Rich was one of the first four Apple Fellows. He was awarded the Apple Fellow position for his efforts in graphics software development tools including compilers and hardware development.
As an Apple Fellow, Rich prototyped Apple's first portable, color and 68020 based Macintosh computers. He was responsible for the decision to use the Motorola MC68000 family of microprocessors for Apple's Lisa and Macintosh computers and was instrumental in the initial design of the Lisa.