Luca Bernardi (EML, Scientific Databases and Visualization Group)
Paul van der Vet (Department of Computer Science, University of Twente)
Isabel Rojas (EML, Scientific Databases and Visualization Group)
Renate Kania (EML, Scientific Databases and Visualization Group)
Uwe Reyle (IMS, University of Stuttgart)
Jasmin Saric (EML, Scientific Databases and Visualization Group)
e-mail: luca.bernardi@eml.villa-bosch.demore detailed information is found on the local web site.
The workshop sets out to clarify to the following questions: Why do we need ontologies? How are they created? How do we check them? How do we use them? The aim is to bring together scientists from different fields and to foster a discussion of biological ontologies from different viewpoints.
- Why do we need ontologies? The exponential increase in biological data resulting from the latest automated experimental techniques and the increase in the literature describing these experiments means that these data have to be managed by the use use of large databases. For computers to access and process this data in a sensible way, appropriate representation techniques need to be utilized. We aim to clarify the new problems and challenges involved in the attempt to achieve semantically transparent models and representations of biological knowledge that can be used in different kinds of application domains.
- How are they created? Ontologies are either created by domain experts and “knowledge engineers” working in close collaboration, or they are derived semi-automatically from databases and natural language sources. The use for which an ontology is intended influences the ontology itself. We are interested in clarifying (i) how the development process is or should be related to the intended goals underlying the creation of the ontology, and (ii) how the intended goal specifies the expressive power and computational properties of the representation languages/formalisms.
- How do we check them? An ontology mirrors the conceptualization of a particular domain and it must support the tasks it was built for. How can we define a set of criteria and methods for assessing the quality of ontologies on both these counts? What is the current status of the proposed algorithms that check formal properties in ontologies?
- How do we use them? Ontologies are an important software engineering construct that can be used as a basis for developing other software components; some areas of interests are database integration, information extraction, data mining and others.
The workshop is made up of four main sessions corresponding to the four points briefly outlined above. Approximately half a day will be dedicated to each of these sessions. The participants are encouraged to present posters describing systems for implementing and applying ontologies.
The topics could be summarized as(1) Motivation for Ontology, (2) Ontology Creation, (3) Ontology Engineering (4) Ontology Uses.
The "Studio", Villa-Bosch, (Heidelberg, Germany) former home of the Nobel Prize Winner, Carl Bosch, and part of the German Cultural and Artistic National Heritage. Villa-Bosch belongs to the Klaus Tschira Foundation (KTS) and hosts part of the European Media Laboratory (EML) offices.
There will be a bus shuttle available from downtown Heidelberg to the workshop venue and back. Since parking space close to the Studio is extremely limited, please make use of it.
The
European Media Lab (EML) in Heidelberg is a private research institute dedicated to interdisciplinary research, embracing computer science, media and communication science, bioinformatics and technology development. As a private research institute the EML aims at developing novel methods of computing in cooperation with universities and industry. In its projects, the EML will bring together scientists from different fields and nationalities.
7th to the 8th of November, 2002
Registration and further information:
-please see the local web site for registrations and closing dates etc. For more information, please contact Luca Bernardi
