Richard Alfred Tapia is a renowned American mathematician and champion of under-represented minorities in the sciences. Richard was born on March 25, 1939 in Los Angeles. Tapia was the first in his family to attend college. He received B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from the University of California-Los Angeles. In 1967 he joined the Department of Mathematics at UCLA and then spent two years on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Tapia has authored or co-authored two books and over 80 mathematical research papers. He has delivered numerous invited addresses at national and international mathematical conferences and serves on several NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARDS.

Richard Tapia was a 2010 awardee of the National Medal of Science, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers, he was the first Hispanic elected to the National Academy of Engineering.