Research
During my period in private companies (1993-2003) I worked in Human-Computer Interaction, Multiplatform User Interfaces and Advanced Web Technologies. In the pre-doctoral period (2003-2009) I was focused on Semantic Web. In my first post-doctoral period (2009-2014) I combined my main line in Semantic Web and Linked Data with a research line based on non-immersive virtual worlds. From 2014 I also work with Natural Language applied to Linked Data, specifically, ontology lexicalization and software systems aimed at creating guided pseudo-natural language queries.
Semantic Web and Linked Data
I am interested in methods to create user interfaces capable of allowing to people not skilled at Semantic Web technologies an intuitive access to the Web of Data.
I belong to the DBpedia Internationalization Committee. I am the contact person for the Spanish language and creator of es.dbpedia.org.
I have participated in the organization of several events of the Linked Data Spanish Network (I esDBpedia mapping workshop, II esDBpedia Workshop, III esDBpedia Workshop) and I have been speaker in events related to Open Data, Linked Data and eGovernment:
2018: - April. Mentor of project for DBpedia funded by Google Summer of Code 2018. - May. Keynote (in Spanish) entitled "DBpedia, aprende a buscar datos enlazados de la DBpedia" in the Open Data Day, at MediaLab Prado, Madrid. Vídeo (70 min).
2017: - Jun. 2nd Summer Datathon on Linguistic Linked Open Data (Cercedilla, Madrid).
2016: - Mar. Tutorial at The EMBO Conference on Visualizing Biological Data (VIZBI 2016), Heidelberg, Germany.
- Nov. Talk in the opening table of the III Workshop on Teaching Innovation, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid.
2015: - Jun. 3rd Conference on Data Journalism (MediaLab Prado, Madrid) talk (video).
- Jun. 1st Summer Datathon on Linguistic Linked Open Data (Cercedilla, Madrid).
2014: W3C "MultilingualWeb" workshop (Madrid) talk (video).
1st DBpedia Community Meeting, organized by Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam.
2013: Open Data Day Bilbao, organized by the University of Deusto.
2012: OpenData Seville, organized by the University Pablo de Olavide.
Although I started my research (DEA) on Semantic Web Services, my doctoral thesis (in Amazon) was focused on reducing the adoption barrier that Semantic Web technologies present to application developers and final users. From the scientific papers have appeared several dissemination papers.
Most relevant projects in which I have participated
- SlideWiki (EU project)
- LIDER (EU project)
- Wf4Ever (EU project)
- Infra esDBpedia (my first project as PI). See I&D&i at UPM.
- Upgrid
- S5T
- Neptuno
- Aniceto
Dissemination
- "New Tool Fosters Modern-Day ‘Assembly Line’ for Semantic Web App Development". Interview in semanticweb.com.
- "Fortunata for the Semantic Web". Published in Dr. Dobb's.
- "Semantic Web Made Easy: Tool Developed by Computer Scientists Paves Way for Web of the Future". Published in Science Daily.
- "Big boost for Spanish Semantic Wikipedia" in UPM Online Magazine.
- "Spanish Semantic Wikipedia comes out" in Cordis Wire.
- Interview at datos.gob.es: "qMe-Aporta, third prize of Aporta Challenge 2017"
Linguistics, Linked Data & NLP
My current project (funded by the Spanish Research Ministry under the "Juan de la Cierva" call) aims at creating software tools to create sentences in several languages from semantic data. In collaboration with the Semantic Computing Group at Bielefeld university, I have developed the Lemonade tool suite, a set of tools to create high-quality ontology lexicalizations.
From these multilingual lexicalizations I am working on a web user interface to allow users with no technical skills, an easy creation of questions (guided pseudo-natural language) to query semantic data repositories.
Dissemination
Talk "Lexicalizing ontologies with Lemonade tools", at the 1st Summer Datathon on Linguistic Linked Open Data (SD-LLOD-15), held in Cercedilla, Madrid, 2015.
Awards
Finalist in the 14 edition of ActúaUPM (2017), aimed at fostering entrepreneurship projects (start-ups) at UPM, with company project qMe.
Finalist in the Innovatech 2T (Technology Transfer) Challenge of the UPM 2016. Interview. Dylan-Q commercial sheet, in the portfolio of UPM technologies.
Awarded in the Aporta Challenge 2017:, organized by the Spanish Administration under the motto "The value of data for the Administration".
Non immersive Virtual Worlds
Shortly before finishing my PhD in Semantic Web, I became interested in non-immersive virtual worlds through an initiative arising in EPS to create a virtual-EPS in SecondLife. This initiative had a great impact in the media, because it allowed us to receive students interested in pursuing EPS careers in an environment much more comfortable than the traditional.
Projects in which I have participated
V-LeaF. Project belonging to the Explora program. Hired for this project as postdoctoral researcher.
Educational Innovation project at UPM. Promoter, trainer and technical project coordinator for the virtual labs platform. Now it is an innovative tool at UPM.
Disemination
Awards
- Best Paper Award in category "Infrastructure and Technologies for Engineering Education" in EDUCON 2012.
- Award Computerworld for the technological transformation in Education. Although my relationship with the GATE ended long ago, I feel this 2016's award a little bit mine.
