InfoVis Theory Workshop Deadline Extended
We have received a few good submissions for the InfoVis Theory Workshop at VisWeek, but we're looking for some more. We are therefore opening submissions again, with a new, final deadline: September 13, 2010. If you couldn't make the first deadline, this is your chance.
We now also have a time and day for the workshop: Monday (October 25), from 2pm to 6pm.
Theory in InfoVis is not just a random idea, it really is picking up a lot of momentum at the moment. I attended a workshop on theory in InfoVis organized by the U.S. Air Force last week, where we talked about a lot of fascinating ideas. Many people are starting to realize that all those pretty pictures are nothing without good foundations that let us figure out how they work, how they come about, and how we can make them even better.
Another piece of evidence comes from the field of statistical graphics: in the latest Statistical Computing & Graphics Newsletter (PDF, p. 5), Anthony Unwin starts talking about "hot" topics in visualization, and then says that what we really need is a deeper understanding of what's behind those graphics. Exactly.
People all over the visualization (and in adjacent fields) are waking up and starting to feel the need for better foundations. So put your thinking cap on and help us push the field forward. Submit your position statement!
BTW, I was looking for another image that I saw somewhere recently, but can't find again. It's a black-and-white picture of a professor with a white beard in front of a much larger blackboard than the one in the image above (about four times the size). It's covered in dense math, and the professor has a slightly sheepish look on his face (unless I was imagining that). Does anybody know the picture and can perhaps provide a link?
Posted by Robert Kosara on August 24, 2010.