Wendy Hall is a leading computer scientist who has made significant contributions to our understanding of the interactions between humans and large networks of computers, such as the internet. Consequently, Wendy is playing a prominent role in the development of web science as an emerging discipline.

She is well known for her development of the Microcosm hypermedia system in the mid-1980s, which was a forerunner to the World Wide Web. Together with Tim Berners-Lee and colleagues, in 2006 she co-founded the world’s first interdisciplinary body to study the structure and sociology of the web — the Web Science Research Initiative (now the Web Science Trust).

Her work now focuses on understanding the social, financial and technological influences that drive the evolution of the web. Additionally, she is a champion of women in science, engineering and technology and has used her many leadership positions to further this cause. Wendy was awarded a CBE in 2000 for services to science and technology and subsequently received a DBE, in 2009.