Xavier Ho is an interdisciplinary creative technologist and designer at Monash University’s XYX Lab and SensiLab. His work spans across scientific research (Smoke and Fire, Graincast), games research (Roguelike Universe), and geospatial visualisations (TraNSIT, Early Algal Warning System). Xavier is a recipient of the inaugural CSIRO Medal for Diversity and Inclusion for his contributions in raising awareness for LGBTQIA+ issues in the organisation. He is also a finalist in the 2020 Victorian Premier Design Awards in the Digital Design category His interactive design work seeks to visualise phenomena that are often invisible, and bring them to the forefront of conversations. Prior to joining Monash he had seven years of industry experience as a visualisation specialist.

Prior to joining the Monash family, Xavier led the Graph Visualisation Engineering team at CSIRO designing visualisations for machine learning on networked data. He also served as an individual contributor for UX design and scientific visualisation. His most notable contribution was for trailblazing the web version of Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool (TraNSIT), which was then recommended by the Office of Northern Australia, and won the Australian Government’s Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper. (The team would go on to win a CSIRO Medal for Sir Ian McLennan Impact from Science and Engineering.)

His current project, Visualising Queer Independent Games, seeks to critically examine authentic representations of gender and sexuality. The project has received internal seed funding with an exhibition presented at the Victorian Pride Centre in 2022. Xavier also directly contributes to the Urban Superdiversity project as a co-investigator and designer. He contributes novel visualisation techniques for non-technical users to easily explore multidimensional urban data and share insights. In his research Xavier is investigating and visualising social issues across all scales of demographic levels.