FACULTY AWARDS
R i c ha rd Ta pi a
Richard Tapia, University Professor, the Maxfield-Oshman Professor in Engineering and a professor of computational and applied mathematics, has earned the National Science Board’s (NSB) 2014 Vannevar Bush Award. The award is given annually to leaders in science and technology who have made contributions to the welfare of the nation through public service activities in science, technology and public policy. The NSB is the governing board of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and policy advisers to the president and Congress. Tapia joined the Rice faculty in 1970, and his research has focused on optimization theory and numerical analysis. As director of Rice’s Richard Tapia Center for Excellence and Equity, he has directed or co-directed more underrepresented minority and women doctoral students in mathematics than anyone in the country. Tapia also directs the NSF-funded Empowering Leadership Alliance, which engages underrepresented minority students in computing at research institutions nationwide.
National Scie nc e Board Va nnev a r B us h Aw a rd Tapia was the first Hispanic elected to the National Academy of Engineering, in 1992. Four years later he received the inaugural Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. That same year he earned a presidential appointment to the NSB, the nation’s highest scientific governing body. Among his many other honors, Tapia received the National Medal of Science from President Obama in 2011.
A m e ric an Ac ad e my o f Arts an d S c ie n c es F ellow
P ol D . Span os
40 RIC E ENGI NEERI NG
Pol Spanos, the Lewis B. Ryon Professor in Mechanical and Civil Engineering, and one of the world’s leading experts on the dynamics and vibrations of structural and mechanical systems, was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). A member of the National Academy of Engineering since 2005, Spanos’ research focuses on devising computational models with applications in vehicle and robot dynamics; estimation of seismic spectra; flow-induced vibrations of offshore rigs, marine risers and pipelines; certification of payloads in space shuttle and space station missions; directional oil-well drilling; vibration and aseismic protection of structures and equipment; wind loads simulation; and signal processing for electrocardiograms, electroencephalograms and bone mechanics.
Spanos has published more than 350 technical papers, authored or edited 18 books and supervised the theses of more than 75 master’s students and the dissertations of more than 55 doctoral students. He is a member of the Academy of Europe, the National Academy of Greece and the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Mechanics, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has twice received Rice’s George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching. Spanos earned a Ph.D. in applied mechanics from the California Institute of Technology in 1976 and joined the Rice faculty in 1984. Founded in 1780, the AAAS is among the oldest and most prestigious honorary societies in the country.