Mechanical & Industrial Engrg 397DH - ST-Fundamentals/Data Visualatn

The world is becoming increasingly data rich, and our ability to make good decisions in all realms - from personal to policy - rests on our abilities to analyze and convey data in meaningful ways. Unfortunately, human beings are limited in our perceptual and cognitive abilities, making it difficult for us to use these large amounts of data. Data visualization holds promise as one mechanism for making sense of and presenting large amounts of data in a way that reduces information overload, and supports comprehension, memory, and decision-making. This course will prepare students to become visualization designers by providing them with an overview of visualization-types, design strategies, hands-on experience developing visualizations, and approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of the visualizations they create. Students will also become effective visualization consumers, equipped with the knowledge to assess the credibility of visualizations, detect misrepresentations of data, and reason about alternative explanations for the data. We will use an array of real-world examples from sources such as finance, healthcare, government policy, social science, and sports.

Open to Commonwealth Honors College Students only.