Henderik Alex Proper has been named an ER Fellow 2026, one of the highest distinctions awarded by the conceptual modeling community, recognizing individuals for outstanding and sustained contributions to research, education, and community service. Conferred by the ER community, the award honors scholars who have significantly advanced conceptual modeling through influential research, active mentorship, and long-term engagement with the annual ER Conference, the field’s leading international event. ER Fellows are selected based on their scientific achievements, commitment to fostering the next generation of researchers, and dedicated service to the community through leadership roles such as conference organization, program committees, and steering committees. The official induction of Henderik Alex Proper as an ER Fellow will take place during the ER Conference 2026, where he will be formally recognized and presented with a commemorative plaque in honor of this distinction.

Congratulations to Erik on his appointment as an ER Fellow 2026!

About

Erik (officially Henderik A.) Proper is a Professor at the Research Unit Business Informatics at TU Wien Informatics. He is also a Guest Professor in Enterprise and Information Systems Engineering at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (Netherlands). Throughout his career, Erik has combined roles in academia and industry, focusing on developing theories that combine theoretical rigor with practical relevance. His research centers on the foundations and applications of domain modeling, particularly in enterprise contexts.

Erik received both his Master’s degree and his PhD (with distinction, 1994) from the University of Nijmegen (Netherlands). After completing his PhD, he became a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland (Australia), where he also conducted research at the Asymetrix Research Lab for Asymetrix Corp (Seattle, USA). In 1995, he joined the Queensland University of Technology as a lecturer in Information Systems and served as a Senior Researcher at the government-funded Distributed Systems Technology Centre (DSTC). From 1997 to 2001, he worked at Origin and later at the Ordina Institute for Research and Innovation as Research Consultant and Principal Scientist. He returned to academia in 2001 and became a Professor at Radboud University Nijmegen in 2002.

In 2008, Erik again combined academia and industry by joining Capgemini while retaining his professorship. In 2010, he was awarded an FNR PEARL grant, leading to his move to the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology. He became a Guest Professor at TU Wien in 2018 and was appointed Full Professor in 2023. Since 2022, he has served as Vice Chair of the IFIP 8.1 Working Group, the Dutch representative on IFIP TC8, Vice Chair of the EMISA working group of the German Computer Science Society, and Chair of the Enterprise Engineering Foundation.

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