Saugat Pandey(Saw-gaat Paan-day)
Assistant Professor, Computer Science ยท Furman University
I recently completed my PhD in Computer Science & Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, where I was a graduate research assistant in the Visual Interface and Behavior Exploration Lab (VIBE). My research sits at the intersection of data visualization, human perception, and AI. I study how people read, trust, and reason with visual data, and how AI/ML systems can make that easier.
New: I've started as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Furman University in Greenville, SC โ building a lab around visualization, perception, and AI. Prospective students and collaborators, say hello.
Publications
Estimating PM2.5 Concentrations at Public Schools in North Carolina Using Multiple Data Sources and Interpolation Methods
Nature Scientific Reports
Visualization Literacy or Skillset? Beyond the Analogy to Textual Literacy
IEEE VIS Workshop 2025 (VisComm)
Benchmarking Visual Language Models on Standardized Visualization Literacy Tests
Computer Graphics Forum, EuroVis 2025
Trustworthy by Design: The Viewer's Perspective on Trust in Data Visualization
ACM CHI 2025
Building and Eroding: Exogenous and Endogenous Factors that Influence Subjective Trust in Visualization
IEEE VIS 2024
Mini-VLAT: A Short and Effective Measure of Visualization Literacy ๐
Computer Graphics Forum, EuroVis 2023 โข Best Paper Award
Do You Trust What You See? Towards A Multidimensional Measure of Trust in Visualization
IEEE VIS 2023
Updates
Started as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Furman University, Greenville, SC! ๐
Successfully defended my PhD dissertation at Washington University in St. Louis.
Paper titled "Estimating PM2.5 Concentrations at Public Schools in North Carolina Using Multiple Data Sources and Interpolation Methods" published in Nature Scientific Reports.
Paper titled "Visualization Literacy or Skillset? Beyond the Analogy to Textual Literacy" accepted at IEEE VIS Workshop 2025 (VisComm).
Attended EuroVIS in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg from May 31 โ June 6 to present my work on benchmarking language models.
Moved to Seattle for Summer 2025 to work at Adobe as a Research Scientist Intern.
Passed my dissertation proposal.
Paper titled "Benchmarking Visual Language Models on Standardized Visualization Literacy Tests" accepted at EuroVIS 2025.
Joined Adobe as a Research Scientist Intern for Summer 2025.
Paper titled "Trustworthy by Design: The Viewer's Perspective on Trust in Data Visualization" accepted at ACM CHI 2025.
Finished co-instructing "Introduction to Visualization" with an average rating of 6.67/7.
Paper on trust factors accepted at IEEE Visualization 2024.
Collaborate
I'm always excited to hear from prospective students, collaborators, and anyone interested in visualization, perception, AI, or data science. Tell me a bit about yourself and what you're interested in, and I'll get back to you โ or email me directly at spandey2@furman.edu.