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FOCUS ON DATA TO AID AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE
25 February 2008

The Australian Academy of Science has formed a National Committee for Data for Science and has initiated Australia's membership of international data science forum CODATA.

CODATA is the Committee on Data for Science and Technology of the International Council for Science, and works to improve the quality, reliability, management, and accessibility of data of importance to all fields of science and technology.

Scientific research is increasingly dependent on large quantities of data, such as images of the early Universe, sequences of genes, or surveys of minerals deep beneath the ground. For Australian science to maintain its position in the world and continue to generate new discoveries, it is essential that Australian scientists are able to manage and analyse these data using the best techniques available.

Infrastructure to enable this is being provided by the Australian Government under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. However, a collaborative approach is also required between scientific disciplines to help tackle the problem.

The National Committee aims to promote and facilitate data science across all disciplines of science and provide a national data science voice which can represent Australia at international forums. To achieve this, the Committee will hold regular workshops, promote the development of data management policies and protocols, and promote the adoption of standards for data exchange.

The chair of the new Committee, Dr. Ray Norris of CSIRO, said:

'This is an exciting initiative from the Academy, which will help maintain Australia's position in the front rank of international science...we are now routinely generating terabytes of data, which pose enormous challenges to the way we handle and analyse data. Astronomy, earth sciences, environmental sciences, and life sciences are facing the same challenges, and I'm looking forward to swapping ideas on how to tackle them.'

During 2006, the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) established a Data for Science working group who proposed a comprehensive agenda to ensure that Australia has a systemic approach to enable the best use of data for science. Their report identified a number of challenges currently facing Australian data management, including 'missed opportunities to collaborate' and a 'lack of global engagement'. The new Committee and Australian membership of CODATA will directly address these issues.

Members of the National Committee for Data for Science are:

• (Committee Chair) Dr Ray Norris, CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility
• Ms Kim Finney, Australian Antarctic Data Centre Australian Antarctic Division, Department of Environment and Heritage
• Dr Rhys Francis, Australian eResearch Infrastructure Council
• Dr Alex Held, CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research
• Professor Jane Hunter, School of ITEE, University of Queensland
• Dr Tim Littlejohn, Healthcare and Life Sciences, IBM Australia
• Mrs Karen Wilson, National Herbarium of NSW Royal Botanic Gardens
• Dr Lesley Wyborn, Information Services Branch, Geoscience Australia

For more information on the Committee contact Ray Norris, phone (02) 9372 4416.

Information on CODATA can be found at: www.codata.org/