Dr Radu Jianu

Overview

I am a Lecturer in City's Computer Science Department and a member of the giCentre. My research interests are in Data Visualisation, Visual Analytics and Human Computer Interaction. I supervise both PhD and MSc students (more under the Research tab).

I currently coordinate City's Programming Bootcamp and teach Java Programming to imcoming Stage 1 students. In the past I've taught modules on Data Visualisation, Human Factors in Computing, Human Computer Interaction, and Functional Programming.

I am also the Computer Science Department's Progression and Support Director and a member of its ExCo. In the past I've been a Senior Tutor for Research and coordinated the periodic review of our department's doctoral program.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Brown University, USA, 2012
• MSc in Computer Science, Brown University, United States, 2007
• Diploma in Engineering, Polytechnic University of Timisoara, Romania, 2005

Employment

• Lecturer, City, University of London, United Kingdom, 2016 - present
• Assistant Professor, Florida International University, USA, August 2012 - June 2016

Languages

English (can read, write, speak, understand spoken, peer review), German (can read, write, speak, understand spoken) and Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan (can read, write, speak, understand spoken, peer review)

Teaching

Programming in Java (IN1007)
Cognition and Technologies (INM314)

In the past I've taught courses on Human Computer Interaction, Principles of Programming Languages, and Data Visualization

My research is focused on Visualisation, Visual Analytics, and Human Computer Interaction. I typically pursue interdisciplinary collaborations with research colleagues from other domains (e.g., biology, food policy) and industry partners (e.g., energy decarbonisation) to understand how they use data to advance knowledge and make decisions. I then create interactive data visualisations that can help them do this more effectively. In the process, I try to develop novel, generalisable data visualisation techniques as well as understand the general principles that govern how people interact with and make sense of data shown visually. To do so, I design and prototype data visualisation solutions; come up with new techniques that blend computation and interaction; and conduct user research and evaluation in various forms (e.g., eye-tracking, controlled user studies, contextual inquiry).

I publish regularly in high-impact visualisation and Human Computer Interaction venues (h-index = 22). Over the years I have co-authored around 40 publications, 20 of which in IEEE VIS, EuroVis, Transactions in Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI), and Nature Immunology. Several were awarded 'best paper' awards. I also review regularly and am a member of program committees for IEEE VIS, EuroVis, the Symposium of Eye Tracking Research & Applications. Browse my favorite (or all) contributions under the publications tab or in my Google Scholar profile).

Supervised Students

I am currently supervising two PhD students:
Dany Laksono (2022- present): Energy Decarbonisation through Visual Analytics
Maeve Hutchinson (2023-present): Visualisation mediated through Natural Language Processing.

Two students were awarded PhDs under my supervision in the past:
Mershack Okoe (2012-2016): Supporting Web-based and Crowdsourced Evaluations of Data Visualizations
Sayed Alam (2013-2017): Analysis of Eye-Tracking Data in Visualization and Data Space

I also regularly mentor MSc candidates at our university and supervise their disseration projects. If you are an MSc student and wish to be supervised see this page.

Students I engage with typically publish high quality, award winning contributions:
M Okoe, SS Alam and R Jianu. A gaze‐enabled graph visualization to improve graph reading tasks. EuroVis / Computer Graphics Forum 2014.
M Okoe and R Jianu. Graphunit: Evaluating interactive graph visualizations using crowdsourcing. EuroVis / Computer Graphics Forum 2015.
M Okoe, R Jianu, and S Kobourov. Node-link or adjacency matrices: Old question, new insights. IEEE TVCG 2018.
M Okoe, R Jianu, and S Kobourov. Revisited experimental comparison of node-link and matrix representations. Symposium on Graph Drawing 2018 (best paper).
SS Alam and R Jianu. Analyzing eye-tracking information in visualization and data space: from where on the screen to what on the screen. IEEE TVCG 2016.
R Jianu and SS Alam. A data model and task space for data of interest (DOI) eye-tracking analyses. IEEE TVCG 2017.
[Msc Project] V Brown, C Turkay and R Jianu. Dissecting Visual Analytics: Comparing Frameworks for Interpreting and Modelling Observed Visual Analytics Behavior. EuroVis 2020 (best short paper).

Research students

2^ndsupervisor

• Maeve Hutchinson, Research Student

Featured publications

1. Dykes, J., Abdul-Rahman, A., Archambault, D., Bach, B., Borgo, R., Chen, M.... Xu, K. (2022). Visualization for epidemiological modelling: challenges, solutions, reflections and recommendations. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 380(2233). doi:10.1098/rsta.2021.0299

   [publisher’s website]

2. Brown, V., Turkay, C. and Jianu, R. Dissecting Visual Analytics: Comparing Frameworks for Interpreting and Modelling Observed Visual Analytics Behavior. .doi:10.2312/evs.20201045
3. Okoe, M., Jianu, R. and Kobourov, S. (2019). Node-Link or Adjacency Matrices: Old Question, New Insights. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 25(10), pp. 2940-2952. doi:10.1109/tvcg.2018.2865940

   [publisher’s website]

4. Silva, N., Blascheck, T., Jianu, R., Rodriguez, N., Raubal, M., Schreck, T.... Sharif, B. (2019). Eye Tracking Support for Visual Analytics Systems. 2019 ACM Symposium On Eye Tracking Research & Applications (ETRA 2019) 25-28 June, Denver, USA.
5. Jianu, R. and Alam, S.S. (2018). A Data Model and Task Space for Data of Interest (DOI) Eye-Tracking Analyses. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 24(3), pp. 1232-1245. doi:10.1109/tvcg.2017.2665498

   [publisher’s website]

6. Okoe, M., Jianu, R. and Kobourov, S. Revisited Experimental Comparison of Node-Link and Matrix Representations. .doi:10.1007/978-3-319-73915-1_23
7. Alam, S.S. and Jianu, R. (2017). Analyzing Eye-Tracking Information in Visualization and Data Space: From Where on the Screen to What on the Screen. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 23(5), pp. 1492-1505. doi:10.1109/tvcg.2016.2535340

   [publisher’s website]

8. Gomez, S.R., Jianu, R., Cabeen, R., Guo, H. and Laidlaw, D.H. (2017). Fauxvea: Crowdsourcing Gaze Location Estimates for Visualization Analysis Tasks. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 23(2), pp. 1042-1055. doi:10.1109/tvcg.2016.2532331

   [publisher’s website]

9. Borgo, R., Lee, B., Bach, B., Fabrikant, S., Jianu, R., Kerren, A.... Zhou, M. (2017). Crowdsourcing for Information Visualization: Promises and Pitfalls. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (pp. 96-138). Springer International Publishing. ISBN 9783319664347.
10. Okoe, M. and Jianu, R. (2015). GraphUnit: Evaluating Interactive Graph Visualizations Using Crowdsourcing. Computer Graphics Forum, 34(3), pp. 451-460. doi:10.1111/cgf.12657

    [publisher’s website]

11. Jianu, R., Rusu, A., Hu, Y. and Taggart, D. (2014). How to Display Group Information on Node-Link Diagrams: An Evaluation. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 20(11), pp. 1530-1541. doi:10.1109/tvcg.2014.2315995

    [publisher’s website]

12. Okoe, M., Alam, S.S. and Jianu, R. (2014). A Gaze‐enabled Graph Visualization to Improve Graph Reading Tasks. Computer Graphics Forum, 33(3), pp. 251-260. doi:10.1111/cgf.12381

    [publisher’s website]

13. Gomez, S.R., Jianu, R., Ziemkiewicz, C., Guo, H. and Laidlaw, D. (2012). Different Strokes for Different Folks: Visual Presentation Design between Disciplines. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 18(12), pp. 2411-2420. doi:10.1109/tvcg.2012.214

    [publisher’s website]

14. Jianu, R., Demiralp, C. and Laidlaw, D.H. (2012). Exploring Brain Connectivity with Two-Dimensional Neural Maps. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 18(6), pp. 978-987. doi:10.1109/tvcg.2011.82

    [publisher’s website]

15. Jianu, R. and Laidlaw, D. An evaluation of how small user interface changes can improve scientists' analytic strategies. CHI '12: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.doi:10.1145/2207676.2208704
16. Painter, M.W., Davis, S., Hardy, R.R., Mathis, D., Benoist, C., Zhou, Y.... Regev, A. (2011). Transcriptomes of the B and T Lineages Compared by Multiplatform Microarray Profiling. The Journal of Immunology, 186(5), pp. 3047-3057. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1002695

    [publisher’s website]

17. Jianu, R., Kebing Yu, , Lulu Cao, , Vinh Nguyen, , Salomon, A.R. and Laidlaw, D.H. (2010). Visual Integration of Quantitative Proteomic Data, Pathways, and Protein Interactions. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 16(4), pp. 609-620. doi:10.1109/tvcg.2009.106

    [publisher’s website]

18. Jianu, R., Demiralp, C. and Laidlaw, D.H. (2009). Exploring 3D DTI Fiber Tracts with Linked 2D Representations. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 15(6), pp. 1449-1456. doi:10.1109/tvcg.2009.141

    [publisher’s website]

19. Heng, T.S.P., Painter, M.W., Elpek, K., Lukacs-Kornek, V., Mauermann, N., Turley, S.J.... Kang, J. (2008). The Immunological Genome Project: networks of gene expression in immune cells. Nature Immunology, 9(10), pp. 1091-1094. doi:10.1038/ni1008-1091

    [publisher’s website]

Publications by category