Wendy Hall

Wendy Hall is the Regius Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton and Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences. A pioneering computer scientist, she co-founded the Web Science Research Initiative with Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Nigel Shadbolt, establishing Web Science as a distinct discipline studying the Web as a socio-technical system. She serves as Managing Director of the Web Science Trust and chairs the Informatics for All coalition to establish informatics as a core subject across European schools.

Her research spans foundational work in multimedia and hypermedia systems, digital libraries, and the Semantic Web, with over 400 publications driving the evolution of Web Science. She has been instrumental in shaping global informatics education policy and promoting interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the Web's societal impact.

Professor Hall's scientific awards include:

• ACM Presidential Award (2022)
• Outstanding Contribution to ACM Award (2014)
• ACM Fellow (2010)
• Dame Commander of the British Empire (2009)
• Fellow of the Royal Society (2009)
• Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering

She has held transformative leadership roles including ACM President (2008-2010) - the first from outside North America - where she established ACM Europe, India, and China Councils to create a borderless global organization. Additional positions include Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, member of the UK Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, founding member of the European Research Council, and Commissioner for the Global Commission on Internet Governance since 2014. Her advocacy focuses on gender diversity in computing and nurturing global talent through ACM-W initiatives worldwide.