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World-renowned computer scientist honoured on Ada Lovelace Day

Published: 11 October 2016
Professor Dame Wendy Hall
Professor Dame Wendy Hall

World-renowned computer scientist Professor Dame Wendy Hall from the University of Southampton is to receive a prestigious award that that honours women in maths and computing.

Professor Hall is one of 12 women who will receive a Suffrage Science Award today (11 October) to celebrate their scientific achievements and ability to inspire others, at a special event at Bletchley Park.

The event coincides with Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Executive Director of the University’s Web Science Institute, said: “I’m deeply honoured to receive this award amongst other extraordinary women in maths and computing. However, I remain frustrated by the need for such schemes as Suffrage Science to exist. It will only change if it becomes everyone’s issue and not just a women’s issue. We need to get the language right, which is we’re top scientists, not top women scientists.”

The Suffrage Science scheme was formed five years ago by the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre (CSC) at Imperial College London. The award is a new development of the scheme, which aims to encourage women into science and to reach senior leadership roles.

There are currently two sections of Suffrage Science, one for women in the Life Sciences, and one for those in Engineering and the Physical Sciences. The event launched a specialism for women in Maths and Computing.

The awards themselves are science-inspired pieces of jewellery, designed by students at the arts college Central Saint Martins-UAL. After two years, the winners hand on their jewellery to a recipient of their choice – this scientific ‘relay’ creates an ever-expanding cohort of talented women within the Maths and Computing field.

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