Browsing by Author "Nowell, Lucy Terry"

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    Query Composition: Why Does It Have to Be So Hard?
    Nowell, Lucy Terry; Hix, Deborah; Labow, Eric D. (Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 1993)
    Project Envision, a large research effort at Virginia Tech, focuses on developing a user centered multimedia database from the computer science literature with full-text searching and full-content retrieval capabilities. User interviews indicate that people have trouble composing queries. Widely available boolean retrieval systems present problems with both syntax and logic. Natural language queries for vector space retrieval systems are easier to compose but users complain that they do not understand the matching principles used; users also complain that they have too little control over the search and fear being overwhelmed by an enormous retrieval set. We describe the Envision query window which has as a usability goal making query composition easy while increasing user control. Results of formative usability evaluation and subsequent redesign are discussed.
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    Science at Extreme Scale: Challenges in Data Management, Analysis, and Visualization
    Nowell, Lucy Terry (2013-05-06)
    Management, analysis and visualization of extreme-scale scientific data will undergo radical change during the coming decade. Coupled with changes in the hardware architecture of next-generation supercomputers, explosive growth in the volume of scientific data presents a host of challenges to researchers in computer science, mathematics and statistics, and application sciences. Failure to develop new data management, analysis and visualization technologies that operate effectively on the changing architecture will cripple scientific discovery and put national security at risk. Using examples from climate science, Dr. Lucy Nowell will explore the technical and scientific drivers and opportunities for data science research funded by the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. BIO: Dr. Lucy Nowell is a Computer Scientist and Program Manager for the Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program office in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science. While her primary focus is on scientific data management, analysis and visualization, her portfolio spans the spectrum of ASCR computer science interests, including supercomputer architecture, programming models, operating and runtime systems, and file systems and input/output research. Before moving to DOE in 2009, Dr. Nowell was a Chief Scientist in the Information Analytics Group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). On detail from PNNL, she held a two-year assignment as a Program Director for the National Science Foundation’s Office of Cyberinfrastructure, where her program responsibilities included Sustainable Digital Data Preservation and Access Network Partners (DataNet), Community-based Data Interoperability Networks (INTEROP), Software Development for Cyberinfrastructure (SDCI) and Strategic Technologies for Cyberinfrastructure (STCI). At PNNL, her research centered on applying her knowledge of visual design, perceptual psychology, human-computer interaction, and information storage and retrieval to problems of understanding and navigating in very large information spaces, including digital libraries. She holds several patents in information visualization technologies. Dr. Nowell joined PNNL in August 1998 after a career as a professor at Lynchburg College in Virginia, where she taught a wide variety of courses in Computer Science and Theatre. She also headed the Theatre program and later chaired the Computer Science Department. While pursuing her Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Computer Science at Virginia, she worked as a Research Scientist in the Digital Libraries Research Laboratory and also interned with the Information Access team at IBM's T. J. Watson Research Laboratories in Hawthorne, NY. She also has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Drama from the University of New Orleans and the Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Theatre from the University of Alabama.
  • Seeing Things Your Way: Information Visualization for a User-Centered Database of Computer Science Literature
    Nowell, Lucy Terry; Fox, Edward A.; Heath, Lenwood S.; Hix, Deborah; Wake, William C.; Labow, Eric D. (Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 1994)
    Project Envision is a user-centered multimedia database of computer science literature. Envision features powerful information visualization by displaying search results as a matrix of icons, with layout semantics under user control. Its Graphic View interacts with Item Summary and Preview Item windows to give users access to bibliographic information and abstracts. The concepts underlying these windows are being extended to a Graphical Browser for the full database and for hierarchical structures. This paper describes the development process and information visualization facilities in Envision search results and browsing displays.
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    Use and Usability in a Digital Library Search System
    France, Robert K.; Nowell, Lucy Terry; Fox, Edward A.; Saad, Rani A.; Zhao, Jianxin (Virginia Tech Digital Library Research Laboratory, 1999)
    Digital libraries must reach out to users from all walks of life, serving information needs at all levels. To do this, they must attain high standards of usability over an extremely broad audience. This paper details the evolution of one important digital library component as it has grown in functionality and usefulness over several years of use by a live, unrestricted community. Central to its evolution have been user studies, analysis of use patterns, and formative usability evaluation. We extrapolate that all three components are necessary in the production of successful digital library systems.
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    What if There Were Desktop Access to the Computer Science Literature?
    Brueni, Dennis J.; Fox, Edward A.; Heath, Lenwood S.; Hix, Deborah; Nowell, Lucy Terry; Wake, William C. (Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 1992)
    What if there was an electronic computer science library? Consider the possibilities of having your favorite publications available within finger's reach. Consider project Envision, an ongoing effort to build a user-centered database from the computer science literature. This paper describes our first year progress, stressing the motivation underlying project Envision, user-centered development, and overall design.