Materials informatics
Encyclopedia
Materials informatics is a field of study that applies the principles of informatics
to materials science
and engineering to better understand the use, selection
, development, and discovery of material
s. This is an emerging field, with a goal to achieve high-speed and robust acquisition, management, analysis, and dissemination of diverse materials data.
This field of endeavor is not limited to some traditional understandings of the relationship between materials and information. Some more narrow interpretations include combinatorial chemistry
, Process Modeling
, materials property databases, materials data management
and product life cycle management
. Materials informatics is at the convergence of these concepts, but also transcends them and has the potential to achieve greater insights and deeper understanding by applying lessons learned from data gathered on one type of material to others. By gathering appropriate meta
data, the value of each individual data point can be greatly expanded.
The editors focus on a limited definition of materials informatics, "the application of computational methodologies to processing and interpreting scientific and engineering data concerning materials." They state that "specialized informatics tools for data capture, management, analysis, and dissemination" and "advances in computing power, coupled with computational modeling and simulation and materials properties databases" will enable such accelerated insertion of materials.
This view is not universally held. A broader definition goes beyond the use of computational methods to carry out the same experimentation. An evolved view of informatics creates a framework in which a measurement or computation is not simply a data point but a step in an information-based learning process that uses the power of a collective to achieve greater efficiency in exploration. When properly organized, this framework crosses materials boundaries to uncover fundamental knowledge of the basis of physical, mechanical, and engineering properties.
The overarching goals of bioinformatics and systems biology may provide a useful analogy. Andrew Murray of Harvard University
expresses the hope that such an approach "will save us from the era of "one graduate student, one gene, one PhD". Similarly, the goal of materials informatics is to save us from one graduate student, one alloy, one PhD. Such goals will require more than applying computational methods to the same tasks set to current students.
(March 2007 JOM-e issue on M.I.)
Informatics (academic field)
Informatics is the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Informatics studies the structure, algorithms, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process, access and communicate information...
to materials science
Materials science
Materials science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. This scientific field investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. It incorporates...
and engineering to better understand the use, selection
Material selection
Material selection is a step in the process of designing any physical object. In the context of product design, the main goal of material selection is to minimize cost while meeting product performance goals. Systematic selection of the best material for a given application begins with properties...
, development, and discovery of material
Material
Material is anything made of matter, constituted of one or more substances. Wood, cement, hydrogen, air and water are all examples of materials. Sometimes the term "material" is used more narrowly to refer to substances or components with certain physical properties that are used as inputs to...
s. This is an emerging field, with a goal to achieve high-speed and robust acquisition, management, analysis, and dissemination of diverse materials data.
This field of endeavor is not limited to some traditional understandings of the relationship between materials and information. Some more narrow interpretations include combinatorial chemistry
Combinatorial chemistry
Combinatorial chemistry involves the rapid synthesis or the computer simulation of a large number of different but structurally related molecules or materials...
, Process Modeling
Process modeling
The term process model is used in various contexts. For example, in business process modeling the enterprise process model is often referred to as the business process model. Process models are core concepts in the discipline of process engineering....
, materials property databases, materials data management
Materials data management
Materials data is a critical resource for manufacturing organizations seeking to enhance products, processes and, ultimately, profitability. This data describes the properties and processing of the materials that these organization uses - metals, alloys, plastics, composite materials, ceramics, etc...
and product life cycle management
Product life cycle management
Product life-cycle management is the succession of strategies used by business management as a product goes through its life-cycle. The conditions in which a product is sold changes over time and must be managed as it moves through its succession of stages.Product life-cycle Like human beings,...
. Materials informatics is at the convergence of these concepts, but also transcends them and has the potential to achieve greater insights and deeper understanding by applying lessons learned from data gathered on one type of material to others. By gathering appropriate meta
Meta
Meta- , is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter....
data, the value of each individual data point can be greatly expanded.
Beyond computational methods?
The concept of materials informatics is addressed by the Materials Research Society. For example, material informatics is the theme of the December 2006 issue of the MRS Bulletin. The issue was guest-edited by John Rodgers of Innovative Materials, Inc. and David Cebon of Cambridge University who describe the "high payoff for developing methodologies that will accelerate the insertion of materials, thereby saving millions of investment dollars."The editors focus on a limited definition of materials informatics, "the application of computational methodologies to processing and interpreting scientific and engineering data concerning materials." They state that "specialized informatics tools for data capture, management, analysis, and dissemination" and "advances in computing power, coupled with computational modeling and simulation and materials properties databases" will enable such accelerated insertion of materials.
This view is not universally held. A broader definition goes beyond the use of computational methods to carry out the same experimentation. An evolved view of informatics creates a framework in which a measurement or computation is not simply a data point but a step in an information-based learning process that uses the power of a collective to achieve greater efficiency in exploration. When properly organized, this framework crosses materials boundaries to uncover fundamental knowledge of the basis of physical, mechanical, and engineering properties.
The overarching goals of bioinformatics and systems biology may provide a useful analogy. Andrew Murray of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
expresses the hope that such an approach "will save us from the era of "one graduate student, one gene, one PhD". Similarly, the goal of materials informatics is to save us from one graduate student, one alloy, one PhD. Such goals will require more than applying computational methods to the same tasks set to current students.
External links
(March 2007 JOM-e issue on M.I.)