Mazama Science

At Mazama Science we strive to make data and information more useful to people through careful data management, analysis and visualization, and the creation of databrowsers. Our goal is always to harness the human potential for pattern recognition so that we humans can understand the stories embedded in data. Once data begin to make sense at the personal level it is time to honor our peers with good story telling that condenses and synthesizes our learning process.

This page gathers together the presentations we have given that are based in large part on databrowsers we have built

New, interactive data presentation systems are described that tap into human pattern recognition skills and allow people to explore and become curious about data. These systems enable a shift from expert focused information summaries to public focused engagement with data. The ability of individuals to access data and information products on the web and use them in telling their own stories is one of the most important current trends.

This presentation was given on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at the World Resources Institute in Washington, DC.

This presentation uses a variety of charts, some from the Energy Export databrowser to investigate the electricity generation situation and the adoption rate of renewables (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal) in various nations.

This presentation was given on Monday, June 6, 2010 at Opal Financial's Clean and Green Investment Forum in San Francisco, California.

This presentation uses the Gas Trends databrowser to examine current trends in natural gas production in various nations. A review of the typical patterns presented by nations that experience production peaks or net-export peaks is followed by a review of net-export trends in the major gas-exporting regions of the world. An analysis of the important factors affecting production and consumption growth leads to a set of predictions for global gas trends over the next decade.

This presentation was given on Thursday, October 7, 2010 at the ASPO-USA 2010 Peak Oil Conference in Washington, DC.

This presentation uses the Energy Export databrowser to examine current trends in oil production in various nations. After covering the basics of oil production profiles and our dependence on inexpensive liquid fuels, a brief detour is taken to emphasize the importance of data visualization and introduce the Energy Export databrowser. Recent media headlines related to oil are then given as starting points from which to use the databrowser to explain the back story behind the articles. The talk finishes with a look at global production statistics and an assessment of the changes, both bad and good, that will come with Peak Oil.

This presentation was given on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at the Bellevue, WA office of CH2M Hill.

This presentation uses the US Minerals databrowser to examine current trends in US Minerals production, consumption, imports and usage. Recent media headlines related to mineral scarcity or import dependence are used as a starting point to motivate an exploration of the data. A brief detour is taken to emphasize the importance of data visualization and introduce the US Minerals databrowser. Questions that arose while reviewing media headlines are then answered using charts from the databrowser, explaining the back story behind the articles.

This presentation was given on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at the USGS Minerals Division in Reston, VA.

This presentation describes the process of going from data collection to organization and presentation of data to analysis and informed decision making. The "Data --> Information --> Knowledge" pathway is the leitmotif for this talk which emphasizes the importance of careful data management that addresses the needs of both data providers and consumers of data. Categories are defined that describe different types of data and data presentation. These categeories are then used to assess the utility of different web-based data presentation tools. This presentation is intended to provide a framework for discussing the best way to build data presentation tools that are well matched to the underlying data.

This presentation was given on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at the EPA Office of Environmental Information in Washington, DC.