Zack While

Zack While - profile photo

Zack While

Assistant Professor

Computer Science, Information, & Engineering Technology

Meshel Hall 322

phone: (330) 941-2981

zwhile@ysu.edu

Research Interests

Empirical Studies in Data Visualization, Data Visualization + Aging, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), HCI for Digital Media, Digital Accessibility

Teaching Interests

Data Visualization, Human-Computer Interaction, Data Science, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Computer Graphics & Rendering, Game Design, Artificial Intelligence

  • 2025

    Ph D, Computer Science

    University of Massachusetts Amherst

    Dissertation/Thesis Title — "Broadening Data Visualization Design to People in Late Adulthood"

  • 2022

    MS, Computer Science

    University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • 2018

    BS, Computer Science, Mathematics

    Youngstown State University

  • 2024

    Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

    Honorable Mention, Best Paper Award

  • 2025

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

    Z. While, A. Sarvghad

    Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery, p. 18

  • 2024

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

    Z. While, H. Wheeler-Klainberg, T. Blascheck, P. Isenberg, A. Sarvghad

    2024 1st Workshop on Accessible Data Visualization (AccessViz), p. 14-18

  • 2024

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

    Z. While, A. Sarvghad

    2024 IEEE Visualization and Visual Analytics (VIS), p. 211-215

  • 2024

    "GerontoVis: Data Visualization at the Confluence of Aging"

    Z. While, P. Crouser, A. Sarvghad

    Computer Graphics Forum, Wiley, volume 43, issue 3, p. e15101

  • 2024

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

    Z. While, T. Blascheck, Y. Gong, P. Isenberg, A. Sarvghad

    Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery, p. 17

  • 2026 - present

    Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer
    IEEE TVCG

  • 2026 - 2026

    Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer
    Eurographics Conference on Visualization (EuroVis)

  • 2026 - 2026

    Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer
    ACM Designing Interactive Systems (DIS)

  • 2025 - 2025

    Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer
    IEEE VIS

  • 2025 - 2025

    Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer
    ACM Creativity & Cognition (C&C)

  • 2025 - 2026

    Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer
    ACM CHI

  • 2023 - 2023

    Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer
    IEEE VIS

  • 2025 - 2025

    Volunteer
    Mahoning County Quizbowl League

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