Harmonised Terminologies and Schemas for FAIR Data in Materials Science and Related Domains Working Group: Final Report and Recommendations

Modern science and technology require the rapid sharing of knowledge. Ongoing digitalisation further increases the dependence of materials design and development on data originating from diverse disciplines, including physics, chemistry, engineering, and medicine. The FAIR principles facilitate data exchange and support the machine-actionable analysis of research outputs. However, materials science and related disciplines lag behind in the implementation of these principles. This final report of the Harmonised Terminologies and Schemas for FAIR Data in Materials Science and Related Domains RDA Working Group, together with the two accompanying field guides, aims to improve the availability of community-driven semantic artefacts and to promote the adoption of FAIR principles within materials science and related fields.

The Recommendation of the Harmonised Terminologies and Schemas for FAIR Data in Materials Science and Related Domains WG addresses the need to improve the availability of community-driven and community-curated semantic artefacts for materials science, design, and development. Its aim is to promote the adoption of the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles in this highly interdisciplinary domain, where the maturity of existing approaches, tools, and services remains relatively low. The recommendation refers to two Field Guides that provide practical guidance on implementing the FAIR principles for both semantic artefacts and research data. This approach emphasises continued community involvement in the further development of these openly available online documents.

Affordable and Clean Energy

The Recommendation together with the Field Guides define specifications for FAIR semantic references and data in materials science that can increase the reusability across institutions and industry, thus reducing repetitive activities and helping to develop advance technologies for affordable and responsible energy production.

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

The Recommendation together with the Field Guides provide open, community-governed specifications for FAIR semantic references and data in materials science that strengthen the infrastructures, tools and services through which research data is prepared and shared. It contributes to their reusability across institutions and disciplines, thus potentially accelerating innovation and serving the industry.

Cebecauer, M., Dembska, M., Goldbeck, G., Greenberg, J., Günther, G., ishii, masashi, Lee, K.-R., Lynch, I., Marsolek, W., McClellan, S., McEwen, L., O’Connor, R., Papadopoulou, A., Trautt, Z., & RDA Harmonised Terminologies and Schemas for FAIR Data in Materials Science and Related Domains WG. (2026). Harmonised Terminologies and Schemas for FAIR Data in Materials Science and Related Domains WG: Final Report and Recommendations. Research Data Alliance. https://doi.org/10.15497/RDA00158