Marian Dörk

Prof. Dr. Marian Dörk is a Research Professor for Information Visualization & Management at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, where he co-directs the Urban Complexity Lab (UCLAB) since 2013. His work bridges data visualization, digital humanities, and critical design through projects like GraDiM (2023–2025) and Restaging Fashion (2020–2023). He teaches interface design and urban futures, supervising students on topics like OpenStreetMap cartography and graph-based narratives.

• PhD in Computer Science (2008–2012) from University of Calgary, supervised by Sheelagh Carpendale and Carey Williamson
• Prior roles: Research Associate at Newcastle University (2012–2013), internships at Google, Microsoft, and IBM

His research focuses on critical data visualization, cultural heritage, and urban complexity, with a specific emphasis on ethical design, intersectional frameworks, and collaborative tools. Recent publications explore unfoldable graph visualizations (2023), climate journalism (2023), and discursive annotations (2025). Collaborators include institutions like Jewish Museum Berlin, SMB/SPK, and Open-Access-Büro Berlin.

Key scientific awards include the Best Paper Award at VDA 2011 and Best Poster Award at AITF Tech Futures Summit 2011. His projects often involve students, exemplified by the Close-Up Cloud (2018–2020) and Amazonien as Future Lab (2021–2024). He advocates for freelance web development in academic contexts since 2001.