Catherine Plaisant

Senior Research Scientist Emerita
2117C Hornbake Library
(301) 405-2768
Academic Web Page
Education: 
Doctorat d'Ingenieur degree in France
Biography: 

Catherine Plaisant is a senior research scientist emerita for UMIACS and the former associate director of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (HCIL).

Her research focuses on the design and evaluation of novel user interfaces.

She first worked in France at the "Centre Mondial Informatique et Ressources Humaines" in Paris, developing learning environments for pre-school children and conducting evaluation in classrooms. In 1988, she joined Distinguished University Professor of computer science Ben Shneiderman at HCIL, where she now works with multidisciplinary teams on designing and evaluating new interface technologies that are useable and useful. Research contributions range from focused user interaction techniques (e.g. Excentric Labeling) to innovative visualizations (such as LifeLines for personal records or SpaceTree for hierarchical data exploration) and interactive search interface techniques, such as Query Previews. Those interaction techniques have been carefully validated with user studies and are finding applications in industry, government information systems and digital libraries.

Plaisant has more than 200 published papers, mostly in leading journals and conferences, on diverse subjects such as information visualization, digital libraries, universal access, image browsing, digital humanities, technology for families, or evaluation methodologies.

Along with Shneiderman, she co-authored the 4th, 5th and 6th editions of "Designing the User Interface", one of the major books on the topic of human-computer interaction.

In 2015 she was elected to the ACM SIGCHI Academy recognizing principal leaders in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. In 2018 she was awarded an INRIA International Chair, and in 2020 she received the IEEE VIS Career Award and the ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Service Award.

She received a Doctorat d'Ingenieur degree in France in 1982.

Go here to view Plaisant's academic publications on Google Scholar.

Publications

2005


Zhao H, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2005.  "I hear the pattern": interactive sonification of geographical data patterns. CHI '05 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems. :1905-1908.

Tanin E, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2005.  Broadening Access to Large Online Databases by Generalizing Query Previews (2000). Institute for Systems Research Technical Reports.

Shneiderman B, Plaisant C.  2005.  Designing The User Interface.

Plaisant C.  2005.  Information Visualization and the Challenge of Universal Usability. Exploring GeovisualizationExploring Geovisualization. :53-82.

Marchionini G, Haas S, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B, Hert C.  2005.  Toward a Statistical Knowledge Network (2004). Institute for Systems Research Technical Reports.

Laskowski S, Plaisant C.  2005.  Evaluation Methodologies for Visual Analytics. Illuminating the Path: The Research and Development Agenda for Visual AnalyticsIlluminating the Path: The Research and Development Agenda for Visual Analytics. :150-157.

Eaton C, Plaisant C, Drizd T.  2005.  Visualizing missing data: classification and empirical study. Proceedings of INTERACT. :861-872.

Dix A, Jones W, Czerwinski M, Teevan J, Plaisant C, Moran TP.  2005.  The Challenge of Personal Information Management. INTERACT'05: Communicating Naturally through Computers (Adjunct Proceedings).

Buono P, Aris A, Plaisant C, Khella A, Shneiderman B.  2005.  Interactive pattern search in time series. Proceedings of SPIE. 5669(1):175-186.

Aris A, Shneiderman B, Plaisant C, Shmueli G, Jank W.  2005.  Representing Unevenly-Spaced Time Series Data for Visualization and Interactive Exploration (2005). Institute for Systems Research Technical Reports.

Zhao H, Smith BK, Norman K, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2005.  Interactive sonification of choropleth maps. IEEE Multimedia. 12(2):26-35.

Aris A, Shneiderman B, Plaisant C, Shmueli G, Jank W.  2005.  Representing Unevenly-Spaced Time Series Data for Visualization and Interactive Exploration. Human-Computer Interaction - INTERACT 2005Human-Computer Interaction - INTERACT 2005. 3585:835-846.

Zhao H, Smith BK, Norman KL, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2005.  Listening to Maps: User Evaluation of Interactive Sonifications of Geo-Referenced Data (2004). Institute for Systems Research Technical Reports.

2004


Plaisant C.  2004.  The challenge of information visualization evaluation. Proceedings of the working conference on Advanced visual interfaces. :109-116.

Plaisant C, Schneiderman B.  2004.  Designing the user interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction.

Marchionini G, Haas S, Shneiderman B, Plaisant C, Hert CA.  2004.  Project highlight: toward the statistical knowledge network. Proceedings of the 2004 annual national conference on Digital government research. :125:1–125:2-125:1–125:2.

Fekete J-D, Plaisant C.  2004.  Les leçons tirées des deux compétitions de visualisation d'information. Proceedings of the 16th conference on Association Francophone d'Interaction Homme-Machine. :7-12.

Cable JH, Ordonez JF, Chintalapani G, Plaisant C.  2004.  Project portfolio earned value management using treemaps. Proceedings of the Project Management Institute Research Conference.

Chintalapani G, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2004.  Extending the utility of treemaps with flexible hierarchy. Eighth International Conference on Information Visualisation, 2004. IV 2004. Proceedings. :335-344.

Kules B, Kang H, Plaisant C, Rose A, Shneiderman B.  2004.  Immediate usability: a case study of public access design for a community photo library. Interacting with Computers. 16(6):1171-1193.

Zhao H, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B, Duraiswami R.  2004.  Sonification of geo-referenced data for auditory information seeking: Design principle and pilot study. Proceedings of ICAD.

2003


Kumar H, Plaisant C, Teittinen M, Shneiderman B.  2003.  Visual Information Management for Network Configuration. The Craft of Information VisualizationThe Craft of Information Visualization. :239-256.

Kules B, Shneiderman B, Plaisant C.  2003.  Data exploration with paired hierarchical visualizations: initial designs of PairTrees. Proceedings of the 2003 annual national conference on Digital government research. :1-6.

Kang H, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2003.  New approaches to help users get started with visual interfaces: multi-layered interfaces and integrated initial guidance. Proceedings of the 2003 annual national conference on Digital government research. :1-6.

Kang H, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2003.  Helping users get started with visual interfaces: multi-layered interfaces, integrated initial guidance and video demonstrations. Proceedings of the 2003 annual national conference on Digital government research. :1-1.

Hutchinson H, Mackay W, Westerlund B, Bederson BB, Druin A, Plaisant C, Beaudouin-Lafon M, Conversy S, Evans H, Hansen H et al..  2003.  Technology probes: inspiring design for and with families. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems. :17-24.

Plaisant C, Chintalapani G, Lukehart C, Schiro D, Ryan J.  2003.  Using Visualization Tools to Gain Insight Into Your Data. SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition.

Hombsek K, Bederson BB, Plaisant C.  2003.  Preserving Context with Zoomable User Interfaces. The craft of information visualization: readings and reflectionsThe craft of information visualization: readings and reflections. :83-83.

Kules B, Kang H, Plaisant C, Rose A, Shneiderman B.  2003.  Immediate Usability: Kiosk design principles from the CHI 2001 Photo Library. Technical Reports from UMIACS.

Grinstein G, Kobsa A, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B, Stasko JT.  2003.  Which comes first, usability or utility? Proceedings of the 14th IEEE Visualization 2003 (VIS'03). :112–-112–.

Hutchinson H, Bederson BB, Plaisant C, Druin A.  2003.  Family Calendar Survey. Technical Reports from UMIACS.

Fredrikson A, North C, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B, Tanin E, Pkisant C.  2003.  Database Discovery with Dynamic Queries. The craft of information visualization: readings and reflectionsThe craft of information visualization: readings and reflections. :1-1.

Hornbaek K, Bederson BB, Plaisant C.  2003.  Navigation patterns & usability of zoomable user interfaces: with and without an overview. interactions. 10(1):11-12.

Fekete JD, Wang D, Dang N, Aris A, Plaisant C.  2003.  Overlaying graph links on treemaps. IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization Conference Compendium (demonstration).

Tanin E, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2003.  Broadening Access to Large Online Databases by Generalizing Query Previews. The Craft of Information VisualizationThe Craft of Information Visualization. :31-37.

Eaton C, Plaisant C, Drizd T.  2003.  The Challenge of Missing and Uncertain Data. Proceedings of the 14th IEEE Visualization 2003 (VIS'03). :100–-100–.

Plaisant C, Mushlin R, Snyder A, Li J, Heller D, Shneiderman B.  2003.  LifeLines: Using Visualization to Enhance Navigation and Analysis of Patient Records. The Craft of Information VisualizationThe Craft of Information Visualization. :308-312.

Bederson BB, Plaisant C, Mushlin R, Snyder A, Li J, Heller D, Shneiderman B, Hochheiser H, Fekete JD, Czenvinski M.  2003.  Innovating the Interaction. The craft of information visualization: readings and reflectionsThe craft of information visualization: readings and reflections. :295-295.

Plaisant C, Marchionini G, Komlodi A.  2003.  Visualizing websites using a hierarchical table of contents browser: WebTOC. The craft of information visualization: readings and reflectionsThe craft of information visualization: readings and reflections. :438-438.

Plaisant C, Marchimini G, Bruns T, Komlodi A, Campbell L, Rose A, Ding GM, Beale Jr J, Nolet V, Shneiderman B et al..  2003.  The World's Information in Digital Libraries. The craft of information visualization: readings and reflectionsThe craft of information visualization: readings and reflections. :149-149.

North C, Shneiderman B, Plaisant C, Kang H, Bederson BB.  2003.  Seeing the World Through Image Libraries. The craft of information visualization: readings and reflectionsThe craft of information visualization: readings and reflections. :47-47.

Marchionini G, Haas S, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B, Hert C.  2003.  Toward a statistical knowledge network. Proceedings of the 2003 annual national conference on Digital government research. :1-6.

Marchionini G, Plaisant C, Komlodi A.  2003.  The people in digital libraries: Multifaceted approaches to assessing needs and impact. Digital library use: Social practice in design and evaluationDigital library use: Social practice in design and evaluation. :119-160.

2002


Plaisant C, Grosjean J, Bederson BB.  2002.  SpaceTree: Design evolution of a node link tree browser. Proc. InfoVis. :57-64.

Shneiderman B, Kang H, Kules B, Plaisant C, Rose A, Rucheir R.  2002.  A photo history of SIGCHI: evolution of design from personal to public. interactions. 9(3):17-23.

Plaisant C, Druin A, Hutchinson H.  2002.  Technologies for families. CHI '02 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems. :938-939.

Plaisant C, Grosjean J, Bederson BB.  2002.  SpaceTree: supporting exploration in large node link tree, design evolution and empirical evaluation. Information Visualization, 2002. INFOVIS 2002. IEEE Symposium on. :57-64.

Hutchinson H, Plaisant C, Druin A.  2002.  Case study: a message board as a technology probe for family communication and coordination. Proceedings of the 2002 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Hornbaek K, Bederson BB, Plaisant C.  2002.  Navigation patterns and usability of zoomable user interfaces with and without an overview. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI). 9(4):362-389.

Fekete J-D, Plaisant C.  2002.  Interactive information visualization of a million items. Information Visualization, 2002. INFOVIS 2002. IEEE Symposium on. :117-124.

2001


Browne H, Bederson BB, Plaisant C, Druin A.  2001.  Designing an Interactive Message Board as a Technology Probe for Family Communication. Technical Reports of the Computer Science Department.

Plaisant C, Bhamidipati P, Tarnoff P.  2001.  VEHICLE SPEED INFORMATION DISPLAYS FOR PUBLIC WEBSITES: A STUDY OF USER PREFERENCES. ITS 2001: Conference Proceedings.

Lathan C, Vice J M, Tracey M, Plaisant C, Druin A, Edward K, Montemayor J.  2001.  Therapeutic play with a storytelling robot. CHI '01 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems. :27-28.

Konishi M, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2001.  Enabling Commuters to Find the Best Route: An Interface for Analyzing Driving History Logs. Proceedings of the IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (Interact2001). :799-800.

Chipman G, Plaisant C, Gahagan S, Herrmann JW, Hewitt S, Reaves L.  2001.  Understanding Manufacturing Systems with a Learning Historian for User-Directed Experimentation. CS-TR-4243

2000


Greene S, Marchionini G, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  2000.  Previews and overviews in digital libraries: Designing surrogates to support visual information seeking. Journal of the American Society for Information Science. 51(4):380-393.

Plaisant C, Bhamidipati P.  2000.  Vehicle Speed Information Displays for Public Websites A Survey of User Preferences. Technical Reports from UMIACS.

Tanin E, Lotem A, Haddadin I, Shneiderman B, Plaisant C, Slaughter L.  2000.  Facilitating data exploration with query previews: A study of user performance and preference. Behaviour & Information Technology. 19(6):393-403.

Rose A, Salter R, Keswani S, Kositsyna N, Plaisant C, Rubloff G, Shneiderman B.  2000.  Simulation based learning environments and the use of learning histories. CHI '00 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems. :2-3.

Plaisant C, Druin A, Lathan C, Dakhane K, Edwards K, Vice J M, Montemayor J.  2000.  A storytelling robot for pediatric rehabilitation. Proceedings of the fourth international ACM conference on Assistive technologies. :50-55.

Plaisant C, Komlodi A, Lindsay F.  2000.  Evaluation challenges for a Federation of heterogeneous information providers: the case of NASA's Earth Science Information Partnerships. Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises, 2000. (WET ICE 2000). Proeedings. IEEE 9th International Workshops on. :130-135.

1999


Greene S, Tanin E, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B, Olsen L, Major G, Johns S.  1999.  The end of zero-hit queries: query previews for NASA’s Global Change Master Directory. International Journal on Digital Libraries. 2(2):79-90.

Fredrikson A, North C, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  1999.  Temporal, geographical and categorical aggregations viewed through coordinated displays: a case study with highway incident data. Proceedings of the 1999 workshop on new paradigms in information visualization and manipulation in conjunction with the eighth ACM internation conference on Information and knowledge management. :26-34.

Fekete J-D, Plaisant C.  1999.  Excentric labeling: dynamic neighborhood labeling for data visualization. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems: the CHI is the limit. :512-519.

Lindsay FE, Townshend JRG, JaJa JF, Humphries J, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  1999.  Developing the next generation of Earth science data systems: the Global Land Cover Facility. Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 1999. IGARSS '99 Proceedings. IEEE 1999 International. 1:616-618vol.1-616-618vol.1.

Plaisant C, Shneiderman B, Doan K, Bruns T.  1999.  Interface and data architecture for query preview in networked information systems. ACM Trans. Inf. Syst.. 17(3):320-341.

Plaisant C, Rose A, Rubloff G, Salter R, Shneiderman B.  1999.  The design of history mechanisms and their use in collaborative educational simulations. Proceedings of the 1999 conference on Computer support for collaborative learning.

Plaisant C, Venkatraman M, Ngamkajorwiwat K, Barth R, Harberts B, Feng W.  1999.  Refining query previews techniques for data with multivalued attributes: the case of NASA EOSDIS. Research and Technology Advances in Digital Libraries, 1999. ADL '99. Proceedings. IEEE Forum on. :50-59.

Kumar HP, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  1999.  LifeLines: Visualizing Personal Histories. Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to ThinkReadings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think. :285-285.

Kumar HP, Plaisant C, Shneiderman B.  1999.  Browsing hierarchical data with multi-level dynamic queries. Readings in information visualizationReadings in information visualization. :295-305.

Pages