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Richard Rusczyk
American mathematician

Richard Rusczyk ; born September 21, 1971) is an American mathematician. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Art of Problem Solving Inc. and a co-author of the Art of Problem Solving textbooks. Rusczyk was a national Mathcounts participant in 1985, and he won the USA Math Olympiad (USAMO) in 1989. He is one of the co-creators of the Mandelbrot Competition, and a former director of the USA Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS). He also founded the San Diego Math Circle.

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Early life

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.1 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).2 Rusczyk would later go on to attend Princeton University, which he graduated from in 1993.3 After graduating from college, Rusczyk went to graduate school which he would later quit to pursue becoming a high school teacher.4

Art of Problem Solving

In the years from 1993 to 1994,5, 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 20036.

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 abilities7. 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 hosted8.

Rusczyk founded and serves on the board of the nonprofit Art of Problem Solving Initiative9, 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.10

Richard Rusczyk retired from his role as CEO of Art of Problem Solving on March 24, 2025.11

Textbooks

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 others12.

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. 13

Full List of (Co)authored Textbooks In Published Order

  1. The Art of Problem Solving: The Basics - Published 199314 w. Sandor Lehoczky
  2. Art of Problem Solving, Volume 2: And Beyond - Published 199415 w. Sandor Lehoczky
  3. Introduction to Geometry - Published 200616
  4. Introduction to Algebra - Published 200717
  5. Intermediate Algebra - Published 200718 w. Mathew Crawford
  6. Precalculus - Published 200919
  7. Prealgebra - Published 201120 w. David Patrick, Ravi Boppana

Academic background

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.

References

  1. Chen, Ingfei (November 12, 2021). "Richard Rusczyk's Worldwide Math Camp". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 7, 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/richard-rusczyks-worldwide-math-camp ↩

  2. AMA with Sal Khan and Richard Rusczyk, retrieved November 11, 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO4ZYEvtwxs ↩

  3. "The Art of Problem Solving Initiative". April 7, 2023. https://artofproblemsolving.org/people.html ↩

  4. Richard Rusczyk: Art of Problem Solving, AoPS, Chief Executive Officer. A Profile. Retrieved May 11, 2024 – via www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB8LaKAUGgU ↩

  5. "First AoPS Books". https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php/User:Azjps/Wikipedia#:~:text=5%20External%20links ↩

  6. "Founder of AoPS". https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php/Richard_Rusczyk#:~:text=Richard%20Rusczyk%20is%20the%20founder,Art%20of%20Problem%20Solving%20books. ↩

  7. "Explanation of AoPS Online Courses". https://www.commonsense.org/education/reviews/art-of-problem-solving#:~:text=The%20Art%20of%20Problem%20Solving,interactive%20courses%20for%20older%20students. ↩

  8. "AoPS Wiki". https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/?srsltid=AfmBOorSM7tBai9O_vGssWGOMJvzZ8bE6UPUTAV-Gx49LrgPfrSod4tl ↩

  9. "Description and Further Information Courses". https://www.guidestar.org/profile/20-1239616#:~:text=The%20Art%20of%20Problem%20Solving%20Initiative%2C%20Inc.%2C%20through%20its,talent%20from%20within%20underserved%20communities. ↩

  10. "WFNMC Awards". Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140323130105/http://www.amt.edu.au/wfnmc/awards.html ↩

  11. "My Retirement & New Leadership at AoPS". Retrieved March 24, 2025. https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c75h3534319 ↩

  12. "AoPS Textbooks + Description of Contents". https://artofproblemsolving.com/store?srsltid=AfmBOoqT7byjAiwFAa-IgtZqWRmhIDUw_xxJ2uaNt0b-T_IJgwPnu_Sf ↩

  13. "Info on the Textbooks The Art of Problem Solving". https://artofproblemsolving.com/company/history?srsltid=AfmBOopf3ir9I8iUGXN5LQJmTkOnhuA6FazOHg2vBX668WiVpZME4Lsd ↩

  14. "Link to Further Textbook Information". https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO ↩

  15. "Further Textbook Information". https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO ↩

  16. "Further Textbook Information". https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO ↩

  17. "Further Textbook Information". https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO ↩

  18. "Further Textbook Information". https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO ↩

  19. "Further Textbook Information". https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO ↩

  20. "Further Textbook Information". https://artofproblemsolving.com/store/list/all-products?srsltid=AfmBOopooY_PA7FSKVCi3U9djIHkPCPVLMKaTe7TU0cNXd6lUEE7r0mO ↩