Christopher M. Collins

I am a PhD candidate in computational linguistics, information visualization, and human-computer interaction. I am affiliated with the Computational Linguistics group & Knowledge Media Design Institute at the University of Toronto and the InnoVis Lab at the University of Calgary. I received an M.Sc. in the area of computational linguistics from the University of Toronto.

In January, 2010, I will join the faculty of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology -- if you are intersted in studying with me for undergraduate or graduate research, please contact me.

My dissertation research, supervised by Gerald Penn and Sheelagh Carpendale, involves investigating interactive visualizations of linguistic data with a focus on convergence of sophisticated natural language processing techniques with new and existing forms of interactive information visualization. I have developed various methods for generating, reading, and comparing visual summaries of text data, including books (DocuBurst), for everyday users and data analysts.

In the summer of 2007, I worked with Michelle Zhou's team as a graduate research intern in the Intelligent Multimedia Interaction group at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center. In 2008, I joined the Visual Communication Lab at IBM Research, where I worked with Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda Viégas.

My recent publications include a new method for revealing relationships amongst visualizations, and a system for exposing the uncertainty in statistical natural language systems.  I have recently embarked on a study of visualization use in a team of machine translation researchers and plan to continue collaboration with language engineers to provide them with an enhanced ability to analyse and improve their algorithms.

During my graduate studies, I have also been involved in the academic community. For several years I held various positions in the Graduate Students' Union at the University of Toronto -- from council member to President. I have also served on the University Affairs Board of the University of Toronto, as well as a member and the Chair of the Hart House Board of Stewards.

I have been actively involved in education over my graduate studies. I have served as a teaching assistant in many courses, several times receiving student evaulations ranking in the top 5% overall. I have been working to learn to be a great teacher, as well as researcher. To meet those goals, I have enrolled in professional development courses at both the University of Toronto and University of Calgary. Most recently I have been taking the University Teaching Certificate and Reseach Outreach Program at U of C. I am also interested in the future of the public university system in Canada. Our universities must not be degree mills; they must provide a holistic and engaging student experience, and contribute to the communities in which they are situated. To that end, I have been active in the areas of curriculum reform, education funding, and student experience enhancement, both as a member of the student union, and as a representative of the University of Toronto to the Ontario Review of Post-Secondary Education (the "Rae Review").

In my spare time, I enjoy hatha yoga, learning new languages (currently working, quite slowly I'm afraid, on Mandarin), and hanging out with my partner Dan.