UBC, SFU Launch Visual Analytics Research Institute with Help of $1.25M Boeing Investment

A $1.25 million investment from The Boeing Company is helping to make Vancouver home to one of the top visual analytics research institutes in the world. The Vancouver Institute for Visual Analytics (VIVA) will bring researchers from Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia together with industry partners to lead the next wave in the high-tech revolution of turning massive amounts of complex information into actionable knowledge.

Ronald Rensink, an associate professor in computer science and psychology at UBC, is the university's principle investigator on the project. He received his PhD in computer science from UBC in 1992, and completed his post-doctorate at Harvard's Vision Sciences Laboratory. Rensink's research focuses on the physical limits of visual perception and how visual analytics systems can be designed to allow users to easily analyze immense amounts of data.

Visual analytics makes it possible for people to use their computers to work visually with data, and to better understand what the data is saying. The information helps decision makers in banking, health care, transportation and public safety interpret the overwhelming amount of information they face daily.

“This investment will allow us to continue the quality of research innovation for which Vancouver has become known,” says Dr. Fred Popowich, Director of VIVA, “Visual analytics has great promise for scientific and economic innovation, and UBC and SFU are committed to establishing Vancouver as the national hub for visualization and visual analytics research and expertise.”

The investment is a result of Canada’s Industrial & Regional Benefits (IRB) policy and is an integral part of Boeing’s IRB program associated with the acquisition of 15 CH147 medium-to-heavy-lift helicopters for the Canadian Forces. The grant augments a 2008 Boeing investment of $1.35 million in support of its IRB program associated with the acquisition of four C-17 Globemaster III multimission transport aircraft delivered to the Canadian Forces, designated CC177 in Canada.

“Our government believes it is important that Canadians and Canadian businesses throughout the country benefit from military equipment purchases,” said Industry Minister Tony Clement. “By modernizing and improving the government's Industrial and Regional Benefits policy, we are supporting research and helping bring new technologies to market.”

Canada’s IRB policy requires prime contractors such as Boeing to make investments in the Canadian economy as a result of winning defence and security contracts with the Government of Canada.

“Boeing’s investment in VIVA will promote improvements in aerospace, safety and security, health, business analytics and other high-tech industries in the area of visual analytics,” says Dave Kasik, Boeing Senior Technical Fellow for Visualization and Interactive Techniques.