Information visualization is a key strategy for the understanding of complex information. SLIS faculty member Katy Börner, Yngve Professor of Information Science, is a leading researcher in this rapidly evolving area. She is the founding director of the Cyberinfrastructure for Network Science (CNS) Center at SLIS.
During the first week of January 2013, two representatives from the National Academies Press met with Börner, Chin Hua Kong, and other members of the CNS Center. The group is working to develop new visual presentations of reports of the National Academy of Sciences and its associated institutions—the National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council—to be deployed on a 55-inch multi-touch panel display at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington D.C. The display will show all Academy reports published since 1995, featuring data overlays that show download activity in real time and diverse means to filter views by year of publication and topic area. Users will also be able to select individual reports to access more detail.
Advances in information visualization continue to improve how we understand collected data and to reveal novel perspectives and connections. Thinking carefully and creatively about data, in turn, leads to innovations in visualization. Dr. Börner is pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with the National Academies Press. She noted: "Visualizing topical linkages between more than 4,000 Academy reports, together with their world-wide usage, will give visitors a deeper understanding of the scope and impact of the National Academies. Plus, it is fun to explore the different topical networks of Academy reports and to ‘touch’ specific reports to retrieve details or to order a copy.”
About the National Academies Press
The National Academies Press (NAP) was created by the National Academy of Sciences to publish the reports of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council, all operating under a charter granted by the Congress of the United States. The NAP publishes more than 200 books a year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and medicine, providing authoritative information on important matters in science and health policy. The institutions served by the NAP are unique in their ability to attract leading experts in many fields to join panels and committees charged with providing policy advice on some of the nation’s most pressing scientific, technical, and health-related issues.
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Posted January 04, 2013