In the age of big data, visualization tools are vital. With a single glance at a graphic display, a human can recognize patterns that a computer might fail to find even after hours of analysis.

Last evening my wife, Carole, and I attended a celebratory dinner for the family of one of my former students. Luca, my student, originally from Italy, brought his wife, Olivia, and his young daughter, Kendra.

In the words of my friend and colleague Larry Loucka, “Graphs are math.”

Can something as simple as a toilet support LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)? We take this basic sanitation device for granted, and while it makes the obvious wastes disappear very cleanly, another form of waste hides in plain view.