Rick Durrettreceived his Ph.D. in Operations Research from Stanford University in 1976. After nine years at UCLA, where he worked closely with Tom Liggett, he moved to Cornell to join a probability group with Harry Kesten, Frank Spitzer, and Eugene Dynkin. Twenty-five years and two children later, he moved to Duke, where he was a James B. Duke Professor of Mathematics until he retired on July 1, 2023. He is the author of eight books and more than 240 journal articles. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007.

During his career he has supervised 51 Ph.D. students, mentored three dozen postdocs, and introduced a large number of undergraduates to mathematical research through one-on-one mentoring and summer research programs.