Human-Computer Interaction in
Biodiversity Informatics
Workshop in association with the 22nd annual
HCIL Symposium and Open House
Sponsored by NBII and NSF
http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/biodiversity/workshop
Plan for the day





talks (with a break in the middle)
lunch (maybe walk?)
panel
demos
dinner
Biodiversity is the extraordinary
variety of all life on Earth - from genes to
species to entire ecosystems.
Biodiversity
-- Smithsonian Institution Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program
How can we improve interaction with
biodiversity information?
Informatics
Modified from Wikipedia
“Ecoinformatics” entry
Facilitate research and management by developing
ways to

access biodiversity data

integrate
databases of biodiversity information
computational services such as predictive
models, analytical, and planning tools
Information and problem-centered
Human-computer interaction
Wikipedia “HCI” entry
The study of interaction between people (users) and
computers.

methodologies and processes for designing
interfaces

methods for implementing interfaces

developing new interfaces and interaction
techniques

developing descriptive and predictive models and
theories of interaction
People and task-centered
HCI in Biodiversity Informatics



reduction of information complexity (spatial,
historical, numerical, etc.) for human scales
potential for cross-over with other domains
focus on organisms -- names, attributes,
habitats, localities
potential for non-expert users: education,
outreach
Missing . . .
Lunch table tomorrow
data entry
sensor nets
algorithmic data mining
text mining
semantic web
Organization of speakers
Approaches
Science
process
to
biodiversity
problems and tasks
Technology
Biodiversity
Researcher
background
 data
plants
identification
Biologist-turned-technologist
(White, Jacobs)
(Farr,
Jacobs)
(Parr, Allen, Farr)
collection
(Farr,
Jacobs)
 Evolution
 data
fungi
information
HCIexploration
(Farr)
researcher
retrieval
(Nardi,
(White,
Guimbetrere,
Allen)
Shapley)
and
analysis
(Parr, Guimbetrere,
(Guimbetrere, Farr, Shapley, Jacobs)
White)
 interactive
animals
Other (White,
(Allen,
data
Jacobs)
Nardi)
visualization




Ecology
and
Environment
(Parr,
Guimbetrere,
Shapley,
White)Allen)
education
and
outreach
(Shapley,
multiple (Parr,
(Parr, Allen,
Shapley,
Guimbetrere)
White, Nardi)
collaboration (Nardi)
(Nardi)
cross-cutting