Rice University Computational Applied Mathematics and Operations Research

Richard Tapia, pioneering mathematician and advocate for diversity, passes away at 88 Richard A. Tapia, a distinguished professor at Rice and a trailblazing mathematician renowned for his dedication to increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in science and engineering, has passed away at age 88.

CMOR Senior Design Projects - Three teams made presentations of their design projects on April 22, 2026.

In CMOR 492 (Fall) and CMOR 493 (Spring) students engage in team-oriented year-long design projects that utilize modeling, analysis and scientific computing skills to solve problems motivated by an application in engineering, physical, biological or social sciences.

🎉 Celebrating excellence in CMOR at Rice Engineering!

Congratulations to our outstanding students recognized in this year’s Engineering Student Awards:

👏Patrick Batsell (B.A., Class of 2027) — Louise J. Walsh Scholarship
👏Yifan X. (B.S., Class of 2027) — REA Outstanding Student Award
👏Haozhe(Mike) Zhang(B.S., Class of 2028) — Louise J. Walsh Scholarship

These honors highlight the exceptional talent, dedication, and impact of CMOR students. We’re proud to see them recognized for their achievements and contributions within the Rice Engineering community.

Student Awards 2025-26 Fostering diversity and an intellectual environment, Rice University is a comprehensive research university located on a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas. Rice produces the next generation of leaders and advances tomorrow’s thinking.

CMOR Putcha Lecture Series: John Urschel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Title: Nodal Statistics for Graphs and Matrices

When: April 13, 2026, 4:00-5:00pm
Where: Ralph S. O'Connor Building, Room # 510

https://events.rice.edu/event/425877-cmor-putcha-lecture-series-john-urschel

About the Putcha Lecture Series:
The Lakshmi Narasimham and Rama Lakshmi Putcha Lecture Series (the Putcha Lecture Series) was established in 2021 with an endowment gift from Mallik Putcha, a systems engineer and independent consultant. The excellence fund and the lecture series are named in honor of Mallik Putcha’s parents who instilled in him the love of mathematics. Fittingly, the Putcha Lecture will highlight the latest research in computational applied mathematics or operations research while also including a personal story of the speaker to mathematics.

Harris County names Ship Channel Bridge for Rice mathematician Richard Tapia

Harris County names Ship Channel Bridge for Rice mathematician Richard Tapia In a unanimous vote, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved naming the Sam Houston Tollway Ship Channel Bridge in honor of Richard A. Tapia.

Today is the day! Will you be part of the 24-Hour Challenge to help us continue developing mathematical solutions to large-scale problems in cancer detection, convection modeling and more?

Your contribution to the CMOR Department Excellence Fund, no matter the size, directly supports our students and the department’s most pressing needs.

Make your gift before 11:59 pm CT to join the challenge.
https://www.givecampus.com/s/qs1nf4

The countdown is on: Tomorrow is Rice’s 24-Hour Challenge! A gift to the CMOR Department Excellence Fund empowers our faculty and students as they develop innovative algorithms to model complex challenges across science, healthcare, and engineering.

Make your gift early today! https://www.givecampus.com/s/qs1nf4

Early giving for Rice University's 24-Hour Challenge starts today!

Your gift to the CMOR Department Excellence Fund helps us continue developing cutting-edge solutions to real challenges across business, finance, oil and gas, energy, healthcare and more.

Make your gift: https://www.givecampus.com/s/qs1nf4

Mark your calendars for the 24-Hour Challenge on Wednesday, March 4! You can play a crucial part in Rice Engineering and Computing's mission of on this giving day.

When we reach 600 donors, we will unlock a $120,000 challenge gift from the Engineering Advisory Board for the Dean's Fund for Engineering Excellence—giving our students access to more research opportunities, career development support and more.

Stay tuned for 24-Hour Challenge giving opportunities!