The Atomistic Modeling Center (AMC), the MDSI and the Cluster of Excellence e-conversion hosted the Digitizing Materials (DigiMat) Workshop on November 11 and 12, 2024, at the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). The event brought together scientists from TUM, Aalto University and Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) in Erlangen, all with a strong focus on materials science as a key research area.
MDSI Core Member and AMC Director Prof. Patrick Rinke and PD Dr. Matthias Stosiek organized the AMC DigiMat Workshop on November 11 and 12, 2024, at the TUM IAS. The workshop aimed to emphasize the strategic partnership of Aalto University in Finland and TUM and was co-funded by the MDSI, the Cluster of Excellence e-conversion and TUM Cooperation Initiative funding from Aalto University. All DigiMat participants shared a strong interest in data-driven materials science. The workshop brought them together to assess the development of data infrastructures at both universities, learn about advancements in other fields and the German data ecosystem, review digital workflows, and discuss data stewardship. Among the outstanding speakers were MDSI Core Members Prof. Lukas Heinrich and Prof. Helge Stein as well as Prof. Jennifer Rupp, member of the e-conversion Executive Board, and Dr. Frederic Felsen, Data Steward at e-conversion. The AMC directors, Prof. David Egger, Prof. Alessio Gagliardi and Prof. Julija Zavadlav provided a computational materials science perspective. In his talk, Heinrich offered insights into particle physics, which in a way has solved the digitalization problem of their research field already 20 years ago. Stein focused on digital catalysis and automated materials discovery platforms. Prof. Luca Ghiringhelli from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chair for Materials Simulation at FAU represented the FAIRmat consortium and reported on the data-driven materials science ecosystem in Germany. Dr. Filippo Federici Canova presented the Aalto Materials Digitalization (AMAD) platform and Dr. Antti Rousi and Jannika Rinnejärvi introduced the data agent program and data management training at Aalto.
The Workshop was a great success. It created awareness of what is happening at Aalto and TUM in the realm of data-driven materials science. The DigiMat workshop offered suggestions and concepts on how components already implemented at Aalto could be integrated into an upcoming data platform at TUM. Aalto participants were interested in the automated high-throughput platforms that are used in chemistry and materials science research at TUM and in materials science ontologies developed by FAIRmat. Such platforms could accelerate research and be deployed in future virtual laboratory frameworks.
A follow-up event with a larger audience from both universities, TUM and Aalto, is planned to discuss the technical feasibility of exchanging research data between Aalto and TUM to open new collaboration opportunities.