Jim Hendler Joins Cerebra, Inc. Technology Advisory Board; Further Enhances Prestigious Body of Semantic Web Experts

Business Wire, Sept 28, 2005

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Cerebra, Inc., the leading provider of standards-based semantic technology products, announces the addition of Professor Jim Hendler to their Technology Advisory Board (TAB), whose members represent the world's leading experts in semantic technology.

Jim Hendler is a Professor at the University of Maryland where he is Director of the Joint Institute for Knowledge Discovery. He has joint appointments in the Department of Computer Science, the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and is an affiliate of the Institute for Systems Research.

The vision of the Semantic Web as "an extension of the current web in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation" was described in a ground-breaking paper by Jim and co-authors, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Ora Lassila. (The Semantic Web, Scientific American, May 2001)

Cerebra's mission is to lead the way in developing technology innovation and helping to drive standards in the application and commercialization of semantic web technology to achieve that vision in today's enterprise. In 2001, they launched the Technology Advisory Board to provide consultative guidance in the development of technology, patents, and product direction. Cerebra have assembled some of the world's pre-eminent thinkers and research contributors in semantic technology and knowledge systems as members. They include:

Professor Ian Horrocks,
     University of Manchester, Information Management Group
     Co-Inventor/Author of W3C standard OWL (Web Ontology Language)

Dr. Deborah McGuinness,
     Director, Stanford University Knowledge Systems Labs
     Co-Inventor/Author of W3C standard OWL

Ora Lassila
     Research Fellow, Nokia Research Labs
     Co-Inventor/Author of W3C standard RDF

Jim stated that, "The past decade has been a very exciting time for me, watching what was once just a research dream, to bring ontologies and other semantic capabilities to the Web, flourish into a growing market sector being widely hailed for its significant potential. Cerebra brings unique capabilities in OWL ontology support to this growing market, and I am excited to join this Board and be part of Cerebra's continuing success in deploying this important technology."

According to Jeff Pollock, VP of Technology at Cerebra and TAB Director, "Jim has worked with Ian, Deborah, and Ora for a number of years. Their individual strengths and collaborative effort have benefited the Semantic Web community. We are privileged to have the opportunity to apply their collective thought leadership to the direction of Cerebra products and technology."

Professor Hendler has authored 200 technical papers in the areas of artificial intelligence, Semantic Web, agent-based computing and high performance processing. He chaired the Working Group that developed OWL, is a member of the W3C's Semantic Web Coordination Group, and an advisor to the government's XML Working Group. One of the inventors of the Semantic Web, Hendler received a 1995 Fulbright Foundation Fellowship, is a former member of the US Air Force Science Advisory Board, and is a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence. He is also the former Chief Scientist of the Information Systems Office at the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), was awarded a US Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal in 2002, and is a member of the World Wide Web Consortium's Semantic Web Coordination Group. He is the Editor in Chief of IEEE Intelligent Systems.

About Cerebra

Cerebra is the leading provider of standards-based, enterprise-ready, semantic technologies. For more information, visit http://www.cerebra.com .