VoCamp1

VoCamp Home

This is the home page for the "Phyloinformatics VoCamp" workshop event scheduled to take place in coordination with the Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) meeting in Montpellier, France, in November, 2009.

Quick links

• Participants, with links to some of their projects
• List of candidate projects, contribute your idea
• Resources related to the VoCamp such as ontologies and other artefacts to be used during the VoCamp
• Background & bootcamps
• Mailing list archive or our meeting notes
• Original VoCamp proposal
• TDWG Interest Group on Phylogenetics Standards

Overview

Integrating diverse biological data with the historical process of evolution is a grand challenge for 21st century biology. The interoperability of data from diverse fields (e.g., genetics, ecology, biodiversity, biomedicine) requires a technology infrastructure based on formalized, shared vocabularies. Developing such vocabularies is a community project. In order to build controlled vocabularies and ontologies, the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) is sponsoring a "Phyloinformatics VoCamp".

The Phyloinformatics VoCamp is a hands-on meeting for investigators to create and develop ontologies and lightweight vocabularies in support of integration and semantic cross-linking of evolutionary data with its many related fields. It will be held on November 7-11, 2009 in Montpellier, France, co-localized with the annual meeting of the International Biodiversity Information Standards Organization (TDWG).

Schedule for the event

• Saturday, Nov 7, LIRMM
  • Introductions
  • Pitches
• Sunday, Nov 8, LIRMM
• Tuesday, Nov 10, Le Corum
• Wednesday, Nov 11, Le Corum

Desired outcomes

Desired outcomes for the period prior to the VoCamp

• participants are aware of shared information resources, and know how to use them
• participants (including organizers) know each other by name
• participants know what is expected of them
• participants identify and respond to information and training needs
• participants discuss shared objectives and consider possible "pitches"

Desired outcomes during Day 1 of the VoCamp

• participants collectively formulate, present, review and revise "pitches"
• participants self-organize into groups that will turn "pitches" into projects
• participants choose a pitch that represents the best use of their time
• groups assign roles and set goals

Desired outcomes during Days 2, 3 and 4 of the VoCamp

• groups work to advance group goals
• groups report their progress during stand-ups and on the wiki
• participants reivew other projects and offer constructive criticism

How to prepare

explanation about background, pitches, setting goals, finding collaborators

Travel, maps and logistics

If you will have cell service during the conference (will my phone work?), please consider sharing your number with the organizers. It will help us all to keep in touch, in case there is some confusion about locations or meals.

Transportation & getting there:

• Getting to LIRMM (location for Nov 7-8)
• Chateau d'O, the closest Tram stop station to LIRMM, about 800 m from LIRMM on the Blue tram line.. See also the Tram map for Montpellier.
• See also travel to the TDWG conference and the TDWG information on Le Corum (location for Nov 10-11) and Montpellier.
• Note that Montpellier has a network of public bicycles and protected bicycle parking at select tram stations. See here for more info.

Food & coffee:

• See Places to Eat for the TDWG conference for Nov 9 and after.
• While at LIRMM (Nov 7-8):
  • A cafeteria is located within a grocery story within 20min walking distance, see the map for how to get there for lunch.
  • The organizers will buy ground coffee, and a local staff will lend a coffee machine. We will ask for a per-cup donation to defray costs.

Language translation:

• Yahoo BabelFish
• Google Translate

Weather:

• Recent weather in Montpellier has been cloudy with showers and a daily high in the upper 60s F.
  • Current weather in Montpellier
  • Past weather, in terms of average daily highs and lows, has been:
    • October: daily high of 67 F (19 C), low of 53 F (12 C)
    • November: daily high of 57 F (14 C), low of 42 F (6 C)

Acknowledgements

The VoCamp event is an official activity of the TDWG Interest Group on Phylogenetic Standards and takes place through the generous support of NESCent, which funded a VoCamp proposal written by the organizers:

• Nico Cellinese
• Karen Cranston
• Hilmar Lapp
• Sheldon MacKay
• Enrico Pontelli
• Arlin Stoltzfus

The VoCamp proposal, in turn, builds on previous support from NESCent, which sponsored the Evolutionary Informatics Working Group. The EvoInfo working group, which was active from 2006 to 2009, spawned the NeXML, CDAO and PhyloWS projects, and helped to organize 2 hackathons.

The organizers also thank TDWG and LIRMM for support.