Southampton professor named the most influential woman in UK IT

Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Dean of Physical Sciences and Engineering at the University of Southampton, has been named as the most influential woman in UK IT by a national computing website.

Computer Weekly recognised Dame Wendy as being number one in the top 25 women who have had a major impact on UK IT.

The winners were announced at a special event in London this afternoon and were selected by a judging panel of employers and IT leaders from across industry, as well as readers of the digital magazine that is the leading provider news, analysis, opinion, information and services for the UK IT community.

Dame Wendy joined 24 other women who Computer Weekly acknowledges represent role models that will be important to the future diversity and success of the UK’s high-tech economy.

“I'm delighted and flattered to have been named as the most influential woman in UK IT, alongside such distinguished names. I applaud Computer Weekly for their efforts to highlight the vital role of women in IT in the UK, which is far more significant than is often realised,” said Dame Wendy.

“Such publicity will encourage others to consider careers in an industry that is one of the most exciting and important to be in today,” she added.

Dame Wendy has held many leadership roles in addition to her academic research in computer science, in the development of the World Wide Web and, more recently, in establishing and developing the new discipline of Web Science.

With Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadbolt, Dame Wendy co-founded the Web Science Research Initiative in 2006. She is currently a Director of the Web Science Trust, which has a global mission to support the development of research, education and thought leadership in Web Science. Dame Wendy is also a Director of the University’s recently launched Web Science Institute, which brings together world-leading multidisciplinary expertise to tackle the most pressing global challenges facing the World Wide Web and wider society today.

She was President of the British Computer Society; the first non-North American to lead the Association of Computing Machinery, the world's largest organisation for computer professionals; a member of the Prime Ministers Council for Science and Technology; Senior Vice-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering; and a member of the Research Council of the European Research Council.

Dame Wendy 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 June 2009.