UIC CS Assistant Professor Wei Tang has received the NSF CAREER Award for his proposed research &ldquo;Compositional Learning and Understanding of the Physical World&rdquo;. $539,051 has been awarded for the five-year project period July 2025 to June 2030. 
Tan&rsquo;s research project aims to develop a computer vision framework that learns and understands the physical world in a compositional manner, offering two significant benefits. First, a compositional interpretation of objects and scenes enables intelligent systems to engage in richer physical interactions and accomplish more complex tasks. Second, by decomposing complex entities into simpler constituents and modeling their relationships, this compositional approach addresses fundamental challenges faced by purely data-driven methods, including data inefficiency, curse of dimensionality, and limited explainability. The outcomes of this project will impact a wide range of emerging applications, including robots that support manufacturing or assist with daily tasks, autonomous vehicles that enhance mobility and safety, and virtual or augmented reality interfaces that facilitate assistive workflows and remote collaboration. This project will tightly integrate research and education through curriculum development, research training for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, and community outreach. 
This project will develop new methodologies for learning and understanding the innate compositionality of objects and scenes in the physical world. It consists of three innovative thrusts. Thrust I aims to establish a unified framework for representing, parsing, and learning the compositionality of physical objects, through disentangled modeling of large shape variations, constituent parts, and detailed deformations of each part as multi-granularity neural fields. Thrust II aims to develop a new compositional model that parses 3D dynamic scenes from streaming video into an explainable layout graph on the fly, by constructing distributed representations of low-level geometry and motion and performing explicit reasoning about high-level scene compositionality. Thrust III will extend the first two thrusts by modeling the compositionality of generic articulated objects and investigating test-time adaptation for 3D dynamic scene parsing. Distinct from purely data-driven methods, this new compositional paradigm reduces reliance on extensive 3D annotations, naturally handles the high dimensionality of geometry and motion, and enables a deeper, more explainable understanding of the physical world. This project will advance and enrich fundamental research in visual compositionality, physical object and scene understanding, and explainable parsing.

Computer Science Assistant Professor and EVL Faculty Member Wei Tang Receives NSF CAREER Award

&ldquo;Accelerating Graph Rendering in the Web&rdquo; received 2nd place in the 2025 Image of Research Competition in the Moving Images category. EVL graduate research assistant Landon Dyken, with supervision from assistant professor Sidharth Kumar, developed an application for visualizing graph data that uses new algorithms to allow for fast rendering on the web. 
The video submission was created by rendering several open-source scientific datasets, along with another created from the UIC logo. A comparison with the previous state-of-the-art methods shows how this method improves performance and enables larger-scale data than previously possible. 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfcHj7v7FU0">See the video</a> on EVLTube. 
<a href="https://today.uic.edu/see-the-2025-image-of-research-winners/">See the 2025 Image of Research Winners</a> at UIC Today.

EVL Graduate Student Landon Dyken Awarded 2nd Place Moving Image 2025 Image of Research Competition

Candidate: Gustavo Moreira 
Committee: Fabio Miranda (Chair and Advisor), UIC 
G. Elisabeta Marai, UIC 
Michael Papka, UIC 
Remco Chang, Tufts University 
Ross Maciejewski, Arizona State University 
Date/Time: 1pm CT, May 12, 2025 
Location: UIC ERF 2068 (Continuum) 
Zoom details: 
<a href="https://uic.zoom.us/j/5980237609?pwd=b2p3SlZMekR5Vjlidllnb1F6Qm5XUT09">https://uic.zoom.us/j/5980237609?pwd=b2p3SlZMekR5Vjlidllnb1F6Qm5XUT09</a> 
Abstract: 
Urban environments generate a large amount of complex and heterogeneous data, which creates opportunities for all kinds of data analysis across domains such as accessibility, climate, real estate, and infrastructure. Interested in these analyses are a diverse range of stakeholders each bringing distinct expertise, analytical workflows, and priorities. However, among many others, urban planners, architects, environmental scientists, and public health experts employ different workflows while participating in a highly collaborative analytical setting. This reality results in gaps in contribution and communication, impacting the ability of such stakeholders to work together and the inclusion of important opinions and insights. Trying to solve some of those challenges, many urban analytics tools have been developed over the years. They offer powerful means to explore the complexity of data while accounting for the iterative nature of the process. However, these tools are often tailored to particular domains and are the product of disjointed collaborations between visualization and domain experts. That being said, the complexity of urban phenomena, combined with the fragmented nature of current urban visual analytics systems, limits the ability of researchers and practitioners to construct reproducible and adaptable workflows. Existing tools often require specialized technical expertise, treat domain experts primarily as end users, and lack mechanisms for integrating workflows across design, implementation, and evaluation. 
Aiming to tackle the complexity of urban data and the collaborative nature of urban analytics, while remedying for current gaps in urban visual analytics tools, this dissertation will propose an ecosystem of tools and theoretical frameworks that try to answer the following question: &ldquo;how to support accessible, flexible, extensible, reproducible, and scalable tools across domains and users?&rdquo;. Across this ecosystem of tools, there is a common thread of a meta approach. Meaning that the tools proposed enable a large spectrum of users to build urban visual analytics systems at different levels of expertise. This dissertation will present three solutions developed iteratively and a fourth ongoing work. They are a product of close cooperation with experts and practitioners who supported the evaluation through a series of real-life case studies. First, the Urban Toolkit (UTK) introduces a flexible grammar-powered visualization framework for urban data integration, showcasing an example library with public datasets from: Chicago Data Portal, OpenStreetMap, NYC Open Data, and Analyze Boston. Curio builds on UTK to add a collaborative, dataflow-driven approach, presenting three usage scenarios with public datasets from OpenStreetMap and Google Street View. Then, Urbanite extends the previous tools to propose a framework for human-AI collaboration, fostering alignment for a declarative construction of urban VA systems. Three usage scenarios are presented using public datasets from: OpenStreetMap, OpenTopography, Project Sidewalk, and Urban Pulse's paper. Finally, I present ongoing research that investigates challenges and opportunities in translating a domain problem into a VA system in an AI-assisted environment. The three tools bridge the gap between stakeholders by increasing accessibility to urban data analysis while making sure that solutions are extensible and scalable enough to be reused in different contexts, thus supporting an already existing diverse set of urban visual analytics workflows.

Prelim Announcement: &ldquo;Supporting Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration in Urban Data Analysis&rdquo;

Smart/Scalable Amplified Group Environment (SAGE3 & SAGE2), Computer Science, Luc Renambot and Jason Leigh (2025). To think more clearly, ideate more creatively, and reach decisions with speed, accuracy and confidence, people need help working collaboratively and making sense of complex information. <a href="https://sage3.sagecommons.org/">SAGE3</a> provides users with an intuitive framework that integrates state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence technologies with applications, workflows, smart visualizations and commercial collaboration services to help teams, both local and remote, access, share, explore and analyze their data. SAGE3 creates a unified platform, whether using laptops, tiled display walls, or rooms with projection technology. New Federal funding in 2020 motivated the UIC development team to take advantage of major technological advancements and the advent of hybrid home/work environments to create SAGE3, the successor to SAGE2, which was introduced in 2013. Several companies licensed SAGE2 and incorporated its concepts and codes in their products for collaboration, visualization, hybrid environments and critical decision making, though have expressed interest in SAGE3. SAGE3 is open source, and anyone can download from its <a href="https://www.sagecommons.org/">website</a> for use . Companies can use internally and can license it for use in products. 
SAGE3 is a collaborative research project with UIC, University of Hawaii Manoa and Virginia Tech, funded by NSF awards 2003800, 2004014 and 2003387. SAGE, SAGE2 and SAGE3 are trademarks of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. 
<a href="https://today.uic.edu/top-10-innovations-from-uic-researchers/?j=153353&sfmc_sub=197729190&l=1247_HTML&u=2501189&mid=546003729&jb=4006&utm_source=MarketingCloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=UICtoday_FS_042925&utm_content=From+the+first+infant+incubator+to+designing+election+ballots%2c+UIC+researchers+have+left+their+legacy">See the full UIC Today article.</a>

EVL&rsquo;s SAGE Research Among Top 10 Innovations from UIC

EVL graduate research assistant Landon Dyken under the supervision of Sidharth Kumar is recognized for the publication entitled &ldquo;Enabling Fast and Accurate Crowdsourced Annotation for Elevation-Aware Flood Extent Mapping&rdquo;.   Mapping the extent of flood events is an important aspect of disaster management.  In recent years, deep learning methods have evolved as an effective tool to label high-resolution imagery and provide necessary flood extent mappings quickly.  These methods, though, require large amounts of annotated training data to create models that are accurate and robust to new flooded imagery.  FloodTrace, a web-based application that enables effective crowdsourcing of flooded region annotation for machine learning applications, helps address these challenges.

EVLers Pacific Vis 2025 Paper Recognize with an Honorable Mention

Dan Sandin, inventor of the Sandin Analog Image Processor (IP) participated in a panel presentation on &ldquo;The Radical Art of the Sandin Image Processor,&rdquo; sponsored by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The presentation not only featured Sandin, but artists who used the Sandin IP to create old and new works of art. The event was enhanced by the audience&rsquo;s capability to interact in person with a functioning IP! 
The Sandin Image Processor debuted in 1973 as a groundbreaking analog computer, enabling users to create astonishing video effects in real time. By encouraging other artists to &ldquo;copy-it-right,&rdquo; Sandin paved the way for producing dozens of image processors across the United States, making the machine one of the most influential tools for experimental video and performance art. More than 50 years later, the IP continues to inspire, connecting artists, hardware developers, and computer programmers across generations. To mark this anniversary, &ldquo;The Radical Art of the Sandin Image Processor,&rdquo; brings together a range of works created with the Sandin Image Processor over the years, including two new commissions by artists Lee Blalock and Jon Satrom. James Connolly engaged the audience with a live public performance of one of the SAIC&rsquo;s own IPs. 
The event was presented in partnership with <a Href="https://www.vdb.org/">Video Data Bank</a> and <a Href="https://mediaburn.org/https://mediaburn.org/">Media Burn Archive</a>. Special thanks SAIC. 
Thursday, April 17, 2025 
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. CDT 
Gene Siskel Film Center Theater 1, 164 N State Street, Chicago

Dan Sandin Presents &ldquo;The Radical Art of the Sandin Image Processor&rdquo;

Virtual Reality Exhibition in the CAVE2 
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) 
Friday, March 21 @3-5pm 
842 W Taylor Street, Room 2036 
Global challenges pose significant threats to humanity&rsquo;s future. However, design and virtual reality offer innovative strategies to address the United Nations&rsquo; 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This VR exhibition showcases immersive projects that explore the intersections of design, theater, creative coding, and VR to tackle complex global issues - from combating climate change and improving health to promoting equality and protecting our oceans and forests. 
This VR exhibition highlights immersive projects that explore the intersections of design, theater, creative coding, and VR to tackle complex global issues. Between 2021 and 2024, CS+DES student teams collaborated on inspiring VR projects focused on global challenges within a Creative Coding course, advancing these crucial objectives. These projects have the potential to contribute meaningfully to the Sustainable Development Goals, fostering innovative solutions and promoting positive global change. 
We hope you can join us! 
Daria Tsoupikova 
CS+DES Chair I Design 
Professor, School of Design

VR Design for Sustainable and Inclusive Futures

EVL and Computer Science Professor G. Elisabeta Marai and Assistant Professor Sidhath Kumar participated in the 3rd AI Ecosystem Symposium held February 28, 2025, at UIC. The Symposium featured presentations on AI in Healthcare, Diagnostics, Informatics, and Wellness 
Dr. Marai&rsquo;s presentation focused on Bridging Human-Centered Data Science with Real World Problems. Dr. Kumar&rsquo;s presentation was &ldquo;﻿﻿Data to Decisions: A Topological Lens on High-Dimensional Biomedical Data.&rdquo; 
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the College of Engineering, and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory sponsored the event.

EVL Faculty Present Research at the UIC Ecosystem Symposium 3

EVL co-director and professor emeritus Dan Sandin is named keynote speaker at Stereoscopic Displays and Applications (SD&A) 2025 XXXVI. SD&A will be held February 3-6, 2025 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel, Burlingame, CA held during the IS&T Electronic Imaging Symposium. 
Over the past fifty years, Dan has been a keen proponent of a wide range of stereoscopic developments. His presentation will reflect on how these technologies have shaped interdisciplinary collaboration and the evolution of electronic art and visualization techniques. Dan is director emeritus of the Electronic Visualization Lab (EVL) and a professor emeritus in the School of Art and Design at UIC. 
His presentation is scheduled for 9:30 am on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. 
See more details about SD&A 2025 on the <a href="http://www.stereoscopic.org/2025/">advance program web page</a>. 
Abstract: 
The Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), established in 1973 at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), specialized in interactive electronic displays
even before the advent of the frame buffer. By ingeniously combining digital and analog systems, EVL enabled real-time interactive computer graphics through the Graphics Symbiosis System (GRASS). This system was instrumental for animator Larry Cuba in creating the computer graphics for the original 1977 &ldquo;Star Wars&rdquo; film, which was done frame by frame on 35mm film), as well as contributing to lesser-known movies like &ldquo;UFO: Target Earth&rdquo; for which the special effects were captured on video. SpiralPTL is a work preserved in the Museum of Modern Art&rsquo;s video art collection. Throughout the decades, EVL advanced the technology of computer graphics but also deeply integrated art, science, and education researchers and teaching faculty. This collaboration led to the creation of an interdisciplinary MFA program in Electronic Visualization, bridging UIC&rsquo;s Engineering College with its School of Art and Design. EVL&rsquo;s later innovations include the development of numerous interactive stereoscopic and autostereoscopic systems, most notably the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE). This paper will describe and analyze these technological advancements, discussing both their successes and their challenges in adoption by scientists, engineers, and artists. The narrative will reflect on how these technologies have shaped interdisciplinary collaboration and the evolution of electronic art and visualization techniques over the past fifty years. 
Biography: 
Daniel J. Sandin is director emeritus of the Electronic Visualization Lab (EVL) and a professor emeritus in the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). As an artist, he has exhibited worldwide, and has received grants in support of his work from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. His video animation &ldquo;Spiral PTL&rdquo; is in the inaugural collection of video art at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 2007 Sandin received the IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award. He went on to develop a series of VR display systems including Varrier, a stereo VR display that does not require 3D glasses, and CAVE2, a large (20-foot) cylindrical display based on LCDs.

EVL&rsquo;s Daniel J. Sandin Named Keynote Speaker at ﻿SD&A

The SAGE3 development team hosts a one-hour Zoom event to introduce the SAGE3 AI-enhanced collaboration platform developed jointly by the University of Hawaii, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Virginia Tech January 21-23, 2025. 
Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), SAGE3 is available to a wide range of scientific research & education communities at no charge. SAGE3 enables researchers and educators to seamlessly work together with data and visualizations, across devices - from laptops to large display walls. ﻿﻿Unleash spaces to think, collaborate, analyze, and make decisions with greater speed and confidence. See <a href="https://go.hawaii.edu/a5o">meeting details and registration information</a>. 
To learn more, please register for one of the upcoming 1-hour informational sessions. We will introduce newcomers to SAGE3 and update long-time users about its latest improvements.

Computer Science Assistant Professor and EVL Faculty Member Wei Tang Receives NSF CAREER Award

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