Florence Nightingale Day, December 2015

Thursday 17th December 2015, 10:00 - 15:30, Management School Building, Lancaster University

Our fourth Florence Nightingale Day was part of our continuing efforts to promote mathematics and statistics and especially the participation of women in those subjects. The day was aimed especially at female students in years 11, 12 and 13 but was open to male students too. It was organised by Dr Nadia Mazza and Dr James Groves, with help from colleagues and postgraduate students.

While Florence Nightingale is well-known for her medical work as a nurse, she was also a pioneer in statistics, especially in the use of visualisation of statistical data. A description of this work may be found in her biography on the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, along with a large number of biographies of other female mathematicians.

The event comprised talks by prominent female mathematicians, a maths contest and opportunities for informal discussions over a buffet lunch and at a number of information stands.

Timetable

• 09.30-10.00: Registration
• 10.00-10.15: Introduction
• 10.15-11.00: Professor Gwyneth Stallard (Open University; Chair of the London Mathematical Society's Women in Mathematics Committee), The beauty of fractals
• 11.00-11.20: Refreshments
• 11.20-12.30: Maths QUIZ! (Solutions)
• 12.30-13.15: Lunch
• 13.15-14.00: Professor June Barrow-Green (Open University), Sofia Kovalevskaya: a 19th century pioneer for women in mathematics
• 14.05-14.50: Dr Katie Steckles (Think Maths)
• 14.50-15.00: Quiz results and awarding of prizes
• 15.00-15.30: Maths gallery

Sponsors

We are grateful to the Further Mathematics Support Programme for financial support.