We are always looking for talented and motivated individuals to join our group as PhD students or Postdoctoral Fellows to do research in data visualization.
The School of Computing is a top ranked computer science department, and the SCI Institute and the Visualization Design Lab are among the world leaders in visualization - the University of Utah is ranked highly in Visualization according to csrankings.org.
Our group commonly takes a problem-oriented approach to visualization development. We closely work with collaborators from the sciences to humanities to develop novel techniques and tools to support exploratory, complex data analysis tasks.
Current topics of interest include:
- Visualization techniques, including multivariate graphs, multivariate data, heterogeneous data, etc.
- BioMedical data visualization, such as integrated visualization and algorithmic approaches for genomic data, biological networks, patient data, etc.
- Design studies.
- Web-based systems for scalable visualization.
- Methods and models for applied visualization research.
- Perceptual and cognitive principles for visualization.
- Visualization for communication and behavior change.
- Provenance tracking, reproducibility and storytelling.
PhD Students
PhD students are enrolled in the University of Utah’s School of Computing, in either a computing or a computer science degree program. Students can choose between a graphics/visualization, human-centered computing, or data science track, among others. Admitted students typically are guaranteed two semesters of funding by the school, with subsequent years funded by the lab faculty.
We encourage applications from students with degrees in computer science and related fields, but also from other areas, such as bioinformatics, math, physics, design, psychology, etc. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are crucial. If you are unsure whether you are qualified, please get in touch.
Admissions are handled by the School of Computing; the admission deadline is December 15.
If you have any questions, please contact us before applying.
Postdoctoral Fellows
We are often looking to hire exceptional candidates with a proven track-record of visualization research. Postdoctoral fellows will be responsible for developing a research program in line with the above-mentioned topics of interest. Other responsibilities include day-to-day project management, including coordination with collaborators and other team members, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, as well as the writing of manuscripts. Contribution to the grant writing efforts of the lab are encouraged.
Candidates must have a PhD degree in computer science or related fields, and have a track-record of publication in the top visualization journals or conferences. Excellent programming skills, working knowledge of state-of-the-art software development techniques, experience collaborating with domain experts, and broad training in evaluation methods are a plus. The candidates interested in these positions must be highly motivated, willing to learn and demonstrate initiative in assigned tasks. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are crucial.
We will post specific openings on these pages, but feel free to send us a CV, a research statement, PDFs of your best papers, and contact information for three references to vdl-faculty@sci.utah.edu and we will get back to you.