After the Y2K Tsunami hit our industry (it is sometimes referred to as the "dot com bust" erroneously I think) students stopped taking MIS/IT courses because no one was hiring. The school (any many others around the country) had to cancel several offerings due to lack of enrollment. I could not see that situation changing anytime soon so I took a somewhat "forced" early retirement in 2004... The silver lining was that I could focus on my passion -- data modeling, in particular fact-oriented modeling, and the variant Object-Role Modeling (ORM). I began recording my lectures so the course could be taken by students unable to attend the live lectures in class. Gradually the course evolved to now be fully online -- lectures, assignments, quizzes and exams, and online forums. Now the course can be taken by anyone, anywhere. My real desire is to reach working (or aspiring) professionals who practice data modeling. I am deeply concerned by the lack of knowledge of the fundamentals of data modeling I see in practice, in many database textbooks, in online discussion forums, and at too many conference presentations. The focus is almost exclusively on Relational or ER modeling. Such record-based modeling schemes suffer from "TABLE THINK." I like to call the malady "tableitis." .. My goal is to show the data modeling world that there is a better way... it is fact modeling. Once you have a solid understanding of fact modeling you will never approach and think about data modeling the same way again. Of course we need to know all about relational database design since that is the main vehicle for implementation. However, the NoSQL movement is even calling that into question. Data modeling should be thought of as modeling "the business" -- some domain of interest to a community of users. Whatever the implementation -- SQL or NoSQL or something else, data modeling is an essential part of the process. The business users need to understand their data.

Have given presentations at the annual Enterprise Data World conference since 2004, as well as several local chapters. Received the Outstanding Academic Achievement award in 2006, and again in 2011. Reviewer of the "data development" and modeling chapter in the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBOK) and major contributor to the Glossary.

Presentations at several local chapters and at their annual conference, Enterprise Data World. Reviewed data modeling chapter of their Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBOK).

Occasionally since 1988. Provided consulting/witness services relating to the computer industry: contracts, intellectual property and protection mechanisms (copyright, patent, trade secret), (data) privacy, etc. Helped nearly all lawyers win their case.

The name under which I provide consulting and educational services to organizations.

I am passionate about ORM, and want to get others using it to model the business as a prelude to data modeling. Anyone anywhere can take my online course on Advanced Data Modeling, offered each spring semester. It reviews and reinforces traditional ER and Relational modeling and then focuses on the ORM variety of Fact-oriented Modeling. Get more information at: www.tc.umn.edu/~geverest and click on Data Modeling course.