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Inspirations

A curated collection of tools, datasets, libraries and resources I regularly use or find useful for scientific computing, visualization and environmental analysis.
I try to keep this section up to date whenever I come across something interesting.

Last updated: March 2026

Science & mathematical intuition 🔬

Resources that help build intuition about mathematics, physics and scientific concepts through visualization, interactive simulations and educational material.

Euclid’s Elements [geometry][history]: The Elements of Euclid, in which coloured diagrams and symbols are used instead of letters for the greater ease of learners. Based on a book by Byrne, published in 1847, the “web version” has been made by Nicholas Rougeux, a data artist and designer.
3Blue1Brown [math][visualization]: Mathematics visualizations famous for their clarity and aesthetic animations.
Distill [interactive][ML][visualization]: Beautiful interactive scientific articles explaining complex topics (machine learning, mathematics, optimization, etc.) through visualization.
Seeing Theory [statistics][interactive]: An interactive visual introduction to probability and statistics.
Falstad Physics Simulations [physics][simulations]: A collection of interactive simulations for physics, electronics, waves, optics, and mathematics.
The NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions [reference][mathematics]: Authoritative reference for special functions used in mathematics and physics.
Scale of the Universe [interactive][science]: Interactive zoom showing the size of objects from subatomic particles to the observable universe.

Data visualization 📊

Tools, references and inspiration related to scientific visualization, interface design and generative graphics.

Inspiration & storytelling

Information Is Beautiful [dataviz][storytelling]: A famous collection of highly polished infographics and visual explanations of complex topics.
FlowingData [dataviz][blog]: A long-running blog dedicated to data visualization projects and techniques.

Colormap theory

SciVisColor Portal [colormap][scientific-viz]: A website to explore various color schemes for scientific visualization, with the possibility to download them in xml format.
Turbo Colormap [colormap][scientific-viz]: Perceptually improved alternative to the classic rainbow colormap designed by Google.
Color Brewer [colormap][maps]: A widely used tool for selecting perceptually balanced colormaps for maps and data visualization.
Advice on colormaps for scientific visualization can be found here.
Paul Tol colormaps [colormap][accessibility]: Many guidelines and examples, including recommendations for colorblind-safe palettes.
Scientific Colour Maps [colormap][scientific-viz]: Perceptually uniform colormaps designed for scientific visualization and recommended for avoiding misleading visual interpretation.

UI / UX tools

Some tools and resources useful when designing user interfaces and dashboards.
I often use them when building interactive applications with Dash.

Iconify [icons][UI][dash]: Huge searchable catalog of open-source icon sets. Very handy for dashboards and web apps, especially when using tools such as dash-iconify.
The Noun Project [icons][UI]: Large library of vector icons created by designers worldwide.
Omatsuri – Color Shades Generator [UI][colors]: Generate full color palettes and shades from a base color.
UI Gradients [UI][gradients]: Collection of ready-to-use gradient palettes often used in modern interfaces.
Haikei [UI][SVG]: Generator for SVG backgrounds and shapes useful for dashboards and visual interfaces.

Rendering & lighting assets

ambientCG [rendering][textures][PBR]: Large library of high-quality PBR textures, HDRIs, and 3D assets.
Poly Haven HDRIs [rendering][HDRI][lighting]: Free high-dynamic-range environment maps used for realistic lighting and reflections.
HDRI Skies [rendering][HDRI][lighting]: HDR sky maps designed for environment lighting in physically based rendering workflows.

Generative / creative visualization

Processing [creative-coding][visualization]: Creative coding framework widely used for generative art and experimental visualizations.
OpenProcessing [creative-coding][gallery]: Gallery of generative visualizations and sketches created with Processing and p5.js.
ShaderToy [GPU][shaders][visualization]: Large collection of GPU shader experiments and procedural visualizations.

Scientific visualization software

ParaView [scientific-viz][CFD][post-processing]: Open-source application for large-scale scientific data analysis and visualization, widely used for CFD and simulation post-processing.
Blender [3D][rendering]: Open-source 3D creation suite often used for high-quality rendering of scientific models and simulations.

Maps & geospatial visualizations 🗺️

Interactive maps and geospatial visualizations related to climate, environmental data and global infrastructure.

Climate and environmental data

A collection of interactive maps showing various types of environmental and climate data.

Earth Nullschool [maps][climate][winds]: Interactive visualization of global wind, weather, ocean currents, and pollution conditions, updated every three hours.
Blitzortung [maps][lightning]: Live world lightning detection network.
Mapbox WebGL wind demo [maps][WebGL][winds]: Global wind visualization using WebGL
Electricity Map [maps][energy]: European electricity map with live production, consumption, and cross-border flows.
Darksky Maps [maps][weather]: Worldwide meteorological data visualization (1-week history)
Interactive IPCC Atlas [maps][climate]: Tool for flexible spatial and temporal analyses of observed and projected climate change information used in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.
Windy [maps][weather][winds]: One of the best real-time visualizations of weather, wind, and atmospheric data.

Geographic curiosities

The True Size Of [maps][cartography]: Compare the real size of countries without map projection distortions.
Metropolitan [maps][transport]: A nice map of Paris’ underground metro
David Rumsey Map Collection [maps][history]: A beautiful collection of historical maps available for browsing and high-resolution download.
Flight Radar 24 [maps][aviation]: Live global air traffic visualization.
Submarine Cable Map [maps][infrastructure]: Interactive visualization of global internet infrastructure.
ASCII OSM [maps][geek]: ASCII cartography in the browser.

Climate databases and tools ☁️

Some useful sources for scientific and environmental data.

Copernicus Climate Data Store [climate][datasets][ERA5]: ERA5 and other climate reanalysis datasets.
Our World in Data [datasets][climate][energy]: Clean datasets and visualizations about global development, climate, and energy.
OpenTopography [datasets][topography][LiDAR]: Open-access platform providing high-resolution topography datasets such as LiDAR and digital elevation models, widely used in geoscience and environmental analysis.

Measurements & records

NOAA Hourly Data: Historical and present meteorological records worldwide. Data from the ISD (_Integrated Surface Database)._
NOAA NCEI – Large archive of environmental and meteorological observations.
Meteostat: Free weather and climate data with a convenient Python API.
NASA Earthdata – Access to a wide range of Earth observation datasets.

EPW files

EPW files are nowadays something of a standard format for meteorological data.
The most common use is the TMY (Typical Meteorological Year), which represents typical climate conditions based on the last 25–30 years.

Climate.OneBuilding.Org: The main source of TMY EPW datasets.
EPWMap: Interactive map to download EPW files, developed by the Ladybug Tools team.

Tools for visualization

Andrew Marsh Apps: Visualization tools for EPW meteorological data, including sun paths, shading analysis, and schedule editors.
epwvis: Online viewer and analysis tool for EnergyPlus Weather (EPW) files.
CBE Clima Tool: Web application for climate data analysis and visualization developed by Berkeley’s CBE Lab.
ClimaPlus: Early-design web tool developed at MIT to support the design of naturally ventilated and hybrid buildings.

Python libraries 🐍

Python libraries commonly used in my workflows for scientific computing, environmental analysis, geospatial processing and visualization.

Scientific ecosystem

Some foundational libraries used in most scientific Python workflows:

NumPy [python][arrays][numerical]: Fundamental library for numerical computing in Python, providing efficient multidimensional arrays and mathematical operations.
SciPy [python][scientific-computing]: Collection of algorithms for scientific computing including optimization, integration, interpolation, signal processing and linear algebra.
Pandas [python][data-analysis]: Library for data analysis and manipulation built around powerful tabular data structures.
Xarray [python][climate][multidimensional]: Library for working with labelled multi-dimensional arrays, widely used in climate and geoscience datasets.

Geometry, meshes and computational geometry

The PyVista project [python][3D][VTK][meshes], with: PyVista / PyMeshFix / TetGen. 3D plotting and mesh analysis through a streamlined interface for the Visualization Toolkit (VTK). A set of wrappers designed to simplify the use of VTK — often described as “VTK for humans”.
Vedo [python][VTK][3D]: Lightweight Python module for scientific visualization built on top of VTK, particularly convenient for quick mesh exploration, point clouds and volumetric data.
Trimesh [python][meshes]: Pure Python library for loading and manipulating triangular meshes with an emphasis on watertight surfaces.
meshio [python][meshes][CFD][FEM]: Python library for reading and writing many mesh formats used in CFD and FEM simulations.
Shapely [python][geometry][GIS]: Python library for manipulation and analysis of planar geometric objects based on GEOS.
Pygalmesh [python][meshing]: Python interface to CGAL for high-quality mesh generation.
Triangle [python][meshing][triangulation]: Classic tool for two-dimensional quality mesh generation and Delaunay triangulation.
Polyscope [python][meshes][viewer]: Interactive viewer for meshes and geometric data widely used in geometry processing research.

Climate and geospatial data

UWG [python][urban-climate][EPW]: Urban Weather Generator — a Python tool for modeling the urban heat island effect by morphing rural EPW weather files into urban-canyon conditions.
wrf-python [python][WRF][meteorology]: Collection of diagnostic and interpolation routines for output from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF-ARW) model, with plotting helpers.
GeoPandas [python][GIS][geospatial]: Extends pandas to allow spatial operations on geometric types such as points, lines and polygons.
Rasterio [python][GIS][rasters]: Library for reading and writing geospatial raster data formats (GeoTIFF, etc.) based on GDAL.
rioxarray [python][GIS][xarray]: Extension of xarray for geospatial raster data, combining the power of xarray with rasterio.
PyProj [python][GIS][projections]: Python interface to the PROJ library for coordinate transformations and projections.
Cartopy [python][maps][plotting]: Library for geospatial plotting and map projections built on top of Matplotlib.
xclim [python][climate][indices]: Climate services library built on xarray and dask, useful for computing climate indices and bias-adjusting large climate datasets.
MetPy [python][meteorology]: Meteorological tools for atmospheric calculations, data parsing and visualization.
salem [python][climate][geospatial]: Geospatial utilities designed for climate and meteorological datasets.
cfgrib [python][GRIB][climate]: Python interface for reading GRIB files commonly used in atmospheric and weather model data.
osmnx [python][OpenStreetMap][geospatial]: A Python package to easily download, model, analyze, and visualize street networks and other geospatial features from OpenStreetMap.

Environmental and building science

pvlib [python][solar][environment]: Python library for modeling solar radiation and photovoltaic systems using meteorological data.
Pysolar [python][solar]: Python library for simulating solar position and irradiation with precise ephemeris calculations.
ladybug [python][building-science][climate]: Environmental analysis tools for weather data, solar geometry and climate metrics used in building performance analysis.
honeybee [python][building-simulation]: Framework for environmental building simulations including daylight, energy and comfort analysis.
pythermalcomfort [python][comfort][thermal]: Python package implementing many thermal comfort models such as PMV, PPD, UTCI and adaptive comfort.
windrose [python][wind][visualization]: Library for creating wind rose diagrams from meteorological wind datasets.
OpenAQ [python][air-quality][API]: Python client for accessing the global OpenAQ air quality dataset.

Performance and parallel computing

Numba [python][performance][JIT]: JIT compiler translating a subset of Python and NumPy code into fast machine code.
Multiprocessing [python][parallel]: Standard Python library enabling parallel execution through subprocesses and full CPU utilization.
Joblib [python][parallel][caching]: Lightweight tools for function caching, pipelining and simple parallel computing.
Dask [python][parallel][big-data]: Parallel computing library that scales NumPy, pandas and xarray workflows to larger-than-memory datasets.

Visualization and plotting

Matplotlib [python][plotting]: The foundational Python library for scientific plotting.
Plotly [python][interactive][dashboards]: Interactive plotting library for building web-based visualizations and dashboards.
Bokeh [python][interactive][web]: Interactive visualization library for modern web browsers.
Holoviews [python][high-level][visualization]: High-level library for building complex visualizations with minimal code.
Datashader [python][big-data][visualization]: Visualization tool for rendering extremely large datasets efficiently.
cmocean [python][colormap][climate]: Perceptually balanced colormaps designed specifically for oceanography and climate science.

Dashboards

Frameworks and libraries for building interactive data applications and scientific dashboards in Python.

Dash ecosystem

That’s the one I use the most!

Dash [python][dash][dashboards]: Python framework for building interactive analytical web applications using Plotly, Flask and React.
Dash Bootstrap Components [python][dash][UI]: Collection of Bootstrap-themed components that greatly simplifies building responsive layouts and polished dashboards.
Dash Mantine Components [python][dash][UI]: Large set of modern UI components based on the Mantine React framework, useful for building sophisticated dashboard interfaces.
Dash Iconify [python][dash][icons]: Dash component allowing easy integration of thousands of icons from the Iconify ecosystem.
Dash Extensions [python][dash][advanced]: Collection of utilities and advanced components for Dash including WebSocket support, serverside callbacks and performance improvements.
Dash Leaflet [python][dash][maps]: Leaflet map components for Dash, useful for building interactive geospatial dashboards.
Dash AG Grid [python][dash][tables][big-data]: Advanced interactive data grid component for Dash supporting sorting, filtering, virtualization and large datasets.
Dash Cytoscape [python][dash][networks]: Graph visualization component for displaying networks and node-link diagrams.
Dash Daq [python][dash][scientific-UI]: Specialized components for scientific and engineering dashboards such as gauges, knobs and instrument displays.
Dash Labs [python][dash][experimental]: Experimental features and utilities for simplifying Dash app development.
Dash Tools [python][dash][workflow]: Utilities to simplify Dash project structure and development workflow.

Useful additions

Dash VTK [python][dash][VTK][3D]: Components for interactive 3D visualization of VTK datasets directly inside Dash applications.
Dash Deck [python][dash][WebGL][maps]: Dash wrapper around Uber’s Deck.gl library, allowing high-performance WebGL visualizations for large geospatial datasets.
Dash Draggable [python][dash][layout]: Enables draggable and resizable dashboard layouts, useful for building customizable analytical interfaces where users can rearrange charts and panels.
Dash Split Pane [python][dash][layout]: Provides resizable split panels for Dash layouts, making it easy to build interfaces with adjustable visualization panels or side-by-side data views.
Dash Ace [python][dash][editor]: Embeds the Ace code editor inside Dash apps, useful for building interactive notebooks, parameter editors, or user-defined scripts directly in dashboards.

Other Python dashboard frameworks

Panel [python][dashboards]: Python framework for building interactive dashboards and data applications, often used together with Holoviews, Bokeh and Datashader.
Streamlit [python][dashboards][rapid-prototyping]: Very popular framework for quickly turning Python scripts into interactive data apps with minimal code.
Trame [python][VTK][dashboards][3D]: Framework for building interactive web applications around VTK, ParaView and PyVista visualizations, particularly suited for scientific computing and 3D visualization.

Other useful tools

EPW [python][weather-files][EPW]: Lightweight Python package for editing EnergyPlus Weather (epw) files — very convenient for reading and parsing EPW datasets.

Geek tools ⚙️

ASCII art

ASCIIFlow [ASCII][diagrams]: Browser-based editor for drawing diagrams using ASCII characters — perfect for quick terminal-style sketches.
Text to ASCII Art Generator [ASCII][text]: Type your text and generate ASCII banners in many styles.

. __  __       _                     
 |  \/  |     | |                    
 | \  / | __ _| |_ ___ _   _ ___ ____
 | |\/| |/ _` | __/ _ \ | | / __|_  /
 | |  | | (_| | ||  __/ |_| \__ \/ / 
 |_|  |_|\__,_|\__\___|\__,_|___/___|    

ASCII Art Generator [ASCII][images]: Convert images into ASCII art.

asciichart [ASCII][charts][terminal]: Small library that plots time series directly in the terminal using ASCII characters.

┤      ╭╮
┤     ╭╯╰╮
┤    ╭╯  ╰╮
┤   ╭╯    ╰╮

text-img [terminal][screenshots]: Convert text to styled terminal-like screenshots.
asciinema [terminal][recording]: Record and share terminal sessions as lightweight interactive animations.

Developer utilities

Carbon [code][screenshots]: Create beautiful images of source code for documentation, blog posts, or presentations, with customizable themes and syntax highlighting.
Ray.so [code][screenshots]: Lightweight tool to generate stylish images from code snippets, useful for sharing code examples in articles or slides.
JSON Crack [JSON][visualization]: Interactive tool to visualize JSON structures as expandable graphs, making it easier to explore complex nested data.
Mermaid Live Editor [diagrams][editor]: Online editor for generating diagrams (flowcharts, sequence diagrams, Gantt charts, etc.) from a simple Markdown-like syntax.
TableConvert [tables][conversion]: Handy utility to convert tables between many formats including CSV, Markdown, JSON, SQL, HTML, and Excel.
Explain Shell [CLI][learning]: Displays the meaning of each part of a Unix shell command by matching it with the corresponding manual page documentation.

Terminal theming & shell tools

terminal.sexy [terminal][colors][themes]: Terminal color scheme designer that lets you create, preview and export themes for many terminal emulators.
Gogh [terminal][themes][Linux]: Large collection of terminal color schemes for Gnome Terminal and other Linux terminals, with easy installation scripts.
dircolors-gen [terminal][LS_COLORS][Linux]: Generator for LS_COLORS themes, useful for customizing file and directory colors across shells and terminal emulators.
Starship [prompt][shell][cross-platform]: Fast and highly customizable cross-shell prompt for Bash, Zsh, Fish, PowerShell and more.
Oh My Zsh [shell][zsh][productivity]: Community-driven framework for managing Zsh configuration, themes and plugins.
Oh My Posh [prompt][shell][Windows]: Prompt theme engine for Bash, Zsh, Fish, PowerShell and CMD, particularly popular for polished cross-platform terminal setups.
shell-color-prompt-tool [bash][zsh][prompt]: Interactive command-line tool for building and customizing colored Bash and Zsh prompts.
synth-shell [shell][prompt][Linux]: Customizable shell prompt with useful context information, multiple themes and a polished Linux-terminal aesthetic.
windows-terminal-theme-generator [Windows][terminal][themes]: Tool for generating and previewing custom Windows Terminal themes.
windows-terminals [Windows][terminal][themes]: Repository collecting many ready-to-use themes for Windows Terminal.