The IEEE VIS 2026 workshops have lined up an outstanding roster of invited speakers and panelists. Here, we share a preview from a subset of this year’s workshops. Be sure to browse the full workshop program for more details!
VisxVision: Workshop on Novel Directions in Vision Science and Visualization Research
Zoya Bylinskii, the keynote speaker for the VisxVision workshop, is Founder of Perceptual Insights Inc. (piinc) and previously led Scientific Evaluation for Adobe Firefly’s generative imaging and video models. Her expertise sits at the interface of human perception, machine learning, and human-computer interaction.
VISxGenAI: 2nd GenAI, Agents, and the Future of VIS
Eugene Wu, the keynote speaker for the VISxGenAI workshop, is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University and Co-Director of the Data, Agents, and Processes Lab (DAPLab). His research spans databases, visualization, HCI, and AI systems, with a focus on building reliable tools for human and agent data interaction.
VISxAI: 9th Workshop on Visualization for AI Explainability
Leland McInnes, the keynote speaker for the VISxAI workshop, is a researcher at the Tutte Institute for Mathematics and Computing. He will speak on “The Challenges of Visualizing Very High Dimensional Data.” His work spans dimension reduction, clustering, and visual exploration of high-dimensional data.
vis4climate: Building a Transdisciplinary Climate Vis Community
vis4climate has invited a group of guests bridging climate science, policy, and sustainability practice:
Yuri Engelhardt works at the UT Climate Centre of the University of Twente in the Netherlands. He is the author of The Language of Graphics and believes that compelling visualizations, informed by psychology, can help boost climate awareness and action.
Ana Paola De La Vega is an environmental policy and planning specialist and Senior Analyst at the Environment Department for the City of Boston, where she led development of the metrics framework and dashboard for the city’s 2030 Climate Action Plan.
Lucy Padilla is a Sustainability and Climate Change Consultant at ClimatePartner, where she specializes in greenhouse gas accounting, carbon footprints, and decarbonization strategies for organizations across many sectors.
VAxAutoSci: Visual Analytics in the Age of Autonomous Scientific Discovery
Rob Moore, the keynote speaker for the VAxAutoSci workshop, is Director of the Laboratories of the Future (LotF) Initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he leads efforts to develop scalable, autonomous scientific workflows integrating advanced computing, data analysis, and experimental instruments.
Grand Unified Grammar of Graphics (GUGOG)
GUGOG has invited a panel of leading researchers working on grammars, tools, and theories for data-driven graphics:
Eugene Wu is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University and Co-Director of the Data, Agents, and Processes Lab (DAPLab). His research spans databases, visualization, HCI, and AI systems, with a focus on building reliable tools for human and agent data interaction. (He is also the keynote speaker for the VISxGenAI workshop, above.)
Andrew McNutt is an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Utah and an incoming assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. His group builds tools and theories that turn domain expertise into software that is approachable, trustworthy, and respectful of user agency.
Josh Pollock is a recent PhD graduate from the VIS group at MIT, advised by Arvind Satyanarayan. His research applies programming language ideas to visualization grammars, seeking unifying abstractions for data-driven graphics across UI, chart, diagram, and animation systems.
BELIV: Learning What’s True, Doing What’s Right
Suresh Venkatasubramanian, the keynote speaker for the BELIV workshop, is a Professor of Data Science and Computer Science at Brown University, where he studies algorithmic fairness and the societal impact of automated decision-making systems.
This post covers a subset of this year’s workshops. Check the workshop program for the complete list, and don’t forget to register for IEEE VIS 2026 to be part of the conversation!