Dynamic Perspectives: Visualizing Time and Networks for Analytical Insights

Abstract

Dynamic networks are structures where the graph's nodes and/or edges can appear or disappear over discrete or continuous intervals of time. The visualization and analysis of dynamic networks play an essential role in understanding the structural evolution of a network. The main goals are to support a better overview of the network's evolution and to identify patterns or behaviors. Dynamic networks are most commonly represented as node-link diagrams with the temporal dimension being depicted using animated approaches.

In this talk, I present a number of different and alternative methods for visualizing and interacting with a network and its temporal dimension and discuss the most pressing challenges currently faced. Furthermore, possible intersections with the Materials Sciences domain are discussed to understand how dynamic network visualization can complement the current state-of-the-art in this domain, provide different perspectives, and facilitate new insights into the data.