Robert J. Rovetto

Robert is a formal ontologist, philosopher, and interdisciplinary researcher open to work and study opportunities globally. Output includes ontologies (and other types of knowledge organization systems), and over 40 written works & presentations since 2011, including (inter)national standards, national agency manuals, reports, proposals; as well as collaborative projects including open data/science. Focus areas include: conceptual modeling & analysis; terminology; knowledge representation; highly abstract concepts; foundational or top-level ontology; development methodology & governance; and ethics of/in ontology & AI; topics in (meta)metaphysics and broader philosophical branches. Disciplinary focus areas for applying ontology include: aerospace, maritime, and emergency response. Relevant activities and content are listed below. You can Directly hire for selected services or Purchase products at this webpage.

Contact: rrovetto[at]terpalum[dot]umd[dot]edu or using this webpage. or schedule a meeting here.

Projects that need your support (Donate via PayPal or via GoGetFunding)

• Ontology 101 - The Ontology Guidebook & Ontology Development Guidelines - a broad and introductory manual on ontology, and an in-progress development method
  • Catalog of Definitions of 'Ontology'
  • Categories of Types of Ontology
  • A redefinition of 'ontology' and cognate terms
  • Pros and Cons of various types of Knowledge organization systems
  • (Diagram) The Ontology Landscape in a Broader Context: AI, etc.
  • How to create a top-level ontology
  • Terminology & Semantic Harmonization Workflow / A Generic KOS Workflow
  • Facts and Fictions & Clarifying concepts (in Ontology-related topics)
    • Myths of Ontology Development and Use
    • The Knowledge in Knowledge Engineering
    • The edge of what? or What the edge?
    • - - Contact me for full list of content you can buy - -
• Ethical aspects of ontology development and use
  • Sample paper
  • Sister paper in-progress (pending support, and seeking co-authors). Contact to express interest in co-authoring.

• Space ontology project
  • Desired as one possible PhD project for myself (documentation of ideation & work since 2009 available on request)
  • Donate: via GoGetFunding, or via Patreon, or via PayPal
  • Catalog of Space Vocabularies & Knowledge Organization Systems
  • Catalog of Spaceflight Terms
  • The Ontology of NASA's Science Mission Directorate

• Ontology of Causality - exploring the intersection of causality, spatio-temporality, and mereology
• The U.S. Government Open Data Ontology

• The Ethics of Open (Data, Science, Source Projects)
  • Ethical aspects of volunteers and volunteerism

Purchase Ontology Products/Resources

• "Introduction to Generic Ontologies" presentation (2018, presented to University of Koblenz)
• "Myths of Ontology Development and Use" (PowerPoint presentation)
• "Ethical Aspects of Ontology Development & Use" (Presentation document)
• "Ontology", PowerPoint presentation at NASA Datanauts 2017 session
• Various presentations on ontology for space (at conferences and events since 2015)
• A survey of biomedical ontologies (Presentation document, modification of a 2012 presentation)

For hire / Open to Opportunities

Willing to relocate internationally. Authorized to work in EU & US, with special interest in Canada.

• Open to regular employment, temp, consulting or contract roles. Open to any level: junior, entry-, mid, apprenticeship.
• Open to educational opportunities as PhD student. Will consider lesser degree.
• Direct hire webpage for ontology consulting
• Searching for formal support for my space ontology project and other projects.
• International experience, bilingual, MBSE, and Agile team experience

Written works (sample)

• ORCID Profile
• GoogleScholar Page
• DBLP
• ResearcherID (old link)
• Sample Presentation: "A generic name for the most generic ontologies" (PPT) at 2022 IAOA SWAO group meeting.
  • Buy a copy at this webpage link.
• Description of Some Services (PPT)
• Description of Pay-per Courses (PPT)

Education & Training

• M.A. Philosophy, with applied ontology focus, and courses from multiple departments; State University of New York.
• B.A. Philosophy, with Minor in Business & Management w/Information Technology focus; University of Maryland.
• Graduate coursework toward M.S. in Space Studies; AMU (paused)
• Training & Expertise in (cv available on request): Maritime operations, water search & rescue. Certified commercial merchant marine.

Service Activities (sample)

• Contributor to OntologySummit Communique 2023
• Contributor & committee member of Ontology Summit 2022. Presenter and co-champion/co-organizer of session Aerospace and Maritime Disasters part 1 and part 2.
• Contributing member of OntologForum since approximately 2010.
• Contributing member of Education Technical Committee (See this new webpage), in the International Association for Ontology and its Applications (IAOA)
• Co-organizer of the first Education Series on Applied Ontology.
• Contributing member of Semantic Web & Applied Ontology Special Interest Group in the [https://iaoa.org/ IAOA
• Contributing member of Semantic Technology Committee, and other groups in Earth Science Information Partners (2019-present)
• Contributing member participant of OntoCommons
  • Poster presentations: "The Ethics of Ontology", and "A Space Industry Ontology Suite" (13 June 2023)
• Contributing subject-matter expert national-body member in Information Technology committee of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (approx. 2017). Contributions to ISO21838.
• Contributed to two foundational/top-level ontologies (YAMATO, and BFO)
• Webmaster work for YAMATO ontology, and for RFM ontology
• Invited manuscript reviewer, Journal of Applied Ontology (2017, 2022)
• Invited manuscript reviewer, European Semantic Web Conference
• Ontology & terminology subject-matter expert in aerospace orgs. (2019-present)
• Emergency response & rescue community service

Donate to help support this and other ongoing volunteering and community service

Selected Interests

• Philosophy (general)
  • Metaphysics: causality/causation, space & time, laws of nature, misc.
  • Ethics & moral philosophy
  • various topics in philosophy
• Symbolic logic
• Ontology (formal, theoretical, philosophical, applied)
  • Generic/Foundational ontology & ontologies
  • Methodological and ethical aspects of ontology and similar types of system
• MBSE - Model-based systems engineering
• Space: astronautics, astronomy, policy, law, spatio-temporality
• Marine safety, boat operations, search & rescue