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In this era of “Big Data,” businesses rely on the accumulation and analysis of raw data to help understand an uncertain environment. Yet the sheer quantity of available information can overwhelm even the most sophisticated data miner. The problem of transforming spools of statistics into decipherable figures is one all too familiar to the world of science. Scientists deal with not only big numbers, but big concepts that require complex modeling and high levels of abstraction.
The International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge, created by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science, is an effort to recognize scientific researchers who use visualization to communicate their findings in ways that are accessible to the general public. Since 2003, awards have been handed out annually in a variety of categories, from Photography to Illustrations to Informational Graphics.

With the parallels between science and business in mind, let’s consider some past winners of the challenge and identify how these particular visualizations effectively distill data into an engaging and informative piece of art...