About
Michelle Borkin is an Assistant Professor in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University on the Boston Campus. She is also Co-Lead of the Visualization @ Khoury Lab, Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Northeastern Visualization Consortium (NUVis), Affiliated Faculty member of the Northeastern NULab for Text, Maps, and Networks, and an Affiliated Faculty member of the Information Design and Data Visualization Program in the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University. Her work is focused on the development of novel visualization techniques and tools to enable new insights and discoveries in data. She works across disciplines to bring together computer scientists, doctors, and astronomers to collaborate on new analysis and visualization techniques. Her research has resulted in the development of novel computer assisted diagnostics in cardiology, scalable visualization solutions for large network data sets, and novel astrophysical visualization tools and discoveries.
Prior to joining Northeastern, Borkin was a postdoctoral research fellow in computer science at the University of British Columbia with Prof. Tamara Munzner, an associate in computer science at Harvard University, and a research fellow at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. She received her PhD in applied physics at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in 2014, advised by Prof. Hanspeter Pfister and Prof. Alyssa Goodman. as well as a master’s degree in applied physics and a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and astrophysics and physics from Harvard University. She was previously a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow, a National Defense Science and Engineering graduate fellow, and a TED fellow. Borkin's work has been published in venues including IEEE VIS, IEEE Transactions on Visualization & Computer Graphics (TVCG), ACM CHI, and Nature, and was recently recognized with a CHI 2020 Best Paper Award for the publication “Design Study ‘Lite’ Methodology: Expediting Design Studies and Enabling the Synergy of Visualization Pedagogy and Social Good”.
Her research interests across data visualization and human-computer interaction (HCI) include multidimensional brushing-and-linking methodologies, 3D data visualization and selection techniques, tree and network visualization, visualization evaluation methodologies, perception and cognition theory, accessibility, and visualization for social good.
Research & Software
For the most up-to-date listing of recent research activities and affiliated project links, go to Publications. Here is a list of select projects with tools and deliverables of use to the broader visualization and scientific communities:
glue
glue is an open-source Python library to explore relationships within and between related datasets. Designed from the ground up to be applicable to a wide variety of data, Glue is being used on astronomy data of star forming-clouds, medical data including brain scans, and many other kinds of data. glueviz.org
SSVG
SSVG is an open library to speed up interactive svg-based data visualizations by transforming them into canvases. Using SSVG to convert your D3 SVG data visualization into a performant canvas visualization couldn’t be easier! ssvg.io
VisConnect
With minimal effort, VisConnect allows website and visualization creators to add live collaboration. VisConnect synchronizes pointer events, like click and touch, across collaborators, so that they share a common workspace. It allows each element to be modified by one person at a time. visconnect.us
EasyPZ
EasyPZ.js is an open-source library—EasyPZ.js for the creation of multi-scale (pan and zoom) visualizations across desktop and mobile devices. EasyPZ is fully customizable and extendable with flexible options for interaction design. easypz.io
DSLM
The Design Study "Lite" Methodology (DSLM) is a novel framework for implementing visualization design studies with novices in just 14 weeks. The Design Study "Lite" Methodology in conjunction with Service-Learning provides a pedagogical model to teach design studies and engage in visualization for social good. intervis-projects.ccs.neu.edu/project/DSLM
MASSVIS
The Massachusetts (Massive) Visualization Database consists of over 5000 static visualizations of which over 2000 contain visualization type information, and hundreds of these visualizations have extensive annotations, memorability scores, eye-movements, and labels. massvis.mit.edu
Teaching
For the most up-to-date listing, with links, of my courses taught at Northeastern University please visit the Visualization @ Khoury teaching page.
For information about my Service-Learning teaching and Design Study "Lite" Methodology, including curricular materials, please visit the DSLM Project page.
Publications
Table of contents:
Journal & Conference Papers
Book Chapters
Other refereed Publications and Posters
Journal & Conference Papers
2021
2020
2019
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
Book Chapters
2019
Other refereed Publications and Posters
2020
2019
2018
2017
2015
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
Contact
Location:
360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
Email:
m.borkin@northeastern.edu
Call:
(617) 373-6355