Workshop Announcement

Topology-based methods are of increasing importance in the analysis and visualization of fields of different kinds. This is true for many different applications, including the simulation of dynamic phenomena such as gas or fluid flows, the assessment of measured data such as DT-MRI data, as well as systems which are modeled, e.g., as dynamical systems. Current challenges of topology-based methods for visualization are time-dependent data, large and complex datasets, integration with feature-based methods, etc. (see also below for a list of selected issues). Even though we see an increasing number of high-quality publications, many important questions still remain unsolved. However, we have the impression, especially in this day and age, that special effort is put into more topology-based research. And we expect this trend to continue in the near future.

Three research groups in Germany and Austria, with great individual interest in topology-based methods for visualization (in Kaiserslautern, Saarbrücken, and Vienna), have jointly organized TopoInVis 2005, i.e., a two-day workshop on the topic to be held in Budmerice, Slovakia, just 90 minutes east of Vienna, Austria, in late September 2005. The idea was to bring together the most prominent and best recognized researchers in the field of topology-based visualization for a joint discussion and scientific exchange as well as for a couple of presentations (hottest results as well as current work in this field). Also, we are very interested in the application and user point of view. At the workshop we will discuss topics which include:

• time-dependent topology
• topology vs. features vs. abstraction
• application view: what is needed, what is useful?
• topology simplification, scale-space topology, etc.
• higher-order (nonlinear) topology
• scalars vs. vectors vs. tensors (what is general/specific)
• time-dependent topology vs. parameter-dependent topology
• interrelation between physics and topology
• flow fields vs. vector fields

We tie in with the great tradition of Dagstuhl seminars, i.e., an atmosphere of informal discussions, open exchange, and personal interaction. The workshop has been held in the beautiful castle of Budmerice, Slovakia, which is also well-known for its great atmosphere and the nice surrounding. Many of the major groups in this field have been invited to contribute to the workshop and to participate (by invitation only). We expected about 12 to 15 presentations and no more than four or five panels to questions such as:

1. Should we use streamline-oriented topology or pathline-oriented topology?
2. Why aren't standard visualization systems topology- oriented?
3. Do we need more application know-how or more mathematics in topological visualization?
4. Can parameter-dependency help with time-dependency, simplification?

The workshop is supported by the three groups in Kaiserslautern (AG Hagen), Saarbrücken (MPI), and Vienna (VRVis), but especially also by the newly established International Research Training Group (IRTG) which is the first that has been implemented in co-operation between German and U.S. American universities. Its main focus is the interdisciplinary and intercultural education of highly talented PhD students in the domain of visualization. Based on this education, the participating students perform world-class research in this domain, enabling them to achieve their PhD degree within the relatively short period of three years. IRTG will participate in the workshop and support the workshop by organizing the publication of proceedings.