TRC/NIST public data domain

Abstract

Billions of dollars are allocated annually for scientific research on material and substance properties. The results of publicly funded research should be published to foster global scientific and technological progress. However, leveraging these findings presents challenges. Discovering, accessing, interpreting, parsing, and assessing the reliability of scientific information is labor-intensive and has no guaranteed way to succeed. Most data are not published in machine-readable formats [1] complicating data integrity assurance and automated indexing for easy discovery when that information is needed. The Thermodynamics Research Center (TRC) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is addressing those challenges by developing data communication formats, procedures and tools for data capture and conversion, infrastructure, and promoting open and efficient science principles.