Stefan Bruckner is a full professor in Visualization at the Department of Informatics of the University of Bergen, Norway. He received his master's degree (2004) and Ph.D. (2008), both in Computer Science, from the TU Wien, Austria, and was awarded the habilitation (venia docendi) in Practical Computer Science in 2012. Before his appointment in Bergen in 2013, he was an assistant professor at the Institute of Computer Graphics and Algorithms of the TU Wien.
His research interests include all aspects of data visualization, with a particular focus on interactive techniques for the exploration and analysis of spatial data. He has made significant contributions to areas such as illustrative visualization, volume rendering, smart visual interfaces, biomedical data visualization, and visual parameter space exploration. In addition to his contributions in basic research, he has successfully led industry collaborations with major companies such as GE Healthcare and Agfa HealthCare, and has 6 granted patents.
He is a recipient of the Eurographics Young Researcher Award, the Karl-Heinz-Höhne Award for Medical Visualization, and his research has received 8 best paper awards and honorable mentions at international events. He was program co-chair of EuroVis, PacificVis, the Eurographics Workshop on Visual Computing for Biology and Medicine, the Eurographics Medical Prize, and serves on the editorial board of Computers & Graphics. He is an ACM Distinguished Speaker, and a member of ACM SIGGRAPH, Eurographics, and the IEEE Computer Society.
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Publications
2018
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[Bibtex] @ARTICLE {Magnus-2018-VPI,
author = "Jens G. Magnus and Stefan Bruckner",
title = "Interactive Dynamic Volume Illumination with Refraction and Caustics",
journal = "IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics",
year = "2018",
volume = "24",
number = "1",
pages = "984--993",
month = "jan",
abstract = "In recent years, significant progress has been made in
developing high-quality interactive methods for realistic volume
illumination. However, refraction -- despite being an important aspect
of light propagation in participating media -- has so far only received
little attention. In this paper, we present a novel approach for
refractive volume illumination including caustics capable of interactive
frame rates. By interleaving light and viewing ray propagation, our
technique avoids memory-intensive storage of illumination information
and does not require any precomputation. It is fully dynamic and all
parameters such as light position and transfer function can be modified
interactively without a performance penalty.",
pdf = "pdfs/Magnus-2018-IDV.pdf",
images = "images/Magnus-2018-IDV.jpg",
thumbnails = "images/Magnus-2018-IDV.png",
youtube = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tn6sSXw4NQ",
doi = "10.1109/TVCG.2017.2744438",
event = "IEEE SciVis 2017",
keywords = "interactive volume rendering, illumination, refraction, shadows, caustics",
location = "Phoenix, USA"
}@INPROCEEDINGS {Stoppel-2018-SSW,
author = "Sergej Stoppel and Stefan Bruckner",
title = "Smart Surrogate Widgets for Direct Volume Manipulation",
booktitle = "Proceedings of IEEE PacificVis 2018",
year = "2018",
pages = "36--45",
month = "apr",
abstract = "Interaction is an essential aspect in volume visualization, yet common
manipulation tools such as bounding boxes or clipping plane
widgets provide rather crude tools as they neglect the complex structure
of the underlying data. In this paper, we introduce a novel
volume interaction approach based on smart widgets that are automatically
placed directly into the data in a visibility-driven manner.
By adapting to what the user actually sees, they act as proxies that
allow for goal-oriented modifications while still providing an intuitive
set of simple operations that is easy to control. In particular, our
method is well-suited for direct manipulation scenarios such as touch
screens, where traditional user interface elements commonly exhibit
limited utility. To evaluate out approach we conducted a qualitative
user study with nine participants with various backgrounds.",
pdf = "pdfs/Stoppel-2018-SSW.pdf",
images = "images/Stoppel-2018-SSW.jpg",
thumbnails = "images/Stoppel-2018-SSW.png",
youtube = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMRw-W0SrLk",
event = "IEEE PacificVis 2018",
keywords = "smart interfaces, volume manipulation, volume visualization",
doi = "10.1109/PacificVis.2018.00014"
}@ARTICLE {Bruckner-2018-MSD,
author = "Stefan Bruckner and Tobias Isenberg and Timo Ropinski and Alexander Wiebel",
title = "A Model of Spatial Directness in Interactive Visualization",
journal = "IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (accepted for publication, to appear in an upcoming issue)",
year = "2018",
abstract = "We discuss the concept of directness in the context of spatial interaction with visualization. In particular, we propose a model
that allows practitioners to analyze and describe the spatial directness of interaction techniques, ultimately to be able to better understand
interaction issues that may affect usability. To reach these goals, we distinguish between different types of directness. Each type of
directness depends on a particular mapping between different spaces, for which we consider the data space, the visualization space, the
output space, the user space, the manipulation space, and the interaction space. In addition to the introduction of the model itself, we also
show how to apply it to several real-world interaction scenarios in visualization, and thus discuss the resulting types of spatial directness,
without recommending either more direct or more indirect interaction techniques. In particular, we will demonstrate descriptive and
evaluative usage of the proposed model, and also briefly discuss its generative usage.",
pdf = "pdfs/Bruckner-2018-MSD.pdf",
images = "images/Bruckner-2018-MSD.jpg",
thumbnails = "images/Bruckner-2018-MSD.png"
}2017
[Bibtex] @ARTICLE {Smit-2017-PAS,
author = "Noeska Smit and Kai Lawonn and Annelot Kraima and Marco DeRuiter and Hessam Sokooti and Stefan Bruckner and Elmar Eisemann and Anna Vilanova",
title = "PelVis: Atlas-based Surgical Planning for Oncological Pelvic Surgery",
journal = "IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics",
year = "2017",
volume = "23",
number = "1",
pages = "741--750",
month = "jan",
abstract = "Due to the intricate relationship between the pelvic organs and vital
structures, such as vessels and nerves, pelvic anatomy is often considered
to be complex to comprehend. In oncological pelvic surgery, a trade-off
has to be made between complete tumor resection and preserving function
by preventing damage to the nerves. Damage to the autonomic nerves
causes undesirable post-operative side-effects such as fecal and
urinal incontinence, as well as sexual dysfunction in up to 80 percent
of the cases. Since these autonomic nerves are not visible in pre-operative
MRI scans or during surgery, avoiding nerve damage during such a
surgical procedure becomes challenging. In this work, we present
visualization methods to represent context, target, and risk structures
for surgical planning. We employ distance-based and occlusion management
techniques in an atlas-based surgical planning tool for oncological
pelvic surgery. Patient-specific pre-operative MRI scans are registered
to an atlas model that includes nerve information. Through several
interactive linked views, the spatial relationships and distances
between the organs, tumor and risk zones are visualized to improve
understanding, while avoiding occlusion. In this way, the surgeon
can examine surgically relevant structures and plan the procedure
before going into the operating theater, thus raising awareness of
the autonomic nerve zone regions and potentially reducing post-operative
complications. Furthermore, we present the results of a domain expert
evaluation with surgical oncologists that demonstrates the advantages
of our approach.",
pdf = "pdfs/Smit-2017-PAS.pdf",
images = "images/Smit-2017-PAS.jpg",
thumbnails = "images/Smit-2017-PAS.png",
youtube = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHp05I5-hp8",
doi = "10.1109/TVCG.2016.2598826",
event = "IEEE SciVis 2016",
keywords = "atlas, surgical planning, medical visualization",
location = "Baltimore, USA"
}@ARTICLE {Kolesar-2017-FCC,
author = "Ivan Kolesar and Stefan Bruckner and Ivan Viola and Helwig Hauser",
title = "A Fractional Cartesian Composition Model for Semi-spatial Comparative Visualization Design",
journal = "IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics",
year = "2017",
volume = "23",
number = "1",
pages = "851--860",
month = "jan",
abstract = "The study of spatial data ensembles leads to substantial visualization
challenges in a variety of applications. In this paper, we present
a model for comparative visualization that supports the design of
according ensemble visualization solutions by partial automation.
We focus on applications, where the user is interested in preserving
selected spatial data characteristics of the data as much as possible—even
when many ensemble members should be jointly studied using comparative
visualization. In our model, we separate the design challenge into
a minimal set of user-specified parameters and an optimization component
for the automatic configuration of the remaining design variables.
We provide an illustrated formal description of our model and exemplify
our approach in the context of several application examples from
different domains in order to demonstrate its generality within the
class of comparative visualization problems for spatial data ensembles.",
pdf = "pdfs/Kolesar-2017-FCC.pdf",
images = "images/Kolesar-2017-FCC.jpg",
thumbnails = "images/Kolesar-2017-FCC.png",
youtube = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zk67fmryok",
doi = "10.1109/TVCG.2016.2598870",
event = "IEEE SciVis 2016",
keywords = "visualization models, integrating spatial and non-spatial data visualization, design methodologies",
location = "Baltimore, USA",
project = "physioillustration"
}@ARTICLE {Stoppel-2017-VPI,
author = "Sergej Stoppel and Stefan Bruckner",
title = "Vol²velle: Printable Interactive Volume Visualization",
journal = "IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics",
year = "2017",
volume = "23",
number = "1",
pages = "861--870",
month = "jan",
abstract = "Interaction is an indispensable aspect of data visualization. The
presentation of volumetric data, in particular, often significantly
benefits from interactive manipulation of parameters such as transfer
functions, rendering styles, or clipping planes. However, when we
want to create hardcopies of such visualizations, this essential
aspect is lost. In this paper, we present a novel approach for creating
hardcopies of volume visualizations which preserves a certain degree
of interactivity. We present a method for automatically generating
Volvelles, printable tangible wheel charts that can be manipulated
to explore different parameter settings. Our interactive system allows
the flexible mapping of arbitrary visualization parameters and supports
advanced features such as linked views. The resulting designs can
be easily reproduced using a standard printer and assembled within
a few minutes.",
pdf = "pdfs/Stoppel-2017-VPI.pdf",
images = "images/Stoppel-2017-VPI.jpg",
thumbnails = "images/Stoppel-2017-VPI.png",
youtube = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1K8t-FCiXI",
doi = "10.1109/TVCG.2016.2599211",
event = "IEEE SciVis 2016",
keywords = "physical visualization, interaction, volume visualization, illustrative visualization",
location = "Baltimore, USA"
}@ARTICLE {Mindek-2017-DVN,
author = "Peter Mindek and Gabriel Mistelbauer and Meister Eduard Gr{\"o}ller and Stefan Bruckner",
title = "Data-Sensitive Visual Navigation",
journal = "Computers \& Graphics",
year = "2017",
volume = "67",
pages = "77--85",
month = "oct",
abstract = "In visualization systems it is often the case that the
changes of the input parameters are not proportional to the visual
change of the generated output. In this paper, we propose a model for
enabling data-sensitive navigation for user-interface elements. This
model is applied to normalize the user input according to the visual
change, and also to visually communicate this normalization. In this
way, the exploration of heterogeneous data using common interaction
elements can be performed in an efficient way. We apply our model to the
field of medical visualization and present guided navigation tools for
traversing vascular structures and for camera rotation around 3D
volumes. The presented examples demonstrate that the model scales to
user-interface elements where multiple parameters are set
simultaneously.",
pdf = "pdfs/Mindek-2017-DVN.pdf",
images = "images/Mindek-2017-DVN.jpg",
thumbnails = "images/Mindek-2017-DVN.png",
youtube = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnhbjX7BRXI",
note = "SCCG 2017 Best Paper Award",
doi = "10.1016/j.cag.2017.05.012",
event = "SCCG 2017",
keywords = "navigation, exploration, medical visualization",
location = "Mikulov, Czech Republic"
}@ARTICLE {Solteszova-2017-OFS,
author = "Veronika \v{S}olt{\'e}szov{\'a} and {\AA}smund Birkeland and Sergej Stoppel and Ivan Viola and Stefan Bruckner",
title = "Output-Sensitive Filtering of Streaming Volume Data",
journal = "Computer Graphics Forum",
year = "2017",
volume = "36",
number = "1",
pages = "249--262",
month = "jan",
abstract = "Real-time volume data acquisition poses substantial challenges for
the traditional visualization pipeline where data enhancement is
typically seen as a pre-processing step. In the case of 4D ultrasound
data, for instance, costly processing operations to reduce noise
and to remove artifacts need to be executed for every frame. To enable
the use of high quality filtering operations in such scenarios, we
propose an output-sensitive approach to the visualization of streaming
volume data. Our method evaluates the potential contribution of all
voxels to the final image, allowing us to skip expensive processing
operations that have little or no effect on the visualization. As
filtering operations modify the data values which may affect the
visibility, our main contribution is a fast scheme to predict their
maximum effect on the final image. Our approach prioritizes filtering
of voxels with high contribution to the final visualization based
on a maximal permissible error per pixel. With zero permissible error,
the optimized filtering will yield a result identical to filtering
of the entire volume. We provide a thorough technical evaluation
of the approach and demonstrate it on several typical scenarios that
require on-the-fly processing.",
pdf = "pdfs/Solteszova-2017-OFS.pdf",
images = "images/Solteszova-2017-OFS.jpg",
thumbnails = "images/Solteszova-2017-OFS.png",
youtube = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGPs560ttp0",
doi = "10.1111/cgf.12799",
keywords = "output-sensitive processing, volume data, filtering"
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