My research is in the field of Data Visualization with an emphasis on mobile data visualization and visualization literacy. In the field of Mobile Data Visualization, we have developed novel techniques to provide context to viewers as they explore data on small screens. For the visualization literacy field, we have explored the use of Bloom’s taxonomy to introduce individuals to unfamiliar visualization techniques such as Treemaps and Parallel Coordinates Plots.
Through the ability of individuals to critically evaluate visualizations that they experience on social media and in their daily lives, they can get a better sense of the data that is being represented (or misrepresented). This is possible by increasing the visualization literacy of general audiences.
Alark Joshi is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of San Francisco. His research focuses on developing and evaluating the ability of novel visualization techniques to communicate information for effective decision making and discovery. He received his postdoctoral training at Yale University, where he was a core member of the BioImage Suite team, whose mission is to develop and disseminate advanced image analysis and visualization software for widespread use.
His work has led to novel visualization techniques in fields as diverse as computational fluid dynamics, atmospheric physics, medical imaging and cell biology. Through the illustration-inspired visualization techniques that he developed, atmospheric physicists are able to visualize the time-varying nature of hurricanes more effectively. Some of his current work deals with developing and evaluating the performance of neurosurgeons on novel visualization and interaction techniques.
Our paper 'Examining a PCP Intervention through the Anderson and Krathwohl Taxonomy Lens' was accepted for presentation at the IEEE VIS Workshop on Visualization Education, Literacy, and Activities (EduVis '25')
July 2025Our paper 'Applying Self-Regulated Learning Principles in an Undergraduate Computer Science Seminar' was accepted for presentation at the IEEE Frontier in Education conference (FIE '25')
May 2025We received funding for the 'AI Coaching for Health and Well-Being' from the CRASE Interdisciplinary Action Group (IAG) at USF.
April 2025Our paper 'Evaluating the Impact of a Constructivist Approach to Treemap Literacy' was published in the IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications journal.
August 2024Our paper 'An Inductive Approach for Identification of Barriers to PCP Literacy' was accepted for presentation at the IEEE VIS Workshop on Visualization Education, Literacy, and Activities (EduVis '24)