NOMAD: A distributed web-based platform for managingmaterials science research data

Abstract

Materials science research is becoming increasingly data-driven, which requires more effort to manage, share, and publish data. NOMAD is a web-based application that provides data management for materials science research data. In addition to core data management functions like uploading and sharing files, NOMAD allows for entering structured data using customizable forms providing the software with electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) functionalities. It automatically extracts rich meta-data from supported file formats, normalizes and converts data from these formats, and provides a faceted search with materials science-specific filters based on extracted meta-data. NOMAD integrates data analysis and machine learning tools.<br>Installations of NOMAD can be connected to share data between research institutes and can<br>publish data to an open central NOMAD service. The NOMAD software is distributed as a<br>Docker image to create data management services and as a Python package to automate the client’s use of these services.