Understanding data through collaboration: Developing collaboration support tools for expert artists and scientists

In science, engineering, business, and even art, innovation and discovery today seem to be predicated by peoples' ability to understand complex data. Visualization is one way to achieve data understanding, and much of my research is focused on learning how to use computer graphics to present complex data to users in such a way that the human visual and cognitive systems can find meaning where automated data mining techniques cannot. One lesson my colleagues and I have learned from the users of our tools is that the interactive visualizations systems we create foster collaboration. This collaboration is repeatedly cited as one of the main benefits of the tools we create, even, to our surprise, when we have not intended for the tools to be used in a collaborative setting. This insight about the way people use data visualizations has inspired us to rethink the role of collaboration in data understanding. It also points to an exciting opportunity to combine research in data visualization with research in collaborative technologies.