ConferenceCall 2007 01 18

= Ontology Summit 2007: project kick-off and planning session - Thu 18-Jan-2007 =


 * Session Moderators: SteveRay / LeoObrst / PeterYim 


 * Topic: OntologySummit2007 Launch Meeting


 * Archive: slides & audio recording of the session (mp3)

Conference Call Details

 * Date: Thursday, January 18, 2006
 * Start Time: 10:30am PST / 1:30pm EST / 7:30pm CET / 18:30 GMT/UTC
 * ref: World Clock
 * Expected Call Duration: 1.5 hours
 * Dial-in Number:
 * from a telephone (US): +1-712-432-4990 (Iowa, USA)
 * from a phone (Europe): 0870-119-1313 (UK) or 01805 00 7620 (Germany)
 * callers from other countries please dial into either one of the US or European numbers
 * Conference ID: "5823120#"
 * Direct call from from Skype: +990008275823120


 * Shared-screen support (VNC session) will be started 5 minutes before the call at: http://vnc2.cim3.net:5800/
 * view-only password: "ontolog"
 * if you plan to be logging into this shared-screen option (which the speaker may be navigating), and you are not familiar with the process, please try to call in 5 minutes before the start of the session so that we can work out the connection logistics. Help on this will generally not be available once the presentation starts.
 * people behind corporate firewalls may have difficulty accessing this. If that is the case, please download the slides below and runing them locally. The speaker will prompt you to advance the slides during the talk.


 * Please review our Virtual Session Tips and Ground Rules - see: VirtualSpeakerSessionTips
 * see below regarding our in-session discussion and Q&A process


 * RSVP to [mailto:peter.yim@cim3.com peter.yim@cim3.com] appreciated.


 * This session, like all other Ontolog events, is open to the public. Information relating to this session is shared on this wiki page: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2007_01_18


 * Please note that this session will be recorded, and the audio archive is expected to be made available as open content to our community membership and the public at-large under our prevailing open IPR policy.

Attendees

 * Attended:
 * SteveRay
 * PeterYim
 * LeoObrst
 * OlivierBodenreider
 * BiswanathDutta
 * JacobTeller
 * AtillaElci
 * Herb Basik (Lockheed Martin)
 * PatrickDurusau
 * BobSmith
 * KenBaclawski
 * NabonitaGuha
 * ItzhakRoth
 * DagobertSoergel
 * MichaelGruninger
 * CoryCasanave
 * Bill Burkett (Eurostep America)
 * Liping Di (George Mason University)
 * BoNewman
 * JohnBateman
 * AdrianWalker
 * DougHolmes
 * IvanHerman
 * MustafaJarrar
 * BillMcCarthy


 * Others we were expecting (and who may have joined us after the roll call):
 * MarkMusen (joining late due to schedule conflict)
 * BarrySmith (leaving early due to schedule conflict)
 * DeborahMcGuinness (may join late due to schedule conflict)
 * MillsDavis
 * Terry Chandler (SRA)
 * DeniseBedford (leaving early due to schedule conflict)
 * SusanTurnbull (joining late due to schedule conflict)
 * ChristianeFellbaum (leaving early due to schedule conflict)
 * Michael Denny (CTC)
 * GaryBergCross
 * ... to register for participation, please add your name (plus your affiliation, if you aren't already a member of the community) above, or e-mail  so that we can reserve enough resources to support everyone's participation. ...
 * ... to register for participation, please add your name (plus your affiliation, if you aren't already a member of the community) above, or e-mail  so that we can reserve enough resources to support everyone's participation. ...


 * Regrets:
 * (individuals who sent in their regrets. they will be joining us in the program, but can't make this launch event, though)
 * NicolaGuarino
 * ChrisWelty
 * LarrySanger
 * DavidWeinberger
 * FrankOlken
 * MatthewWest (want on the agenda: "Understanding Reference Data as Ontology")
 * SergeiNirenburg
 * EdDodds

Background
In an earlier post on the Ontolog Forum last month, we announced the plan for another NIST-Ontolog joint event. We solicited participation and received very positive and supportive feedback from the community. We have decided to call this the "Ontology Summit" and intend to make this into an annual event. We are launching "Ontology Summit 2007" today. This will be three months of virtual discourse that culminates in a two-day face-to-face workshop (April 23 & 24, 2007 at Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA) and a written communiqu� that would help clarify what everyone means when they use the term "ontology." We are most fortunate to have assembled a great organizing committee to direct this year's program. At this launch, we will be introducing the "Ontology Summit 2007" objective, organization, process, deliverables and preliminary plans to you, and we welcome your ideas and participation.

See: OntologySummit2007 (home page for the project)

Agenda & Proceedings:
Ontology Summit 2007 Project Launch


 * Session Format: this is a virtual session conducted over an augmented conference call
 * 1. Opening - SteveRay
 * 2. we'll go around with a self-introduction of participants (10~15 minutes)
 * 3. Background and the Ontology Summit 2007 objectives
 * 4. The organization, Process and Deliverables
 * 5. Support infrastructure and Administrivia
 * 6. Q & A and open discussion (all)
 * 7. Conclusion / Follow-up (SteveRay - 5 minutes)

Topic: Ontology Summit 2007 Project Launch

 * Abstract (by SteveRay / LeoObrst / PeterYim):


 * Building upon the successful model of last year's UpperOntologySummit, co-organizers from NIST, Ontolog, NCOR, NCBO, NIH, W3C, the Web 2.0 community and others (to be confirmed) are initiating a second summit during the spring of 2007.


 * '''We are hoping to convene key players in both research and

applications who profess in developing or facilitating the evolution of "ontologies" to join us in our Ontology Summit 2007 activity to help answer the simple, yet very important question: "What is an Ontology?". The challenge put before the ontology community this year is to clarify what everyone means when they use the term "ontology". Our objective is to define and agree to a systematic means of categorizing the many kinds of things that are referred to as "an ontology." By doing so, the research, development and Internet communities would have a better way of comparing, combining and mapping ontologies to one another (apples to apples). The range of what people call "ontologies" covers so-called "folksonomies", taxonomies, thesauri, conceptual models, and formal logic-based models to name just a few flavors. The Ontolog Forum plans to initiate a vigorous on-line discussion of promising strawman structures to characterize all of these possibilities, and more, culminating in a face-to-face meeting during NIST's Interoperability Week 2007 (scheduled for the week of April 23, 2007). Similar to last year's summit, the meeting will release a written communique to the international press, laying out the final categorization structure and locating some key ontologies within it. '''


 * Prepared slides can be accessed by pointing your web browsers to:
 * http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/work/OntologySummit2007/2007-01-18_Launch/OntologySummit2007-Kickoff_20070118.ppt
 * Links to additional relevant resources:
 * see: OntologySummit2007 (the 'project' homepage for this endeavor)
 * "What is an Ontology?" - "An ontology is a specification of a conceptualization." ... "Ontologies as a specification mechanism" ... (from "A Translation Approach to Portable Ontology Specifications" TomGruber / 1993)
 * "What is an Ontology?" by LeoObrst - Ontolog invited Speaker - ConferenceCall_2006_01_12
 * wikipedia - http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology & Ontology (computer science)
 * from MichaelUschold - 2 slides on "Kinds of Ontology" - excerpt from his keynote presentation at the 9th International Prot�g� Conference (July 2006, Stanford, CA.)
 * Any material outside of the prepared presentation, if they are called up during the session, may be shared under the VNC session detailed above

Q & A and Discussion:

 * Please mute your phone, by pressing "*2" on your phone keypad, when the talk is in progress. To un-mute, press "*3"
 * If you want to speak or have questions or remarks to make, please "raise your hand (virtually)" by pressing "11" on your phone keypad. You may speak when acknowledged by the speaker or the session moderator.
 * experimental: try using the queue management chat tool
 * point a separate browser window (or tab) to http://webconf.soaphub.org/conf/room and enter: Room: "ontolog_20070118" & My Name: e.g. "JaneDoe"
 * or point your browser to: http://webconf.soaphub.org/conf/room/ontolog_20070118
 * instructions: once you got access to the page, click on the "settings" button, and identify yourself (by modifying the Name field). You can indicate that you want to ask a question verbally by clicking on the "hand" button, and wait for the moderator to call on you; or, type and send your question into the chat window at the bottom of the screen.
 * For those who have further questions or remarks on the topic, please [mailto:ontolog-forum@ontolog.cim3.net post them to the [ontolog-forum]] so that everyone in the community can benefit from the discourse.


 * Session ended 2007.01.18 11:52 pm PST

An Open Invitation
If you do find this initiative interesting or useful, we cordially invite you to join us in the "Ontology Summit 2007" virtual discourse that will be taking place in the next 3 months or so, and to the face-to-face workshops that will be held on 23 & 24-April-2007 as part of the NIST Interoperability Week in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.


 * If you are already an Ontolog Member:
 * please subscribe to the [ontology-summit] forum (the convener's mailing list), by sending an empty (no message body is needed) message to: ontology-summit-join [at] ontolog.cim3.net
 * to browse the forum archives, see: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontology-summit/
 * if you run into any problem, please send your subscription request directly to 


 * If you are not already an Ontolog Member:
 * please take a look at the details in our "Membership" section and (if you like what you see) join us.
 * then subscribe yourself to the [ontology-summit] forum (the convener's mailing list) as described above.
 * (alternatively) if you run into any problem, please send your request directly to 

Audio Recording of this Session

 * To download the audio recording of the session, click here
 * the playback of the audio files require the proper setup, and an MP3 compatible player on your computer.
 * Conference Date and Time:	Jan. 18, 2007 10:36am~11:52pm Pacific Standard Time
 * Duration of Recording:	1 Hour 10 Minutes
 * Recording File Size:	       8.2 MB (in mp3 format)
 * Telephone Playback
 * Prior to the expiration (Feb. 18, 2007 0:00 PST), one can call-in and hear the telephone playback of the session.
 * Playback Dial-in Number:
 * US: 1-712-432-4999 (long distance costs apply)
 * UK: 0870 119 2349 (long distance costs apply)
 * Skype: +990008271111
 * non-Skype callers from other countries can dial into either the US or UK number for the playback (long distance costs apply)
 * Conference ID: 5823120#
 * Recording Reference Number: 64059#
 * suggestions:
 * its best that you listen to the session while having the slide presentation opened in front of you. You'll be prompted to advance slides by the speaker.