Hi, I’m Frank Elavsky
I design and build systems for human interaction. My current work is situated on toolmaking at the intersection of data visualization and accessibility. I’m interested in building tools for people who build interactive systems and ways that effective tool design can make data more accessible to everyone, starting with those historically excluded by poor system design: people with disabilities.
My work has been recognized for its significant societal contributions, shaping systems work in: 15+ government and policy orgs internationally (World Health Organization, European Commission), 40+ businesses and corporations (including 3 of the Fortune 5), 18+ news and journalism groups (BBC, NYT), 50+ community organizations and non-profits (Special Olympics, Data Viz Society), and 20+ higher-ed classrooms.
I’m presently a PhD Candidate (ABD) at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. I am advised by Dominik Moritz and Patrick Carrington and a member of the Data Interaction Group and AXLE Lab. I have had broad industry collaborations as well, with details you can find in my cv.
- fje@cmu.edu
- Pittsburgh, PA
Featured Projects
Bokeh Audit
We performed an in-depth accessibility evaluation for the interactive data visualization Python library, Bokeh.
Softerware
Softerware is an approach for designing systems that can be customized and personalized by people with disabilities.
Data Navigator
Data Navigator is a system for creating accessible data structures that can be navigated with a variety of assistive technologies.
Featured Publications
Why systems?
I create systems because I love them. I firmly believe that systems designed for rich human interactivity help us not only perform tasks but also enjoy what we are doing. And I have been creating systems for over two decades, starting with designing rpg game systems in middle school. Systems have been a way for me to playfully abstract difficult and complex problems as well as ground me concretely in real, tangible issues.
My Ph.D. dissertation, titled “Toolmaking as an intervention on the accessibility of interactive data experiences” (in progress) explores intellectual gaps at the intersection of data interaction and accessibility: “how can the design of tools (defined as a subtype of interactive system applied to a context), enable us to do entirely new things previously impossible, gain more confidence overcoming difficulty, reduce tedium in our work, and help people to actually enjoy interaction?”
My background
Since starting my PhD, I have had collaborations with wonderful folks at Highsoft’s Highcharts 📊, Apple , Adobe, Fizz Studio, SRI, UW-Madison’s WGNHS, Northwestern University’s MLDS, Quansight Labs, FiveThirtyEight, tldraw, Visa, and Microsoft.
I was formerly a W3C invited expert in data visualization in the ARIA Working Group and currently still volunteer my time with other efforts.
Before embarking on a PhD I was a staff design systems engineer at Visa on their Data Experience team and lead contributor to the accessibility efforts of their first open source library, Visa Chart Components. We were able to do some pretty extraordinary things together and I am fortunate to have worked alongside such world-class folks.
Prior to Visa I had a high-octane 2 years at Northwestern University working for Research Computing Services providing data visualization support to over two dozen research projects across a wide range of disciplines. Several of my projects won awards and have been featured in over 60 research publications (including the privilege of being uncredited in the 2017 Nobel Lecture on Physics), 100+ web articles, 4 PhD theses, 4 graduate courses, and 9 textbooks.
In my early career (before Northwestern), I worked in federal policy analyzing large, complex medicare/medicaid datasets and building visualization tools for lawyers and policymakers.
Latest News
- Thesis status: proposed. I’m officially a Ph.D. Candidate now! 🎉
- Big news: In collaboration with Quansight, we’ve released our massive accessibility audit of Bokeh, a Python visualization ecosystem.
- I only have one class left. I’ve chosen to take Programming for Game Design as a fun, final hurrah.
- I’m excited to be traveling to ASSETS for the first time. I hope to meet up with so many folks!
- Started a new collab with Adobe!
- Visiting Highsoft has been a dream come true! Vik and the fjord have been wonderful, let alone working with the Highcharts folks.
- I’m humbled and thankful to be the first student Associate Editor at JoVI!
- I was shortlisted for Impactful Community Leadership at the 2023 IIBs. I’m honored!
- So happy to finally meet so many folks I know and respect in person at VIS this year.
- We hosted Aimen Gaba (PhD at UMass) here at CMU for 2 weeks. Exciting things to come…
Latest Visits
| May 14–18, '25 | Attended In-person, Pycon US, Pittsburgh, USA |
| May 1, '25 | Invited Speaker, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, UMD |
| Apr 30, '25 | Vacation, Washington D.C., USA |
| Mar 10–14, '25 | Attended In-person, CSUN, Anaheim, CA |
| Oct 28–30, '24 | Attended In-person, ASSETS, St. John's, Canada |
| Oct 13–18, '24 | Attended (virtual), IEEE VIS |
| Aug 17–25, '24 | Vacation, Norway & Sweden |
| Aug 12–16, '24 | Highsoft Visit, Vik, Norway |
| Jul 24–25, '24 | Invited Speaker, NIH, Maryland |
| May 12–17, '24 | Invited Speaker, AccessU, Austin, TX |