Richard Rusczyk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Rusczyk
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Born | Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S.
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September 21, 1971
Alma mater | Princeton University |
Known for | Art of Problem Solving |
Spouse(s) | Vanessa Rusczyk |
Awards | World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions Paul Erdös Award (2014) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics |
Institutions | Art of Problem Solving |
Richard Rusczyk was born on September 21, 1971. He is well-known for creating the Art of Problem Solving. This company helps students learn math and problem-solving skills. It includes a popular website with online classes and a math forum.
Richard Rusczyk also co-wrote the Art of Problem Solving textbooks. He was a top math student himself. He participated in Mathcounts in 1985. In 1989, he won the USA Math Olympiad. He also helped create the Mandelbrot Competition.
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Richard Rusczyk's Early Life
Richard Rusczyk was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho in 1971. When he was in middle school, he joined the MathCounts program. In high school, he was part of his school's math team. He also took part in the American Mathematics Competitions.
Later, Rusczyk won the USA Math Olympiad. He was also an alternate for the USA team in the International Math Olympiad. After high school, he went to Princeton University. He graduated from Princeton in 1993. He then started graduate school but left to become a high school teacher.
All About Art of Problem Solving
In 1994, Richard Rusczyk and Sandor Lehoczky wrote the first Art of Problem Solving books. These books were made to help students get ready for math competitions. They teach math ideas and ways to solve problems that schools often don't cover. The company Richard founded in 2003 was named after these books.
After working for a few years, Rusczyk created the Art of Problem Solving website. This website offers many tools for middle and high school students. It helps them improve their math and problem-solving skills. The site has real-time math challenges. It also has online tools to learn how to solve harder problems. There are also math forums where students can discuss problems.
As of late 2023, over a million students have used the site. There are millions of posts and topics on the forums. The Art of Problem Solving also offers online math classes for a fee. These classes cover many levels, from Prealgebra to advanced topics like Calculus. They even offer Python programming classes. There are also special Olympiad-level classes in Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Computer Science, called WOOT.
Rusczyk also started a non-profit group called the Art of Problem Solving Initiative. This group helps manage the United States of America Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS). It also helps fund local math programs across the United States. In 2012, Rusczyk received the Mathcounts distinguished alumnus award. In 2014, he won the Paul Erdős Award for his work in math education. The Art of Problem Solving community has over 500,000 people who love math, computer science, and physics.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Mathcounts was canceled. Art of Problem Solving stepped in to host an online Mathcounts Week. They also hosted other major math competitions online. These included the American Invitational Mathematics Examination and the American Mathematics Competitions in 2021 and 2022.
Art of Problem Solving Website Features
The Art of Problem Solving website is home to many online math courses. These courses include sets of problems for homework. The website also has many forums. Here, users can post math problems and play math and strategy games. The Art of Problem Solving wiki provides many formulas and extra information. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the website also started hosting several math and science competitions. These include the American Mathematics Competitions, American Invitational Mathematics Examination, United States of America Mathematical Olympiad, and Mathcounts.
Art of Problem Solving Textbooks
Richard Rusczyk has written and co-written several textbooks. These books are for students in grades 5–12. Some titles include Pre-algebra, Introduction to Algebra, and Introduction to Geometry. He also wrote the Art of Problem Solving Volumes 1 and 2 with Sandor Lehoczky while at Princeton University.
Richard Rusczyk's Academic Background
Richard Rusczyk studied chemical engineering at Princeton University. He graduated with high honors in 1993. He also served on the board for ARML. He managed the Western ARML competition site.