DSSC seminar: Prof. dr. Anders Ynnerman (Visualisation, Linkopings Univ.)

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Speaker: Prof. Dr. Anders Ynnerman, Visualisation, Linkopings Univ.

Title: Exploranation.

Abstract:
This talk will take its starting point in the on-going convergence of exploratory and explanatory visualization paradigms. Based on the general availability of processing power, access to data and ever improving visualization methods, explanatory visualization can be data driven and fully interactive. This leads to a paradigm shift in visual learning and communication, enabling a new generation of installations and demonstrations at public venues such as museums, and science centers. At the same time, explanatory methods can pave the path for new approaches to exploration and workflows for domain experts, and also improve internal team communication.

The talk will elaborate on how the cycle from exploratory to explanatory visualization can be closed, leading to the notion of “exploranation”. Exploranation fundamentally affects human learning and understanding of natural science and engineering and provides a new valuable context of our rapidly evolving society and the disruptive changes we are facing. The talk will use many examples and interactive demonstrations to illustrate the introduced concepts. Direct volumetric rendering of high resolution and dynamic data from medical scanning modalities will show human anatomy and function, and specimens from collections at museums, such as mummies, insects and flowers, will be virtually dissected. The talk will then discuss the issues involved in visualization of the micro cosmos using novel visualization and interaction devices, such as haptic force feedback for molecular exploration as well as large scale immersive visualization on dome theaters. The talk will also include a live demonstration of how the exploranation concept can be applied to space research and science communication in planetariums. The recently developed and NASA funded software OpenSpace will be used to show how it is possible to fly by Pluto and demonstrate the engineering efforts involved in complicated space missions. We will also land on Mars using data from orbiting space crafts with extreme resolution and visualize billions of stars in the milky way from the Gaia mission.

Biography:
Anders Ynnerman received a PhD in physics from Gothenburg University in 1992. In 1997 he was appointed director of the Swedish National Supercomputer Centre (NSC) and in 2002 he founded the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing, which he directed until 2007. Prof. Ynnerman is currently holding the chair in scientific visualization at Linköping University and he is the founder and director of the Norrköping Visualization Center, a focal point for visualization and graphics research and development in Europe. The center has a public arena with a large-scale dome theater and interactive exhibits, showcasing visualization research and applications. An integrated strand of his research is thus visualization for public engagement in science.

Visualization of astrophysical data has been a signature application throughout his career. His recent NASA funded work on the OpenSpace platform has received large attention in both astrophysics and visualization research. For instance, the OpenSpace subsystem for browsing planetary surfaces received the IEEE SciVis best paper award in 2017.  A substantial part of Ynnerman’s research contribution lies in the medical domain, and his work on volume rendering and volumetric shading has led to commercialization efforts such as the medical visualization table used for teaching medical students, but also a public domain version used in museums. An example of such an installation is described in his 2016 article in Communications of the ACM, in which the mummy visualization table at the British Museum is featured.

Prof. Ynnerman has received several awards for his research contributions, such as the Akzo Nobel Science Award in 2007, the Athena Award for medical clinical research in 2009, the Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences Gold medal in 2011, HM the King’s medal for contributions to medical image science in 2017, and the IEEE VGTC Technical Achievement Award in 2018. Ynnerman is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.