Keynote Speaker
Prof. Alex Pang
Affiliation : University of California, Santa Cruz
Website: http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/people/pang
Title: Visualization for the Masses, Redux
Abstract : A picture is worth a thousand words. This phrase is often used in visualization to espouse the benefits of visual presentation of data. For the most part, this statement is true. However, some studies also found that adding a visual complement to textual presentation in certain context do not improve subjects’ understanding, and may on occassions be detrimental and confusing. The problem is more accute when the target users are the general public who are generally not technically savvy. As a community, we need to address the vexing question of why visualization is not more useful or more widespread, particularly when the visualization is for public consumption. But what does it take to create effective visualization for the masses? What are the characteristics of visualizations that allow one to make decisions under different conditions e.g. time pressure, duress, uncertainty, etc.? How does the addition of visualization and the manner of visualization affect their choice? How can visualization influence that decision given their risk aversion level, innumeracy level, etc.? As visualization researchers, we all have a responsibility and an opportunity to help lay people make better decisions that can have a significant impact on their lives.
Speaker Bio : Alex Pang is a Professor of Computer Science at UC Santa Cruz. He received his PhD in Computer Science from UCLA in 1990, and his BS in Industrial Engineering from University of the Philippines with magna cum laude in 1981. His research interests are in comparative and uncertainty visualization, flow and tensor visualization, and collaborative visualization. His research has been supported by various funding agencies such as NSF, ONR, Darpa, DOE, LANL, and NASA, as well as industrial partners such as Sun and HP. Professor Pang has received a certificate of recognition for previous NASA work, as well as an excellence in teaching award from UCSC. He served as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, papers co-chair for IEEE Visualization 2006 and 2007, and UCSC Chief Scientist for CITRIS from 2006-2007.