Cutting-Edge Research in Visualization

I n 1987, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Panel on Graphics, Image Processing, and Workstations published its landmark report, “Visualization in Scientific Computing,” which set out the vision for developing visualization as a scientific field (www.evl.uic. edu/core.php?mod=4&type=3&indi=348). During the 25 years since then, the visualization field’s horizons have broadened significantly, and it now encompasses three major subfields—scientific visualization, information visualization, and visual analytics—as well as many domainspecific areas, including geoinformation visualization, biological data visualization, and software visualization. This special issue offers an opportunity to refresh and update Computer’s broad readership on cutting-edge research in computer-generated visualization.