Restructuring IEEE VIS for the Future

Motivation

IEEE VIS is at a crossroads: for many years it has been subdivided into the SciVis, InfoVis, and Visual Analytics conferences. There is now considerable appetite to consider alternate structures, such as a more unified conference, that may better enhance vibrancy and growth. Our goals are to preserve intellectual diversity while promoting organizational consistency. The organizers of these two workshops have been charged by the VIS Executive Committee (VEC) to guide this decision-making process, which started in 2017. These workshops will be a cornerstone of the 2018 work, to provide a broad cross-section of the community a voice into the set of options under consideration. Invitees include the VEC, Steering Committees, VIS Organizing Committee, and many earlier-career researchers. The recommendations that arise from these working groups will shape the future of our flagship venue and thus the field of visualization for the coming decades. The VIS Restructuring Committee is Hans Hagen, Daniel Keim, Tamara Munzner, Stephen North, and Hanspeter Pfister (chair).