Highlights from the Data Intelligence Conference
The FAIR-DI European Conference on Data Intelligence 2024 took place from October 27 to 30 in Karlsruhe, gathering experts to discuss significant advancements in the field.
The event brought together specialists from theoretical and experimental backgrounds to explore research data management #rdm, related services and tools, databases, and the impact of large language models (#LLMs) and artificial intelligence (#AI) in materials science.
During various talks, new databases and services for research data management were introduced, covering material synthesis, artificial photosynthesis, theoretical calculations, and polymers. Although each solution was tailored to its specific field, a common principle emerged: enabling the efficient use of substantial datasets to accelerate scientific discovery. By utilizing the potential of LLMs - such as active learning and chatbots - these tools aim to predict and discover new materials and methods while supporting and guiding scientists throughout their experiments.
A central theme of the conference was the evolving field of data intelligence. Data and intelligence, though interconnected, influence each other independently. The community is currently focused on managing existing data in both theoretical and experimental contexts using machine learning, natural language processing, and large language models. However, these methods are also expected to shape future data collection practices, prompting questions such as: Which data should be prioritized? How do we ensure data quality? Can we capture all the data? And how will robots impact data generation and collection? These questions were actively discussed throughout the conference and are anticipated to drive research in the coming years.
A highlight of the conference was the FAIR-DI Award ceremony, which celebrated outstanding data handling in a PhD thesis aligned with #FAIR principles. This year's award was presented to Lena Pilz from Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT). She delivered an engaging presentation on her innovative use of Chemotion as an electronic lab notebook (#ELN), expanding its application to metal-organic framework (#MOF) synthesis and openly publishing her research data according to FAIR principles. Congratulations, Lena!
We thank all participants and invited speakers for their contributions to this successful conference.
