Topic: Using Space Around Us for Sensemaking

Speaker: Dr Barrett Ens, Monash University

Dr Barrett Ens is currently a member of the Data Visualisation and Immersive Analytics research group at Monash University. He received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Theory from the University of Calgary in 2005, and a Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Manitoba in 2007. He later joined the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Manitoba for his PhD project on 'Spatial Analytic Interfaces'. Before receiving his PhD in 2016, he completed two student research internships with the User Interface Research Group at Autodesk Research, in 2015 and 2016. In 2016 he undertook an NSERC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of South Australia's Empathic Computing Lab, before joining Monash in 2018.

Abstract:

The past decades have brought several iterations of computing form factors and methods of interacting with them. While its internal components have been vastly miniaturised, the computer as we know it has come to be defined by the rectangular glass form of its user interface. Emerging display and interaction technologies offer new potential for us to 'step through the glass' and embrace the contextual associations of information with the space around us. Can spatial interaction improve the way we perceive, interact with, and understand information? In this talk I will present my work on spatial interface design, and recent applications for data exploration and sensemaking. I will discuss what we have learned about the benefits of using space around us and some of the challenges that lie ahead.

Please join us for networking and light refreshments at 2:30 pm; the talk will begin at 2:00 pm.

All are welcome!