GD96 Graph-Drawing Contest


Organized by Peter Eades, Joe Marks, and Stephen North.


Introduction

As a follow-on to the successful GD94 and GD95 graph-drawing contests, another contest will be held in conjunction with the GD96 Symposium. This year's contest will feature three graphs that represent real-world data, and one artificial graph designed specifically to challenge current algorithms. Winning entries for each graph will be chosen by a panel of experts. Drawings may be submitted electronically or by mail; in either case, they must be received before midnight, September 8, 1996. A prize fund of $1,000 (U.S.) is anticipated. The winning drawings will be published in the symposium proceedings.

How to Enter the Competition

Graphs A, B, C, and D are available via the following links: Graph A represents a finite automaton used in a natural-language processing system. Separate prizes will be awarded for the best overall drawing of this graph and for the best distorted drawing (e.g., via "fish-eye" techniques, etc.) that emphasizes a particular specified node. Graph B represents the calls made between a set of telephone numbers. Such graphs are used by the police in the investigation of organized crime. Graph C is an artificial graph that has been designed as a special challenge for current algorithms. Graph D represents the structure and content of a fragment of the World-Wide Web.

You are free to use any visual or textual mechanism in your drawings to communicate the information in the graph specifications. The primary judging criterion will be how well the drawings convey this information. A secondary criterion will be the degree to which manual editing was employed to produce the drawing: the less manual intervention, the better.

You can submit drawings of any or all of these graphs before midnight, September 8, 1996. Drawings can be submitted electronically as PostScript documents to marks@merl.com. Physical drawings can also be mailed to the following address:

Joe Marks
MERL
201 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
U.S.A.
Phone: 617-621-7534

If your drawing requires special printing because of size, resolution, or color constraints, you are encouraged to submit hard copy. Regardless of how you submit your entry, each drawing *must* include the following information: Questions or comments should be directed to Joe Marks (marks@merl.com).

Corporate Sponsors

AT&T Laboratories, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, and others to be confirmed.