Prof. Tatiana von Landesberger professor of computer science visualization at the University of Cologne, Germany will present her research &ldquo;Perception-driven Visual Data Communication & Model Validation&rdquo; at EVL. 
Wednesday, October 23, 2024, 11am 
Engineering Research Facility 
842 W Taylor Street, Room 2068 
Abstract: 
Research in visualization is often motivated by the endeavor to improve on the illustration of data to better communicate data to others and to gain insights into models of the data. Effective visualization should convey truthfully the data and data models to the viewers. The talk will have two parts. The first part will concentrate on visual data communication. Although many guidelines and visualization techniques exist to effectively display the data, the visual communication of data with large value ranges remains a challenge. These data contain values of several orders of magnitude, eg. 0 to millions as in the case of infection disease cases communication. The talk will present challenges and solutions to display this data. The second part of the talk will focus on visual model validation. Visualization for model validation shows the data together with model results so that the viewer can assess the fit of the data to the model. Although many models and model result visualizations exist, it is still unclear how visual model validation is performed and which visual designs should be used. We will present the first results on this topic. 
Bio:Tatiana von Landesberger is a full professor of Computer Science - Visualization at the University of Cologne, Germany. She received a PhD in 2010 and finished her habilitation in 2017 at TU Darmstadt, Germany. Her research focuses on information visualization and visual analytics of spatio-temporal and network data from various domains such as biology, medicine, finance, transportation, journalism, or meteorology. Her recent research addresses the challenges of perception and cognition of visualization as well as visual analysis of disease spreading. She regularly publishes at top international conferences and has received multiple awards. Tatiana has served in program committees and organization committees for IEEE VIS, EuroVis, VMV, and other venues. Recently, she was full paper chair at EuroVis, area chair at VIS, and is now a member of EuroVis steering committee, VIS Executive Committee and associate editor of the Computer Graphics Forum.

Perception-driven Visual Data Communication &  Model Validation

Andrew Wentzel presents his research entitled &ldquo;Digital Twins Visualization&rdquo; at the IEEE VIS2024 Conference at 3:30 (4:30 EDT) October 17, 2024. 
Abstract: 
Digital twin models are of high interest to Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) oncologists, who have to navigate a series of complex treatment decisions that weigh the efficacy of tumor control against toxicity and mortality risks. Evaluating individual risk profiles necessitates a deeper understanding of the interplay between different factors such as patient health, spatial tumor location and spread, and risk of subsequent toxicities that can not be adequately captured through simple heuristics. To support clinicians in better understanding tradeoffs when deciding on treatment courses, we developed DITTO, a digital-twin and visual computing system that allows clinicians to analyze detailed risk profiles for each patient, and decide on a treatment plan. DITTO relies on a sequential Deep Reinforcement Learning digital twin (DT) to deliver personalized risk of both long-term and short-term disease outcome and toxicity risk for HNC patients. Based on a participatory collaborative design alongside oncologists, we also implement several visual explainability methods to promote clinical trust and encourage healthy skepticism when using our system. We evaluate the efficacy of DITTO through quantitative evaluation of performance and case studies with qualitative feedback. Finally, we discuss design lessons for developing clinical visual XAI applications for clinical end users.

EVL PhD Candidate Andrew Wentzel Presents his Research at IEEE VIS2024

Congratulations to Mike Papka, one of nine speakers at <a href="https://www.tedxchicago.com/">TEDxChicago 2024: Lighting the Way</a> to be held Friday, September 27th at Harris Theater, Millennium Park fro 3pm - 7pm. 
Mike holds a joint appointment as a UIC Computer Science faculty member and serves as the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility director at Argonne National Laboratory. As director of ALCF, Mike oversees the development and deployment of <a href="https://www.anl.gov/aurora">Aurora</a>, the <a href="https://top500.org/">world&rsquo;s second exascale supercomputer</a> and the fastest <a href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/newsroom/news/intel-powered-aurora-supercomputer-breaks-exascale-barrier.html">AI supercomputer</a>. 
Mike is one of the inaugural recipients of the William S. McCulloch Collegiate Professorship of Computer Science. Warren S. McCulloch was a UIC professor of psychiatry who with Walter Pitts co-invented <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02478259">artificial neural networks in 1943</a>. Today, neural nets form the foundation of much AI technology, including deep learning and large language models. 
Mike is a professor of Computer Science, director of EVL, and co-director of the <a href="https://crabtree.uic.edu/">George Crabtree Institute for Discovery and Sustainability</a>.

UIC CS William McCulloch Professor Mike Papka speaking at TEDxChicago 2024

Computer Science (CS) Professor and EVL faculty Micheal E. Papka is being honored among only a few of his colleagues with the Warren S. McCulloch Professorship of Computer Science. This recognition is the first-ever CS Professorship Investiture. Dr. Papka and fellow CS Professor Barbara DiEugenio are the first two faculty to receive this award. 
Among the other honorees are Professor Cornelia Caragea - first holder of the Robert V. Kenyon Professorship of Computer Science and Distinguished Professor Bing Liu - first holder of the Peter L. and Deborah K. Wexler Professorship of Computing. 
At this inaugural event, both Bob Kenyon and his wife Cynthia Vahlkamp and Peter and Deborah Wexler will be reconginized for their very generous donations of professorships. 
The investiture will be held: 
Friday, September 20, 2024 
3:00 PM Reception, 3:30 PM Ceremony 
ERF West Atrium 
842 W Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60607 
For questions, contact <a href="mailto:rszandra@uic.edu">Ms. Renata Szandra</a>

Micheal E. Papka Honored with Warren S. McCulloch Professorships of Computer Science

September 16, 2024 - The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is proud to become an Intel AI/oneAPI Center of Excellence, advancing computational science education for AI and next-generation heterogeneous programming. The Center will integrate the open, standards-based oneAPI programming model and the latest AI development techniques into UIC&rsquo;s courses, preparing students to meet the demands of AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and data visualization in today&rsquo;s scientific and engineering landscapes. The Center of Excellence builds on the efforts of Dr. Michael E. Papka, who has supported Chicago-area university oneAPI workshops for the past two years and has been a strong advocate for oneAPI since its inception. 
UIC&rsquo;s AI/oneAPI Center of Excellence will be a hub for developing focused modules to enhance current AI, HPC, and visualization courses. The center will initially focus on developing modules to integrate seamlessly into regular classes and outreach activities, expanding access to advanced computational education for a wider audience. The goal at UIC is to prepare students to interpret and visually represent complex data sets using cutting-edge technologies such as Intel Embree and OSPRay and to teach them how to use SYCL in HPC to meet the challenges of exascale computing. 
&ldquo;The AI/oneAPI Centers of Excellence are aiding the next generation of developers in advancing future software innovation using the power of CPUs, GPUs, and other accelerators,&rdquo; says Dr. Michael E. Papka, Professor of Computer Science at UIC and the Director of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, a Department of Energy Office of Science user facility at Argonne National Laboratory. &ldquo;This UIC-based collaboration with Intel offers valuable, real-world experience and opportunities for our students.&rdquo;
The UIC Center&rsquo;s AI and HPC curriculum will present essential tools and libraries, such as the oneAPI infrastructure for AI and Intel rendering tools, empowering students to optimize code for parallel architectures and high-performance multiarchitecture environments. Through hands-on labs and coding assignments, UIC students will tackle real-world optimization challenges, preparing them to leverage the immense power of exascale systems for scientific discovery. The next phase will consider adding AI curriculums addressing HPC and large-scale AI problems harnessing the power of Intel hardware. 
&ldquo;We are excited to see the impact of these educational advancements on our students and the broader scientific community,&rdquo; says Dr. Peter Nelson, Dean of Engineering and Professor of Computer Science at UIC. &ldquo;By integrating cutting-edge tools and technologies, we are fostering a versatile, technologically adept workforce capable of leveraging AI and HPC for scientific discovery.&rdquo;
Students will engage in projects such as visualizing climate change effects, showcasing energy resource distributions with interactive maps, and rendering materials science structures at the atomic level. These projects bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, connecting students&rsquo; work with real-world scenarios and emphasizing HPC&rsquo;s role in solving global challenges. Moreover, HPC supports the rise of AI applications in scientific computing by training complex AI models, from natural language processing to autonomous systems. This interaction between HPC and AI is crucial for advancing both fields, fostering innovation, and driving technological progress. 
&ldquo;UIC&rsquo;s Intel AI/oneAPI Center of Excellence will challenge students to drive complex and important computational projects such as simulating climate change impacts, modeling energy resource distributions, and exploring new materials properties. This brings real-world applicability of AI and HPC into the classroom, enabling the next generation of scientists and engineers to push the boundaries in helping to solve global challenges,&rdquo; says Joe Curley, vice president, and general manager of Intel Software Products and Ecosystems. 
This initiative represents a strategic alignment between academic curriculum development and industry needs. By equipping students with the skills and knowledge necessary to leverage AI, HPC, and visualization technologies, UIC is contributing to cultivating a highly skilled workforce capable of advancing the frontiers of science and engineering. 
For more information, please contact: 
Professor Michael E. Papka – <a href=mailto:"papka@uic.edu">papka@uic.edu</a>

University of Illinois Chicago Establishes a Center of Excellence focused on AI

Michael E. Papka has been announced as the new Director of EVL. Mike has a long history with EVL, starting in 1994 when he graduated with his Masters degree in Computer Science - - through many long-term collaborations between Argonne National Laboratory and EVL. 
After receiving his MS at UIC, Mike completed a second MS and PhD with the University of Chicago. Mike holds a joint appointment as a full UIC CS professor and at Argonne, where he has research and senior leadership positions. 
As the Director of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ACLF), Mike leads one of the U.S. Department of Energy&rsquo;s premier facilities for open science. He has spearheaded numerous efforts to build and deploy world-class computing capabilities for open science, notably advancing AI and large-scale data analysis. Under his leadership, ALCF recently joined the exascale era with the development of the Aurora supercomputer. 
We welcome Mike as EVL&rsquo;s new leader!

Michael E. Papka Named EVL Director

EVL faculty and Computer Science (CS) Assistant Professor Fabio Miranda (PI) and Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering (CME) Professor Sybil Derrible (co-PI) have been awarded $1.75 million NSF grant entitled: "Collaborative Research: Frameworks: Cyberinfrastructure to Catalyze and Sustain the Urban Computing Community.” Also known as <a href="https://oscur.org/">&ldquo;The Open-Source Cyberinfrastructure for Urban Computing Research&rdquo; (OSCUR)</a>, the grant is part of an overall $5 million project that is collaborative with the University of Washington and NYU. Here at UIC, the overall effort includes the departments of CS, CME, and the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA). The grant will run from September 2024 to August 2029. 
Project Overview: 
Cities are the loci of resource consumption, economic activity, and innovation; they are where our looming sustainability problems were born and where those problems must be solved. Given our increasing ability to collect, transmit, store, and analyze data, we have the opportunity to go beyond today&rsquo;s imperfect and often anecdotal understanding of cities to enable better operations, better planning, and better policy. To understand cities, we must analyze the data exhaust from their components - infrastructure, environment, and people - and how they interact over space and time. While there are already troves of open data about cities, their potential remains largely untapped due to unique challenges related to diversity, scale, and complexity of both urban data and computations required to obtain insights from these data. In this project, we aim to democratize data-driven and data-intensive approaches in urban computing to empower a broad range of stakeholders to analyze urban data at scale and tackle problems from different domains, including transportation, accessibility, and disaster management. We will address two critical obstacles to greater progress in urban computing: the lack of documented, robust, well-engineered tools and open computing platforms, and a dispersed community of researchers and developers. At the core of our proposal is the development of a cyberinfrastructure that integrates methods and tools for the exploration of urban data that are scalable, reusable, interoperable, and offer solutions to common challenges, including data cleaning, management, and visualization. We will deploy an integrated suite of tools in a collaborative cloud environment, enabling users from different domains to easily reuse existing methods across domains to ensure sustainability, facilitate collaboration between researchers and developers, and develop a cohesive community. 
Keywords: urban data, urban science, big data

UIC Researchers Join National Project to Turn Urban Data into Healthier Cities

The Open-Source Cyberinfrastructure for Urban Computing Research (OSCUR) will create a cohesive ecosystem of tools and resources designed to transform city data into actionable knowledge. This multi-institutional collaboration is supported by a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, with $1.75 million allocated to UIC. 
The project includes researchers from UIC's College of Engineering and College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs who will collaborate with investigators from New York University and the University of Washington. UIC will leverage its expertise in visual data analysis, civil engineering, and government and community partnerships to design accessible computational tools focused on environmental justice, transportation, and other public priorities.

OSCUR

The &ldquo;Curio: A Dataflow-Based Framework for Collaborative Urban Visual Analytics&rdquo; paper was accepted to IEEE VIS 2024. Curio is a framework for collaborative urban visual analytics that uses a dataflow model with multiple abstraction levels (code, grammar, GUI elements) to facilitate collaboration across the design and implementation of visual analytics components. Curio allows users to build and iterate on dataflows with reusable modules, supporting collaborative design and tracking changes. We evaluated Curio with domain experts on urban accessibility, climate, and sunlight access. 
Video overview, source code, examples, and tutorials are available here: <a=href"https://urbantk.org/curio/">https://urbantk.org/curio/</a> 
The paper was led by PhD student Gustavo Moreira under EVL faculty and Computer Science assistant professor Fabio Miranda.

&ldquo;Curio&rdquo; Paper Accepted to IEEE VIS 2024

&ldquo;Assessing the Landscape of Toolkits, Frameworks, and Authoring Tools for Urban Visual Analytics Systems&rdquo; has been accepted for publication by Science Direct (Elsevier) in the Computer Graphics 2024 Journal. In this paper, researchers reviewed 135 works to assess the extent to which current open-source toolkits, frameworks, and authoring tools can effectively support the development of components tailored to urban visual analytics, identifying strengths and limitations in addressing the unique challenges posed by urban data. 
Project Overview 
The creation of visual analytics systems focused on urban issues has seen a notable surge. These systems simplify intricate urban analysis workflows into intuitive, interactive visual representations, enabling users to explore, understand, and derive insights from large, complex data. Examples of these datasets include street-level imagery, street networks, and building geometries. Developing urban visual analytics systems, however, is a challenging task that necessitates
significant programming expertise to handle several critical aspects, such as: (1) visualization to allow for data exploration in urban environments, (2) data management to integrate diverse urban data types and sources, (3) data analytics to highlight patterns and trends, and (4) system performance to ensure interactive response times. Furthermore, such development requires collaboration between stakeholders from different disciplines, including urban planning, public policy, public health, and climate sciences. The complexity involved and the tendency for these efforts to occur within the framework of one-off collaborations often lead to the creation of monolithic and isolated prototypes that are rarely made publicly available. Such a situation, with a notable lack of emphasis on interoperability as a design requirement, makes it difficult to extend existing systems and integrate discrete components into other tools.
The paper was led by PhD student Leonardo Ferreira under the advisement of EVL faculty and Computer Science assistant professor Fabio Miranda.

Typical steps in a workflow for urban data analysis.

Urban Visual Analytics Systems Research Published in Computer Graphics 2024 Journal

EVL faculty and Computer Science assistant professor Fabio Miranda along with colleagues Froehlich (UW, CS), Li (UW, CS), Hosseini (Berkeley, Planning), Sevtsuk (MIT, Planning), Eisenberg (UIC, Health) are organizing a virtual workshop focused on the role of AI in enhancing urban accessibility. All researchers and practitioners interested in Urban+AI and disability should consider submitting a proposal to the <a href="https://accessiblecities.github.io/UrbanAccess2024/">ASSETS&rsquo;24 Workshop &ldquo;The Future of Urban Accessibility: The Role of AI&rdquo;</a>. The deadline is September 20, 2024 
How will AI transform urban infrastructure for people with disabilities--from public transportation and sidewalks to the design and use of buildings, housing, parks, and transit stations? What new mobility tools and techniques will AI enable from autonomous vehicles and micro-mobility solutions to personalized routing and accessible interactive maps? How can AI be used to effectively and ethically to solve urban accessibility problems and improve the quality of life for all? How can and should people with disabilities be involved with decisions about how AI is used in cities? 
In this workshop, we examine the emerging role of AI in the design of equitable and accessible cities, transportation systems, and interactive tools for mapping and navigation. We invite short papers (broadly construed), including experience reports, position papers, vision pieces, demonstrations, pictorials, or research summaries up to approximately 2,000 words on this topic (approximately 3 pages of formatted, two-column output). See example topic areas. For the word count, you can exclude figures, tables, captions, and the reference list. As we aim for a broad representation of viewpoints, disciplines, and work practices, please choose a format that you feel best conveys your work (e.g., single column, double column, ACM template). 
Submitted artifacts should not be anonymized and, in addition to their primary content, should include a bio of each author and rationale for attending the workshop. PDF submissions should be accessible following the ASSETS&rsquo;24 Accessibility Guidelines. Artifacts will be reviewed and selected by the co-organizers to balance topics, geographies, and communities of focus. Accepted authors will be required to register and virtually attend the workshop via Zoom on a date in October. 
Our overarching goals are to identify open challenges in Urban AI + disability, share current work across disciplines, and spur new collaborations in Urban AI + disability. As a secondary goal, we aim to synthesize and publish our discussions together in a jointly authored report perhaps to the SIGACCESS Newsletter or beyond. 
The Workshop will be held the week of October 21st (tdb).

Call for Participation ASSETS&rsquo;24 Workshop &ldquo;The Future of Urban Accessibility: The Role of AI&rdquo;

A special screening of the Chicago Design Milestones 1920–2019 project will be exhibited on Monday, August 5 at 2pm at 150 Media Stream Chicago. The installation visualizes the evolution of Chicago design by its examination and presentation of historic characteristics of design works in the Chicago Design Archive (CDA) collection over the last 10 decades. 
Join us in congratulating EVL and Design professor Daria Tsoupikova and her colleagues on this seminal, creative work! 
August 5, 2024, 2pm 
150 N Riverside Plaza (lobby) 
Chicago, IL 60606 
Chicago Design Milestones was developed as a collaboration of CDA, the University of Illinois Chicago School of Design & Electronic Visualization Laboratory, and Columbia College Chicago. It is part of the ongoing research of this collaboration aiming to highlight the role of Chicago as a major national design center through the use of new technologies. 
150 Media Stream, the largest media screen (3,000+ sq ft) in Chicago, is comprised of 89 LED blades stretching 150 ft long and rising 22 ft high, located in the lobby of a downtown Chicago riverfront building. It is the only structure of its kind dedicated to showcasing Chicago artists, culture, and history alongside renowned and emerging artists from around the world. 
Links: 
<a href="https://150mediastream.com/about/">150MediaStream</a> 
<a href="https://chicagodesignarchive.org/essay/chicago-design-milestones">Chicago Design Milestones</a> 
<a href="https://150mediastream.com/archive/">MIlestones 150MediaStream Archive</a> 
Creators: 
Daria Tsoupikova (UIC), Sharon Oiga (UIC/CDA), Guy Villa Jr (CCC), Jack Weiss (CDA), Cheri Gearhart (CDA), Wayne Stuetzer (CDA), Krystofer Kim (NASA), Ali Khan (UIC) 
Grant funding support: 
Riverside/150 Media Stream, Columbia College Chicago, UIC College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts 
Curated by Yuge Zhou

Chicago Design Milestones 1920–2019 Showcased at 150 Media Stream

EVL PhD candidate Ke Fan has been named a recipient of the 2024 ACM-IEEE CS George Michael Memorial HPC Fellowship. The fellowship honors exceptional PhD students throughout the world whose research focus is on high-performance computing applications, networking, storage, or large-scale data analytics using the most powerful computers that are currently available. The fellowship is named after George Michael one of the founders of the Supercomputing Conference. 
Read the <a href="https://www.acm.org/media-center/2024/august/george-michael-fellowship-recipients-2024">AMC news release</a>. 
Join us in congratulating Ke and her advisor Computer Science Assistant Professor and EVL faculty Sidharth Kumar on this exceptional distinction!

EVL PhD Candidate Ke Fan Named 2024 ACM-IEEE CS George Michael Memorial HPC Fellowship

The July 2024 issue of IEEE Computing Edge magazine&rsquo; section on Data Visualization features the contrail visual computing digital twin work conducted by EVL graduate students Nafiul Nipu, and Carla Floricel, along with their advisor professor G. Elisabeta Marai. This research was done in collaboration with professor Roberto Paoli (MIE). 
Contrails are condensation trails generated from emitted particles by aircraft engines, which perturb Earth's radiation budget. Simulation modeling is used to interpret the formation and development of contrails. These simulations are computationally intensive and rely on high-performance computing solutions, and the contrail structures are not well defined. We propose a visual computing system to assist in defining contrails and their characteristics, as well as in the analysis of parameters for computer-generated aircraft engine simulations. The back end of our system leverages a contrail-formation criterion and clustering methods to detect contrails&rsquo; shape and evolution and identify similar simulation runs. The front-end system helps analyze contrails and their parameters across multiple simulation runs. The evaluation with domain experts shows this approach successfully aids in contrail data investigation.

Visual analysis of contrails using multiple coordinated views.

EVL Researchers&rsquo; Contrail Digital Twin Work Featured in IEEE CS Magazine

The first Creative Coding Community Workshop brought together a diverse group of Chicago public high school students ranging in age from 13 to 15 to introduce students to the basics of coding, interactive 3D, typography and game design. Hosted at the University of Illinois Chicago&rsquo;s (UIC), Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) and organized by professor Daria Tsoupikova, participating students productively conquered a steep learning curve to learn the basics of coding, - starting from ground zero to produce interactive Virtual Reality (VR) projects for a public exhibition – all within 2 weeks! Their projects investigated critical global concepts such as global warming, air and water pollution, migration, and mental health in immersive dimensions of Computer Science + Design. Several projects were featured in the CAVE2 Hybrid Reality Environment VR exhibition after the Workshop. The Workshop was a tremendous success and very well received by participants and organizers. 
Congratulations to all participants and good luck with your future pursuits in Computer Science and Design! 
Special thanks to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthur-nishimoto-55a61047/">Arthur Nishimoto</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/farah-kamleh-aa8b41248/">Farah Kamleh</a>. 
<a href="https://youtu.be/8YZdeWj8uA4">See a video documenting the Workshop.</a> 
This Workshop was made possible through support from EVL and UIC.

Participant in CAVE2 Hybrid Reality Environment

UIC&rsquo;s First Creative Coding Community Workshop a Tremendous Success!

EVL affiliated faculty and assistant professor of Computer Science Wei Tang has been appointed by Science Direct as associate editor of the journal &ldquo;Pattern Recognition&rdquo;.  The journal publishes developments in the fields of computer vision, image processing, text and document analysis, and neural networks. Dr. Tang&rsquo;s expertise in these fields makes him the perfect candidate for this position.  We congratulate Dr. Tang on his appointment.

Wei Tang Appointed Associate Editor for &ldquo;Pattern Recognition&rdquo;

EVL is that connection! The Laboratory has a long and rich history in the computer graphics - visualization discipline. Founded in 1973 by co-directors Thomas A. DeFanti and Daniel J. Sandin, EVL&rsquo;s foundation has been in innovation and collaboration, which attracted animator Larry Cuba to the lab. Hired by George Lucas to create the briefing room sequence animation for &ldquo;Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope&rdquo;, Cuba contracted with EVL to produce the animation using EVL tools over a three month period at UIC. The Star Wars connection is but one of EVL&rsquo;s many accomplishments and inventions. 
Read the full UIC <a href="https://emails.uofi.uic.edu/newsletter/25/1974977825.html">Honors College E-News</a> article, which includes a historic interview on the project with Tom DeFanti.

Did you know that UIC has a Star Wars connection?

EVL PhD candidate Andrew Wentzel is recognized by the UIC College of Engineering for his extraordinary research with the annual Exceptional Research Promise Award. The award recognizes PhD students who are within a year of graduating (i.e., have completed their prelim examination) and have demonstrated excellence in scholarship, academic publication, and other research-focused activities. Andrew&rsquo;s publication record during his doctoral studies so far is remarkable: 14 publications. He is the first author of six journal publications in top-tier venues, three in core visual computing venues, and three in clinical venues. He is the first author of two additional workshop papers in competitive venues (<30% acceptance rate), and a co-author and significant contributor of six other journal publications. Results from Andrew&rsquo;s work have been included in a 2023 European textbook in the visual computing field, and have been featured on the cover of the Journal of Imaging Science and Technology. 
Learn more about the origins of this <a href="https://engineering.uic.edu/news-stories/new-award-honors-promising-phd-students/#:~:text=Called%20the%20Graduate%20Student%20Award,and%20other%20research%2Dfocused%20activities">College of Engineering special program</a>. 
Join us in congratulating our colleague on this well deserved honor!

EVL PhD Candidate Andrew Wentzel Wins CoE Exceptional Research Promise Award

Candidate: Sai Priya Jyothula 
Committee: 
Dr. Andrew Johnson, Advisor and Chair 
Dr. Steve Jones (Department of Communication) 
Dr. Debaleena Chattopadhyay 
Dr. Joseph Michaelis 
Dr. Venugopal Vasudevan (Procter and Gamble) 
Location: 2068 ERF 
Date and time: Thursday, April 25, 11:30 AM - 1 PM CST 
Abstract: 
Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) are shared virtual spaces that bring users together and allow them to interact with each other and virtual objects. In asymmetric CVEs, users have varied roles, interaction capabilities, perspectives, and device configurations, which can be leveraged to achieve user objectives. The main objective of my research is to use these asymmetric virtual environments as a means to augment people and enable them to transcend their physical, sensory and cognitive limitations. Specifically, I focus on facilitating the expression and access of deeper metaphors of the mind. 
The two exploratory studies that I discuss in this dissertation aim to understand the usage context and evaluate the effectiveness of utilizing asymmetrical virtual environments to augment metaphor elicitation. Understanding the usage context helps to design guidelines for future systems that not only focus on the efficiency of the system individually but also consider how the system augments human capabilities. With this objective, this work also introduces a systematic approach for developing future systems, which integrates the insights from the two studies to improve the prototype system and the metaphor elicitation process.

The left image shows a participant while using the VR system during the metaphor elicitation interview; the right image shows the participant&rsquo;s view mirrored on the display screen during the interview.

PhD Dissertation Announcement &ldquo;Supporting Metaphor Elicitation in Asymmetric Virtual Environments&rdquo;

Candidate: Ashwini G. Naik 
Committee Members: 
Dr. Andrew Johnson (Advisor and Chair) 
Dr. Robert Kenyon (Co-Advisor) 
Dr. Debaleena Chattopadhyay 
Dr. Nikita Soni 
Dr. Steve Jones (External Member - Dept. of Communication) 
Date and Time: Wednesday, April 24th, 2024, 10 AM - 12 PM AM CST 
Location: ERF 2036 
Abstract: 
Meetings and conversations today are multimodal in nature, including the usage of diverse technologies in the form of text, video, images, voice, AI agents, and also immersive technologies. If it were possible to replay important multimodal conversations in their spatial and chronological contexts, it would benefit several audiences, such as - researchers to study and analyze multimodal conversations, novices in any field who could learn from experts, experts who have missed being part of crucial conversations. However, recreating such multimodal interactions requires integrating all of the modalities used in the conversation. Immersive environments provide a convenient setting to present data with its spatial and temporal referents through the use of situated analytics. We present MuSA (Multimodal Situated Analytics), an immersive environment prototype, as a way to recreate multimodal conversations for exploration and analysis in immersive environments. Our development pipeline consisted of various stages such as data capturing, data cleaning, data synchronization, prototype building, and deploying the final product to end-user hardware. We conducted two comprehensive user studies to evaluate the usability, user adoption, and space usage during the exploration of multimodal conversations with our application. In the first study, we explore conversations between seated participants (n=12), and in the second, we explore conversations between non-seated moving participants (n=13). We share insights gained during the development phase, as well as empirical results and feedback collected through both user studies.

(a)Data Collection: 2 participants +  visual conversational AI agent (b)User Study: Replaying (a) in VR - MuSA in Quest2. (c)Data Collection: 2 participants exploring AR (d)User Study: Replaying (c) in Mixed Reality through MuSA in HoloLens2.

PhD Dissertation Announcement: &ldquo;Multimodal Situated Analytics (MuSA) for Analyzing Conversations in Extended Reality&rdquo;

The George Crabtree Institute for Discovery and Sustainability is an institutional partnership between Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), enabling transformative solutions for complex scientific challenges. This collaboration aims to advance knowledge in science and technology, propel sustainable innovation, promote diversity in perspectives, and be supportive of the next generation of researchers. 
EVL and Computer Science professor Michael E. Papka and Jordi Cabana will lead the institute as its founding co-directors, actively engaging with Argonne and UIC in their current leadership roles. Their co-director roles will bring forward collaboration opportunities, coordinate within and across both institutions and support future scientists and interdisciplinary, inclusive research. 
Some of the institute&rsquo;s initial programming includes faculty engagement via the Argonne Collaborative Research Fellowship Program, which is supported through strategic use of the Joint Appointment Program, recruitment of undergraduate and graduate students, and scientific workshops.

EVL Professor Michael Papka co-Directs the George Crabtree Institute for Discovery and Sustainability

Honors Faculty Fellows are individually assigned to provide personalized advising and mentoring to students. Each year, Honors College students nominate Fellows to be honored as &ldquo;Fellow of the Year&rdquo;s for excellence in mentoring.  This year&rsquo; Faculty Fellow is EVL Professor G. Elisabeta Marai.  Join us in celebrating this noteworthy achievement and honorable recognition.  Congratulations, Liz!

EVL Professor G. Elisabeta Marai Awarded Faculty Fellow of the Year

In 2023, the University of Illinois Chicago&rsquo;s (UIC) Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research launched a program to fund interdisciplinary research by forming and funding pilot research institutes to bring together the unique strengths of UIC&rsquo;s colleges. The newest pilot research institute - the Institute for Equitable Health Data Science Research (EHDSR) - will leverage UIC&rsquo;s cutting-edge data science and artificial intelligence (AI) expertise together with the university&rsquo;s health enterprise. The goal is to unite researchers from seven colleges to ensure that medical applications of new technologies benefit all populations without bias. 
EHDSR is co-directed by Andrew Boyd and Elisabeta Marai, who bring their expertise in data science and healthcare to manage this highly interdisciplinary endeavor. The mission of the Institute is to analyze and eliminate potential healthcare biases before they are unwittingly embedded in artificial intelligence algorithms in healthcare. With its interdisciplinary collaborations, the effort will shape solutions for biomedical and health-data science and technology while prioritizing health equity for Chicago&rsquo;s diverse population and beyond.

Chicago Health Atlas map of Life expectancy in Community areas-2

EVL Profesor G. Elisabeta Marai Co-Directs UIC Institute for Equitable Health Data Science Research

EVL Professor Liz Marai has been appointed as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications publication. 
As per André Stork, CG&A Editor in Chief, &ldquo;IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications uniquely combines leading-edge technical papers with sometimes-provocative opinion articles. Together, they explore the various applications of computer graphics in our lives - including entertainment, industry, culture, society, and health - from academic and practitioner perspectives.&rdquo; 
Join us in congratulating Liz on her latest achievement and contribution to the field of visualization!

Marai Appointed Associate Editor IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications

Oren Safdie&rsquo;s visionary play &ldquo;Façade&rdquo; will be performed in EVL&rsquo;s Continuum, Friday February 9th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm. The program will consist of the staged reading followed by a questions & answers session with Playwright Oren Safdie, EVL, and Lira Luis FRIBA FRSA NCARB
RA LEED AP. 
Safdie&rsquo;s provocative script explores contemporary architecture&rsquo;s high-stakes world, tackling themes of ambition, ego, and the clash between architectural vision and commercial reality. Visualized by architect Lira Luis, FRIBA, FRSA, NCARB, RA, LEED AP, the staged reading pushes the boundaries of storytelling with a unique blend of live actors, cutting-edge immersive technology, and a metaverse-inspired setting. 
Presented in Partnership with Chicago Architecture Biennial.

&ldquo;Façade&rdquo; Press Release

EVL Hosts &ldquo;Façade&rdquo; - A Metaverse Reading Experiment

EVL Professor Michael Papka is among 52 ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery Distinguished Members inducted into the International Computing Society for significant contributions towards pivotal education, engineering, and science. Each Distinguished Member is a longstanding ACM Member selected by their peers for work that has advanced computing, fostered innovation across various fields, and improved computer science education. 
Dr. Papka is recognized for his contributions in virtual reality, collaborative environments, scientific visualization, as well as research and operations in high-performance computing. EVL faculty, staff and students congratulate him on this prestigious honor! 
See the <a href="https://www.acm.org/media-center/2024/january/distinguished-members-2023">ACM Media Center</a> for the full press release and information on the other recognized members for 2023.

Events - 2024

Perception-driven Visual Data Communication & Model Validation

EVL PhD Candidate Andrew Wentzel Presents his Research at IEEE VIS2024

UIC CS William McCulloch Professor Mike Papka speaking at TEDxChicago 2024

Micheal E. Papka Honored with Warren S. McCulloch Professorships of Computer Science

University of Illinois Chicago Establishes a Center of Excellence focused on AI

Michael E. Papka Named EVL Director

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