The general theme of the Intelligent Data Analysis (IDA) Symposia is the - telligent use of
computers in complex data analysis problems. The ?eld has matured su?ciently that some
re-considerationof our objectives was required in order to retain the distinctiveness of IDA.
Thus in addition to the more tra- tional algorithm- and application-oriented submissions we
sought submissions that speci?cally focus on aspects of the data analysis process. For example
- teractive tools to guide and support data analysis in complex scenarios. With the
increasingavailabilityofautomaticallycollecteddata toolsthatintelligently support and assist
human analysts are becoming important. IDA-09 the 8th International Symposium on Intelligent
Data Analysis took place in Lyon from August 31 to September 2 2009. The invited speakers
were PaulCohen(UniversityofArizona USA)andPabloJensen(ENSLyon France). The meeting received
more than 80 submissions. The Programme Committee selected 33 submissions for publication: 18
for full oral presentation and 15 for poster and short oralpresentation. Eachcontribution was
evaluated by three expertsandhas beenallocated12pagesintheproceedings.Theacceptedpapers cover a
broad range of topics and applications and include contributions on the re?ned focus of IDA.
