For my final project for MAT 259 (Data Visualization) I wanted to explore the topics of 3D Space, particle systems, OpenGL and java, alpha blending, bill boarding, user interactivity, self-organizing algorithms (Kohonen), and electromagnetic attractions & repulsion. The end result is what you see above and below. I used one year of transaction data (books, DVDs, etc) from the Seattle Public Library to drive the visualization. Each particle/sphere is given properties, such as what category/subcategory it represents and how many items were checked out in that category. This is used to drive the physics system that is used to separate the nodes evenly on the surface of the sphere, moreover I wrote a Kohonen-like to cluster the nodes that are related (same category) together. The visualization is interactive; it allows the user to manipulate how they see the data and the properties of the system.