[ ARCHIVE ] International Workshop On Semantic Extensions to Middleware: Enabling Large Scale Knowledge Applications

Monterrey, Mexico, Nov 9 - 14, 2008

Proceedings published by Springer Verlag


WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

In large scale systems, data and program heterogeneity have been a classical problem, to which semantic technologies are often presented as a solution. The classical solution to non-semantic integration has been middleware systems, which provide functionality for data and process mediation, coordination and composition. As semantics become more of a part of the underlying data and process layers of large scale systems, extensions are also required in the middleware layer to not only support knowledge mediation and coordination but to provide new functionalities not previously possible due to the introduction of machine processability of the data and processes being integrated at the middleware.

As knowledge is becoming more and more ubiquitous in the Internet, we expect millions, even billions of knowledge and service providers and consumers to interact, integrate and coordinate on the emerging, open Semantic Web just as today millions of clients exchange data and perform work over the existing Web infrastructure. This produces the need for scalable and dynamic systems that support collaborative work with distributed and heterogeneous knowledge.

With this workshop we address the need to extend existing middleware layers with semantic technologies to support future knowledge-centred information systems and their Web-based collaboration with other systems, abstracted from data and process models. Such semantically extended middleware can be applied in any context which involves large scale knowledge-based collaboration, such as in the biomedical and life sciences field or emergency planning, as well as facilitate new forms of intelligent Web-scale coordination of processes (a step towards the Service Web) which are currently not envisioned precisely because such a semantically-capable middleware layer is not existent.

We plan to dedicate one session to the application of semantic extensions of middleware to life science, healthcare or emergency management applications. In these application areas the use of semantic technologies shows some of the most advanced progress. Researchers in these domains deal with large scale data integration and service cooperation on all levels and stages of their work. This more application-driven view on the requirements and solutions to semantic middleware approaches allows for advanced insights in the work of related fields. This is an important issue on the way towards semantic extensions to middleware for large and complex networked knowledge systems.

  
TOPICS AND APPLICATIONS

We welcome original academia and industry papers or project descriptions that propose innovative approaches to extend middleware systems to support semantically-expressed data and processes.

The topics of interest of this workshop include but are not limited to:

  • Extensions of existing middleware such as Web services, Grid systems, tuplespaces, message oriented middleware etc. with semantic technologies ;
  • Development and engineering of semantic extensions to middleware;
  • Ontologies and metadata schemes for use with semantic extensions to capture aspects of middleware layer functionality ;
  • Reasoning approaches to efficiently support the functionality of semantic extensions ;
  • Scalable solutions to support large scale mediation, collaboration and coordination of heterogeneous data and processes ;
  • Practical experiences in using semantic extensions of middleware to realize large scale knowledge systems ;
  • Studies on the potential uptake of semantic extensions to current middleware and backwards compatibility ;
  • Semantic middleware solutions for life science, healthcare and emergency management ;
  • Experience reports on semantic approaches to large scale life science, healthcare and emergency management applications ;

  
CO-CHAIRS

Elena Simperl
Semantic Technology Institute STI, University of Innsbruck
Innsbruck, Austria

Reto Krummenacher
Semantic Technology Institute STI, University of Innsbruck
Innsbruck, Austria

Lyndon Nixon
Dept. Computer Science, Free University Berlin
Berlin, Germany

Emanuele Della Valle
CEFRIEL - Politecnico di Milano
Milano, Italy

Ronaldo Menezes
Florida Institute of Technology
Melbourne, FL, USA


Program Committee Members

Andrea Omicini - University of Bologna, Italy
Carlos Pedrinaci - Open University, UK
Daniel Wutke - University of Stuttgart, Germany
David Robertson - University of Edinburgh, UK
Doug Foxvog - National University of Ireland, Galway
Franco Zambonelli - University of Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy
Ian Oliver - Nokia Research Center, Finland
Ilya Zaihrayeu - University of Trento, Italy
Jacek Kopecky - STI, University of Innsbruck, Austria
Lee Feigenbaum - Cambridge Semantics Inc., US
Manfred Bortenschlager - Salzburg Research, Austria
Robert Tolksdorf - Free University Berlin, Germany
Chen Wei - Intelligent Automation Inc., US
Mourad Ouzzani - Purdue University, US
Babak Esfandiari - Carleton University, Canada
Wojciech Barczynski - SAP Research CEC Dresden, Germany
Angelo Brayner - University of Fortaleza, Brazil
Alexandre C. T. Vidal - University of São Paulo, Brazil
Carole Goble - University of Manchester, UK
Sonia Bergamaschi - University of Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy

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