design lab amy fox gordon research grant

Design Lab’s Amy Fox Awarded Gordon Research Conference Visionary Grant

Design Lab’s Amy Fox Awarded Gordon Research Conference Visionary Grant

Design Lab’s Amy Fox Awarded Gordon Research Conference Visionary Grant

Emerging developments in data visualization, the practice of visually communicating data to convey patterns and trends, transcend a variety of fields including health, business, design, science, and education. With competing definitions and applications across multiple disciplines, the question quickly becomes: how do such diverse communities establish a common ground to allow for shared communication and understanding?

Amy Fox, a third year doctoral student in Cognitive Science and member of the UC San Diego Design Lab, is currently working to close that gap. She was recently awarded a visionary grant from the Gordon Research Conference on Visualization in Science and Education (VSE) for a project proposal she worked on in collaboration with Paul Parsons, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Graphics Technology at Purdue University. The Gordon Research Conference on VSE is an annual, multi-day conference that unites researchers, designers, educators, and communicators from a wide range of disciplines to share best practices and new innovations within the visualization space.

The proposal, titled “Beyond Boundaries: Exploring Transdisciplinary Potential in Visualization,” addresses a lack of shared communication across disciplines that use visualization techniques, due to misalignments in language, methods, and frameworks. Fox’s project focuses on fostering collective learning across traditionally siloed communities through breaking the barriers of communication. Transdisciplinary discussions throughout the conference provided a platform for Fox and Parsons to recognize that individuals from various backgrounds, including marine biology, museum education, and public broadcasting, share a deep appreciation for the role that visualization plays within their work, yet hold unique interpretations and applications of certain concepts. For example, Fox noted that the term “assessment” in visualization translates into a spectrum of different priorities and goals in various contexts.

Fox and Parsons aim to take the first step in creating a “community of practice” through identifying key frames of reference to set a road map for bringing these diverse communities together. The proposal calls for a comprehensive catalog of key terminology within visualization literature, an identification and integrative review of influential theories, and a systematic mapping of conceptual models across disciplines. The overarching vision for the project is to share and leverage the enthusiasm and expertise across disciplines through successfully navigating different visualization communities.

“Visualization is a rich and exciting field,” says Fox. “But to be most effective, researchers need to understand the broader landscape of practice so we can speak a shared language.” Fox and Parsons anticipate using the funds to begin exploring existing structures within visualization and conducting ethnographic studies to inform and provide insight into their research. Through examining current visualization practices with a transdisciplinary lens, Fox is looking forward to interacting with a multitude of vibrant communities who understand the value of visualization and hopes that this grant will serve as a springboard for future grant proposals.

Emerging developments in data visualization, the practice of visually communicating data to convey patterns and trends, transcend a variety of fields including health, business, design, science, and education. With competing definitions and applications across multiple disciplines, the question quickly becomes: how do such diverse communities establish a common ground to allow for shared communication and understanding?

Amy Fox, a third year doctoral student in Cognitive Science and member of the UC San Diego Design Lab, is currently working to close that gap. She was recently awarded a visionary grant from the Gordon Research Conference on Visualization in Science and Education (VSE) for a project proposal she worked on in collaboration with Paul Parsons, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Graphics Technology at Purdue University. The Gordon Research Conference on VSE is an annual, multi-day conference that unites researchers, designers, educators, and communicators from a wide range of disciplines to share best practices and new innovations within the visualization space.

The proposal, titled “Beyond Boundaries: Exploring Transdisciplinary Potential in Visualization,” addresses a lack of shared communication across disciplines that use visualization techniques, due to misalignments in language, methods, and frameworks. Fox’s project focuses on fostering collective learning across traditionally siloed communities through breaking the barriers of communication. Transdisciplinary discussions throughout the conference provided a platform for Fox and Parsons to recognize that individuals from various backgrounds, including marine biology, museum education, and public broadcasting, share a deep appreciation for the role that visualization plays within their work, yet hold unique interpretations and applications of certain concepts. For example, Fox noted that the term “assessment” in visualization translates into a spectrum of different priorities and goals in various contexts.

Fox and Parsons aim to take the first step in creating a “community of practice” through identifying key frames of reference to set a road map for bringing these diverse communities together. The proposal calls for a comprehensive catalog of key terminology within visualization literature, an identification and integrative review of influential theories, and a systematic mapping of conceptual models across disciplines. The overarching vision for the project is to share and leverage the enthusiasm and expertise across disciplines through successfully navigating different visualization communities.

“Visualization is a rich and exciting field,” says Fox. “But to be most effective, researchers need to understand the broader landscape of practice so we can speak a shared language.” Fox and Parsons anticipate using the funds to begin exploring existing structures within visualization and conducting ethnographic studies to inform and provide insight into their research. Through examining current visualization practices with a transdisciplinary lens, Fox is looking forward to interacting with a multitude of vibrant communities who understand the value of visualization and hopes that this grant will serve as a springboard for future grant proposals.

Emerging developments in data visualization, the practice of visually communicating data to convey patterns and trends, transcend a variety of fields including health, business, design, science, and education. With competing definitions and applications across multiple disciplines, the question quickly becomes: how do such diverse communities establish a common ground to allow for shared communication and understanding?

Amy Fox, a third year doctoral student in Cognitive Science and member of the UC San Diego Design Lab, is currently working to close that gap. She was recently awarded a visionary grant from the Gordon Research Conference on Visualization in Science and Education (VSE) for a project proposal she worked on in collaboration with Paul Parsons, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Graphics Technology at Purdue University. The Gordon Research Conference on VSE is an annual, multi-day conference that unites researchers, designers, educators, and communicators from a wide range of disciplines to share best practices and new innovations within the visualization space.

The proposal, titled “Beyond Boundaries: Exploring Transdisciplinary Potential in Visualization,” addresses a lack of shared communication across disciplines that use visualization techniques, due to misalignments in language, methods, and frameworks. Fox’s project focuses on fostering collective learning across traditionally siloed communities through breaking the barriers of communication. Transdisciplinary discussions throughout the conference provided a platform for Fox and Parsons to recognize that individuals from various backgrounds, including marine biology, museum education, and public broadcasting, share a deep appreciation for the role that visualization plays within their work, yet hold unique interpretations and applications of certain concepts. For example, Fox noted that the term “assessment” in visualization translates into a spectrum of different priorities and goals in various contexts.

Fox and Parsons aim to take the first step in creating a “community of practice” through identifying key frames of reference to set a road map for bringing these diverse communities together. The proposal calls for a comprehensive catalog of key terminology within visualization literature, an identification and integrative review of influential theories, and a systematic mapping of conceptual models across disciplines. The overarching vision for the project is to share and leverage the enthusiasm and expertise across disciplines through successfully navigating different visualization communities.

“Visualization is a rich and exciting field,” says Fox. “But to be most effective, researchers need to understand the broader landscape of practice so we can speak a shared language.” Fox and Parsons anticipate using the funds to begin exploring existing structures within visualization and conducting ethnographic studies to inform and provide insight into their research. Through examining current visualization practices with a transdisciplinary lens, Fox is looking forward to interacting with a multitude of vibrant communities who understand the value of visualization and hopes that this grant will serve as a springboard for future grant proposals.

Read Next

Surveillance Technology San Diego

In San Diego, ‘Smart’ Streetlights Spark Surveillance Reform

Photo: Google Streetview

Lilly Irani, Design Lab member and UCSD Communications professor, was recently quoted in a Bloomberg City Lab piece on surveillance in San Diego. Read more about the "smart streetlight" program, privacy concerns, and new legislation efforts here.

“With body-worn cameras, and with the streetlights footage, and with drone footage, the people who have the money to maintain those technologies and control the data flow of those technologies get to control who gets access to the footage and who gets to narrate its public meaning,” said Irani.

Opinion: The World Design Capital is more than an award. It’s a chance to solve problems.

San Diego Union Tribune Op-Ed by Tad Parzen and Eddie Matthews*
*Eddie Matthews is also a Designer-in-Residence with the UCSD Design Lab

Design and discovery are in our San Diego-Tijuana region’s DNA. We are risk-takers, a nimble community that has long fostered life-changing design and innovation to improve the world, save lives and sustain critical resources. San Diego-Tijuana has long been the epicenter of a binational design revolution.

In this inclusive spirit, a cross-border community of designers, activists and community leaders have joined together to submit the first binational bid to the World Design Organization to name San Diego-Tijuana the World Design Capital in 2024. This designation recognizes cities for their effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural and environmental development, and showcases best practices in sustainable, human-centered policy and innovation.

Every member of this region has something to contribute and the World Design Capital will be the centralized place for these binational design contributions, making the border immaterial by making design visible.
Design Lab Faculty

New Design Lab Faculty Working to Shape the Future of UC San Diego

As a global pioneer in design thinking, research, and invention, The Design Lab prides itself on recruiting the brightest and most innovative minds in the design field. Today, we would like to extend a warm welcome to brand new faculty members Elizabeth Eikey, Haijun Xia, and Edward Wang!

Elizabeth Eikey
From a first-generation undergraduate student at Penn State, then an inquisitive Best Buy employee and finally, to the Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health & The Design Lab at UCSD, Dr. Elizabeth Eikey has an illustrious career. Her research work at The Design Lab focuses on the intersection between technology, mental health, and equity, primarily studying the possible applications for technology in supporting mental health and well-being.

Haijun Xia
After receiving his PhD in Computer Science from University of Toronto, Xia made the move across countries to begin his time as a researcher at UC San Diego. ‘I wanted to work at The Design Lab and UC San Diego, because of the diversity of skill here,’ says the Professor, ‘We are all approaching the many challenging research questions from different angles, which is really important to develop comprehensive solutions.

Edward Wang
When Edward Wang was an undergraduate student at Harvey Mudd, he never expected himself to become a researcher, let alone becoming a professor. It was only after a Professor offered him the chance to help design a course she was planning about biosignal processing, that he began on this path. ‘As I was designing the class over summer, I had to read a bunch of papers,’ he says, ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about how cool all of it was. Especially when it branched out into computer science and how it could be involved in biosignal processes.’

The Design Lab’s Srishti Palani Wins Google’s PhD Fellowship

In continuing excellence among UC San Diego Design Lab researchers, Srishti Palani, a PhD student and Department of Cognitive Science at the Design Lab, was named a 2021 Google PhD Fellow for her work in Human Computer Interaction focused on improving web search and intelligent guidance during creative work. The fellowship is open to researchers in computer science and related fields. Palani was one of 60 students throughout the world to be selected for a Google Fellowship–an award that supports outstanding and promising PhD candidates of all backgrounds who seek to influence the future of technology by providing funding, mentorship, collaboration and internship opportunities.

Palani’s research takes an interdisciplinary approach involving cognitive, computer, and learning sciences to better web search and intelligent scaffolding of complex creative information work. “We use web search almost every day to search things, and it affects how we learn and work and create and collaborate. I’m really passionate about researching this area and building novel computational techniques that integrate web search into people's larger work context. Google, of course, has the most state-of-the-art web search technology that has existed in my lifetime, so I’ve always wanted to collaborate with the researchers, software engineers, and data scientists there to understand how we can get a better web search when people want to search for more complex information needs.”

Design Lab Students Swarm CHI Conference in Denver

In May, many UC San Diego Design Lab members and students swarmed the largest human-computer interaction conference in the world, ACM CHI 2017. Affiliated with ACM SIGCHI, the premier international society for professionals, academics and students who are interested in human-technology and human-computer interaction (HCI), the conference brings together people from multiple disciplines and cultures to explore new ways to practice, develop and improve methods and systems in HCI.

“I love the mix of people at CHI—chatting with people making new sensor technologies, new theoretical approaches, new architectural construction techniques -- it has incredible diversity but is still brought together with a common set of ideas and expectations,” said former Design Lab Fellow Derek Lomas, who presented at the conference.

This year, the mega-HCI conference, which was sponsored by tech-industry giants such as Facebook, Google, IBM, Microsoft and Yahoo! was held in Denver near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Organizers selected the site, which is full of scenic trees, mountains and valleys to serve as a motivation for the theme of “Motivate, Innovate, Inspire.”
Design Lab #wearenotwaiting Nightscout Openaps

How DIY Designers are Impacting Healthcare

#WeAreNotWaiting is the social media movement of folks in the diabetes community who have come…

Back To Top