Julia Hall Bowman Robinson
Personal Information
Born: 1919
Died: 1985
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
UC Berkeley BA 1940 MA 1941 PhD 1948 all in Mathematics
Professional Life
Field of Study: Mathematics
Institution/Corporation: Rand Corporation; UC Berkeley
Degrees & Memberships: Member: American Mathematical Society US National Academy of Sciences (1975) American Academy for the Advancement of Science (1978) American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1985)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1983 MacArthur Fellow; 1982 Noether Lecture; 1980 AMS Colloquium Lecturer
Achievements: "1st female president American Mathematical Society; 1st female elected to National Academy of Sciences; 1949 in a paper she was the 1st to use the phrase ""Travelling salesman problem""; a yearly mathematics festival promoting women in mathematics is named after her"
1st female president of the American Mathematical Society
1st female mathematician elected to the US National Academy of Sciences (1975)
Is best known for her work on decision problems & Hilbert's 10th problem
At age 9 was diagnosed with scarlet fever followed by rheumatic fever; missed 2 years of school; was privately tutored when recovered & completed the 5th through 8th grade curriculum in 1 year
Her father committed suicide in 1937 due to financial problems
Entered college at age 16
1984, diagnosed with leukemia
Made significant contributions to game theory