Greetings from InfraVis Director Monica Billger and Management Team

On behalf of the InfraVis Management Team, we extend our sincere thanks to all researchers that engaged and participated as users while setting up protocols and routines for our new national infrastructure. We are also extremely grateful to a number of other research infrastructures and initiatives for sharing their knowledge, and constructive discussions on collaborative development projects throughout the year. We eagerly anticipate the start of 2024 and are delighted to announce that Umeå University will host the next InfraVis Days, 18-20 March 2024, including the first InfraVis user forum. Kindly mark the dates in your calendar.

We are excited to share that, following the first open call, concluding on 10 June, almost all the new InfraVis in-depth support projects have now written handshake agreements allowing them to be formally approved and started. The next call for in-depth support is tentatively scheduled for May 2024, and we appreciate your support in spreading the word. For more information on InfraVis services and how to recieve support, please refer to our newly launched re-designed web page at infravis.se and stay updated on InfraVis activities through the InfraVis LinkedIn page.

We wish all of you a warm and festive Christmas season and a fantastic New Year! And look forward to new adventures in the spring!

InfraVis new web page

On November 28th, InfraVis proudly introduced the new InfraVis website.

The website includes information on expert competencies in InfraVis applications, available facilities, and labs, and showcase select user support projects.

We encourage you to explore the InfraVis website regularly to stay informed about developments and captivating visualization endeavors across various scientific domains. Your feedback on the page is highly valued.

InfraVis welcomes Olof Karis to the steering group

InfraVis is pleased to welcome Olof Karis, commonly known as Charlie, to our steering group. Olof brings valuable experience in research and management within research infrastructures.Olof became a professor of experimental physics at Uppsala University in 2011 and later served as the head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. His research has focused on the study of materials, particularly their magnetic properties, using X-rays and neutrons, trying to arrive at a deeper understanding of material performance. Currently, Olof is the director of the Swedish synchrotron MAX IV laboratory. MAX IV offers access to advanced beamlines for X-ray spectroscopy and other techniques, supporting a wide range of scientific questions. His interest in InfraVis is driven by the need for data-intensive infrastructures like MAX IV to ensure maximum usability of the vast amount of data generated. InfraVis's capabilities in data visualization complement the data-rich environment of MAX IV. Previously, Olof chaired one of MAX IV's advisory committees, indicative of his commitment to guide scientific communities. His role in the InfraVis steering group aligns with this commitment, fostering collaboration in scientific research.

The fourth InfraVis Days

InfraVis Days at KTH

InfraVis held the fourth InfraVis Days at KTH from October 3rd to the 4th. During the InfraVis Days, parallel workshops provided opportunities for the participants to actively work on different aspects of infrastructure development. A special focus was on placing the more than 40 projects from the June call on a clear path toward successful project management. Other workshops focused on internal and external training, outreach and communication, and not least strategy forward and how InfraVis best can develop joint pipelines with other research infrastructures.

In connection to the InfraVis Days, the 2nd of October KTH also hosted the first meeting for the InfraVis Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and the InfraVis steering group meeting #13. InfraVis is a unqiue infrastructure in many ways, including having an amazingly active and engaged steering group and a Scientific Advisory Board sharing inspirational and highly valuable perspectives. The SAB will in the beginning of 2024 deliver additional material for the first report on InfraVis performance. More about the Advisory Board below.

Facts about InfraVis Days

InfraVis Days takes place twice a year and it is an opportunity for the distributed InfraVis team to network, to review the progress and to plan future steps together so that the research infrastructure can continually offer top-level visualization support to its users.

InfraVis Days is rotational, meaning that each time it is hosted by a different node. InfraVis Days has already been hosted by Chalmers, Uppsala and Linköping, and now KTH, with Umeå next in line.

Save the date 18-20 March 2024 - InfraVis Days in Umeå

The program for the InfraVis Days in Umeå is under development and will be rich and inspiring program engaging both InfraVis application experts and others interested.

Introducing InfraVis Scientific Advisory Board

At the InfraVis Days at KTH in October, the inaugural meeting with the InfraVis Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) took place. The InfraVis SAB consists of globally renowned researchers who specialize in advanced scientific data visualization:

Dagny Stuedahl at Oslo Metropolitan University
Marjolein Thunnissen at MAX IV
Helwig Hausser at University Of Bergen
Michael Böttinger at Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum

The primary responsibility of the SAB is to conduct an annual evaluation of InfraVis, presenting a concise report encompassing feedback and recommendations, with a particular focus on the international landscape. In doing so, the SAB plays a crucial role in ensuring that InfraVis achieves a significant and meaningful global influence.

InfraVis news

Bridging The Gap Between Vision And Reality In Digital Twins For Cities

Participants from academia, public private and sector attended the event at Lindholmen Conference Centre, in Gothenburg 28th of November to share cutting-edge advancements in urban digital twins and to take part in a discussion under the theme “bridging the gap, from vision to reality”. Anders Logg, director of DTCC, introduced the event and walked us through defining and describing what a digital twin is in this context and, with six keynote speakers shared input and participated to insightful Q&As for an audience of more than 250 people. To give space to multiple complexities, the day also offered parallel sessions that focused on exploring the tangible benefits of urban digital twins, and on how can we address interoperability challenges.

Annual Open house at KTH Visualization Studio VIC

Annual Open house at KTH Visualization Studio VICThe KTH Visualization Studio VIC and InfraVis recently hosted their 12th Annual Open House on December 15, 2023, with over 300 guests. The Open house featured virtual and augmented reality interactions, smartphone-controlled public screens, and gesture- and eye-tracking experiences, captivating visitors of all ages. Notable featured projects included CitizAir, focusing on visualizing urban air quality, and Peak Panic, a multiplayer skiing game using smartphones.

KTH Open House 2023 at Visualization studio VIC.

InfraVis travels down under

In October 2023, members and researchers from InfraVis attended the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) VIS conference in Melbourne, Australia. The conference is organized to address concerns in the fields of Visualization, Data visualization, Computer graphics (images), Artificial intelligence and Computer vision. Prof. Anders Ynnerman, the chair of InfraVis's Steering Group, and Dr. Drew Berry were keynote speakers, presenting "Visualizing the Chemistry of Life" on 360-degree screens. They also discussed their work on disseminating scientific results in informal learning contexts. The keynote recording is available on YouTube. Anders Ynnerman presented new research on exoplanet visualization and participated in two other paper presentations. Other InfraVis members, including Andreas Kerren, Alexander Bock, Katerina Vrotsou, Ingrid Hotz, Talha Bin Masood, and Lonni Besançon, presented papers, chaired sessions, and were involved in various conference activities, contributing to the shaping of the IEEE VIS community.

Two InfraVis universities - one appreciated workshop in Umeå

"What is the best visualization technique for your results and data?" The participants of this course hosted by Uppsala University and Umeå University were given both a theoretical overview of useful visualization techniques and hands-on insight into how to create your own visualisation using MATLAB as a tool.

The course had a special focus on how to vizualise results from Machine Learning applications. Therefore, students and researchers came from all fields, including the humanities and social science.

Upcoming events

InfraVis Days in Umeå with the first InfraVis user forum

Reserve the dates 18-20 March 2024 in your calendars and get ready to attend the first user forum of InfraVis in connection to the 5th InfraVis Days. The program is presently being developed and we can promise you a diverse and highly inspirational program. Keep an eye on the infravis.se to stay tuned and be among the first to register.

InfraVis Days at Umeå University March 2024.

Help desk during X-mas holidays

Most of the InfraVis staff will be on vacation during the end of December and beginning of January which may cause some delay in our help desk response time. You can still submit your inquiries through our User Support Form and we will get back to you as soon as we are back from vacation.

Meet InfraVis Application Experts

Meet InfraVis Application Expert Filip Berendt.

Filip has spent a large portion of his time at Infravis getting key components of the infrastructure including the ticket management system and website up and running. He has also been responsible for coordinating the efforts for training the InfraVis staff in the ticket management system. His expertise includes constructing simulations for visualisation purposes, as well as designing abstraction processes for visualizing otherwise difficult-to-visualize phenomena.

Meet InfraVis Application Expert Mattis Lindmark.

Mattis is an accomplished Unity developer specializing in 3D, digital art, game design and programming. With expertise in interdisciplinary approaches, Mattis has created interactive applications for various contexts, including museums, cultural heritage, educational settings, and art exhibitions. His skills encompass 3D modelling and animation, XR-development, as well as video post-production and graphic design.