Mary Gates Endowment For Students
Heer Patel
Mary Gates Research Scholar, Autumn 2023
Research Project: Automatically Decomposing D3 Visualizations
Project Description: Visualization languages such as D3 can be challenging to learn for users with limited programming experience. In this research, we aim to generate learning resources in a data-driven way by mining the web for existing language examples and adapting them to suit the needs of individual users. In this phase of the project, we focus on our approach to “decomposing” (i.e. breaking down) D3 examples into their key components to show students how different parts of the D3 API work and how these components interact with one another to render complete visualization programs.
What have you learned throughout your research project?
A huge part of research is accepting that making new discoveries will be uncomfortable at first! I learned to become adaptable to unexpected outcomes and a stronger self-learner. The best part about research is that you have a lot of freedom in the direction you can take your work since its all new territory. Reading up on past literature and gathering advice from various mentors and grad students taught me to always leverage the resources I have.
What piece of advice do you have for future applicants?
Definitely attend the application workshops! The staff are extremely helpful with answering niche and general questions. The students that attend are also great to get essay feedback from.