Speaker: Prof. Narges Mahyar
Abstract
Every day, people encounter data visualizations while tracking infection rates, monitoring air quality, following elections, or debating public policy online. In these moments, visualization functions not merely as an expert tool but as public infrastructure shaping how societies interpret complex challenges. Visualization research has made remarkable progress in advancing precision, efficiency, and individual insight. It now has the opportunity to broaden its impact by supporting shared understanding, collective reasoning, and coordinated action in high-stakes contexts. In this talk, I examine what is required for visualization to fulfil this role, highlighting emerging approaches that engage non-expert audiences through participatory and inclusive design. I close with open research directions and a forward-looking agenda that moves beyond individual insight towards collective empowerment and shared futures.
Bio
Dr Narges Mahyar is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Co-director of the giCentre at City St George’s, University of London, and was a 2024–2025 Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University. Previously, she was an Associate Professor at the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research lies at the intersection of visualization, human–computer interaction, social computing, and design, with a central focus on visualization for collective empowerment. She designs and studies human-centred AI and visualization systems that enable experts and communities to reason together, navigate uncertainty, and make informed decisions in complex sociotechnical settings. Over the past decade, her work has advanced the field of Digital Civics by developing community-centred technologies that support public participation in high-stakes domains such as climate risk, urban planning, and civic decision-making. Her research has received nine Best Paper and Honourable Mention awards at leading HCI and visualization venues. Narges holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Victoria and completed postdoctoral research at the University of British Columbia and the University of California, San Diego.
