Three ECS Professors featured among the UK's top 100 scientists
Three Professors from the School of Electronics and Computer Science feature in the list of ââ¬Ë100 most important figures in British Scienceââ¬â¢ published in todayââ¬â¢s (Thursday 7 October) Times newspaper.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall, featured at no. 26, is one of only five women in the top 30. Eureka says of her: ââ¬ËWhen in 1977 Wendy Hall went for a job interview after completing her PhD, she was turned down because she was a woman. Big mistake. A pioneer of hypermedia and computer science, she has since published 414 papers, sat on the Council for Science and Technology and been appointed a dame. [She] has also helped to set up the Web Science Trust, which looks at the impact of the internet. She continues to fight for women in science.ââ¬â¢
Professor Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, and Director of the World Wide Web Consortium, was appointed a Professor of Computer Science in ECS in 2004. He is also Professor of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Eureka says of him: ââ¬ËThe creation of an early forebear of the World Wide Web ââ¬Â¦may have been Sir Tim Berners-Leeââ¬â¢s first important achievement, but his insistence that such a system should be free and open to all was revolutionary.ââ¬â¢ Both Sir Tim and Dame Wendy are Founder Directors of the Web Science Trust.
Professor David Payne, Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre, has carried out world-leading research at the University of Southampton for over 40 years. Eureka says: ââ¬ËProfessor Payneââ¬â¢s research on the amplification of light revolutionised modern telecommunications and enabled information to flow across the world. Today his work is critical in improving broadband speed.ââ¬â¢
The Eureka list aims to identify the most important and interesting people in British science, ââ¬Ëthose pushing back the boundaries of scientific understanding, transforming our lives through innovation and changing our attitudes to science, each other and the worldââ¬â¢, writes The Times Editor, James Harding. It covers researchers, inventors, engineers, communicators, policymakers and practitioners.
He adds: ââ¬Ëââ¬Â¦our aim has been to produce a list in keeping with the spirit of this magazine ââ¬â in awe of science, fascinated by the future and convinced that our best hope of answering the problems of life on Earth lies in human ingenuity.ââ¬â¢
All three Southampton professors in the list are members of the new Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences, of which Dame Wendy is Dean.
Dame Wendy said: ââ¬ËI'm just thrilled to be in such an eminent list. It is great to have the spotlight put on science in this way.
ââ¬ËIt's wonderful to see our new Facultyââ¬â¢s achievements highlighted so prominently in a list of the best in British science, and a great tribute to the support for research and scientific endeavour at the University of Southampton.ââ¬â¢
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