Florence Nightingale Day 2022

Thursday 13th January, 10:00-15:00, Lancaster Management School (Lecture Theatre 1 and break-out rooms LT2/3)

Timetable

09.30-10.00: Registration
10.00-10.05: Introduction
10.05-10.50: Talk 1 - Dr Raquel Coelho Simoes (Lancaster University), "Counting: Catalan numbers everywhere"
- Certain mathematical objects make a habit of occurring in many different contexts. One example is given by Catalan numbers, which appear in over a hundred different counting problems in combinatorics, as well as in graph theory, computer science and even sports events. In this talk we will discover Catalan numbers by exploring some of these problems, which may include triangulations of polygons, ballot papers and “noncrossing handshaking" at a party.
10.50-11.10: Refreshments
11.10-12.20: Maths quiz!
12.20-13.00: Lunch break
13.00-13.45: Talk 2 - Dr Jenny Wadsworth (Lancaster University), "What is a 1-in-1000 year flood anyway? The mathematics of extreme events"
- Following a very severe weather event, we often hear reports to the effect that this was, for example, a "once in a thousand year event". But given that we do not have reliable data collection stemming back to the middle ages, where do such figures come from? The answer is extreme value theory, a branch of probability and statistics dealing with rare events. I will give an overview of some of the key ideas of the theory of extremes, and how this allows us to estimate very rare event probabilities from the limited data available.
13.45-14.00: Results of the quiz and prizes; break
14.00-14.45: Talk 3 - Dr Danielle Bewsher (University of Central Lancashire),"What is a mathematician?"
- In this presentation, I will talk about what it is that makes a mathematician and how a broad range of people from different backgrounds can be mathematicians. I’ll also look at what mathematicians do, and how the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications (one of the professional bodies for maths in the UK) can help you.
14.45-15.00: Closing comments, thank you gifts and feedback
15.00-15.30: Maths ramble (information stands and informal discussions)

Dr Raquel Coelho Simoes

Before coming to Lancaster as a Marie Curie Fellow and later lecturer in Mathematics, Raquel studied in Lisbon, did her PhD in Leeds and worked in Germany and Portugal. Raquel’s research interests lie in representation theory and combinatorics. Representation theory is the study of structures in mathematics via their “shadows” on simpler structures. Problems in representation theory can often be transformed into combinatorics, giving a discrete picture of complicated phenomena.

Dr Jenny Wadsworth

Jenny is currently a Senior Lecturer in Statistics at Lancaster University. She has degrees from Durham and Lancaster, and worked in Switzerland and Cambridge before returning to Lancaster as a lecturer. Her main research interest is in the statistics of extreme events, which constitutes a diverse mix of interesting mathematical theory and fascinating applications.

Dr Danielle Bewsher

Danielle is a Principal Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Central Lancashire. Before joining UCLan, Danielle was a solar physicist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, where she calibrated data from the STEREO Heliospheric Imagers, and used the data to do research into stellar variability. Prior to that she was an ESA External Research Fellow working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.