Interactive Visualization of Complex Networks and Systems

Our goal is to enhance our understanding of networks and their underlying systems, by investigating new methods of presenting them in a human-readable format---in other words, their visualisation. To further research in this area, we are performing work in multiple streams. At the lower level we have been working on developing new algorithms to produce more salient presentations of graphs. This is in the realm of computational geometry. At the higher level we aim to crowdsource research into the dynamical systems that exist on top of these networks. We concentrate on the function of food webs, which can be difficult to analyse as they are often non-linear and high-dimensional. We will do this by presenting an interface for the general public to interact with such systems, in the form of serious games, to see if it is possible to leverage human intuition to drive new discoveries. In doing so, there is also the potential for outreach in its application. Some examples of relevant EPSRC research areas are 'Geometry and topology', 'Graphics and visualisation', 'Human-computer interaction'.