Research interests center on information visualization for document retrieval and interactive systems generally. Other projects are concerned with information management and the uses of visualization across disciplines.

The Information Navigator system was an early use of Pathfinder Networks in document retrieval.

• Information retrieval using Pathfinder networks, in Pathfinder Associative Networks, R. Schvaneveldt (ed.), 1990.
• Integrating query, thesaurus, and documents through a common visual representation. ACM SIGIR Conference, 1991.

The Document Explorer system provided graph based interactive visual representations of document collections, focusing on applications in the Web. Its visual representations based on semantic relations of Web documents, index terms, and queries supplied alternative means of representation for browsing and retrieval. The project also explored various elements of 3D graph layout, display, and interaction, as well as the use of stereoscopic viewing.

• Visualizing and browsing WWW semantic content. Proceedings of the First Annual IEEE/ACM Conference on Emerging Technologies and Applications in Communications, 1996.
• 3D visualization of WWW semantic content for browsing and query formulation. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 1997.
• Information visualization and retrieval using stereoscopic display of document and term networks. Stereoscopic Displays and Applications VIII, 1998.
• A spring modeling algorithm to position nodes of an undirected graph in three dimensions. (Kumar, A. & Fowler, R.) UTPA CS Technical Report, 1995.

Recent projects have explored a range of information visualization applications. All of the papers listed below report systems implemented by UTPA students.

• A visualization system using data mining techniques for identifying information sources. Proceedings of WebNet 2000.
• Efficient text content extraction and browsing using the Abstract Text Viewer. Proceedings of the International Conference on Internet Computing (IC’03).
• Dynamic visualization of hubs and authorities during web search. Proceedings of the International Conference on Internet Computing (IC’04).
• DID-TM: A clinician’s system for visualizing personality. Proceedings of the International Conference on Modeling, Simulation, and Visualization Methods (MSV ‘06).
• Visualizing knowledge domain citation and semantic structure. Proceedings of the International Conference on Modeling, Simulation, and Visualization Methods (MSV ‘07).

Information management in the context of computer science education has been the focus of a number of projects.

• A hypertext-based approach to computer science education unifying programming principles. (Fowler, W. & Fowler, R.) Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 1993.
• Networks, workstations, multimedia, and electronic communities: Creating a university learning environment. (Fowler, W. & Fowler, R.) Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Telecommunication (ED-Telecom 96), 1996.
• DUSIE: Augmenting a static web with user defined content and link structure. (Fowler, W., Fowler, R. et al.) Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Telecommunication (ED-Telecom 97), 1997.
• Heterogeneous information resources and asynchronous workgroups: Creating a focus on information discovery and integration in computer science (Fowler, W. & Fowler, R.) Proceedings of IEEE Frontiers in Education (FIE 97), 1997.

Publication listings:

• DBLP Bibliography Server
• Libra
• IEEE Xplore
• Google Scholar
• CiteSeer

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