Dame Wendy Hall

Dame Wendy Hall, DBE, FRS, FREng is Regius Professor of Computer Science, Associate Vice President (International Engagement) and Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton. She was Dean of the Faculty of Physical Science and Engineering from 2010 to 2014 and Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) from 2002 to 2007.  

One of the first computer scientists to undertake serious research in multimedia and hypermedia, she has been at its forefront ever since. The influence of her work has been significant in many areas including digital libraries, the development of the Internet, and the emerging research discipline of Web Science. Her current research includes exploring interfaces between the social, and physical sciences through the development of Web Science and the study of online systems through a sociotechnical lens. She is Managing Director of the Web Science Trust. 

She became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the 2009 UK New Year's Honours list and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in the same year. She was elected President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) in July 2008, and was the first person from outside North America to hold this position. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the ACM. She is a distinguished fellow of the British Computer Society.

She was Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2005-8), a member of the UK Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology (2004-10), and a founder member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (2005-10).  She was President of the British Computer Society (2003-4), an EPSRC Senior Research Fellow (1996-2002) and a member of the EPSRC Council (1997-2002). 

In 2017, Dame Wendy was co-Chair of the UK government’s AI Review, which was published in October 2017. She became a member of the AI Council and was appointed the first UK AI Skills Champion in 2018. She was Chair of the Ada Lovelace Institute (2020-2023). She is currently the co-Chair of the ACM Publications Board and Editor-in-Chief of Royal Society Open Science. She is an advisor to the UK government and many other governments and companies around the world and in 2023 was appointed to the United Nations high-level advisory body on artificial intelligence. Her latest book, Four Internets, co-written with Kieron O’Hara and published by OUP in 2021, is about data, geopolitics and the governance of cyberspace. 

Through her leadership roles on national and international bodies, she has shattered many glass ceilings, readily deploying her position on numerous national and international bodies to promote the role of women in SET and acting as an important role model for others. 

Prizes

• Suffrage Science Award - MRC London Institute of Medical Science (LMS) (2016)
• Distinguished Fellow, British Computer Society (2016)
• Honorary Degree - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2010)
• Duncan Davies Medal (2009)
• Honorary Degree - University of Glasgow (2009)
• Fellow of the Royal Society (2009)
• Awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2009)
• Honorary Degree - Loughborough University (2008)
• Honorary Degree - University of Pretoria (2007)
• Anita Borg Award for Technical Leadership (2006)