Scientific Visualization for Decision-Making

August 6 - 11, 2017

Chairs

and

Vice Chairs

and

Bates College

2 Andrews Road

Lewiston, Maine, United States

Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The 2017 Gordon Research Conference on Visualization in Science and Education will continue a tradition of bringing together a diverse community of practitioners and researchers engaged in the production, study, and application of visualizations to advance and promote scientific understanding. The theme for the 2017 conference is "Scientific Visualization for Decision-Making". This interdisciplinary meeting will explore the various ways that data are visualized and leveraged to help diverse stakeholders make informed decisions based on scientific evidence. Speakers will discuss the cognitive underpinnings of human decision-making and how it is affected by the availability of visualizations. Presentations will include cutting-edge research on how visualizations support both the day-to-day decisions made by investigators and case studies of visualizations proven critical for scientific discovery. Novel research will also be presented that demonstrates how the design of a visualization influences decisions made by policymakers and the general public. For more information, please visit the conference chairs' web site.

Conference Program

Sunday
2:00 pm - 9:00 pm	Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRC Chair
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm	Using Scientific Visualizations to Support Decision-Making in Daily Life Often members of the general public must make decisions to support or oppose a public policy or decide how to modify their personal behavior based on scientific data. This session will examine how members of the public reach conclusions about personal behavior ranging from medical and environmental issues to disaster preparedness, in which scientific visualizations can inform personal assessments of risk and responsibility. Discussion Leaders: and
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm	Opening Remarks
7:45 pm - 7:50 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:50 pm - 8:30 pm	"In Journalism, It's Dataviz for the Win"
8:30 pm - 8:40 pm	Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:20 pm	"Which One's the X-Axis? Engaging Museum Visitors in Meaningful Experiences with Data Visualization"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	How Visualizations Can Influence Decisions During Scientific Research Visualizations are ubiquitous in scientific settings where they help scientists and engineers gain insight into their work. Historical accounts document how visualizations often provided critical information to facilitate important discoveries, such as the structure of the the double helix and the impact of natural selection on speciation. This session will present studies that critically examine how visualizations have helped advance both incremental progress and paradigm shifts in understanding. Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:50 am	"Designing Molecular Animations for Research and Outreach"
9:50 am - 10:05 am	Discussion
10:05 am - 10:35 am	Coffee Break
10:35 am - 10:40 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
10:40 am - 11:20 am	"How to Present an Unbelievable Experimental Result"
11:20 am - 11:35 am	Discussion
11:35 am - 12:15 pm	"A Walk on the Seafloor: Using VR for Marine Geology and Habitat Mapping"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Using Visualization Design to Influence the Quality of a Viewer's Decisions Designers take into account numerous factors when creating scientific visualizations, paying attention to issues of cognitive and representational fidelity as well as aesthetics. This session will explore how particular design elements influence the quality and efficiency of decisions that viewers make. In contrast to focusing on the viewer, speakers in this session will focus on the designer, to explore how alternative approaches to a visualization lead to different decision outcomes. Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:15 pm	"Using the Creative Process as a Computational Framework for Unfolding Complex Systems"
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
8:35 pm - 9:15 pm	"Designing Effective Visualizations"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	The Influence of Scientific Visualizations on Decision-Making in Professional Settings Professionals are increasingly using scientific visualizations to inform their work in diverse industries from medicine to architecture. This session will explore how scientific visualizations not only improve productivity but also spur innovation and creativity in the workplace. Speakers will demonstrate new designs for visualizations used for diagnostics and logistics. Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:50 am	"Photo Forensics"
9:50 am - 10:05 am	Discussion
10:05 am - 10:35 am	Coffee Break
10:35 am - 10:40 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
10:40 am - 11:20 am	"Advanced Medical Imaging - It's All in the Numbers"
11:20 am - 11:35 am	Discussion
11:35 am - 12:15 pm	"Interactive 4-D Visualization in Support of Ocean Mapping and Decision Making"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	How Cognitive Factors Influence Decision-Making with Visualizations Individuals make decisions routinely in their private and professional lives by drawing on multiple sources of information that may or may not include visualizations. This session will explore research that investigates the cognitive factors and dynamics that influence the decision-making process with particular attention to the use of scientific visualizations. Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:15 pm	"Thinking with Data Visualizations, Fast and Slow"
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
8:35 pm - 9:15 pm	"Visualizations and Reasoning About Scientific Evidence"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Visualizing Big Data to Support Decision-Making by General Audiences With increasing computational power and storage capacity, scientists are generating more data than ever before; however, visualizing these data in efficient and effective ways remains challenging. This session will examine the particular challenges designers face when creating visualizations that leverage big data. Speakers will discuss the evolution of a visualization’s design for different types of audiences and their research on the efficacy of particular designs. Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:50 am	"Insightful Images"
9:50 am - 10:05 am	Discussion
10:05 am - 10:35 am	Coffee Break
10:35 am - 10:40 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
10:40 am - 11:20 am	"Envisioning Earth: Data Visualizations for Informed Decision-Making"
11:20 am - 11:35 am	Discussion
11:35 am - 12:15 pm	"Big-Metal Virtual Reality Magic: Tours Versus Expeditions"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pm	Business Meeting Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Building Adult Proficiency in Using Scientific Visualizations for Decision-Making Decision-making skills emerge from natural development processes and are honed from a lifetime of experience. During this session we will hear from those who are focused on optimizing the use of visualizations by adults to support decision-making regarding complex issues that impact their lives. Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:15 pm	"Using Art to Enhance Climate-Smart Decision-Making in the Humanitarian Sector"
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
8:35 pm - 9:15 pm	" Perceptual Learning, Cognition, and Expertise: Implications for Scientific Visualization"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Helping Students Build Proficiency in Using Scientific Visualizations for Decision-Making The power of visualizations to enhance student learning in STEM classrooms is well documented. Visualizations can make imperceptible phenomena more accessible to students and help students connect invisible mechanisms or systems interactions to macro-level emergent effects. This session builds on the long-standing research regarding visualization in education to examine how the design of student interactions with visualizations can help learners better interpret evidence for decision-making or even increase their spatial-thinking skills. Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:50 am	"Mapping a Difference: How Does Geospatial Visualization Impact Students' Spatial Thinking Skills"
9:50 am - 10:05 am	Discussion
10:05 am - 10:35 am	Coffee Break
10:35 am - 10:40 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
10:40 am - 11:20 am	"Investigating Students' Science Learning Through Inquiry-Based Graphing Activities"
11:20 am - 11:35 am	Discussion
11:35 am - 12:15 pm	"Education for Decision-Making Through Interactive Simulations"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm	Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	How Scientific Visualizations Influence Public Policy Decisions Policymakers in both public and private sectors are facing increasingly urgent decisions regarding crises precipitated by climate change, resource limitations, human migration, war, and economic uncertainty. This session will explore how scientific visualizations help policymakers make more informed and confident decisions—to not only respond to immediate crises, but to improve human well-being with increased sustainability. During this final discussion, we will consider how we might use lessons learned from this conference to promote better decision-making through optimal design of scientific visualizations and environments for their use. Discussion Leader:
7:30 pm - 7:35 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:35 pm - 8:15 pm	"Decision Support Tools for Improved Natural Resource Management"
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm	and "Scientific Visualization for Decision-Making"
9:00 pm - 9:10 pm	Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am	Departure