Zachary L. While

Zachary L. While

he/him

Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Information Systems

Publications

You can also find my articles on my Google Scholar profile.

Articles

Reflections on Working with Older Adults in Visualization Research

Published in 3rd Workshop on Accessible Data Visualization (AccessViz), IEEE Visualization and Visual Analytics (VIS), 2026

Reflections and methodological takeaways from human-subject studies with older adults to guide and encourage broader inclusion in visualization research.

Recommended citation: While, Z. (2026). "Reflections on Working with Older Adults in Visualization Research." 3rd Workshop on Accessible Data Visualization (AccessViz), 2026 IEEE Visualization and Visual Analytics (VIS).

Can a Neural Encoding Model Replicate an fMRI Visualization Study?

Published in VISxVISION Workshop, IEEE Visualization and Visual Analytics (VIS), 2026

Evaluating whether Meta’s Tribe V2 neural encoding model can reproduce neural contrasts from a prior fMRI-based visualization study, exploring the potential of in-silico neuroimaging for visualization research.

Recommended citation: Orang, E. N., & While, Z. (2026). "Can a Neural Encoding Model Replicate an fMRI Visualization Study?" VISxVISION Workshop, 2026 IEEE Visualization and Visual Analytics (VIS).

Toward Filling a Critical Knowledge Gap: Charting the Interactions of Age with Task and Visualization

Published in CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2025

An empirical study examining how age interacts with visualization type and analytical task performance, providing evidence and guidance for aging-inclusive visualization design.

Recommended citation: While, Z., & Sarvghad, A. (2025). "Toward Filling a Critical Knowledge Gap: Charting the Interactions of Age with Task and Visualization." Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Toward Understanding the Experiences of People in Late Adulthood with Embedded Information Displays in the Home

Published in 1st Workshop on Accessible Data Visualization (AccessViz), IEEE Visualization and Visual Analytics (VIS), 2024

A qualitative study exploring how older adults experience and interact with embedded information displays on everyday household appliances.

Recommended citation: While, Z., Wheeler-Klainberg, H., Blascheck, T., Isenberg, P., & Sarvghad, A. (2024). "Toward Understanding the Experiences of People in Late Adulthood with Embedded Information Displays in the Home." 1st Workshop on Accessible Data Visualization (AccessViz), 2024 IEEE Visualization and Visual Analytics (VIS), 14-18.

Dark Mode or Light Mode? Exploring the Impact of Contrast Polarity on Visualization Performance Between Age Groups

Published in IEEE Visualization and Visual Analytics (VIS), 2024

An empirical investigation of how contrast polarity influences data visualization performance across younger and older adult populations.

Recommended citation: While, Z., & Sarvghad, A. (2024). "Dark Mode or Light Mode? Exploring the Impact of Contrast Polarity on Visualization Performance Between Age Groups." 2024 IEEE Visualization and Visual Analytics (VIS), 211-215.

GerontoVis: Data Visualization at the Confluence of Aging

Published in Eurographics Conference on Visualization (EuroVIS), 2024

A position paper introducing GerontoVis, a new subfield focused on designing and evaluating data visualizations for older adults.

Recommended citation: While, Z., Crouser, R. J., & Sarvghad, A. (2024). "GerontoVis: Data Visualization at the Confluence of Aging." Computer Graphics Forum, 43(3).

Glanceable Data Visualizations for Older Adults: Establishing Thresholds and Examining Disparities Between Age Groups

Published in CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 2024

A replication study examining glanceable smartwatch visualizations for older adults and identifying age-related differences in visualization perception.

Recommended citation: While, Z., Blascheck, T., Gong, Y., Isenberg, P., & Sarvghad, A. (2024). "Glanceable Data Visualizations for Older Adults: Establishing Thresholds and Examining Disparities Between Age Groups." Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.