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When Petra Isenberg and Tobias Isenberg were looking for a place to spend their sabbatical, Link枚ping University stood out for a reason few universities can offer: a world-class visualization research environment combined with a public arena where new ideas can be explored and experienced.

Both researchers are based at Inria Saclay and are members of the AVIZ research team at Universit茅 Paris-Saclay, where they study how visual representations can help people understand and explore data.

"I visited LiU in Norrk枚ping before and was truly impressed by the unique environment here that combines an extremely strong scientific group in visualization with the outreach that is facilitated by the Visualiseringscenter C," says Tobias Isenberg. "Many amazing people are working here, with whom I am eager to collaborate."

For Petra Isenberg, the opportunity to spend a longer period in Norrk枚ping was equally appealing.

"I have long admired the visualization research coming out of Norrk枚ping and have frequently served on committees together with visualization colleagues from here," she says. "After several visits, I had come to like the city as well as the people and the science, and a sabbatical gives me the chance to stay long enough to get to know all three in more depth."

Making data understandable

Thor Balkhed

Visualization research focuses on transforming data into visual representations that people can explore, interpret and learn from.

"I study how to turn data into pictures that people can understand and use," says Petra Isenberg. "The goal is that data becomes useful even for people who have never thought of themselves as chart readers."

The importance of that work is growing as society becomes increasingly data-driven.
"More and more decisions in our lives, from health and money to elections and the climate, depend on data," says Petra Isenberg. "That makes it important that everyone can read data with confidence, not just experts."

For Tobias Isenberg, visualization is also becoming increasingly important at a time when artificial intelligence is transforming how people interact with information.

"Even if some people are promising that AI-based data analysis is the solution of the future, I want to be able to trust what I see and want to understand the relationships myself, rather than being told by an agent what it may claim to be true," he says. "Powerful data analysis and visualization platforms are essential to deliver this trust."

A place to test new ideas

During their stay at LiU, both researchers hope to start new collaborations and explore future research opportunities.

Tobias Isenberg plans to investigate how traditional three-dimensional visualizations can be combined with representations of more abstract concepts, such as scale, speed and underlying processes.

Petra Isenberg is particularly interested in the possibilities offered by Visualiseringscenter C.

"The large sphere at the visualization center was one of my inspirations for the project," she says, referring to a French research project that explores how data can be displayed on curved and unusually shaped screens. "It's natural to come back and discuss how we might use it to show far more than data about the Earth."

She also highlights the close relationship between LiU's research environment and the visualization center.

"It is more than an exhibition space," she says. "It is a place where we can see whether our ideas have the effect we hope for: whether visitors feel engaged with the data, see things in a new way, and learn something."

Looking beyond the sabbatical

Thor Balkhed

Although their stay in Norrk枚ping is temporary, both researchers hope the collaboration will continue long after they return to France.

"I hope that we can continue the collaboration between LiU and Inria after the sabbatical is over, maybe in the form of joint European project applications or specific joint projects," says Tobias Isenberg.

Petra Isenberg also sees opportunities for long-term cooperation between the two institutions.

"I'd love for the visit to lead to something lasting, such as co-supervising students across our two institutions or applying for research funding together," she says.

Their visit is made possible through the Peter Wallenberg Guest Professorship of Visual Scientific Communication, a programme established through a donation from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation that enables Link枚ping University to invite international guest professors in the field.