About onto:Nexus Forum
The onto:Nexus Forum, the International Forum on Ontological Modeling and Analysis, is a venue for developers, researchers, and practitioners to exchange ideas and experiences related to the application of formal methods (adding rigor), DevOps methods (adding agility), and AI methods (adding automation) to ontological modeling and analysis. The forum also aims to foster collaborations within the community.
Forum Chair
- Maged Elaasar, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
This Edition
The onto:Nexus Forum 2025 marks the second edition of the International Forum on Ontological Modeling and Analysis. The theme for this year is Realizing the RAISE Vision, highlighting community efforts to enhance systems engineering practices through rigor, agility, and automation.
The event will feature presentations from the community, tutorials demonstrating approaches that exemplify the RAISE vision, and reports on R&D projects led by students of the RAISE Lab.
The forum is a free, two-day hybrid event, held both in-person at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and online via Microsoft Teams on May 5–6, 2025.
Online Attendance
To attend virtually, register via the LinkedIn event. Only registered participants will receive an invitation to the Microsoft Teams Meeting.
Registration deadline: May 2, 2025.
A virtual tour of the JPL campus will be provided for online attendees during the midday break (see agenda below).
In-Person Attendance
To attend in person, please email the forum chair and await confirmation. Space is limited, so early reservation is strongly encouraged. Note that a logistical onboarding process is required for campus access.
Registration Deadlines:
- US persons: April 15, 2025
- Foreign nationals: March 15, 2025
Drinks and light refreshments will be provided both days in the morning. Lunch is not included but can be purchased at the JPL cafeteria.
In-person attendees will also enjoy a one-hour tour of the JPL campus during the midday break on both days (different sites will be visited each day).
Physical Venue
The event will be held in Room 180-101 at JPL, located at 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109. If accommodation is needed, hotels in nearby Pasadena are recommended (about a 15-minute drive).
Directions: On the day of the event, please plan to arrive early — ideally before 7:30 AM. Upon reaching the entrance, inform security that you are attending the event, then turn left and proceed to the JPL Badging Office. If driving, park in the visitor parking lot (note: parking may take time). After parking, walk to the Badging Office to check in and receive a visitor badge. This process can take time, especially with multiple visitors, so we aim to complete check-in by 8:15 AM in order to walk to the venue as a group.
Call for Presentations
We invite members of the community to submit proposals for presentations related to ontological modeling and analysis, particularly work aligning with the RAISE vision.
To propose a presentation, please email an abstract to the forum chair. We will follow up with you regarding next steps.
Call for Tutorials
This year’s program will include tutorials on tools, technologies, and case studies that support the RAISE vision.
If you would like to offer a tutorial, please email an abstract to the forum chair. We will follow up with you after receiving your submission.
DAY 1 Agenda (Monday, May 5, 2025)
| Time (PST) | Topic | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 - 8:30 | JPL Visitor Onboarding | |
| Introduction | ||
| 8:30 - 8:35 | Introduction to Day 1 | Maged Elaasar (JPL) |
| MBSE in Industry | ||
| 8:35 - 9:00 | MBSE State of Practice: Survey Results | Wahab Hamou-Lhadj (Concordia U) |
| 9:00 - 9:30 | Keynote: JPL Digital Engineering Transformation | Steven Ardito (JPL) |
| 9:30 - 9:55 | Applications of Ontologies in Pharma | Elisa Kendall (Thematix) |
| 9:55 - 10:10 | Coffee Break (15min) | |
| MBSE Methods and Tools | ||
| 10:10 - 10:30 | Ontological Modeling in Obsidian | Maged Elaasar (JPL) |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Sierra Method: Operational Analysis of TLR Project | Nicolas Rouquette (JPL) |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Integrated Knowledge Centric Engineering: An approach to Agility and Rigour in Large-Scale Aerospace Projects | Lewis Humphries (Leonardo) |
| Lunch and Tour | ||
| 11:30 - 12:15 | Lunch @ 167 Cafeteria (45min) | |
| 12:15 - 1:15 | Tour of JPL Campus (1h) | |
| MBSE with Ontological Modeling Language | ||
| 1:15 - 1:45 | Harness Design at JPL: How Modeling Vocabulary Matters | David Wagner (JPL) |
| 1:45 - 2:15 | Ontological Modeling and Analysis Across the Supply Chain | Steve Jenkins (Modelware) |
| 2:15 - 2:45 | Integrating Ontological Modeling and Mathematical Analysis using OML Vision | Yuta Nakajima (JAXA) |
| 2:45 - 3:00 | Coffee Break (15min) | |
| SysML v2 | ||
| 3:00 - 3:30 | Implementing SysML v2 Ontology | Maged Elaasar (JPL) |
| 3:30 - 4:00 | OpenMBEE Flexo: RDF Repository Service for SysML v2 | Christopher Delp (JPL) |
| 4:00 - 4:30 | Exploring the Synergy of SysML v2 and OML in Model-Based Aircraft Systems Design | Oliver Bertram (DLR) |
| Conclusion | ||
| 4:30 - 4:40 | Conclusion | |
DAY 2 Agenda (Tuesday, May 6, 2025)
| Time (PST) | Topic | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 - 8:30 | JPL Visitor Onboarding | |
| Introduction | ||
| 8:30 - 8:45 | Introduction to Day 2 | Maged Elaasar (JPL) |
| 8:45 - 9:15 | Keynote: Ontologies and Semantic Technologies for Trustworthy Systems Engineering | Giancarlo Guizzardi (U of Twente) |
| Ontology R&D Projects | ||
| 9:15 - 9:30 | Modeling Space – An Ontology Suite for Astronautics and Astronomy | Robert Rovetto (UNSW) |
| 9:30 - 9:45 | Analyzing Documents as Ontologies with LLM | Kareem Elaasar (UCI) |
| 9:45 - 10:00 | Coffee Break (15min) | |
| 10:00 - 10:15 | Interactive model reporting and analysis in openCAESAR through NLP | Mohammad Hamdaqa (U of Montreal) |
| 10:15 - 10:30 | Ontological Analysis of Building Code on BIM Models | Summayah Waseem (CSUN) |
| 10:30 - 10:45 | Embedding Digital Engineering into the Systems Engineering Classroom | Joe Gregory (U of Arizona) |
| 10:45 - 11:00 | Developing an OML Co-Pilot - exploring AI-assisted Ontological Modeling | Ajay Sreekumar (U of Arizona) |
| 11:00 - 11:15 | OML Code Extension | Leroy Gage (UCLA) |
| Lunch and Tour | ||
| 11:15 - 12:00 | Lunch @ 167 Cafeteria (45min) | |
| 12:00 - 1:00 | Tour of JPL Campus (1h) | |
| Ontology Tutorials | ||
| 1:00 - 2:45 | OML Foundations & Tutorial | Maged Elaaar (JPL) |
| 2:45 - 3:00 | Coffee Break (15min) | |
| 3:00 - 4:45 | EMPIRE Foundations & Tutorial | Michael Halvorson (U of Alabama in Huntsville) |
| Conclusion | ||
| 4:45 - 4:50 | Conclusion | |
Community
If you are not yet a member of the onto:Nexus Forum LinkedIn group, we invite you to join to be part of the community going forward.
