2004 Volume 2004 Issue SWO-005 Pages 03-
The research of nanotechnology is extended in various domains, and each domain intertwines with each other closely. Therefore, sharing the knowledge in common among different domains contributes to facilitate research in each domain through cross fertilization. In this background, the Structuring Nanotechnology Knowledge project, which is a NEDO (Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) funded national project, has been carried out. The goal of the project is to build a material-independent platform for supporting development of innovative nano-materials. It is not a database, a set of simulation tools or a knowledge base, but is an integrated environment composed of structured knowledge supported by advanced IT. Among many factors, the authors have been involved in building ontology of nanotechnology and its application to knowledge systematization. The key issues of knowledge structuring include how to harmonize different terminologies and viewpoints of the respective domains and how to interface end users with the platform. Ontology of nanotechnology plays a role of glue for seamless connection between different domains and between users and the platform, since it provides us with a conceptual infrastructure of nanotechnology and with a unified framework in which functional knowledge for conceptual design of nanotechnology-made materials and devices and their realization processes. In this paper, we outline the use of Ontology in this project.
