Dr Ritsos presented the team’s recent paper, “Preparedness for Visualization in the Next Pandemic”, published in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications (CG&A). He delivered the presentation on behalf of a multidisciplinary group of co-authors: Fintan McGee, Muna Abu Sin, Min Chen, David Ebert, Kazuo Misue and Antje Wulff.
Dr Ritsos said:
Visualization became highly visible during COVID-19 through public dashboards, but its real strength goes much deeper. It is a critical analytical tool for health experts, epidemiologists and modellers, enabling them to interpret complex data and make informed decisions during fast-moving crises. Preparing our visualisation approaches now will not only support future pandemics, but also strengthen responses to a wide range of emergency situations.
A central contribution of the work is the identification of six key challenges that the visualisation research community must address to improve preparedness for future crises. Alongside these challenges, the authors outline practical strategies and actions to support more effective responses.
The study argues that strengthening visualisation infrastructures and practices will not only enhance pandemic preparedness, but will also support wider emergency response scenarios, such as natural disasters and other complex global challenges.
International collaboration informed by pandemic experience
The research is one of the outcomes of a Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz Centre for Informatics seminar titled “Reflections on Pandemic Visualisation” (Seminar #24091). This international seminar brought together visualisation researchers and domain experts to reflect on lessons learned from research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By drawing on a wide range of expertise, the team provides a forward-looking perspective on how visualisation systems, tools and collaborations can be strengthened in advance of future crises.
Recognition and wider impact
The paper has already been featured in IEEE Computing Edge magazine (November 2025), highlighting its relevance and impact across the wider computing and data science communities.
Dr Ritsos' presentation at EuroVis 2026 reflects Bangor University’s continued leadership in visual analytics, human-centred AI and data-driven research that addresses real-world challenges.
The full paper, “Preparedness for Visualization in the Next Pandemic”, is available online at the IEEE Digital Library
Dr Ritsos ended by saying:
It was excellent to represent the Human Centred Research group, and the University. I enjoyed also chairing a session.
The School of Computer Science and Engineering at Bangor University continues to drive impactful research that supports critical decision-making, with visualisation playing an increasingly important role in tackling global issues.
