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Title: A Visual Analytics Agenda

Journal Article · · IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 26(1):10-13
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/MCG.2006.5· OSTI ID:944790

The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were a wakeup call to the United States. The Hurricane Katrina disaster in August 2005 provided yet another reminder that unprecedented disasters can and do occur. And when they do, we must be able to analyze large amounts of disparate data in order to make sense of exceedingly complex situations and save lives. Responding to an Urgent Need This need to support penetrating analysis of massive data collections is not limited to security, though. From systems biology to human health, from evaluations of product effectiveness to strategizing for competitive positioning, to assessing the results of marketing campaigns, there is a critical need to analyze very large amounts of complex information. Simply put, our ability to collect data far outstrips our ability to analyze the data we have collected. Following the September 11 attacks, the government initiated efforts to evaluate the technologies that are available today or are on the near horizon. Two National Academy of Sciences reports identified serious gaps in the technologies. Making the Nation Safer [Alberts & Wulf, 2002] describes how science and technology can be advanced to protect the nation against terrorism. Information Technology for Counterterrorism [Hennessy et al., 2003] expands upon the work of Making the Nation Safer, focusing specifically on the opportunities for information technology to help counter and respond to terrorist attacks. Significant research progress has been made in disciplines such as scientific and information visualization, statistically-based exploratory and confirmatory analysis, data and knowledge representations, and perceptual and cognitive sciences, However, the research community has not adequately addressed the integration of these subspecialties to advance the ability for analysts to apply their expert human judgment to complex data in pressure-filled situations. Although some research is being done in this area, pace at which new technologies and technical talents were becoming available is far too slow to meet the urgent needs.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
944790
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-46619; 400904120; TRN: US200902%%845
Journal Information:
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 26(1):10-13, Vol. 26, Issue 1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English