mathematics

Richard Rusczyk

Richard Rusczyk is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Richard Rusczyk rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Richard Rusczyk belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Richard Rusczyk to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Richard Rusczyk from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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.

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. 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). Rusczyk attended Princeton University, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. After graduating from college, Rusczyk went to work as a bond trader at D. E. Shaw & Co. for four years, before pursuing becoming a high school teacher.

Art of Problem Solving Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) is an educational organization founded in 2003 by mathematician Richard Rusczyk. It provides textbooks, online courses, and community resources designed to help middle and high school students strengthen their mathematics and problem-solving skills, particularly in preparation for mathematics competitions.

History Between 1993 and 1994, Richard Rusczyk and Sandor Lehoczky authored the first two volumes of the Art of Problem Solving series. These books were designed to prepare students for mathematical competitions by teaching concepts and problem-solving techniques not typical in standard school curricula. The series later gave its name to the educational company Rusczyk founded in 2003. After completing his undergraduate studies at Princeton University, Rusczyk worked for several years as a bond trader at D. E. Shaw & Co. He later founded Art of Problem Solving in 2003, launching an online platform that offers instructional courses, discussion forums, a collaborative wiki, and interactive games such as For the Win (FTW) and Reaper and "Alcumus".

Initiatives Rusczyk founded the nonprofit Art of Problem Solving Initiative, which administers the United States of America Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS) and supports local mathematics programs across the United States. In 2012, Rusczyk received the Mathcounts Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2014, he was awarded the Paul Erdős Award by the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions.

Leadership On March 24, 2025, Rusczyk retired as chief executive officer of Art of Problem Solving. He was succeeded by Ben Kornell as CEO, with Andrew Sutherland appointed as chief product officer. However, as of February 9th, 2026, Rusczyk is returning as CEO to guide new initiatives. He continues to serve on the company’s board of directors.

Textbooks Richard Rusczyk has authored and co-authored several mathematics textbooks for students in grades 5–12, including Prealgebra, Introduction to Algebra, and Introduction to Geometry. After his first year at Princeton University, Rusczyk collaborated with Sandor Lehoczky and Sam Vandervelde to create the Mandelbrot Competition. Following the competition’s limited success, Rusczyk and Lehoczky began writing the first volumes of the Art of Problem Solving series.

Full list of (co)authored textbooks in published order The Art of Problem Solving: The Basics (1993), co-authored with Sandor Lehoczky Art of Problem Solving, Volume 2: And Beyond (1994), co-authored with Sandor Lehoczky Introduction to Geometry (2006) Introduction to Algebra (2007) Intermediate Algebra (2007), co-authored with Mathew Crawford Precalculus (2009) Prealgebra (2011), co-authored with David Patrick and Ravi Boppana

See also Mandelbrot Competition United States of America Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS) Mathcounts

Categories Mathematics education in the United States Educational websites American educational companies

References

External links Rusczyk's blog

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Rusczyk

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Rusczyk claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Richard Rusczyk before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Richard Rusczyk ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Richard Rusczyk

In research: Richard Rusczyk appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Richard Rusczyk in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Richard Rusczyk is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1971 births, American male non-fiction writers, American mathematician stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Rusczyk outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Richard Rusczyk in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Richard Rusczyk means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Richard Rusczyk out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Rusczyk in simple terms?

Why does Richard Rusczyk matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Richard Rusczyk?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Richard Rusczyk.