Guest Post by NIST’s Dr. Robert Hanisch, Office of Data Informatics, and Dr. Heather Evans, Program Coordination Office

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) plays an essential role in developing and distributing Standard Reference Data, or SRD. The NIST SRD collection contains some of the world’s most accurate and comprehensive datasets of physical, materials science, chemical, and biological data. Physicists, biochemical engineers, environmental researchers, and many other technically trained experts routinely use NIST SRD in their workday. Students from high school through graduate school use the same datasets to master the ropes of scientific discovery. 

But is there a better way to share NIST SRD with the researchers who need it? That’s the assumption behind the Reference Data Challenge. NIST is offering prizes totaling $45,000 to software developers who create the most innovative and impactful Apps using NIST reference data. The challenge is open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents over the age of 18. Visit the challenge website to learn more about the eligibility requirements and what is required in a submission.  A panel of judges – to be announced soon! - will determine which Apps are deserving of 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd prize cash awards.

From now until September 28^th, NIST invites submissions of mobile applications to the Reference Data Challenge that use at least one of six eligible NIST datasets. All of the eligible datasets are freely accessible online, both at the NIST website and on data.gov in machine-readable format. The eligible datasets include a wide range of physical and chemical reference data. For example, CODATA Fundamental Physical Constants (SRD 121) contains the most accurate values for essential constants like the mass of the electron and the speed of light. On the other hand, the ITS-90 Thermocouple Database (SRD 60) contains temperature calibration data regularly used by instrument engineers on products such as commercial furnaces and kitchen ovens.

The Reference Data Challenge is a call for innovative approaches to a long-standing NIST role. Formalized in the Standard Reference Data Act of 1968, NIST is responsible to make “critically evaluated reference data readily available to scientists, engineers, and the general public.” Today, there are more than 100 reference data products available from NIST online.

Two years ago, NIST created the Office of Data and Informatics within its Material Measurement Laboratory to be a premier resource for transforming NIST data into products that can be reliably and broadly shared. Looking forward, the office is excited to revolutionize how NIST data are used by providing additional tools, like APIs (application program interfaces) and easily accessible online repositories.

Join NIST in this modernization effort by participating in the Reference Data Challenge today!