SDForum Semantic Web SIG: Web 3.0 July 30, 2007

Will Web 3.0 Finally Give Developers a Real Model Driven Architecture Solution?

In this interactive panel discussion we will explore how the Semantic Web family of standards is quietly empowering the decades-old MDA (Model Driven Architecture) community. Despite 20+ years of promises from the software community, the original vision of CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) seems just as elusive as ever. However, recent activities in the past 18 months at the OMG (Object Management Group) indicate that another watershed moment for MDA is upon us. So, the question remains, can the Semantic Web and Web 3.0 technology like OWL (Web Ontology Language) and RDF (Resource Description Framework) substantially improve the ways we conceptualize, design, code, and generate enterprise software?
Our two expert guests will address these and other questions during the evening of July 30th at the SDForum Semantic Web SIG. We have the pleasure of hearing from Dr. Deborah McGuinness, who Chairs the Knowledge Systems Laboratory at Stanford and Elisa Kendal, the President and CEO of Sandpiper Software – which is one of the principal contributors to the OMG’s specification for the Ontology Definition Metamodel, along with IBM, Adaptive Software and others.

Panelist Bios:
Deborah McGuinness, Acting Director, Stanford Knowledge Systems Laboratory
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.

Elisa Kendall, President and CEO, Sandpiper Software
Ms. Kendall’s formal training in Situation Semantics coupled with extensive systems integration experience led her to architect Sandpiper's innovative, standards-based approach to knowledge sharing through the use of ontologies. She is an active participant in the Semantic Web Best Practices and Deployment effort of the W3C and a key contributor to standards such as the Object Management Group’s Ontology Definition Metamodel (ODM). Prior to Sandpiper, Ms. Kendall consulted for Lockheed Martin where she drove the reuse strategy for the DARPA / TRI-Services RASSP program. Ms. Kendall served as product development manager for Aspect Development, a provider of component and supplier management systems. She started her career in development, integration, and deployment of ground-based communications, signal, and data processing systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space. She holds an MA in Linguistics from Stanford University and a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.



Moderator Bios:

AJ Chen, Ph.D., Sr. Search Engineer, Healthline.com
Dr. Chen is an advocate of semantic web and digital health. Currently a Sr. Search Engineer at Healthline.com, he applies ontology and knowledge base for developing search engine focusing on consumer healthcare. Working with various open communities and open source software, he is also experimenting new and practical approaches that help make semantic data web a reality, including coordinating the scientific publishing task force for W3C’s Semantic Web HCLS Group. Previously, Dr. Chen had developed genome sequencing technologies for the vision of personalized medicine, playing technical and product roles at Hyseq, Callida Genomics, and Complete Genomics. Earlier, Dr. Chen worked with Nobel Prize winner Dr. Barry Marshall to introduce new disease treatments and diagnostics to China. Dr. Chen earned his Ph. D. in Biochemistry from U. of Utah and did postdoctoral research at Duke Medical School.

Jeffrey Pollock, Senior Director, Oracle Fusion Middleware
Mr. Pollock is a technology leader and author of the enterprise software book "Adaptive Information" (John Wiley & Sons 2004). Currently a Senior Director with Oracle’s Fusion Middleware group, Mr. Pollock was formerly an independent consultant for the Defense Department, Vice President of Technology at Cerebra and Chief Technology Officer of Modulant, developing semantic middleware platforms and inference-driven SOA platforms from 2001 to 2006. Throughout his career, he has architected, designed, and built application server/middleware solutions for Fortune 500 and US Government clients. Prior to Modulant, Mr. Pollock was a Principal Engineer with Modem Media and Senior Architect with Ernst & Young’s Center for Technology Enablement. He is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences, author for industry journals, active member of W3C and OASIS, and formerly an engineering instructor with University of California at Berkeley’s Extension on the subjects of object-oriented systems, software development process and enterprise systems architecture.

Official Website: http://sdforum.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Calendar.eventDetail&eventID=12910