An inspiration to us all

Over the past year or so I have had the great good fortune to meet and work with a truly singular woman of technology. Currently Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton, UK, she was Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science from 2002 to 2007. She became University's first female professor of engineering in 1994 and has been a pioneer in advancing computing technologies and women's involvement in their advance. I speak, of course, of Professor Dame Wendy Hall DBE FREng.

Presently she holds multiple responsibilities, including:

• President of the ACM -- while not the first woman to hold the position, she is the first president from outside North America.
• Founding director, along with Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Professor Nigel Shadbolt, and Daniel J. Weitzner, of the Web Science Research Initiative, which was launched in 2006 as a long-term research collaboration between the University of Southampton and MIT.
• My PhD supervisor in collaboration with Professor Susan Halford in Southampton's School of Sociology. Ahem.

Wendy's support for women in technology is manifest. From her University webpage:
"She is particularly prominent as a strong and vocal advocate for women’s opportunities in SET and for the need to ensure that girls are not excluded from participation in science and engineering careers. In her research and her public life she has sought to ensure that women are equal beneficiaries of technological advance, and her example of achievement and dedication has made her a distinguished role model for women."

I am both honoured and delighted to work with Wendy, who is at once brilliant, innovative, passionate for her work and truly inspirational.