KEYNOTE SPEECH (K3)

INTELLIGENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

by

Prof. Morteza Anvari
Computer Science Division
University of California
Berkeley CA 94720
Anvari@cs.berkeley.edu

Abstract- In this article, we will discuss certain specific aspects of information systems that lend themselves to infusion of artificial intelligence methods and techniques. We recognize three information layers in an information/knowledge base system, i.e. the ontology (or ontic) layer, the metadata layer, and the data layer. The word ontology refers to a branch of metaphysics that explores the nature of Being. Following Martin Heidegger (German philosopher 1889-1976), we use the word “ontic” to refer to “being” in the restricted sense, in this case an information system. The three layers represent a conceptual hierarchy from higher to lower levels of abstraction (or from lower to higher levels of specificity.) The ontic layer may be domain independent comprising generic organizing concepts of any knowledge base or may be domain specific, e.g. ontology of a tourist information system.

Prof. Morteza Anvari obtained his B.S. in Physics from Tehran University, M.S. and Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA.

Since his graduation, Prof. Anvari occupied positions in Ohio State University, University of British Columbia, Sharif University, Michigan State University, California State University and University of California at Berkeley. Also, he was a visiting research professor at l’Institut Henri Poincare’, Paris, France.

Prof. Anvari was the Chairman of the Department of Mathematics at Sharif University of Technology. He was the founder of and president of the Computer College, Tehran for 7 years. At the University of California, Berkeley, he was the Director of Zadeh Institute for Information Technology (ZIFIT), and recently he founded and is currently the director of the Information and Communication Technology Institute, a center of excellence affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Tehran, Iran.

Prof. Anvari authored numerous research articles in computer science, bio-informatics, control theory, and mathematics. He was the Architect and designer of an intelligent software system for British Telecom, Image processing project for NASA.

His current projects include Infusion of ontologies in web services, computational linguistics, construction of an English-Persian translation engine, design and construction of an e-commerce software, and knowledge management.