Having passed through the empirical/observational, the theoretical/experimental, and the computational paradigms, science is now conducted predominantly following the data exploration paradigm. Data is the key in modern scientific endeavor! Vast amounts complex data is generated, which is then analyzed in an automatic or semi-automatic fashion; this results in identification of common patterns and trends or rare phenomena, which often lead to new scientific discoveries.

This session at IEEE e-Science Workshop 2011 presents several contemporary scientific efforts that are critically dependent on data exploration. We also outline key relevant data-management challenges that arise in the context of these efforts and which require significant technological advances.