In January of 2008 the one hour documentary film "Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem," directed by George Csicsery, had its world premiere at the annual Joint Mathematics Meetings. Reaction to the film has been overwhelmingly favorable. The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) believes that the film deserves wider distribution, and this award will make the film available to the public through syndication by American Public Television (APT), thus making the film available for broadcast on more than 300 local public television stations throughout the U.S.
Recent public discussions of the influence of gender on scientific and mathematical aptitude make it particularly timely to showcase stories that defy negative stereotypes. Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem is unlike what is already available, especially since it is about a woman in an era where women had few opportunities to excel at the highest level. And Julia Robinson was remarkable by any standard. Her contributions as a mathematician were recognized as the first woman mathematician to be elected to the National Academy of Science, the first woman president of the American Mathematical Society, and as a MacArthur Fellow.
Recent public discussions of the influence of gender on scientific and mathematical aptitude make it particularly timely to showcase stories that defy negative stereotypes. Julia Robinson and Hilbert’s Tenth Problem is unlike what is already available, especially since it is about a woman in an era where women had few opportunities to excel at the highest level. And Julia Robinson was remarkable by any standard. Her contributions as a mathematician were recognized as the first woman mathematician to be elected to the National Academy of Science, the first woman president of the American Mathematical Society, and as a MacArthur Fellow. NSF funded the preparation of Julia Robinson and Hilbert’s Tenth Problem for syndication through American Public Television. Subsequent to required production work, promotional materials and a copy of the DVD were shipped to over 200 station managers in the public broadcasting system to alert them to the APT satellite feed scheduled for early October 2011. The film’s Web site (www.zalafilms.com/films/juliarobinson.html) was updated with news about the coming broadcasts, and several mass e-mail campaigns were organized as the program was scheduled for broadcast in different regions. The APT broadcast was launched on in October 2011, with first actual station broadcasts taking place on October 6, 2011. Data from TRAC media services shows that between October 2, 2011 and June 14, 2012, 266 stations covering 71.15% of the U. S. population scheduled 1441 broadcasts. The broadcasts are to continue through October 2014, at which time APT has the option to request a no-cost renewal of four years.
