We DIG Chemistry!
The RDA Chemical Research Data Interest Group (CRDIG) was endorsed by RDA in February 2016. Since then, this active IG has been moving quickly with their exciting plans to transform the way chemical data are represented, documented, and shared. Under thoughtful leadership from the five co-chairs (Leah McEwen, Stuart Chalk, Ian Bruno, David Martinsen, and Richard Kidd), the CRDIG team is working with partners at the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Chemical Information (CINF), and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Chemical Information and Computer Applications Group (CICAG), among others, to ensure these critical stakeholders perspectives are integrated as plans move forward.
The CRDIG aims to bridge between the chemistry community and wider data initiatives through RDA collaborations, as well as to map the digital chemistry data landscape of challenges and opportunities to increase the impact of chemical data. In their case statement, the IG Chairs note that “Chemistry, as one of the central sciences, has fundamental impact on the fields of health, pharmaceuticals, materials, energy and many other applied sciences.” Starting with a Birds-of-a-Feather at Plenary 6, the group has leveraged both RDA and Chemistry community conferences to support a series of activities including meetings at Pacifichem 2015, Plenary 7, and the 251st American Chemical Society meeting, culminating in an RDA- and IUPAC-sponsored workshop this past month. Titled "Prioritizing digital data challenges in chemistry: Road-mapping technical opportunities and business cases with RDA and IUPAC", the successful workshop brought together 31 international chemical inform"Patics experts from diverse sectors to identify specific projects, prioritize them, and determine an action plan to move forward. It is expected that one or more of these projects will be proposed as RDA Working Groups.
The Chemistry Research Data Interest Group is tackling the critical barriers that limit the use and impact of chemical data. They have the critical buy-in and participation from their domain community, and are interested in new collaborations and partnerships across RDA. Contact the chairs or attend their session at P8 (Breakout Sessions 4 and 5 on Day 2) to learn about this group’s exciting future!