1. January 17, 2001 DAS – Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Using an Interactive Java-Based Environment to Facilitate Visualization Comprehension Daniel Bramer, Tim Scheitlin, Rajul Pandya, Ryan Deardorff, Dean Elliott, Ken Hay, Mary Marlino, Don Middleton, Mohan Ramamurthy, Marianne Weingroff, and Robert Wilhelmson

2. Visual Geophysical Exploration Environment VGEE  Simpler Visualization Environment  Guidance for Key Concepts  Isolate Processes Within Complex Systems

3. Java / GDV / VisAD  Java 1.3 (application)  Easy exchange between VGEE components  Underlying 3D Viz. Environment  Leveraged from GDV and VisAD  GDV – 3D Gridded Data Viewer (UNIDATA)  VisAD – Java Visualization Component Library (SSEC / UNIDATA / NCSA / Aus. Bureau of Meteorology

4. Graphical User Interface (GUI) Visualization State Track/update/change parameters Launch new viz tools Probe Window Displays specific isolated information from the overall visualization Main Display Displays visualization information Interactive Versatile Uses canned and user supplied datasets

5. VGEE GUI  Learner Friendly  Explore and Interact in 3-D  Same tools as researchers, but set for survey level Viz: El Nino avg. DJF vertical wind speed cross-section and isosurface

6. Concept Models / Probes  Concept Models  Stand-Alone  Teach basic principles in a user controlled environment  Probes  Isolate processes form the overall system  Relate learned concepts to the “real” world

7. Concept Models  Temperature  Condensation  Ocean Evaporation  Dry Adiabatic  Moist Adiabatic  Custom Moist Adiabatic  Ekman Wind Balance  Coriolis Force

8. Probes  Same as Concept Models  Integrate with Dataset(s) Viz: Height (plan) Temperature (cross-section) with jet (isosurface)

9. Web site: www.dlese.org/vgee  Learner Guides  Focused Activities  Teacher Guides  Guidance  Work Submission  Encyclopedia

10. Implementation  West Chester University  Spring 2002  University of Illinois  Summer / Fall 2002

11. Acknowledgements  This project is funded by the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education Grant #DUE-9972491. Website http://www.dlese.org/vgee