Dr. Sheelagh Carpendale is an assistant professor at Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary. Her research interests include information visualization, user interface design, human-computer interaction, visual languages and graph layout.
Though her current professional focus is computing science she has a background in both arts and sciences. She left high school with science scholarships but instead initially opted for fine arts, attending Sheridan College, School of Design and Emily Carr, Institute of Art and Design. For ten years she worked professionally in the arts. During this time she taught at Humber College and was involved in establishing the Harbourfront Arts Centre at York Quay, in Toronto. Subsequently she has reconnected with her interests in math and science by studying computing science at Simon Fraser University . She has found the combined visual arts and computing science background invaluable in her information visualization research.