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Default | NEWS
10/31/2002 12:08:00 AM
Tapia to be honored, continues efforts for minorities BY JADE BOYD Richard Tapia,
the Noah Harding Professor of Computational and Applied
Mathematics, will be one of the guests of honor this week
at the second Blackwell-Tapia Conference at the University
of California–Berkeley. The two-day conference honors Tapia and mathematician David Blackwell for both their academic achievements and their longstanding efforts to create, support and maintain opportunities for minority scientists, statisticians and mathematicians across the nation. The conference
is sponsored by UC–Berkeley’s Mathematical Sciences
Research Institute and Cornell University. The conference
begins Nov. 1 and will include the awarding of the first
Blackwell-Tapia Prize to Arlie O. Petters, professor of
mathematics at Duke University. The Blackwell-Tapia prize
honors a mathematical scientist who is not only a noted
researcher but also a mentor and a champion of efforts to
overcome the underrepresenta-tion of minorities in mathematics. Tapia has received numerous honors for his efforts to mentor students and promote mathematics education for underrepresented minorities, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in 1996. Blackwell, the
first African American named to the National Academy of
Sciences, is professor emeritus of statistics at UC–Berkeley. In related news, Tapia and other members of the blue-ribbon panel Building Engineering and
Science Talent (BEST) appeared before Congress in September
to present the report “Quiet Crisis,” which documents
the supply and demand imbalance the nation faces regarding
scientists, engineers and other technical professionals. In his testimony,
Tapia said research institutions need to examine their culture
to ensure that efforts to increase participation of underrepresented
minorities will succeed. He emphasized that success in promoting
these minorities in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics at research institutions requires a champion,
a respected senior faculty member who understands university
culture and the demands of a research career. “This cannot be done by a diversity officer who has never had a research career,” Tapia told Congress. “Faculty won’t listen to them, and faculty buy-in is absolutely critical to this effort. Top-level university administration support is important, but the work of producing graduate students is done at the faculty level.” |
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