1. The Semantic Web: Transforming Society Science James Hendler Maryland Information and Network Dynamics Laboratory (MIND) Semantic Web Agents Project (SWAP) University of Maryland http://www.cs.umd.edu/~hendler

2. The Semantic Web "The Semantic Web is an extension of the current web in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation." -- Tim Berners-Lee, James Hendler, Ora Lassila, The Semantic Web, Scientific American, May 2001

3. The Web “off the Web”

4. Scientists and the Web The World Wide Web transformed science changing –How we publish and search –How we attend meetings –How we find data –How we track projects –… –How we find suppliers and tools But we didn’t help make it for our needs, –USER, not designer –Scientific community is not a leader (or driver) in Web innovation/technology Modern interdisciplinary science needs more than the current Web provides

5. The “scientific community” “… countries separated by a common language” -- (Shaw 1942 after Wilde, 1887)

6. Semantic Web provides mappings Semantic Web languages allow the combination of documents, databases, programs, sensors and anything else we can find on the Web.  work vate educ CV educ

7. It’s not just “big iron” anymore Cyber Infrastructure Semantic Web - c.f. Finding, filtering, and composing services - c.f. Databases and distributed computing but we must answer some (policy) questions…

8. Are we missing the target (again)? DistributionDistribution Data &Computation Scaling Cyber- infrastructure Semantic Web E-science Teraflops/petabytes Web scale E-business Society’s Needs

9. Rethinking Govt Funding Good news: the funding is there –NSF and NIH and DOD and DOE and … Bad news: Cannot fund modern scientific infrastructure through traditional discipline- based funding mechanisms –NSF vs. NIH vs. DOE vs. DOD vs … –Panels of biologists or chemists or physicists or information technologists or… Need to consider new mechanisms –Crossing agencies,Combining Disciplines –Who has the charge for such cross cutting work?

10. Rethinking Software-based Commerce Software Patenting and Licensing is out of control –We could not have created the Web in the current software environment! Scientists and Information Technologists require open-source software –Without it, no experimentation with new models, languages and techniques And not an “anti-business” position –The big winners on the web made it available for free: Browsers, Plug-ins, Tools, Publication software

11. Conclusion Semantic Web offers powerful new web technologies for interdisciplinary science Cyber Infrastucture and Semantic Web visions are mutually beneficial –Distribution and power together are needed for a truly interdisciplinary science –Offer a powerful combination for approaching socially critical technical challenges But there are some issues –Current scientific funding models may not be appropriate –Dissemination of technology must be a priority