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Associate Professor

Michael T. Gastner

Cluster:
Infocomm Technology
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Biography

Michael T. Gastner specializes in data visualization, focusing on maps and spatial data. His research improves methods for visualizing complex information, making it more accessible for decision-making. He led the development of go-cart.io, a project that enables non-experts to create meaningful geographic maps. His interdisciplinary work spans diverse fields, including map projections, ecology, and statistical physics.

In addition to his research and teaching, Dr. Gastner serves as Vice-Chair of the International Cartographic Association’s Commission on Map Projections.

He earned his PhD in Physics from the University of Michigan and has held academic positions at institutions such as the Santa Fe Institute, University of Oldenburg, Imperial College London, University of Bristol, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Yale-NUS College.

 

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Research Interests

  • Cartography

    Michael T. Gastner's research in cartography focuses on developing innovative methods for visualizing spatial data, with a particular emphasis on cartograms. He designs algorithms that represent geographical regions with areas proportional to statistical quantities, such as population or economic indicators. His work also aims to make cartogram generation more accessible to non-experts through the web applications go-cart.io.

  • Computational Geometry

    Dr. Gastner's work in computational geometry addresses the geometric challenges of map projections, particularly in constructing density-equalizing projections. His research focuses on developing algorithms that balance the minimization of distortion with the preservation of topology when geographic regions are rescaled.

  • Spatial Statistics

    Dr. Gastner's research in spatial statistics focuses on methods for the smooth interpolation of spatial data. He specializes in pycnophylactic interpolation, which generates continuous spatial distributions from aggregated data in geographic enumeration units, with applications in public health and demographic studies.

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Journal Papers

  • Fung, K. L. T., Perrault, S. T. and Gastner, M. T. (2024) Effectiveness of area-to-value legends and grid lines in contiguous area cartograms. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 30(8), pp. 4631–4647. Available at https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2023.3275925.

  • Duncan, I. K. and Gastner, M. T. (2024) Comparative evaluation of the web-based contiguous cartogram generation tool go-cart.io. PLOS ONE, 19(5), p. e0298192. Available at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298192.

  • Gastner, M. T. (2023) Teaching data visualisation and basic map-making skills at a liberal arts college. Cartography and Geoinformation (Kartografija i Geoinformacije), 22(39), pp. 43–59. Available at https://doi.org/10.32909/kg.22.39.3.

  • Gastner, M. T., Miaji, N. Z. and Singhania, A. (2022) Smooth pycnophylactic interpolation produced by density-equalising map projections. Cartography and Geoinformation (Kartografija i Geoinformacije), 21(37), pp. 60–69. Available at https://doi.org/10.32909/kg.21.37.3.

  • Ódor, G., Gastner, M. T., Kelling, J. and Deco, G. (2021) Modelling on the very large-scale connectome. Journal of Physics: Complexity, 2(4), p. 045002. Available at https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-072X/ac266c.

  • Yau, Y. C. and Gastner, M. T. (2021) Mapping the inequality of the global distribution of seasonal influenza vaccine. Environment and Planning A, 53(6), pp. 1249–1252. Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X21998356.

  • Ishida, K., Oborny, B. and Gastner, M. T. (2021) Agent-based neutral competition in two-community networks. Physical Review E, 104(2), p. 024308. Available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.104.024308.

  • Duncan, I. K., Tingsheng, S., Perrault, S. T. and Gastner, M. T. (2021) Task-based effectiveness of interactive contiguous area cartograms. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 27(3), pp. 2136–2152. Available at https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2020.3041745.

  • Gastner, M. T. and Ishida, K. (2019) Voter model on networks partitioned into two cliques of arbitrary sizes. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 52(50), p. 505701. Available at https://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8121/ab542f.

  • Gastner, M. T., Takács, K., Gulyás, M., Szvetelszky, Z. and Oborny, B. (2019) The impact of hypocrisy on opinion formation: a dynamic model. PLOS ONE, 14(6), p. e0218729. Available at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218729.

  • Gastner, M. T., Oborny, B. and Gulyás, M. (2018) Consensus time in a voter model with concealed and publicly expressed opinions. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2018(6), p. 063401. Available at https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/aac14a.

  • Gastner, M. T., Seguy, V. and More, P. (2018) Fast flow-based algorithm for creating density-equalizing map projections. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(10), pp. E2156–E2164. Available at https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1712674115.

  • Gastner, M. T. and Ódor, G. (2016) The topology of large Open Connectome networks for the human brain. Scientific Reports, 6(6), p. 27249. Available at https://doi.org/10.1038/srep27249.

  • Gastner, M. T. (2015) The Ising chain constrained to an even or odd number of positive spins. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2015(3), p. P03004. Available at https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/2015/03/P03004.

  • Gastner, M. T., Markou, N., Pruessner, G. and Draief, M. (2014) Opinion formation models on a gradient. PLOS ONE, 9(12), p. e114088. Available at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114088.

  • Salnikov, V., Schien, D., Youn, H., Lambiotte, R. and Gastner, M. T. (2014) The geography and carbon footprint of mobile phone use in Côte d’Ivoire. EPJ Data Science, 3(1), p. 3. Available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds21.

  • Seebens, H., Gastner, M. T. and Blasius, B. (2013) The risk of marine bioinvasion caused by global shipping. Ecology Letters, 16(6), pp. 782–790. Available at https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12111.

  • Gastner, M. T. and Oborny, B. (2012) The geometry of percolation fronts in two-dimensional lattices with spatially varying densities. New Journal of Physics, 14(10), p. 103019. Available at https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/14/10/103019.

  • Gastner, M. T. (2011) Scaling and entropy in p-median facility location along a line. Physical Review E, 84(3), p. 036112. Available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.84.036112.

  • Gastner, M. T., Oborny, B., Ryabov, A. B. and Blasius, B. (2011) Changes in the gradient percolation transition caused by an Allee effect. Physical Review Letters, 106(12), p. 128103. Available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.128103.

  • Kaluza, P., Kölzsch, A., Gastner, M. T. and Blasius, B. (2010) The complex network of global cargo ship movements. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 7(48), pp. 1093–1103. Available at https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2009.0495.

  • Gastner, M. T., Oborny, B., Zimmermann, D. K. and Pruessner, G. (2009) Transition from connected to fragmented vegetation across an environmental gradient: Scaling laws in ecotone geometry. The American Naturalist, 174(1), pp. E23–E39. Available at https://doi.org/10.1086/599292.

  • Youn, H., Gastner, M. T. and Jeong, H. (2008) Price of anarchy in transportation networks: Efficiency and optimality control. Physical Review Letters, 101(12), p. 128701. Available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.128701.

  • Gastner, M. T. and Newman, M. E. J. (2006) Optimal design of spatial distribution networks. Physical Review E, 74(1), p. 016117. Available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.74.016117.

  • Gastner, M. T. and Newman, M. E. J. (2006) The spatial structure of networks. The European Physical Journal B, 49(2), pp. 247–252. Available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2006-00046-8.

  • Gastner, M. T. and Newman, M. E. J. (2006) Shape and efficiency in spatial distribution networks. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2006(1), p. P01015. Available at https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/2006/01/P01015.

  • Gastner, M. T., Shalizi, C. R. and Newman, M. E. J. (2005) Maps and cartograms of the 2004 US presidential election results. Advances in Complex Systems, 8(1), pp. 117–123. Available at https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219525905000397.

  • Gastner, M. T. and Newman, M. E. J. (2004) Diffusion-based method for producing density-equalizing maps. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(20), pp. 7499–7504. Available at https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0400280101.

Conferences

Books

  • Gastner, M. T. (2021) Cartogram. In B. S. Daya Sagar et al. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Mathematical Geosciences. Springer, Cham. Available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26050-7_55-1.

  • Gastner, M. T. and Ducruet, C. (2015) The distribution functions of vessel calls and port connectivity in the global cargo ship network. In C. Ducruet (Ed.), Maritime Networks: Spatial Structures and Time Dynamics, pp. 289–294. Routledge, London. Available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315692852.

  • Gastner, M. T. (2005) Spatial distributions: Density-equalizing map projections, facility location, and two-dimensional networks. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Available at https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/125368.

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Teaching Modules

Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, BSc (Hons)

  • CSD2181 - Data Structures

Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development, BSc (Hons)

  • CSD2181 - Data Structures

Computing Science, BSc (Hons)

  • CSC3007 - Information Visualisation

Past

  • AAI1001 - Data Engineering and Visualisation
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