Visualization is a process of presenting data and algorithms using graphics and animations to help people understand or see the inner workings. It’s the work of Ching-Kuang “CK” Shene. “It’s very fascinating work,” Shene says. “The goal is to make all hidden facts visible.”
Shene helps students and professionals learn the algorithm—the step-by-step formula—of software through visualization tools.
All 10 of Shene’s National Science Foundation-funded projects center on geometry, computer graphics, and visualization. Together with colleagues from Michigan Tech, he’s transferring the unseen world of visualization into the classroom.
Shene helps students and professionals learn the algorithm—the step-by-step formula—of software through visualization tools. His tools offer a demo mode so teachers can present an animation of the procedure to their class; a practice mode for learners to try an exercise; and a quiz mode to assess mastery of the concept. Tools Shene has implemented at Michigan Tech and the world over include DesignMentor for Bézier, B-Spline, and NURBS curve and surface design; ThreadMentor—visualization for multi-thread execution and synchronization—and CryptoMentor, a set of six tools to visualize cryptographic algorithms.
Shene and Associate Professor of Computer Science Jean Mayo are collaborating on two new tools—Access Control and VACCS. He hopes his lifetime of visualization work helps advance the field of computer science: “My goal is to visualize everything in computer science.”