Monday, 5/21/2007
1:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Level: Technical - Introductory

Semantic technologies have been developed and deployed in a range of application settings from banking, to e-commerce, to search, and to web services, but to a lesser extent in demanding scientific applications. Significant levels of semantic heterogeneity, large-scale data, complex data types, legacy systems, inflexible and unsustainable implementation technology, incomplete or inconsistent metadata characterize the latter. This tutorial will be of interest if you:

• Are a curious technologist, manager, practitioner who has heard of semantic technologies and want to facilitate a workable implementation
• Have started working with semantic technologies and are either skeptical or have questions
• Are looking to make an investment in semantic technologies and want to hear practical experience of what is involved
• Would like to see the greater world of what semantics can offer

The tutorial will include:

• Introduction to existing technical infrastructure (known as Cyberinfrastructure) across several science areas
• Detailed description of the steps in developing a semantic data framework
• Examples of how semantic technologies are deployed in a scientific Virtual Observatory to provide online query, retrieval, and analysis services to a variety of heterogeneous scientific data resources
• How semantics improves access and interoperability, thereby supporting new options for collaboration and access for scientific research
• Definition and role for communities, evaluation, team skill-sets, etc.
• Details on use/application of languages, tools, rapid-prototyping, etc.

Dr. Peter Fox is Chief Computational Scientist at the High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research. Fox is a research scientist specializing in the fields of solar-terrestrial physics, computational and computer science, information technology, and grid-enabled, distributed data frameworks. He utilizes state-of-the-art modeling techniques, internet-based technologies, including the semantic web, and applies them to large-scale distributed scientific data systems. Fox is currently PI for the Virtual Solar-Terrestrial Observatory, the Semantically-Enabled Scientific Data Integration, and the CEDAR database projects.

Dr. Deborah McGuinness is the acting director and senior research scientist of the Knowledge Systems - Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (KSL) at Stanford University and CEO of McGuinness Associates Consulting. Deborah's research focuses on the Semantic Web, Explanation and Trust, Ontologies and Ontology Evolution Environments, Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, and Semantic Integration of Information. Deborah's consulting focuses on helping companies utilize artificial intelligence research and semantic technologies in applications such as semantically-enabled scientific data integration, smart search, ontology management, and online commerce.