Hi! I'm Frederik Dennig, a lecturer at the
University of Konstanz and a member of the
Data Analysis and Visualization Group.
Highlights
I worked on multiple research projects in the public and private sector. The following overview presents a selection of public projects and prototypes that I created or helped to actualize.
About Me
Research Interests: My research sits at the intersection of visualization, machine learning, and visual analytics. I focus on two complementary threads: Making dimensionality-reduction projections more interpretable and trustworthy, and developing visual analytics approaches for categorical data.
On the projections side, I study how autoencoders and classic DR techniques can be evaluated, inverted, and compared so that analysts can confidently reason about high-dimensional structure. This work has led to systems such as DE-VAE, cPro, and FSDS, as well as quality-metric frameworks for projection ensembles.
On the categorical data side, focus of my dissertation, I develop measures and visual encodings (e.g., ParSetgnostics, extended parallel sets) that reveal patterns in mixed and purely categorical datasets, with applications ranging from cyber-security log analysis to communication studies.
Key Collaborators: Daniel Keim, Johannes Fuchs, Michael Behrisch, Mennatallah El-Assady, and Hanspeter Pfister.
CV: Before my current work as a PostDoc Researcher at the Data Analysis and Visualization Group at the University of Konstanz, I received my PhD in Computer Science in 2024 and my M.Sc. in Computer and Information Science in 2019 from the University of Konstanz.
Personal Interests: In my spare time, I like to go hiking around the beautiful Lake Constance and the Alps. Another interest of mine is to fly FPV quadcopter, which allows for a first-person perspective while performing exciting maneuvers. I also volunteer at a local church.
Updates
November 2025: IEEE VIS
Travelling to IEEE VIS 2025 (Vienna, Austria) to present our paper "DE-VAE: Revealing Uncertainty in Parametric and Inverse Projections with Variational Autoencoders using Differential Entropy" at the IEEE Workshop on Uncertainty Visualization.
August 2025: Applied Machine Learning Lecture
In the upcoming semester (winter term 2025/2026), I will teach the "Applied Machine Learning" lecture at the University of Konstanz. The course will cover practical applications of machine learning techniques, including generative models for multimodal retrieval.
June 2025: EuroVis
Attending EuroVis 2025 (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg) to present: "Evaluating Autoencoders for Parametric and Invertible Multidimensional Projections"
October 2024: IEEE VIS
Travelling to IEEE VIS 2024 (St. Pete Beach, Florida, USA) to present: "The Categorical Data Map: A Multidimensional Scaling-Based Approach"
July 2024: Doctoral Thesis Defense
On July 17, 2024, I successfully defended my doctoral thesis: "Measure-Driven Visual Analytics of Categorical Data" 🎉
May 2024: EuroVis
Travelling to EuroVis 2024 (Odense, Denmark) to present: "Exploring the Design Space of BioFabric Visualization for Multivariate Network Analysis"
October 2023: IEEE VIS
Attending at IEEE VIS 2023 (Melbourne, Australia) to present: "FS/DS: A Theoretical Framework for the Dual Analysis of Feature Space and Data Space"
June 2023: EuroVis
Travelling to EuroVis 2023 (Leipzig, Germany) to attend the 2nd International Conference on Quantification in Visual Computing
February 2023: Research Stay
Visiting the Visualization and Graphics Group at the Utrecht University for a three month long research stay, focusing on visual explainability in dimensionality reduction methods.
October 2021: IEEE VIS
Presenting at IEEE VIS 2021 (virtual conference): "VulnEx: Exploring Open-Source Software Vulnerabilities in Large Development Organizations to Understand Risk Exposure"
June 2021: EuroVis
Presenting at EuroVis 2021 (virtual conference): "ParSetGnostics: Quality Metrics for Parallel Sets"
October 2019: IEEE VIS
Attending IEEE VIS 2019 (Vancouver, Canada) to present: "FDive: Learning Relevance Models using Pattern-based Similarity Measures" and "Slope-Dependent Rendering of Parallel Coordinates to Reduce Density Distortion and Ghost Clusters"
Publications
FluidMap: Proportional and Spatially Consistent LayoutEnrichments in Multidimensional Projections
Computers Graphics Forum (Online Version), e70293, 2025.
IEEE Visualization Conference (VIS) Posters, 2025.
IEEE Workshop on Uncertainty Visualization: Unraveling Relationships of Uncertainty, AI, and Decision-Making, 2025.
Evaluating Autoencoders for Parametric and Invertible Multidimensional Projections
16th International EuroVis Workshop on Visual Analytics (EuroVA), 2025.
Computers & Graphics 129, 104234, 2025.
Measure-Driven Visual Analytics of Categorical Data
Dissertation. Konstanz, Germany: University of Konstanz, 2024.
The Categorical Data Map: A Multidimensional Scaling-Based Approach
IEEE Visualization in Data Science (VDS), 25–34, 2024.
Exploring the Design Space of BioFabric Visualization for Multivariate Network Analysis
Computer Graphics Forum 43.3, e15079, 2024.
Inverting Multidimensional Scaling Projections Using Data Point Multilateration
15th International EuroVis Workshop on Visual Analytics (EuroVA), 2024.
cPro: Circular Projections Using Gradient Descent
15th International EuroVis Workshop on Visual Analytics (EuroVA), 2024.
FS/DS: A Theoretical Framework for the Dual Analysis of Feature Space and Data Space
IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 30.8, pp. 5165–5182, 2024.
Comparative Evaluation of Animated Scatter Plot Transitions
IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 30.6, pp. 2929–2941, 2024.
An Image Quality Dataset with Triplet Comparisons for Multi-dimensional Scaling
16th International Conference on Quality of Multimedia Experience (QoMEX), pp. 278–281, 2024.
Exploring Trajectory Data in Augmented Reality: A Comparative Study of Interaction Modalities
IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), pp. 790–799, 2023.
Machine learning meets visualization - Experiences and lessons learned
it - Information Technology 64.4–5, pp. 169–180, 2022.
Communication Analysis through Visual Analytics: Current Practices, Challenges, and New Frontiers
IEEE Visualization in Data Science (VDS), pp. 6–16, 2022.
ParSetgnostics: Quality Metrics for Parallel Sets
Computer Graphics Forum 40.3, pp. 375–386, 2021.
IEEE Symposium on Visualization for Cyber Security (VizSec), pp. 79–83, 2021.
Visualizing Linguistic Change as Dimension Interactions
Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Computational Approaches to Historical Language Change, pp. 272–278, 2019.
FDive: Learning Relevance Models using Pattern-based Similarity Measures
Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST), pp. 69–80, 2019.
Slope-Dependent Rendering of Parallel Coordinates to Reduce Density Distortion and Ghost Clusters
Proceedings of the IEEE Visualization Conference (VIS), pp. 86–90, 2019.
HistoBankVis: Detecting Language Change via Data Visualization
Proceedings of the NoDaLiDa 2017 Workshop on Processing Historical Language, pp. 32–39, 2017.