The Unified Astronomy Thesaurus (UAT) is an open, interoperable, and community-supported project that formalizes astronomical concepts and their inter-relationships into a high-quality, freely available open resource. Its mission is to enable greater search and discovery across the astrophysics literature, as well as a taxonomy that can be used to label other research products, such as software and datasets. The UAT has been implemented by an increasing number of journals, research organizations, and systems, including the American Astronomical Society (AAA) and the JWST proposal system. It is currently being integrated into the Astrophysics Data System (ADS), now the multidisciplinary Science Explorer (SciX).
The AAS Working Group on the Unified Astronomy Thesaurus (WGUAT) sets the general parameters for the overall direction of the UAT and is composed of representatives from groups with a direct stake in the development and success of the UAT. Members of the WGUAT also serve as representatives of the UAT, promoting it to global astronomy, astrophysics, library, and publishing communities, developing test cases, and increasing its overall use. Some members also are involved in curation development for the UAT, supporting our technical architecture, and more. More information about the Working Group is available on the UAT website. We welcome nominees from all regions of the world, with a specific interest in adding international and in particular Southern Hemisphere representation.
We welcome expressions of interest from astronomers, developers, data scientists, researchers, librarians, and others. Expressions of interest should concisely address the candidates’ professional background and interest in the UAT. The standard commitment is a three-year term and includes monthly WGUAT meetings; there are also other ways to be involved with lower commitment, so please contact us regardless if you’re interested in working on the UAT in any capacity. Please contact current co-chairs of the WGUAT, with “WGUAT” in the subject line, to express your interest or to ask questions (Erik Tollerud, etollerud@stsci.edu; Jennifer Bartlett, jennifer.bartlett@cfa.harvard.edu).
Current adoptees include:
- American Astronomical Society journals, including The Astronomical Journal (AJ), The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ), ApJS, ApJL, The Planetary Science Journal (PSJ), and Research Notes of the AAS (RNAAS)
- Astrophysics Data System (ADS) / Science Explorer (SciX)
- Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (PASP)
- International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA)
- Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) for the JWST proposal system and the Hubble Spectroscopic Legacy Archive
- Wikidata
The closing date for expressions of interest is September 13.