AnHai Doan

1
Research Overview

• AnHai Doan
• Dept. of Computer Science
• Univ. of Illinois
• Fall 2004

2
My Research Interests
Databases
Hard-core databases, XML Query optimizations,
Database theory
Growing Becoming increasingly critical
AI-ish databases Next-generation info
systems Semantic integration Data
integration Bridging text and databases
AI
Web IR
3
Semantic Integration

• Schema matching
• decide if column "location" in one database
  matches "address" in another database
• Tuple matching
• do (Mike Smith, 8, Champaign-IL) (M. Smith, 7,
  Illinois) refer to the same person?
• Fundamental problems
• crucial for integrating and sharing across data
  sources, the Web, enterprises, government
  agencies
• extremely difficult "AI complete"
• Strong area at IIlinois
• with Dan Roth, Kevin Chang, Chengxiang Zhai,
  Jiawei Han

4
Data Integration

• How to integrate databases, text, Web pages so
  that
• users can pose structured queries, can interact
  with data as if with a single giant database, can
  quickly find desired information
• A long-standing challenge for both database and
  AI fields
• many annual workshops in both fields
• Samples of my research
• entity retrieval/integration find all
  information about a particular David Smith on the
  Web with C. Zhai
• online community information integration can
  monitor person movements, products, etc.
• One of the top data integration groups in the
  database field
• with Kevin Chang
• Chengxiang Zhai and Dan Roth also perform work in
  this area
• works funded by NSF CAREER Awards

5
Bridging Text and Databases

• In most domain
• have both structured data and vast amount of text
• Combining them is an emerging hot direction for
  both database and IR communities
• My current focus
• connect them at semantic level (e.g., linking
  mentions) with Dan Roth
• efficient structured querying over text
• instead of "find all potential enemies of
  Microsoft"
• ask Q(x) - collaborate(Microsoft,y),
  competitor(y,x)
• Leveraging top-notch expertise in text processing
  at Illinois
• Dan Roth, Chengxiang Zhai
• Combining it with database technologies

6
Summary

• My focus
• semantic integration
• data integration
• bridging text and databases
• Fundamental problems in managing distributed,
  heterogeneous, semi-structured, and dynamic data
• of interest to database, AI, IR, Web communities
• Collaborating closely with the strong AI IR
  groups here