Want to meet some inspirational female mathematicians? Then come to the Florence Nightingale Day, a free day of activities, at Lancaster University on April 17. The day is aimed especially at girls in year 12 at schools in the Morecambe Bay and Preston areas but it is also open to boys. "Everyone talks about getting more women into mathematics but I wanted to do something to actively encourage it," says Nadia Mazza, a mathematics graduate from Lausanne University who is behind the idea. "Year 12 is a critical stage when students make crucial decisions affecting their future career plans. We want to show how appealing it can be to do maths."

A young Florence Nightingale

Speakers at the morning session will include Professor June Barrow-Green from the Open University and pure mathematics researcher Professor Reidun Twarock, from the University of York. Opening the afternoon session will be first generation female mathematician Professor Dona Strauss from the University of Leeds. Then Beth Penrose (University of Nottingham), Fiona Murray (Principal Integrity Engineer – TA Pipelines and Structures at Centrica) and Suduph Imran (a former mathematics teacher at Our Lady's Catholic College in Lancaster who is studying for her Masters in Education) will speak about their jobs and how they use mathematics every day. Beth, Fiona and Suduph are ambassadors from STEMfirst, an organisation which promotes opportunities in science, technology, engineering and maths.

The last speaker will be one of the Plus editors, having a look at the careers of some female mathematicians.

The day will also include a hands-on mathematics contest when attendees will spend time solving tricky problems in small groups under the supervision of coaches, all PhD students from Lancaster University's Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Plus there will be displays featuring opportunities offered to women by a degree in mathematics or statistics, which will stimulate informal discussion between pupils and mathematicians.

For more information and to book places please contact Nadia Mazza at n.mazza@lancaster.ac.uk or James Groves at j.groves@lancaster.ac.uk.

The event is named after Florence Nightingale, best remembered for her work as a nurse during the Crimean War. This amazing woman had an immense love of both subjects and was a pioneer in statistics, especially in the use of visualisation of statistical data. You can find out more about her in this Plus article.