Learn about the life and work of Dame Wendy Hall, to be awarded an honorary doctorate at the UOC

Dame Wendy Hall is recognized as the one of the first computer scientists to undertake research into multimedia and hypermedia technology, before the arrival of the World Wide Web. Since then her research has contributed to the development of the semantic web, the emerging field of web science, and artificial intelligence. The Library team has prepared a new library guide to give you a comprehensive view of the professional and academic career of this British scientist.

The guide includes books, scientific articles, interviews and lectures with Dame Hall's most notable contributions to computer science research and to promoting gender equality in this field.

Who is Dame Wendy Hall?

She is Regius Professor of Computer Science, Associate Vice President (International Engagement) at the University of Southampton, an Executive Director of the Web Science Institute and Managing Director of the Web Science Trust. She also sits on the AI Council, an expert committee serving the UK Government with guidance and leadership in the artificial intelligence ecosystem. 

In the library guide you can find Dame Hall's biography and information about the prizes and accolades she has obtained during her career.

 

Her publications

One of the latest works to which Dame Wendy Hall has contributed is Four Internets: Data, Geopolitics, and the Governance of Cyberspace. The book examines different visions or models of governance for the internet that determine how we use it:

• the Silicon Valley Open Internet, the original view of an internet intended to become a free, open, independent space for the flow of information.
• the Brussels Bourgeois Internet, an approach committed to preserving freedom but at the same time preventing social harm, a viewpoint represented by the European Union.
• the DC Commercial Internet, a form of governance geared to business interests, promoted by the United States.
• the Beijing Paternal Internet, where the ideal is respect for public values, exemplified by China. 

With the library guide you will have access to Four Internets, which is available in the Library. You will also find a TED Talk in which Dame Hall speaks about the development of the internet, based on her own experience, and a talk in which she reflects on the future of Artificial Intelligence. It also includes an article by the author published in the former UOC Papers journal.

Gender equality and technology

"We need to excite young people today, particularly girls, by inspiring them with visions of the wonderful careers they can have and how they can help society if they embark on careers in computing or IT", Hall argued in the BCS Women in IT campaign.

In 1994, she was promoted to full professor – the first female professor of engineering at the University of Southampton. Over the years and from her leading position in national and international organizations, she has taken part in initiatives to encourage girls to study computer science and raise awareness of the role of women in this field, and played an active role in promoting the creation of the British Computer Society Women's Forum.

See details of the organizations and institutions with which Dame Hall has worked and through which she has promoted the gender perspective in research.

The publication of this guide coincides with Dame Hall receiving an honorary doctorate from the UOC in recognition of her exceptional career. On 2 March she will receive this award in person at the UOC Campus. The ceremony will be streamed live via LinkedIn and YouTube. 

Experts

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  Àgueda Mercadal

  Operative subgroup: Librarian for Psychology and Education, vocational training Operative group: Library for Learning
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  Adrián de Mon

  Operative subgroup: Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications resource manager, vocational training Operative group: Library for Learning
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  Lis Balcells

  Operative subgroup: Librarian for Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications, vocational training Operative group: Library for Learning