GRK 1498:  Semantic Integration of Geospatial Information

• Subject Area: Computer Science ; Geophysics and Geodesy
• Term: from 2008 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 52793820

With this International Research Training Group, we address problems arising when integrating geospatial information from multiple sources to reason and support decisions about the human environment. These problems will be situated in the overall research challenge of supporting effective geospatial reasoning across age and cultures. The common scientific thread of the entire programme is the ambition to create computationally tractable solutions to problems of semantic integration.
The Research Training Group will create an international centre of excellence in the area of geospatial information integration. 24 funded doctoral researchers will enter the programme in two cohorts of 12, in months 1 and 19. Münster and Bremen will together fund at least six more doctoral researchers from other resources. Buffalo will participate with 12 doctoral researchers.
The research and qualification programmes will be guided by 22 professors, five each at Münster and Bremen, and 12 at Buffalo, with participating departments of geography, ecology, geoinformatics, computer science, industrial engineering, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology and cognitive sciences.
The research programme targets substantial progress on semantic modelling, information discovery, semantic translation and service composition for geospatial information integration. It is structured into six research initiatives, each involving professors at all three sites co-advising doctoral researchers. The initiatives address specific research questions posed by the overall challenge. Three of them focus mainly on cultural barriers and three on age-related issues.
The qualification concept rests on the premise that course work should primarily support doctoral researchers in achieving a high level of interdisciplinary understanding and cooperation. It matches the existing IGERT programme in Geographic Information Science at the University at Buffalo and features five phases, including six months at Buffalo for all doctoral researchers from Münster and Bremen. Each phase contains several milestones for progress monitoring, such as thesis proposals, progress reports and publications.
The familiarity among many participating professors, the multi-lateral advising process including postdoctoral support and the extensive international networks at each site will provide an unprecedented interdisciplinary and international experience to participating doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, qualifying fellows and research students.

• DFG Programme: International Research Training Groups
• International Connection: USA
• Applicant Institution: Universität Münster
• Co-Applicant Institution: Universität Bremen
• IRTG-Partner Institution: University at Buffalo; The State University of New York
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Werner Kuhn
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. John Bateman, Ph.D.; Professor Christian Freksa, Ph.D. (†); Professor Dr. Xiaoyi Jiang; Professor Dr. Otto Klemm; Professor Dr. Bernd Krieg-Brückner; Professor Dr. Antonio Krüger; Professor Dr. Till Mossakowski; Professor Dr. Edzer Pebesma; Professorin Dr. Kerstin Schill
• IRTG-Partner: Spokesperson: Professor Dr. David M. Mark
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Rajan Batta; Professorin Dr. Ann M. Bisantz; Professor Dr. Thomas Bittner; Professorin Dr. Irene Casas; Professor Dr. David R. Koepsell; Professor Dr. David Scott Mackay; Professor Dr. Chris S. Renschler; Professor Dr. Stuart C. Shapiro; Professor Dr. Narushige Shiode; Professor Dr. Barry Smith; Professor Dr. Ezra B. Zubrow