Martin M. Wattenberg
Encyclopedia
Martin M. Wattenberg is an American scientist and artist known for his work with data visualization. Along with Fernanda Viégas
, he worked at the Cambridge location of IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center
as part of the Visual Communication Lab, and created Many Eyes. In April 2010, Wattenberg and Viégas started a new venture called Flowing Media, Inc., to focus on visualization aimed at consumers and mass audiences. Four months later, both of them joined Google as the co-leaders of the Google's "Big Picture" data visualization group in Cambridge, MA.
M.S. from Stanford University in 1992, and Ph.D. in Mathematics from U.C. Berkeley in 1996. From 1996 through 2002, he lived in New York City and worked for Dow
Jones, on the personal finance and investing site SmartMoney.com. In 2002 he took a position at IBM's
Thomas J. Watson Research Center
, in its Cambridge, Massachusetts location; in 2004, he founded IBM
Research's Visual Communication Lab.
s. In 1998 Wattenberg created the Map of the Market, which visualized the stock price performance of hundreds of publicly traded companies. The Map was the first web-based treemap
and was widely imitated. Subsequently, Wattenberg started a research and development group at SmartMoney, which was responsible for interactive
charts, graphs, and simulations, as well as a library of visualization components. Outside of his work at Dow Jones, Wattenberg is known for interactive visualizations that have introduced mass audiences to data sets ranging from baby names to museum collections at NASA
and the Smithsonian.
at IBM, has published widely on collective intelligence
and the social use of data visualization.
Their work with visualizations such as History Flow and Chromogram led to some of the earliest
publications on the dynamics of Wikipedia, including the first scientific study of the repair of vandalism.
Wattenberg is one of the founders of IBM's experimental Many Eyes web site, created in 2007
which seeks to make visualization technology accessible to the public. In addition to broad uptake
from individuals, the technology from Many Eyes has been used by nonprofits and news outlets such as the
New York Times Visualization Lab.
new algorithm for treemap layouts (see Treemapping
). The Arc Diagram is a novel technique for visualizing structure in long sequences. This technique has since been used by many other designers. Wattenberg and Viégas together introduced
several techniques for depicting text: in addition to the history flow technique described above, the two
created such text visualizations as the Word Tree and Chromogram.
primarily worked on internet-accessible projects, but has also created installations, videos, and prints.
In the 1990s he began to work with information visualization as an artistic medium. For example, his Shape of Song series (1999–2002) depicted the form of musical compositions; this project exists online as well as
in prints that have been exhibited in multiple venues. Starrynight (1999), a collaboration with Alexander Galloway and Mark Tribe, provided a new form
of social, visual navigation for an online discussion. Idealine (2001), an interactive representation of the online art universe, was the first internet
artwork commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as a very early example of an
artwork that used "crowdsourcing" to gather data. Wattenberg has also worked with Golan Levin
, contributing to the visualization technique used
in The Secret Lives of Numbers (2002).
Wattenberg frequently works with Marek Walczak, with whom he formed a collaboration known as
MW2MW.
A key theme of their work is the relationship between language and space. For example, Apartment took
inspiration from the concept of a memory palace, turning free-form text entered by a
viewer into an architectural floorplan. The piece has appeared in many versions, including online (2000), an
installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art (2001) and in many other venues. Other works explore the possibilities of interaction: the Thinking Machine series (2004–2008), for example, is based on a chess-
playing program that attempts to best the viewer while displaying its own thinking process
.
Since 2003, Wattenberg has collaborated with Fernanda Viégas
to create interactive works that evoke
the joy of "revelation". They have used academic techniques such as history flow to create prints that have
been shown in venues such as the New York Museum of Modern Art. The two have also created purely artistic visualizations. For example, the Fleshmap series (2008-
2009) portrays aspects of sensuality, and includes work on the web, video, and
installations. For example, Fleshmap: Touch provides a collective view of erogenous zones, while Fleshmap: Listen visualizes the language used to describe the body in song lyrics.
Fernanda Viégas
Fernanda Bertini Viégas is a Brazilian scientist and designer whose work focuses on the social, collaborative, and artistic aspects of information visualization. Viégas received a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences from the MIT Media Lab in 2005. The same year she began work at the Cambridge location...
, he worked at the Cambridge location of IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Thomas J. Watson Research Center
The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for the IBM Research Division.The center is on three sites, with the main laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, 38 miles north of New York City, a building in Hawthorne, New York, and offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.- Overview :The...
as part of the Visual Communication Lab, and created Many Eyes. In April 2010, Wattenberg and Viégas started a new venture called Flowing Media, Inc., to focus on visualization aimed at consumers and mass audiences. Four months later, both of them joined Google as the co-leaders of the Google's "Big Picture" data visualization group in Cambridge, MA.
Biography
Wattenberg grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts. He received an A.B. from Brown University in 1991, anM.S. from Stanford University in 1992, and Ph.D. in Mathematics from U.C. Berkeley in 1996. From 1996 through 2002, he lived in New York City and worked for Dow
Jones, on the personal finance and investing site SmartMoney.com. In 2002 he took a position at IBM's
Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Thomas J. Watson Research Center
The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for the IBM Research Division.The center is on three sites, with the main laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, 38 miles north of New York City, a building in Hawthorne, New York, and offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.- Overview :The...
, in its Cambridge, Massachusetts location; in 2004, he founded IBM
Research's Visual Communication Lab.
Journalism
While at SmartMoney.com, Wattenberg focused on new forms of interactive web-based journalism. Early work in 1996-1997 ranged from service pieces, such as worksheets to guide financial decisions, to expository graphical narratives on subjects such as bond yield curveYield curve
In finance, the yield curve is the relation between the interest rate and the time to maturity, known as the "term", of the debt for a given borrower in a given currency. For example, the U.S. dollar interest rates paid on U.S...
s. In 1998 Wattenberg created the Map of the Market, which visualized the stock price performance of hundreds of publicly traded companies. The Map was the first web-based treemap
Treemapping
In information visualization and computing, treemapping is a method for displaying hierarchical data by using nested rectangles.- Main idea :...
and was widely imitated. Subsequently, Wattenberg started a research and development group at SmartMoney, which was responsible for interactive
charts, graphs, and simulations, as well as a library of visualization components. Outside of his work at Dow Jones, Wattenberg is known for interactive visualizations that have introduced mass audiences to data sets ranging from baby names to museum collections at NASA
and the Smithsonian.
Collaborative Analysis & Collective Intelligence
Wattenberg, in partnership with Fernanda ViégasFernanda Viégas
Fernanda Bertini Viégas is a Brazilian scientist and designer whose work focuses on the social, collaborative, and artistic aspects of information visualization. Viégas received a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences from the MIT Media Lab in 2005. The same year she began work at the Cambridge location...
at IBM, has published widely on collective intelligence
and the social use of data visualization.
Their work with visualizations such as History Flow and Chromogram led to some of the earliest
publications on the dynamics of Wikipedia, including the first scientific study of the repair of vandalism.
Wattenberg is one of the founders of IBM's experimental Many Eyes web site, created in 2007
which seeks to make visualization technology accessible to the public. In addition to broad uptake
from individuals, the technology from Many Eyes has been used by nonprofits and news outlets such as the
New York Times Visualization Lab.
Visualization Techniques & Theory
Wattenberg invented or co-invented many visualization techniques. The Map of the Market was based on anew algorithm for treemap layouts (see Treemapping
Treemapping
In information visualization and computing, treemapping is a method for displaying hierarchical data by using nested rectangles.- Main idea :...
). The Arc Diagram is a novel technique for visualizing structure in long sequences. This technique has since been used by many other designers. Wattenberg and Viégas together introduced
several techniques for depicting text: in addition to the history flow technique described above, the two
created such text visualizations as the Word Tree and Chromogram.
Artwork
As an artist, Wattenberg uses interactive graphics and visualization as expressive media. He hasprimarily worked on internet-accessible projects, but has also created installations, videos, and prints.
In the 1990s he began to work with information visualization as an artistic medium. For example, his Shape of Song series (1999–2002) depicted the form of musical compositions; this project exists online as well as
in prints that have been exhibited in multiple venues. Starrynight (1999), a collaboration with Alexander Galloway and Mark Tribe, provided a new form
of social, visual navigation for an online discussion. Idealine (2001), an interactive representation of the online art universe, was the first internet
artwork commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as a very early example of an
artwork that used "crowdsourcing" to gather data. Wattenberg has also worked with Golan Levin
Golan Levin
Golan Levin is an American new media artist, composer, performer and engineer interested in developing artifacts and events which explore supple new modes of reactive expression.-Biography:...
, contributing to the visualization technique used
in The Secret Lives of Numbers (2002).
Wattenberg frequently works with Marek Walczak, with whom he formed a collaboration known as
MW2MW.
A key theme of their work is the relationship between language and space. For example, Apartment took
inspiration from the concept of a memory palace, turning free-form text entered by a
viewer into an architectural floorplan. The piece has appeared in many versions, including online (2000), an
installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art (2001) and in many other venues. Other works explore the possibilities of interaction: the Thinking Machine series (2004–2008), for example, is based on a chess-
playing program that attempts to best the viewer while displaying its own thinking process
.
Since 2003, Wattenberg has collaborated with Fernanda Viégas
Fernanda Viégas
Fernanda Bertini Viégas is a Brazilian scientist and designer whose work focuses on the social, collaborative, and artistic aspects of information visualization. Viégas received a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences from the MIT Media Lab in 2005. The same year she began work at the Cambridge location...
to create interactive works that evoke
the joy of "revelation". They have used academic techniques such as history flow to create prints that have
been shown in venues such as the New York Museum of Modern Art. The two have also created purely artistic visualizations. For example, the Fleshmap series (2008-
2009) portrays aspects of sensuality, and includes work on the web, video, and
installations. For example, Fleshmap: Touch provides a collective view of erogenous zones, while Fleshmap: Listen visualizes the language used to describe the body in song lyrics.
Publications
Key publications:- 2007: Many Eyes: A Site for Visualization at Internet Scale. Fernanda B. Viégas, Martin Wattenberg, Frank van Ham, Jesse Kriss, Matt McKeon. IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization.
- 2005: Baby Names, Visualization, and Social Data Analysis Martin Wattenberg. IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization.
- 2004: Studying Cooperation and Conflict between Authors with history flow Visualizations. Fernanda B. Viégas, Martin Wattenberg, and Kushal Dave. ACM Conference on Computer-Human Interaction (CHI).
- 2002: Ordered and quantum treemaps: Making effective use of 2D space to display hierarchies Ben Bederson, Ben Shneiderman, and Martin Wattenberg. ACM Transactions on Graphics, Vol 21, No. 4.
External links
- Martin Wattenberg Personal home page for Wattenberg
- Academic publications listed on IBM's site.
- Many Eyes Experimental public visualization site.
- SmartMoney Map of the Market.
- History flow Project page for Wikipedia visualizations.
- Name Voyager Visualization of baby names.
- Fleshmap Site for the "Fleshmap" series of artworks.
- Google+ Ripples