We propose a new approach to 3D object segmentation and description. Beginning with multiview range images of a 3D object, we segment the object into parts at deep surface concavities. Motivated by physics, we detect these concavities by locating surface points where the simulated electrical charge density achieves a local minimum. The individual parts are then described by parametric geons. Th...

To some extent the utility of a diagram depends on how effectively the information can be perceived. We have applied the structural object recognition theory of Biederman to the problem of constructing node-link diagrams. According to geon theory, as objects are perceived they are decomposed into 3D primitives called geons, together with the skeleton structure connecting them. This work evaluat...

Recent work on gravitational geons is extended to examine the stability properties of gravitational and electromagnetic geon constructs. All types of geons must possess the property of regularity, self-consistency and quasistability on a time-scale much longer than the period of the comprising waves. Standard perturbation theory, modified to accommodate timeaveraged fields, is used to test the ...

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Emerging Grid technologies enable solving scientific problems that involve large datasets and complex analyses. Coordinating distributed Grid resources and computational processes requires adaptable interfaces and tools that provide a modularized and configurable environment for accessing Grid clusters and executing high performance computational tasks. In addition, it is beneficial to make the...

Description: Computational clusters have become the dominant platform for a wide range of scientific disciplines. Cluster management software is available that allows administrators to specify and install a common software stack on all cluster nodes, and enable centralized control and diagnostics of components with minimal effort. While grid deployments have similar management requirements, the...

Tools are needed to allow domain scientists to effectively harness cyberinfrastructure. The most visibile such tools for the scientist are (i) portals, and (ii) workflow development and execution environments. We briefly summarize some of the foundational work relating to enhancements of GEON cyberinfrastructure tools in terms of semantic data registration, and give references for further reading.

This builds on previous work in which we have developed diagramming principles based on theories of structural object perception. We call these geon diagrams. We have previously shown that such diagrams are easy to remember and to analyze. To evaluate our hypothesis that geon diagrams should also be easy to understand we carried out an empirical study to evaluate the learnability of geon diagra...

Representing knowledge in codified forms is transformative of ones orientation to that knowledge. We trace the emergence of a routine for knowledge acquisition and its consequences for participants. Over time, participants in the earth science project GEON, first learned about ontologies and then learned how to create them. We identify three steps in the routine: understanding the problematic o...