Accessing Materials Data: Challenges and Directions in the Digital Era

Providing better availability to materials data has recently gained new momentum. Many successes abound—large numbers of individual materials databases exist, powerful modeling and data analysis approaches have been developed, and Web-based technologies are available. At the same time, challenges remain: one-stop access is lacking, use of multiple databases at the same time is virtually impossible, using shared data is difficult, and understanding data quality is very hard. In this paper, we review the successes and challenges of accessing digital materials data, especially as new initiatives are starting. We also identify insights from previous work that provide guidance to future progress, including adherence to the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) principles, in achieving this dream.