More than 250 pupils from 22 schools joined The School of Mathematical Sciences on campus for their annual Florence Nightingale Day event.

The Florence Nightingale Day is a key part of the School of Mathematical Science’s continued efforts to promote mathematical sciences to young women in Year 10 and above, who will soon be making crucial decisions about what they would like to do after their GCSEs. The event focuses on showcasing successful women in mathematics at various stages of their careers.

Pupils heard from three academic staff members about their journey into mathematics. Firstly, Dr Alice Peng, Lecturer in Mathematics and AI, whose research focuses on mathematical biology, using mathematical modelling to reveal and then reproduce the biological phenomenon, particularly in wound healing, cancer cell metastasis, wildfire propagation and focused ultrasound and microbubble treatment for drug delivery.

Dr Peng said “It was a great pleasure to share the story of my academic journey and how mathematical modelling is used in biology with the young generation. It was amazing to see how enthusiastic they are in mathematics and science, and I am looking forward to more likewise events in the future.”

Dr Jess Jay, Lecturer in Lancaster University’s Security and Protection Science’s work concerns ‘Interacting Particle Systems’, which are probability models motivated by physical phenomena such as particle physics, traffic flow and queuing theory.

Dr Jay said: “It was a pleasure to speak at the annual Florence Nightingale Day event, sharing my career journey and research interests in probability and with such an enthusiastic audience. I look forward in assisting in more events like this, inspiring the future generations of Mathematicians.”

Lecturer in Mathematical AI, Dr Jess Bridgen’s research focuses on developing machine learning methods to model the spread of infectious diseases.

Dr Bridgen said: “I was delighted to speak at this year’s Florence Nightingale Day event and introduce the maths behind outbreak prediction. It was fantastic to meet so many talented pupils and be part of an event which showcases the wide range of opportunities within the mathematical sciences and real-world applications.”

This event also provides information about the broad range of possibilities offered by a degree in mathematics or statistics, stimulate informal discussion between pupils and mathematicians and give an opportunity for participants to use their mathematical skills with their peers in other schools through a quiz.

The schools which scored the highest in the quiz were: Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School (Lancaster), Runshaw College (Leyland), St Benedict's Catholic High School (Whitehaven) and Sedbergh School (Sedbergh).

Dr James Groves, Dr Sean Prendiville and Rachel Campbell organised the event and were supported by a range of staff and students across the school. In addition, MARS (Mathematics for AI in Real-world Systems) sponsored this event as part of their ongoing commitment to increasing the representation of women and girls in the mathematical sciences.