Overview | ER 2024

Conceptual Modeling, AI, and Beyond

The 43rd International Conference on Conceptual Modeling (ER 2024) is the main international forum for discussing the state of the art, emerging issues, and future challenges in research and practice on conceptual modeling.

Topics of interest span the entire spectrum of conceptual modeling, including research and practice in areas such as theories of concepts and ontologies, techniques for transforming conceptual models into effective implementations, and methods and tools for developing and communicating conceptual models.

ER 2024 will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, hosted by Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute on 28-31 October 2024.

Keynote Speakers

Nicola Guarino

Nicola Guarino is a retired research associate at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies of the Italian National Research Council (ISTC-CNR), and former director of the ISTC-CNR Laboratory for Applied Ontology (LOA) based in Trento.

He has been playing a leading role in the ontology field, developing a strongly interdisciplinary approach that combines together Computer Science, Philosophy, and Linguistics. Among the most well-known results of his lab, the OntoClean methodology and the DOLCE foundational ontology. He has been founder and co-editor-in-chief of the Applied Ontology journal, founder and former president of the International Association for Ontology and its Applications (IAOA), and editorial board member of International Journal of Semantic Web and Information Systems and Journal of Data Semantics. He is also ER fellow and fellow of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence (EurAI). Recently he received the Peter P. Chen award for outstanding contributions to the field of conceptual modeling.

On the theoretical side, his current research interests are focusing on the ontological foundations of knowledge representation and conceptual modeling and specifically the ontology of events, processes, and relationships, while on the application side he has been focusing on enterprise modeling, ontology of economics, and manufacturing. He is also interested in leveraging on ontological analysis and semantic technologies to improve the cognitive transparency, the social accountability and the participatory governance of artificial intelligence artifacts.

His publications have 30,000+ citations, with H-index=54 according to Google Scholar.

Paul Nielsen

Dr. Paul D. Nielsen is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute (CMU SEI), a U.S. Department of Defense federally funded research and development center (FFRDC). The SEI is a global leader in advancing software engineering, cybersecurity, and the engineering of artificial intelligence systems. Since joining the SEI in 2004, Nielsen has overseen the growth of SEI to an organization with more than 600 men and women and operating revenues of $150 million annually. Nielsen has encouraged expansions of the SEI’s cyber portfolio, an emphasis on model-based software engineering and DevSecOps, a better alignment of software engineering and systems engineering and new initiatives in the engineering of AI systems.

Prior to joining the SEI in 2004, Nielsen served in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a major general and commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. Nielsen is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE).

Nielsen earned a BS in Physics from the US Air Force Academy, an MBA from the University of New Mexico, and an MS and PhD in Applied Science for the University of California, Davis. He is a 1989 graduate of the National War College. He has served on several boards and advisory groups including the Hertz Foundation, AIAA, AFCEA. PAR Technology Corporation, the AF Scientific Advisory Board, and the Defense Science Board. Nielsen has been a strong proponent of science and technology throughout his career, inside and outside of government, but most importantly, he is a strong proponent of the dedicated women and men involved in the global science and engineering communities.

The 43rd International Conference on Conceptual Modeling

Conceptual Modeling, AI, and Beyond

Keynote Speakers

Nicola Guarino

Paul Nielsen

Pradeep Ravikumar

Sponsors