Pre-Conference Social (May 27th, 2023)
Pre-Conference Social is sponsored by the Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau and will be hosted at the Anchor Hotel (Embassy Suites Omaha Downtown).
Time: 5:30 - 8:30pm.
Location: Embassy Suites Omaha Lobby
Welcome Reception (May 28th, 2023)
Location: Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (ZOO MAP)
Time: Access to the Zoo with name tag will be available from 4 pm onward (Shuttles will be provided from the Anchor Hotel)
Reception begins at 5:30pm
Special Event (May 29th, 2023)
Location: Upstream Brewing Company (Walking Directions from Anchor Hotel)
Time: 5:30pm (Walk to location)
Closing Gala (May 30th, 2023)
Location: Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum
Tranportation: Buses will depart from Anchor Hotel at 5:00pm sharp (Self-driving Directions)
Keynote Speakers
Monday May 29th, 2023 (Morning)
Dr. Ilkay Altıntaş, Chief Data Science Officer at San Diego Supercomputer Center.
Dr. Ilkay Altintas, a research scientist at the University of California San Diego, is the Chief Data Science Officer of the San Diego Supercomputer Center as well as a Founding Fellow of the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute. She is the Founding Director of the Workflows for Data Science (WorDS) Center of Excellence and the WIFIRE Lab. The WoRDS Center specializes in the development of methods, cyberinfrastructure, and workflows for computational data science and its translation to practical applications. The WIFIRE Lab is focused on artificial intelligence methods for an all-hazards knowledge cyberinfrastructure, becoming a management layer from the data collection to modeling efforts, and has achieved significant success in helping to manage wildfires. Since joining SDSC in 2001, she has been a principal investigator and a technical leader in a wide range of cross-disciplinary projects. With a specialty in scientific workflows, she leads collaborative teams to deliver impactful results through making computational data science work more reusable, programmable, scalable, and reproducible. Her work has been applied to many scientific and societal domains including bioinformatics, geoinformatics, high-energy physics, multi-scale biomedical science, smart cities, and smart manufacturing. She is also a popular MOOC instructor in the field of “big” data science and has reached more than a million learners across the globe. Among the awards she has received are the 2015 IEEE TCSC Award for Excellence in Scalable Computing for Early Career Researchers and the 2017 ACM SIGHPC Emerging Woman Leader in Technical Computing Award. Dr. Altıntaş received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. For a list of the more than 25 journal papers and 100 refereed scientific articles that Dr. Altıntaş has published, visit her Google Scholar page. Ilkay and her team's work has been featured on TIME magazine, the National Public Radio (NPR), The New York Times, and Voice of America.
Tuesday May 30th, 2023 (Morning)
Claudio Laterreur, Senior Vice President & CIO, Valmont Industries Inc.
As Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO), Claudio leads the expansion of Valmont’s digital transformation and development of information technology and systems in support of Valmont’s corporate and divisional goals as well as service to its global customer base. Claudio has a 29-year track record of defining new business strategies, implementing and deploying new solutions while delivering operational impact. His most recent experience, prior to Valmont, has been as a Partner and US SAP Industrial Products Lead with IBM. Claudio’s global experience spans the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa with such companies as Belden Wire and Cable, SAP, Ernst & Young, Prettl, Caterpillar, and Schlumberger among others. He was appointed to CIO for Valmont in 2019. Claudio speaks three languages—French, Spanish and English. He also holds various business and technology certifications (OIQ – Ordre des Ingenieurs du Quebec, Society of Petroleum Engineers) and has been part of various advisory boards both in the private and public sectors. Claudio has also been published for his views on smart manufacturing solutions for global enterprises. Claudio received his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in International Management from European University in Switzerland and his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Chemical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal.
Title and Abstract of Keynote: "Climate Change, Sustainability, and ICT: How Valmont is Making a Difference?"
Wednesday May 31st, 2023 (Morning)
Dr. Pia-Johanna Schweizer, Research Group Leader ("Systemic Risks"), Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany
Dr. Pia-Johanna Schweizer leads the research group “Systemic Risks” at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany. Dr. Schweizer is also speaker for the research area “Global Implications of Socio-technical Change” at the IASS. Dr. Schweizer has gained a PhD in sociology from Stuttgart University (summa cum laude). She has authored and co-authored more than 35 peer-reviewed publications and serves on the editorial and scientific advisory board of peer-reviewed journals. She was awarded the Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award by the Society of Risk Analysis in 2015. Dr. Schweizer’s main fields of research are systemic risk, risk analysis, risk communication, risk perception, risk governance and deliberative decision-making.
Title and Abstract of Keynote: "Systemic Risk - Information, Knowledge, Governance" - Pandemics, climate change, the water-food-energy nexus: Understanding and managing systemic risk is more important than ever due to our immense global connectivity, whether between sectors, countries and continents, or even between individuals. Systemic risk is associated with cascading impacts that spread within and across systems and sectors (e.g. ecosystems, health, infrastructure, the food and energy sectors) via the movements of people, goods, capital and information within and across boundaries (e.g. regions, countries and continents). Addressing contemporary challenges in terms of systemic risk requires integrating different systems perspectives and fostering system thinking, while implementing key intergovernmental agendas, such as the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Systemic risks are complex, transboundary, and nonlinear risk phenomena with potential tipping points. They are likely to cause cascading events that lead to negative effects across various societal domains. Furthermore, there is often a lag in public perception and regulatory effort, despite the potential devastating effects of systemic risks. The presentation investigates the dynamic processes of social perception of systemic risk and considers reasons for a lack of attention to systemic risks by policymakers and the public. Furthermore, the presentation addresses issues such as information requirements and knowledge creation that are essential for a better and more actionable understanding of the systemic nature of risk.