Joseph Kielman will be combined InfoVis 2006 Capstone and IEEE VAST Keynote Speaker

Joseph Kielman is Science Advisor, Science and Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security.

Designer Information - Why Visualization and Analytics Technologies Should Help Us Focus Our Minds and Not Our Senses

Abstract: The current metaphors used to justify visualization research involve the specters of massive information flows and analyst overload and such demands as "connecting the dots" and searching for "nuggets". Knowledge discovery becomes the challenge, and presenting the greatest amount of information to the bewildered user, or viewer in this case, the goal. Throughout history, however, visual metaphors have first and foremost helped humans organize and digest information. Irrelevant information or conceptions have been ignored or discarded. Customized or tailored interpretations have been put forward. What do I need to know? has been more crucial than What do I need to see? Designer information, just like "designer drugs" or designer "genes", is the watchword for visualization and analytics in this 21^st Century. And one of its most rigorous applications is homeland security.

Joseph Kielman serves as Science Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology for the Department of Homeland Security. He currently manages the Threat Awareness Portfolio for the Science and Technology Directorate. Prior to joining DHS, Dr. Kielman worked for 20 years at the FBI, where he was successively Chief of the Advanced Technology Group in the Engineering Section, Chief of Research and Development for the Technical Services Division, and Chief Scientist at the Information Resources Division. Work for the American Society for Testing and Materials, MCI Communications, and the Department of Health and Human Services preceded his tenure at the FBI. He currently serves as the Chair of the Advisory Boards for the Homeland Security and the Environmental Biomarkers Initiatives for the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and as Co-Chair for the White House National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. Dr. Kielman has an undergraduate degree in Physics and graduate degrees in Biophysics and did his postdoctoral research in genetics.