Supercomputers-perspectives on visualization

The role of visualization and its capabilities are discussed. The loss of information incurred in translating a three-dimensional scene into a two-dimensional image plane and ways of compensating for it are considered. The need for interactive capability is stressed. The dichotomy between the use of visualization for analysis and for communication is traced to the way the technology evolved. That is, historically, computer graphics has been used in two separate and quite different industries: for science and engineering, and for entertainment. The emergence of cross-fertilization between the two is examined. Future trends and challenges are discussed