Diversity in Visualization (Synthesis Lectures on Visualization)

At the 2016 IEEE VIS Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, a panel of experts from the Scientific Visualization (SciVis) community gathered to discuss why the SciVis component of the conference had been shrinking significantly for over a decade. As the panelists concluded and opened the session to questions from the audience, Annie Preston, a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Davis, asked whether the panelists thought diversity or, more specifically, the lack of diversity was a factor.

This comment ignited a lively discussion of diversity: not only its impact on Scientific Visualization, but also its role in the visualization community at large. The goal of this book is to expand and organize the conversation. In particular, this book seeks to frame the diversity and inclusion topic within the Visualization community, illuminate the issues, and serve as a starting point to address how to make this community more diverse and inclusive. This book acknowledges that diversity is a broad topic with many possible meanings. Expanded definitions of diversity that are relevant to the Visualization community and to computing at large are considered. The broader conversation of inclusion and diversity is framed within the broader sociological context in which it must be considered. Solutions to recruit and retain a diverse research community and strategies for supporting inclusion efforts are presented. Additionally, community members present short stories detailing their ""non-inclusive"" experiences in an effort to facilitate a community-wide conversation surrounding very difficult situations.

It is important to note that this is by no means intended to be a comprehensive, authoritative statement on the topic. Rather, this book is intended to open the conversation and begin to build a framework for diversity and inclusion in this specific research community. While intended for the Visualization community, ideally, this book will provide guidance for any computing community struggling with similar issues and looking for solutions.

Ron Metoyer is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (1994) and his Ph.D. inComputer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology (2002) where he worked in the Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center. He previously served on the faculty at Oregon State University in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (2001–2014). His primary research interest is in human-computer interaction and information visualization, with a focus on multivariate data visualization, decision-making, and narrative. He has published over 60 papers in top conferences and journals in human-computer interaction and computer graphics, and he is the recipient of a 2002 NSF CAREER Award for his work in exploring usability issues around the generation of animated character content for training scenarios. As an advocate for broadening participation incomputing, he has served in many roles including several years on the program committee ofthe Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing. He also serves as Assistant Dean in the College of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame.