The Visual Computing Group, led by Prof. Pfister, explores and provides visual analysis tools and methods to help scientists and researchers better process and understand large, multi-dimensional data sets in various domains such as neuroscience, genomics, systems biology, astronomy, and medicine.

In neuroscience we are interested in the segmentation, visualization, and analysis of brain scans in electron and optical microscopy. Our group collaborates with the Center for Brain Science on the segmentation and visualization and analysis of such images. Some of the challenges our group deals with involve the processing of multi-terabyte and multi-spectral image datasets.

The wiring of brains is staggeringly complex. Our own brains have tens of billions of neurons connected through perhaps one hundred trillion synapses. This circuitry is the result of our development and experience; the neural activity that courses through and alters it, somehow accounts for our thoughts, our behavior, our memories. One hundred years from now, this brain circuitry will be known; today, for the first time, we can contemplate mapping it in detail. New forms of laser-scanning light microscopy and semi-automated electron microscopy allow high resolution imaging of “connectomes”—that is, complete neural wiring diagrams.