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Scientist Exhibit

Julia Robinson

Mathematics

1919 – 1985 United States

Made decisive contributions to the solution of Hilbert’s Tenth Problem

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Julia Robinson

Overview

About Julia Robinson

Julia Robinson was a mathematician and logician whose work was central to resolving Hilbert’s Tenth Problem. She investigated whether there could be a general algorithm for determining when Diophantine equations have integer solutions and developed key ideas connecting number theory with computability. Her work, together with contributions by Martin Davis, Hilary Putnam, and Yuri Matiyasevich, led to the proof that no such universal algorithm exists. Robinson was the first woman president of the American Mathematical Society.

Scientific Contribution

Key Discovery

Hilbert's Tenth Problem

Decisive contributions to the theory that led to the proof that no general algorithm can determine whether arbitrary Diophantine equations have integer solutions.

Life Timeline

Important Moments

1948

education

Receives her doctorate and begins work on Hilbert's Tenth Problem

Robinson completed her doctorate at Berkeley and immediately began research on Hilbert's Tenth Problem.

1951

publication

Publishes an iterative method for solving games

Robinson published an important convergence result for finite two-person zero-sum games.

1970

discovery

Contributes to the solution of Hilbert's Tenth Problem

The work of Robinson, Martin Davis and Hilary Putnam formed a crucial part of the chain of results completed by Yuri Matiyasevich in 1970, proving that no general algorithm exists for Hilbert's Tenth Problem.

1976

award

Is elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Robinson became the first woman mathematician elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

1982

career

Becomes the first woman president of the American Mathematical Society

Robinson became the first woman to serve as president of the American Mathematical Society.

Places & Networks

Institutions