Professor Wendy Hall named as an 'Inspiring Woman'
Professor Wendy Hall, Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, has been named as an Inspiring Woman 2005, by Fawcett, the campaign for equality between women and men.
At an event to be held in London on Monday 17 October, Professor Hall will share a platform with Meera Syal, Baroness Betty Boothroyd, and Helen Oyeyemi, to talk about the women they have found inspiring, the inspiration they offer through their work and their view of the achievements by and challenges for women today.
Wendy Hall is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton, and currently Head of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS). Earlier this year she was appointed Senior Vice-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and one of only three UK members of the new Scientific Council of the European Research Council. She was President of the British Computer Society 2003-04, and she is a member of the Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology. She has published over 350 papers in areas such as hypermedia, digital libraries, web technologies, multi-agent systems, and knowledge technologies.
Wendy is particularly keen to encourage more girls into careers in science and technology and she will reveal to Fawcett's President, Jenni Murray from the BBC Woman's Hour, the women who have inspired her, most notably, Dame Stephanie Shirley for her courage and conviction. She will also describe the factors which motivated her in her own career and her hopes and fears for women of today.
Wendy is very keen to bridge the gender gap within science and technology and her presidency of the British Computer Society and now her new role at the Royal Academy of Engineering have provided her with a platform to accomplish this mission.
She commented: "I want to see women getting more involved in science and technology. For example, women use IT as much as men, but are only minimally involved in either the hardware or software process.
"Similarly, in engineering, products are often designed purely from a male perspective due to women being under-represented in the industry. I am in an excellent position to improve public perceptions of engineering so that more young women and men are encouraged to join the discipline."
Notes for editors
- Wendy Hall is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton, UK. She was the founding Head of the Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia (IAM) Research Group in the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at Southampton and is currently the Head of School. Her research interests include the development of web technologies (particularly the Semantic Web), open hypermedia systems and link services, advanced knowledge technologies, digital libraries, multimedia information management, agent-based systems and human computer interaction. More information about her research interests and work can be found by looking at her publications and past and current research projects.
- Inspiring Women celebrates women and their contribution to politics, the arts, entertainment, sports, science, and public life. It provides a platform for internationally renowned women to talk about the women they have found inspiring, the inspiration they offer through their work and their view of the achievements by and challenges for women today.
Inspiring Women is organised by Fawcett, the campaign for equality between women and men. This year's event will take place at Cadogan Hall, Chelsea, on Monday 17 October from 7.30 pm-9.15 pm. - The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship. The University has nearly 20,000 students and 5000 staff. Its annual turnover is in the region of £274 million.