Each year, Microsoft Research presents the Jim Gray eScience Award to a researcher who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of data-intensive science. The award—named for Jim Gray, a Technical Fellow at Microsoft Research and a Turing Award winner who disappeared at sea in 2007—recognizes innovators whose work makes science easier for other scientists. Past award winners—including Carole Goble (2008), University of Manchester; Jeff Dozier (2009), University of California, Santa Barbara; Philip Bourne (2010), University of California, San Diego; and Mark Abbott (2011), Oregon State University—remember Jim Gray and talk about how the work they do reflects his vision. Tony Hey, corporate vice president, Microsoft Research Connections, reveals his hopes for the future of eScience.