Web Science Institute Official Launch, June 2014
The University of Southampton officially launched its new world-leading Web Science Institute on Thursday 12 June at the Royal Society in London.
The launch was officially opened by the University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Don Nutbeam, and was followed by talks by Institute Directors Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, Professor Susan Halford, and Professor Les Carr. Keynote presentations were also delivered by JP Rangaswami, Chief Scientist at Salesforce.com and Richard Susskind OBE, author, speaker and IT Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.
Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, was joined by other leading figures from Web and Internet Science, including the University's newly appointed Visiting Professor Liam Maxwell, Government Chief Technology Officer, in a panel-led discussion on how Web Science can help shape the Web.
he event also featured a Web Science Exhibition showcasing the Southampton Doctoral students’ research, SoFWIReD developments, the Web Observatory and the SOCIAM project. The Exhibition also included representatives from the Open Data Institute, the Web Foundation and NOW Publishers.
The Institute will act as a focal point, coordinating and putting into practice new forms of education, research and economic, social, political, technological and cultural resources based on a deep understanding of the Web's technologies and social construction.