This year in Math: Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, the creators of the hit television series NUMB3RS, are the recipients of the 2011 JPBM Communications Award.

The series follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), who helps Don solve crimes for the FBI. The JPBM described the show as featuring "the use of mathematical thinking and modeling to solve crimes.
Numb3rs provided the general public with a glimpse of the mathematical world, its depth and its power, in a way that connected with a broad spectrum of viewers. With creativity and cleverness, their work, which includes over one hundred episodes, made its fans aware of the ubiquity of mathematics in their daily lives."

The award was established by the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) in 1988 to encourage communicators to bring mathematical ideas and subject matter to nonmathematical audiences. Mathematicians and non-mathematicians are eligible for the annual prize of $1,000.

JPBM is a collaborative effort of the Mathematical Association of America, the American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.