Richard Rusczyk

Richard Rusczyk was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho in 1971. He signed up for the MathCounts program when he was in middle school. As a high schooler, Rusczyk was a part of his high school math team and took part in the American Mathematics Competitions.{{Cite magazine |last=Chen |first=Ingfei |date=November 12, 2021 |title=Richard Rusczyk's Worldwide Math Camp |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/richard-rusczyks-worldwide-math-camp |access-date=April 7, 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker}} Rusczyk would later go on to win the USA Math Olympiad (USAMO) and make the alternates for the USA team for the International Math Olympiad (IMO).{{Citation |title=AMA with Sal Khan and Richard Rusczyk |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO4ZYEvtwxs |access-date=2023-11-11 |language=en}} Rusczyk would later go on to attend Princeton University, which he graduated from in 1993.{{Cite web |date=April 7, 2023 |title=The Art of Problem Solving Initiative |url=https://artofproblemsolving.org/people.html }} After graduating from college, Rusczyk went to graduate school which he would later quit to pursue becoming a high school teacher.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB8LaKAUGgU |title=Richard Rusczyk: Art of Problem Solving, AoPS, Chief Executive Officer. A Profile. |language=en |access-date=2024-05-11 |via=www.youtube.com}}

In the years from 1993 to 1994,{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php/User:Azjps/Wikipedia#:~:text=5%20External%20links|title=First AoPS Books}}, Rusczyk and Sandor Lehoczky wrote the first and second issues of the Art of Problem Solving books, designed to prepare students for mathematical competitions by teaching them concepts and problem-solving methods rarely taught in school. These books lent their name to the company he founded in 2003{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php/Richard_Rusczyk#:~:text=Richard%20Rusczyk%20is%20the%20founder,Art%20of%20Problem%20Solving%20books.|title=Founder of AoPS}}.

After working for four years as a bond trader for D. E. Shaw & Co., Rusczyk created the Art of Problem Solving website, which provides resources for middle and high school students to develop their mathematics and problem-solving abilities{{cite web |url=https://www.commonsense.org/education/reviews/art-of-problem-solving#:~:text=The%20Art%20of%20Problem%20Solving,interactive%20courses%20for%20older%20students.|title=Explanation of AoPS Online Courses}}. These include real-time competitions to solve math problems and online courses with tools to learn how to solve problems with increasing difficulty as well as math forums, where a wiki is also hosted{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/?srsltid=AfmBOorSM7tBai9O_vGssWGOMJvzZ8bE6UPUTAV-Gx49LrgPfrSod4tl|title=AoPS Wiki}}.

Rusczyk founded and serves on the board of the nonprofit Art of Problem Solving Initiative{{cite web |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/20-1239616#:~:text=The%20Art%20of%20Problem%20Solving%20Initiative%2C%20Inc.%2C%20through%20its,talent%20from%20within%20underserved%20communities.|title=Description and Further Information Courses}}, which manages the United States of America Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS) and finances numerous local math initiatives around the United States. In 2012, Rusczyk won the Mathcounts distinguished alumnus award. In 2014, Rusczyk won the Paul Erdős Award from the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions.{{cite web |url=http://www.amt.edu.au/wfnmc/awards.html |title=WFNMC Awards |accessdate=March 18, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323130105/http://www.amt.edu.au/wfnmc/awards.html |archivedate=March 23, 2014 }}

Richard Rusczyk retired from his role as CEO of Art of Problem Solving on March 24, 2025.{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c75h3534319 |title=My Retirement & New Leadership at AoPS |accessdate=March 24, 2025}}

Richard Rusczyk has both authored and co-authored several textbooks for students in grades 5–12, including Pre-algebra, Introduction to Algebra, Introduction to Geometry, and many others{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/store?srsltid=AfmBOoqT7byjAiwFAa-IgtZqWRmhIDUw_xxJ2uaNt0b-T_IJgwPnu_Sf|title=AoPS Textbooks + Description of Contents}}.

During his studies at Princeton University, in the summer of 1990 after his first year of college, Richard Rusczyk, Sandor Lehoczky, and Sam Vandervelde from the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP) created a math competition named the Mandelbrot Competition. The scores for the competition were not as favorable as expected, leading Richard Rusczyk and Sandor Lehoczky to write the first entries in the Art of Problem Solving Series, Art of Problem Solving Volumes 1 and 2. {{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/company/history?srsltid=AfmBOopf3ir9I8iUGXN5LQJmTkOnhuA6FazOHg2vBX668WiVpZME4Lsd|title=Info on the Textbooks The Art of Problem Solving}}

1. The Art of Problem Solving: The Basics - Published 1993{{cite web |title=Further Textbook Information |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO}} w. Sandor Lehoczky
2. Art of Problem Solving, Volume 2: And Beyond - Published 1994{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO|title=Further Textbook Information}} w. Sandor Lehoczky
3. Introduction to Geometry - Published 2006{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO|title=Further Textbook Information}}
4. Introduction to Algebra - Published 2007{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO|title=Further Textbook Information}}
5. Intermediate Algebra - Published 2007{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO|title=Further Textbook Information}} w. Mathew Crawford
6. Precalculus - Published 2009{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO|title=Further Textbook Information}}
7. Prealgebra - Published 2011{{cite web |url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO|title=Further Textbook Information}} w. David Patrick, Ravi Boppana

Rusczyk studied chemical engineering at Princeton University and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1993. He previously served on the board for ARML and managed the Western ARML site.

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• [https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c864 Rusczyk's blog]

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Category:Living people

Category:American non-fiction writers

Category:Princeton University alumni

Category:1971 births

Category:Mathematics popularizers

Category:D. E. Shaw & Co. people

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