applied
Mathematics, was chosen for his many contributions to mathematics
and education, including the nationally recognized model
program he established to produce more women and underrepresented
minority Ph.D.s in mathematics. Thirty-one mathematics students
have received Ph.D. degrees under Tapia’s direct supervision.

Tapia and 10
other Texans, including astronaut Mae Jemison and Nobel
laureates Hans Deisenhofer, Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein,
were inducted at a ceremony in January in San Antonio, where
efforts are under way to raise funds to build a facility
to house the Texas Science Hall of Fame.

“I was
extremely honored to be included in a group of such distinguished
individuals who had demonstrated science creativity in so
many original ways,” Tapia said.

The new inductees
were recognized in both houses of the Texas legislature
and commended by Gov. Rick Perry. Henry Cisneros, former
secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
spoke at the induction ceremony.

The Texas Science
Hall of Fame, established in 2000 by the Center for Leadership
in Science, Mathematics and Technology at the Alamo Community
College District, recognizes Texans who have played a major
role in significant scientific accomplishments in the state.

Tapia, who also
is director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education
and associate director of graduate studies for Rice’s
Office of Research and Graduate Studies, is internationally
known for his research in the computational and mathematical
sciences.

The complete
list of inductees to the Texas Science Hall of Fame can
be found on the Web at <www.texas
sciencesummit.org/halloffame/hof00.htm>.