Michail Schwab

Education

• BS, University of Konstanz, Germany

About Michail

• Field of Study: Data Visualization
• PhD Advisor: Michelle Borkin

Biography

Michail is a PhD student in Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences. Advised by Prof. Borkin, Michail’s research focuses on Data Visualization and Human-Computer Interaction as well as their application in timelines and mobile visualizations.

A native of Germany, Michail received his Bachelor of Science after an undergraduate education in physics at University of Konstanz and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and later created a novel technique for navigating education materials at Harvard University. Michail is a member of Professor Borkin's Interdisciplinary Data Visualization Group and NULab. He aims to make data more accessible and understandable, both for researchers in physics and other domains, as well as for everyday consumers of information.

What are your research interests in a bit more detail?

I started out solving problems in physics, and quickly found that I enjoy solving problems using various computer-based approaches such as modeling and computation, image analysis, and visualization. I found these fields very powerful and soon joined Harvard University's Visual Computing Group. I noticed that specially the area of data visualization is not at all being taken advantage of enough, and decided to dedicate my PhD to this field.

What’s one problem you’d like to solve with your research / work?

I'd like to apply visualization techniques to a variety of fields in need of data science, as well as build on the framework of existing visualization theories and techniques.

What aspect of what you do is most interesting to you?

Visualization is pretty much the field of finding and showing new perspectives, so I generally hope to surprise even domain experts by giving them a new look into their data.

What are your research or career goals, going forward?

I'm hoping to eventually find a job in which I can accelerate multiple disciplines of science using data visualization techniques.

Where did you grow up or spend your most defining years?

I grew up in Germany, where I went to college. I spent 2013-2016 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then Harvard University in Boston, where I was impressed by hardworking and inspired people from all around the world.