Abstract

The OntoPortal platform is a tool for setting up a semantic artifact catalog (i.e., vocabularies, taxonomies, or ontologies). Thanks to European funding (FAIR-IMPACT and, subsequently, OSCARS/OPAL), the Paris Observatory maintains the OntoPortal-Astro portal (https://ontoportal-astro.eu), which aims to bring together all vocabularies and ontologies related to astronomy (astrophysics, planetary science, heliophysics, etc.). The OntoPortal Alliance (https://ontoportal.org) brings together teams that use the OntoPortal platform around the world. The alliance meets annually. We are hosting the meeting this year.

Scientific justification

The open science paradigm and the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) require formalizing descriptions of data and metadata, as well as the means of accessing them. The ability to name and reference concepts or properties is therefore essential for the interoperability of data and services. Semantics and related technologies are therefore essential building blocks for open science tools. The OntoPortal platform is a tool that makes it possible to bring together vocabularies from different communities, make them more accessible, evaluate them to improve their quality, and cross-reference them to promote interdisciplinary research.

The OntoPortal platform was launched by a team at Stanford University (California, United States). For the past few years, a new version of the platform has been co-developed with colleagues at INRAE (in Montpellier). In addition, there are currently a number of instances of the platform for various scientific fields: Biology (BioPortal, https://bioportal.bioontology.org), Agronomy (AgroPortal, https://agroportal.lirmm.fr), Earth Sciences (EarthPortal, https://earthportal.eu), Ecology (EcoPortal, https://ecoportal.lifewatch.eu), Biodiversity (BioDivPortal, https://biodivportal.gfbio.org), Astronomy (OntoPortal-Astro, https://ontoportal-astro.eu), etc. Several portals are also being developed on the topics of the humanities and cultural heritage.

Preliminary program

– Reports on platform developments (Clément Jonquet, Jennifer L. Vendetti)
– Reports on plugin developments (EcoPortal team, EarthPortal team, AgroPortal team)
– Thematic activity reports from the OntoPortal platforms (all teams)
– Reports from the working groups and parallel sessions of the working groups.
– Tour of the Nançay Observatory (social event), and PADC/UNIDIA seminar on “OntoPortal” from Nançay