STI Liverpool

Semantic Web Lab at the University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool Semantic Web Lab is part of the Agent A.R.T. Research Group, located in the Department of Computer Science.

Dr. Valentina Tamma leads the Semantic Web Lab; its academic members include Professor Mike Wooldridge, and Professor Trevor Bench-Capon.

The members of the Semantic Web Lab are engaged in a wide range of research topics related to the use of knowledge in open and distributed environments. These topics include:

· knowledge adaptation and evolution in open environments;

· ontologies in multi-agent systems;

· ontology modularisation;

· ontology based rational decision making;

· indexing, annotation, and retrieval of Semantic Web content;

· Semantic Web services, and their intersection with agent services.

The Semantic Web Lab has been involved in a number of European and UK funded research projects relating to the development and application of Semantic Web technologies. Current, and recently completed projects include:

· Evolutionary ontologies for open agent environments (EPSRC grant EP/D064287/1): This project aims to investigate an evolutionary model of the ontology lifecycle determined by the communication needs of open, dynamic agent environments; where actors and their ontologies are not considered in isolation, but within the social fabric determined by their interactions. In this context, we need to provide knowledge representation mechanisms that support this process of evolution, adaptation, and consensus agreement.

· PIPS - Personalised Information Platform for Health and Life Services (EU Funded): The project aims to create a new Health & Life Knowledge and Services Support Environment; to help health care professionals access relevant medical knowledge and help European citizens to make informative choices on their lifestyles. The ambition is to encompass the entire set of business processes, professional practices and products relating to well-being, and integrate them. http://www.pips.eu.org

· QUEST - QUery Enabled by Semantic web Technology (Internal Funding): The QuestSemantics platform provides automated, ontology- based metadata creation and resource annotation, with subsequent ontology-based querying of the annotated resources. This platform has been deployed in two commercial scenarios, providing useful feedback on applying semantic web technologies to specific business problems. It is currently being applied to hypothesis discovery in the pharmacology domain.

· KnowledgeWeb (EU Funded): Knowledge Web is a FP6 Network of Excellence (NoE) that aims to support the transition of Ontology technology from Academia to Industry. The consortium constitutes 18 participants including leading partners in Semantic Web, Multimedia, Human Language Technology, Workflow and Agents. The NoE includes education and research efforts to ensure the durability of impact and support of industry. http://knowledgeweb.semanticweb.org

· OntoGrid (EU Funded): OntoGrid will produce the technological infrastructure for the rapid prototyping and development of knowledge- intensive distributed open services for the Semantic Grid. Designing Grid applications that make use of a Semantic Grid requires a new and sound methodology that OntoGrid will develop. A principle of OntoGrid is to adopt and influence standards in Semantic Grid and Grid Computing, in particular the Open Grid Service Architecture. http://www.ontogrid.net

Homepage: http://www.liv.ac.uk