This is the twenty first in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October, 2023. Giri Prakash is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by the USA.

I am honored to submit my nomination for the esteemed role of an executive committee member within CODATA. With my extensive experience and contributions to the field of scientific data management, I am excited to express my dedication to furthering the mission and goals of CODATA.

Currently, I serve as the Section Head for the Earth System Informatics and Data Discovery Section at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In this role, I have the responsibility of overseeing two World Data System (WDS) member data centers: the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Facility (ARM) Data Center and the ORNL NASA Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) for Biogeochemical Dynamics. 

As the Chief Data and Computing Officer of the US Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Facility (ARM), I provide leadership and management of data services, with a primary focus on operational activities and engineering aimed at maintaining and advancing excellence in data management.

One of my notable achievements is providing leadership of the ARM Data Center, which currently houses nearly 5 petabytes of data from over 11,000 diverse observational data products. I have led the development and execution of multi-year plans, ensuring that the next-generation computing architecture can meet the increasing demands of data volume, rates, complexity, and the challenges of high-resolution modeling.

With over 21 years of experience in scientific data management, I have become a recognized expert in areas such as data discovery, metadata, data interoperability, FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data principles, data citation, computing-as-a-service, web services, and visualization. My latest research interest involves harnessing AI/ML capabilities in scientific data center operations, contributing to the cause of open science.

My active involvement in CODATA conferences and data management sessions is evidence of my dedication to advancing the field. I have previously led sessions on making data centers ready for AI during SciDataCon 2021 and 2022, and am scheduled to lead an AI on scientific repositories session and chair a metadata interoperability session at the upcoming IDW 2023 conference. I recently participated in the National Research Data Summit in the US and led a discussion on data quality for effective data sharing and interoperability. Furthermore, I actively participate in various international data-sharing and interoperability working groups, data management workshops, and conferences.

My extensive experience in working with multinational projects, such as MOSAIC, polar data integration, and biodiversity networks across continents, is a testament to my global perspective on data management. I am currently serving a four-year term on the U.S. National Committee for CODATA (USNC/CODATA), demonstrating my commitment to the organization.

During my initial tenure as a CODATA executive committee member, I actively contributed to various data management and data policy discussions. I represented and participated in CODATA General Assembly meetings and working group sessions, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange with the World Data Systems. 

I believe that my unique combination of over two decades of experience in scientific data management, coupled with my ongoing commitment to staying at the forefront of emerging technologies and best data practices, equips me with the skills and vision necessary to make a meaningful contribution to CODATA’s executive committee. My leadership role in managing data centers, along with my efforts to adapt AI and machine learning capabilities for scientific data management, align well with CODATA’s mission to advance data-intensive cross-domain research activities. I am dedicated to fostering international collaboration and promoting data interoperability, which I consider pivotal in solving complex questions in Earth sciences, such as Earth System predictability and climate change. By serving as an executive committee member, I am eager to extend my support to CODATA in furthering its mission and contributing to the advancement of scientific data management on a global scale.

I received a master of science degree in environmental sciences from Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada in 2000, and also hold a diploma in object-oriented software technology from the University of Calgary in Canada. In addition, I have a master of science degree in soil science and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, India.

This is the fourteenth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October 2023.  Jianhui LI is a candidate for the role of CODATA President. He was nominated by China, WFCC, Task Group on FAIR Data for DRR. 

Unleashing the Value of Data to Accelerate Transformative Science for Global Challenges: The Evolving Role of CODATA

“Just 12 percent of the 169 SDG targets are on track, while progress on 50 percent is weak and insufficient. Worst of all is the fact that progress has either stalled or even reversed on more than 30 percent of the goals.”—reported by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the Midpoint Review of the 2023 Agenda for Sustainable Development (25 April 2023)

The release of the Midpoint Review of the 2023 Agenda for Sustainable Development casts a shadow of uncertainty over the prospects of human sustainability by the 2030 deadline. The discouraging figures alert us that “the world is far off track” with the substantial distance that still needs to be covered to meet our goals. Ongoing conflicts further magnify this pressing challenge, such as the escalating impacts of climate change and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest Intergovernmental Panel report on Climate Change states that global temperature has risen by 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels and will likely exceed the critical 1.5°C tipping point by 2035. Catastrophic and intensifying heat waves, droughts, floods, and wildfires occur more frequently than ever. Even worse, the world is presently in the midst of the most extensive species extinction event since the age of dinosaurs.

The unprecedented challenges facing humanity call for “socially robust” science and technology. Therefore, a revolutionary research paradigm, known as transformative science, is emerging to fully grasp the changing research scenarios, mitigate uncertainty, accelerate knowledge production, identify critical research turning points, and pave the way for innovation. Such transformative science boosts open science across domains and regions by leveraging the benefits of cutting-edge digital technologies like big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc. Data is essential at the forefront of all these technical applications.  Thus, there is an urgent need for incremental investment in data, science-based tools, and guiding policies. As open science becomes a “new normal” bridging the gap between science and society, collaborative efforts among global stakeholders should focus on promoting data flow and knowledge production within and beyond the scientific community and across the public-private interface. 

CODATA, the Committee on Data of the International Science Council, endeavors to connect data and people to advance science and improve our world. Throughout its nearly sixty-year history, substantial contributions have been made to data policy, data science, data skills, FAIR data, open science, etc. The organization currently boasts a stable and efficient governance structure with over 50 members. Building upon this membership base, the Executive Committee, Task Groups, Working Groups, and Secretariat work collaboratively to maintain close connections with worldwide entities to uphold its mission’s continuity. Taking full advantage of its International Data Policy Committee (IDPC) and others, the organization promotes principles, policies, and practices on data integrity, ethics, FAIR data, and data diplomacy. Furthermore, robust international partnerships have been built on data issues, embracing collaborations with WDS, RDA, BIPM, DDI, etc. To promote data interconnectivity and interoperability within the scientific community, CODATA also exemplifies its leadership in the WordFAIR project, the Global Open Science Cloud Initiative, etc. Moreover, CODATA builds a resilient and insightful platform for global data policies, resources, tools, skills, and domain best practices through collaborative activities, including international conferences, training workshops, and the Data Science Journal. These collective efforts demonstrate the substantial value of data across domains and regions, promote open data and knowledge sharing in the scientific community and society at large, and embrace diverse voices of data to narrow data gaps, thereby accelerating the progress of data-driven science.

The fundamental enabler of transformative science is a global data ecosystem that nurtures an open science environment where worldwide researchers can seamlessly collaborate to access, share, and analyze data and information to tackle pressing human challenges jointly. From my perspective, it should adhere to the principles of being Long-lasting, Inclusive, Knowledgeable, and Entrusted, abbreviated as “LIKE.” Such a LIKE data ecosystem is designed to ensure sustainability, allowing data to generate real and consistent value. Inclusivity encourages diverse participation from stakeholders across countries, regions, disciplines, and a broad range of social actors, ensuring the benefits of data are shared universally, inclusively, and equitably, thus “leaving no one behind.” This ecosystem also transcends the collection and curation of data to focus on generating meaningful information, knowledge, and wisdom, which is crucial for decision-making, scientific progress, and societal advancements. All these efforts should be built on trust, which is the fundamental element that backs up this framework. A LIKE data ecosystem should empower the transparent, trustworthy, and equitable use of data and information with ethical considerations. 

The realization of such an ambitious vision requires considerable international and cross-disciplinary cooperation. To build a LIKE data ecosystem capable of effectively addressing the pressing challenges, CODATA plays an essential role in facilitating collective efforts among global stakeholders. It is imperative to cultivate stronger and more resilient cooperation networks across the globe. Working hand in hand with our international partners, we will collaborate to facilitate the seamless flow of global data, enable interoperability among various data platforms and commons, and contribute our shares to make this world a better place. 

Twenty Years of My CODATA Engagement 

Serving as the Deputy Director of the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS, http://www.cbas.ac.cn/en/), I am honored to lead the SDG Big Data Platform (https://sdg.casearth.cn/en), a pioneering initiative dedicated to managing petabyte-scale scientific data on cloud infrastructures. Our primary mission is to harness the power of big data to propel SDG research and monitoring, specifically focusing on SDG 2, SDG 6, SDG 11, SDG 13, SDG 14, and SDG 15. This hands-on experience has showcased the transformative potential of big data, reinforcing my firm belief in its significant role in advancing the achievement of SDG objectives. 

My aspiration for the CODATA Presidency is deeply rooted in my long-standing connection with CODATA and its community and my unwavering passion for open science and open data. My first CODATA engagement was at the CODATA Berlin Conference in 2004, and then I fulfilled my obligations in the next fifteen years as the CODATA-China Secretary General (2008-2018), CODATA Executive Committee Member (2014-2016; 2016-2018), and the Vice President (2018-2023). 

Drawing upon the first-hand experience gained from scientific revolutions within developing countries, I have actively joined several boards within and beyond CODATA to amplify the voices of these countries. These include my engagement in the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science (2021), the discussion on the Global Open Science Cloud Landscape (2021), the review of the Beijing Declaration on Research Data (2019), and the Open Data in a Big Data World (2015). I also led the national-level data policy research, contributing to the birth of the Chinese national rules and Measures for Managing Scientific Data (2018) and the regulations of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the Management and Open Sharing of Scientific Data (2019). 

As a computer scientist and engineering practitioner, I have led the development of several data infrastructures for open-science service delivery. I promoted the construction of CAS scientific data infrastructure and open data platforms (2009-2018) for big data analysis and large-scale data-intensive scientific research. I’m in charge of the national research e-infrastructure in China (2018-), the CSTCloud (https://www.cstcloud.net), to provide integrated cloud solutions for life-cycle data curation in support of scientific discoveries. To break silos and facilitate collaborations among various research e-infrastructures spanning different domains and regions, I proposed and obtained seed funding to promote the “Global Open Science Cloud” (GOSC) Initiative locally and internationally since 2019. The GOSC Initiative is an integral part of the ISC CODATA Decadal Program “Making Data Work for Cross-Domain Grand Challenges.” Thanks to the joint efforts by CODATA and CNIC, CAS, over 200 experts from more than 40 nations and regions are coming together to co-build a global open science environment to connect trusted research e-infrastructures for innovative scientific discoveries. 

Last but not least, as a professor at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), I attach great importance to capacity building in empowering the future. Thus, I wholeheartedly contribute to the training programs under the CODATA umbrella. I initiated the International Training Workshop for Developing Countries on Scientific Data, jointly sponsored by CAS, CODATA, CODATA-China, and other prominent international partners, such as TWAS, IRDR, etc. Seven of the series have attracted over 230 participants from nearly 40 countries, with a focus on less represented groups, including youth, women, and delegates from developing nations. A series of training programs helped CODATA gain better influence by absorbing new national members and ever-growing numbers of excellent CODATA alumni. Some trainees have grown into instructors in the following activities, and some actively engaged as CODATA national representatives. To further cultivate a dynamic data-sharing culture in the local research community, I launched the first bilingual, multidisciplinary, open-access data journal in China, China Scientific Data and the first open-data repository, Science Data Bank (ScienceDB, https://www.scidb.cn/en). Additionally, I initiated two annual conferences, the Annual National Scientific Data Conference (launched in 2014) and the International Symposium on Open Science Clouds (established in 2023), providing influential knowledge-sharing channels to connect the world for open science and open data dialogues. 

Envisioning Future CODATA: My Tentative Roles in the Upcoming Presidency 

We stand at a transformative era toward achieving the SDGs outlined in the 2030 Agenda. The essentials and potentials brought by research data are necessarily the driving forces in this evolutionary world. To fulfill the ISC’s vision to “advance science as a global public good”, CODATA prioritized four areas of data efforts as “making data work for cross-domain grand challenges”, “improving data policy”, “advancing the science of data and data stewardship”, and “enhancing data skills”. I fully endorse these prioritized areas. And I believe these can be nurtured in a LIKE (long-lasting, inclusive, knowledgeable, entrusted) data ecosystem, which is fundamental to enable transformative science for global challenges. 

I am willing to lead the co-design and co-development of a practical roadmap to achieve all these goals above. Embracing insightful contributions from our members, representatives from the Executive Committee, Working Groups, Task Groups, and relevant stakeholders from around the globe, this roadmap shall align with mainstream global agendas, such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, etc. Innovative approaches, such as workstreams, could be adopted to converge diverse resources for productive service delivery. CODATA has established several task groups, working groups, and a series of flagship activities such as the WorldFAIR project, the Global Open Science Cloud Initiative, etc. However, the questions remain: How can we converge all these resources for rapid and robust responses in the changing world? How can we demonstrate the effectiveness of our data efforts in generating real value for society? It is imperative to explore innovative approaches, converging our resources to provide valuable and practical services in real-world scenarios. Looking into the future, it is highly valuable to invest our time and effort in exploring CODATA-branded solutions in global governance, especially in tackling global crises at hand and achieving sustainable development in the long run. 

In addition, I will put more energy contributing to the following actions:

(1) Promoting global collaborations on interconnectivity and interoperability for resilient data infrastructures

Cutting-edge digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence and federated learning, represent powerful forces reshaping a new scientific paradigm. Robust and reliable data infrastructures should be in place to support the application of such technologies and encourage different scales of alignments among potential international partners, thus contributing to the unleashing of data value. I will help nurture disciplinary, regional, and international collaborations across data infrastructures. Built on our current accumulations on the WorldFAIR project, GOSC Initiative, etc, such data infrastructures should fully implement the FAIR principles, capable of achieving cross-domains and cross-boundary interoperability and generating valuable knowledge by AI technology. I will work with global partners to promote open science advancements and international research collaborations.  

(2) Expanding a diversified membership base towards a global collaboration network

I propose fully leveraging our membership mechanism, which entails enhanced connections with international organizations, expanding our current membership base, amplifying our members’ voices, and nurturing a talent pool of young researchers. Building on our membership base, CODATA will foster strategic collaborations with more international, national, industrial, and other like-minded entities, such as the United Nations and its affiliated organizations and ISC’s members. It is equally important to embrace more national-level presences in Central and Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America to address the current geographical imbalance. Meanwhile, the voices of current members should be amplified by setting up a regular communication mechanism for transparent knowledge sharing. For instance, CODATA’s National Committee Forum should continue serving as an important venue. Effective pathways should be established for members to be more directly and actively involved in CODATA’s strategic activities. CODATA will serve as a bridge, creating opportunities to enhance collaborations among its members. For example, the China-U.S. Roundtable on Scientific Data Cooperation (2006-2014) showcased successful practices. 

(3) Enhanced capacity building towards cultural building  

Implementing a well-designed data ecosystem cannot succeed without substantial capacity building and education in data literacy. Therefore, increasing investments in capacity building should be highlighted, especially targeted to young researchers and representatives from developing countries, such as the Global South. CODATA has conducted several flagship training activities, such as the CODATA-RDA Data Schools, DDI-CODATA Training Webinar Series, and the International Training Workshops co-hosted with CNIC, CAS. Taking full advantage of these accumulations, a systematic framework of CODATA’s capacity building will be developed, including training resources, curriculum setting, evaluation criteria, etc. Guided by this framework, our members could jointly implement training activities to enhance our global impact further. With all these capacity-building efforts, we need to take one more step towards cultural building, conceptualizing and internalizing the culture of open science and open data throughout the overall research environment.

(4) Promoting sustainable growth and resource mobilization

As we look to the future, CODATA should take proactive steps to ensure its sustainable operation and growth, such as actively seeking diversified funding streams, optimizing resource utilization, and accelerating resource mobilization. Diverse funding sources may include international-level support from multiple sides, ensuring shared value and enhanced collaboration for open data beyond regional and national levels. To maximize our efforts, we could seek funding opportunities for initiatives that address global challenges, such as SDGs, climate change, disaster mitigation, etc. Moreover, to build up a more effective governing model, we may also encourage regional in-kind contributions from our member states and others. For instance, the development of the CODATA International Programme Office could be one of the practical solutions. 

References

CODATA. 2019. The Beijing Declaration on Research Data. Available at: https://www.codata.org/uploads/Beijing%20Declaration-19-11-07-FINAL.pdf [Last accessed 9 October 2023].

CODATA. 2021. The Global Open Science Cloud. Available at: https://codata.org/initiatives/decadal-programme2/global-open-science-cloud/ [Last accessed 9 October 2023].

ISC. 2021. Science and society in transition. ISC action plan: 2022-2024. Available at: https://council.science/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/202110_ISC-Action-Plan_ONLINE.pdf [Last accessed 9 October 2023].

ISC, CODATA, IRDR, et al. 2020. Harnessing Data to Accelerate the Transition from Disaster Response to Recovery. Available at: https://council.science/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policy-Brief-Harnessing-Data.pdf [Last accessed 9 October 2023].

Science International. 2015. Open Data in a Big Data World. Paris: International Council for Science (ICSU), International Social Science Council (ISSC), The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), InterAcademy Partnership (IAP). Available at: https://council.science/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/open-data-in-big-data-world_long.pdf [Last accessed 9 October 2023].

UN. 2015. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, pp.13. Available at: https://www.undrr.org/implementing-sendai-framework/what-sendai-framework [Last accessed 8 October 2023].

UN. 2023a. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special edition. Available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2023.pdf [Last accessed 11 October 2023].

UN.2023b. Times of crisis, times of change: Science for accelerating transformations to sustainable development. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/FINAL%20GSDR%202023-Digital%20-110923_1.pdf [Last accessed 8 October 2023].

UNESCO. 2021. UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379949  [Last accessed 8 October 2023].

Wilkinson M, Dumontier M, Aalbersberg I. et al. 2016. The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Sci Data 3, 160018 (2016). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18.

This is the nineteenth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October, 2023. Otgonsuvd Badrakh is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. She was nominated by Mongolia.

One famous philosopher said a person who chose his interesting job seems chooses to never work in their whole life. I think this aphorism came true in my life. My basic major is information technology. This major gives me a lot of knowledge that I know. I work at the my institute at the Mongolian Academy of Science since I graduated from my bachelor’s degree in 2009. After I graduated, I graduated the degree Master of Science in Mongolian National University in 2011.

Fifteen years experiences as a researcher for the Mongolian Academy of Sciences keeps my experience in the application of computer science in many fields. Now I am studying in on a doctorate program at the National University of Mongolia in data science.

My research in computer science and data science at these institutes not only provide me insists with strong background and research experience in computation but also in its application in many fields. Several projects and courses provide me with a broad view of computation problems in various fields. I also have gained valuable experience of solving real problems.

Our institute’s main areas of research can be split into two categories of research and development of digital technologies and: the research in theoretical and applied mathematics. In the research and development of digital technologies, we are interested in the topics of artificial intelligence and machine learning, data science, and software development. Since I became the head of the Institute’s Information Technology Department, I have focused my research on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science. I have also focused on using data science in my research in this area since I participated in a big data processing training course in 2019 with a grant from the Government of India.

As a researcher, this will be a great experience for me, and I would like to lead young researchers in Mongolia to improve data science capabilities. Using this opportunity, I would like to study from CODATA and organize the research data of Mongolia, to make data value.

This is the sixteenth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October, 2023. Lianglin HU is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by China.

Professor Hu Lianglin is currently serving as the deputy director of the Big Data department at the Computer Network Information Center (CNIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Additionally, he serves as Secretary General of CODATA China and Director of National Basic Science Data Center (NBSDC), the only general purpose national data center supported by Ministry of Science and Technology, P. R. China. In addition, He initiated CODATA’s Data Ethics Working Group starting in 2022 with Professor Johannes John-Langba of South Africa. With over two decades dedicated to research and practical involvement in scientific data governance and open sharing, he has achieved in areas such as data policy, data quality, data standards, data ethics, and open-sharing service models.

He actively participated in four consecutive CODATA Conferences starting in 2004. In 2006, he took charge of organizing the China-US Round-table on Scientific Data Cooperation. Furthermore, in 2021, he submitted a proposal to establish the Data Ethics Task Group within CODATA and assumed an active role as co-chair after the establishment of the Data Ethics Working Group in 2022. Additionally, serving as Secretary General of CODATA China since 2021, he efficiently organized three successful China Science Data Conferences with an impressive total attendance exceeding 2000 participants. During his service, China Scientific Data Conference was reconstructed to organize discussions related to CODATA’s strategies, implementation of FAIR principles and other priorities proposed by the international data community on four themes of data-driven science, data frontiers across domains, data practices expanded to science-policy-society interface, and open science infrastructures. The latest conference attracted more than 700 data experts in China, including executives from 90% national science data centers. Moreover, his dedication extends to promoting the work of GOSC’s data interoperability group where he serves as secretary.

He conducted extensive research and practical work on data quality, data standards, models for scientific data-sharing services, and data policy. 

• Data quality. He proposed a comprehensive framework based on the scientific data lifecycle, an evaluation index system with corresponding methods, as well as a maturity model for assessing data quality. This model has been widely adopted in China and has led to the development of certification standards. Additionally, he spearheaded the creation of rule-based software for ensuring data quality and played a key role in establishing important national standards such as GB/T 34945-2017 Data Provenance Descriptive Model and GB/T 36344-2018 Evaluation Indicators for Data Quality.
• Data standard. He proposed a comprehensive framework for the scientific data standard system and spearheaded the development of over 30 standards that encompass various crucial aspects and stages of the scientific data lifecycle, including national and group standards. Furthermore, since 2022, he has been appointed as China’s expert for ISO/TC 184/SC 4/WG 13 – Industrial Data Quality.
• Data service model. He collaborated with Professor Li Jianhui to introduce the FAIR principles and data publishing in China. Together, they successfully launched China Scientific Data (http://www.csdata.org/en), the first bilingual and multidisciplinary open-access data journal. Additionally, they established the Science Data Bank (ScienceDB, https://www.scidb.cn/en) as a supporting data repository which later became the designated general repository for Nature journals. 
• Data policy. He led the development and implementation of a CAS-level data policy called “Measure for Scientific Data Management and Open Sharing in CAS” in 2019.
• Data center. He led a team to initiate the construction of the National Basic Science Data Center. Currently, NBSDC houses over 2 PB of scientific data encompassing various fields such as physics, chemistry, materials science, biology (including animals and plants), information science, etc., while simultaneously developing a cross-domain data network.In 2021, NBSDC, as the main initiating member, promoted the establishment of the Open Science International Innovation Alliance.

If elected as a member of the CODATA committee, he will persistently advance the activities and objectives of CODATA.

• As the Secretary General of CODATA China, he will persist in advancing the promotion of CODATA China and Chinese scientific data experts to make greater contributions to CODATA, with a particular emphasis on supporting the attainment of CODATA’s strategic objectives.
• As the co-chair of the CODATA Data Ethics Task Group, which is highly likely to become the Data Ethics Working Group after this year’s GA conference, he will continue to actively promote and advance research on data ethics as well as its practical implementation, while ensuring seamless coordination with other policy outcomes of IDPC (the CODATA International Data Policy Committee).
• As the director of the NBSDC, he will offer data resources and testing environments for CODATA’s initiative on Making Data Work for Cross-Domain Grand Challenges, especially for WorldFAIR+, and his NBSDC is eager to collaborate with all scientific data centers, GOSC,EOSC, ARDC,AOSP,MOPS, NDRIO,NFDI, and other data service institutions or platforms in order to collectively address the challenges on cross-border and cross-language data resource discovery and collaborative services..
• As a data standards expert, he will actively promote the development of CODATA standards work. Furthermore, He will work with CODATA colleagues to support the interoperability among standards and data infrastructures for the demonstration of open science at regional and global levels.

This is the seventeenth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October, 2023. Debasisa Mohanty is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by India.

I am a Computational Biophysicist. I joined National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi, India after my education and training at IIT (Kanpur), IISc (Bangalore), Hebrew University (Jerusalem) and Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, USA) in 1998.  

For the past 25 years, I have led the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology research group at NII, New Delhi as faculty and Group Leader and have ensured that data driven research in host-pathogen interactions and disease biology plays a significant role in various research programs of NII.  In August 2022 I took over as the Director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII), which is one of the leading national research laboratories of the Govt. of India in the area of immunology and biomedical sciences.   

My research uses data driven in silico approaches to address complex problems in human disease and immunity. We work on deciphering evolutionary features of biomolecular systems by developing structural bioinformatics and atomistic simulation methods to investigate host-pathogen interactions and disease biology. These approaches have helped us to gain insights into metabolic, signaling and regulatory networks in biological systems.  The innovative data driven computational methods developed by my group have successfully addressed several biologically relevant questions in the broader areas of host-pathogen interactions and disease biology, with specific emphasis on drug target identification and drug discovery for tuberculosis, malaria and SARS-CoV-2 and have resulted in more than 75 publications in leading international journals.  I have been elected as a fellow of all three science academies of India.  

Going beyond research, I also play a leading role in various national projects on data analysis/visualization, data management and formulation of policy for making data available as per FAIR guidelines. I chair the Technical Expert Committee of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India on Theoretical & Computational Biology (Bioinformatics, AI & Big Data), which has been promoting data driven research in Biotechnology in India.   I am also serving as member in the scientific advisory committee of Indian National SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing Consortium (INSACOG) which identified the Delta variant in India during the pandemic,  and other major biological data centric projects in India like Genome-India and Microbiome-India. I am also a member of the Bioscience Application Development group of National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) in India. I have been promoting wider acceptance of cloud computing and FAIR compliant data sharing in India. 

Since 2018 I have been closely associated with formulation of Biotech PRIDE guidelines for deposition of various types of biological data in Indian Biological Data Center (IBDC), a FAIR compliant central repository located in India.  I am Co-Coordinator and Principal Investigator (PI)  of  the IBDC project of DBT,  which is being implemented by three institutes of DBT, namely RCB, NII and ICGEB.

Apart from my role in national data science projects, I am also actively engaged in international initiatives in the area of data science and AI/ML. In 2020 I served in the Digital Revolution taskforce of G-20 organized by Saudi Arabia and contributed to a white paper on role of AI in digital revolution. I am a PI of the NSM supported PDB-India project which is working to establish primary data repository for structural biology in India similar to RCSB, PDB-Europe and PDB-Japan under the umbrella of wwPDB. International advisory committee (AC) of wwPDB has approved a roadmap for PDB-India to join as Associate Member and then transition to full membership.  

My association with CODATA goes back over a decade, starting from having jointly organized the Annual SciDataCON at New Delhi in 2014. I have served as member of the Indian National CODATA Committee from 2014 to 2018 and served as the Chair of the Indian National CODATA Committee in 2018-2019.

I believe given an opportunity to be a member of the executive committee, I can utilize my experience in biological data science to work for the CODATA’s vision of advancing open science by connecting data and people.

This is the eighteenth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October, 2023. Cyrus Walther is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics.

My name is Cyrus Walther and I am a young passionate physicist serving in my second term as the President of the International Association of Physics Students (IAPS), the Chair of Affiliated Commission 5 of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), and the Vice Chair for the Working Group on Physics and Industry in IUPAP.

My engagement focuses on strengthening the voice of young scientists around the world and advancing their engagement in the global scientific community. Additionally, within my focus on supporting the young generation of scientists, I advocate for the development of a sustainable future. Thus, I am committed to the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD) and the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development(IDSSD), which the United Nations has recently proclaimed.

Intertwining my engagement in the IDSSD with my professional research on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning on uncertainty predictions, IUPAP has submitted the proposal for a Task Group on “Advancing Data Science for Sustainability” to the CODATA General Assembly 2023, which I am nominated to chair. With this Task Group, I aim to enhance the knowledge and awareness of approaches to data science for sustainability. Furthermore, the Task Group will, if approved, develop recommendations to the IDSSD community on the role of Data Science for sustainability in the context of the international decade.

During my presidency of IAPS, I experienced that the young scientist community deserves to receive a broader view of the versatile landscape of scientific unions, academies, and bodies around the world. Following this belief, IAPS joined, among the first 15 young academies and associations, the International Science Council (ISC). Hence, I represent IAPS to the ISC Young Academies and Associations Sounding Board and have been an invited panelist at the ISC Mid-term Meeting 2023 on “Training the next generation of scientists and empowering their voice in international science”. To this date, IAPS remains the only young international association in the membership of the ISC. Thus, my aim is to broaden the membership of young international associations of the ISC through close communication with the ISC membership team. Consequently, such young scientists will get to know CODATA and materialize the next generation of the CODATA community.

Following my expertise in youth engagement, I am eager to create a focal point during my mandate in working closely with the CODATA Connect team. I am thrilled to strategize with the team of young researchers and motivated to provide the team with the resources needed to advance the program. I deeply believe that it is vital to involve the future of science in the mission and objectives of CODATA and CODATA Connect.

All in all, I am thrilled to offer my expertise in international youth engagement and efforts in sustainable development to serve the CODATA community because I believe in the importance of the voice of young scientists in our community and our duty to advance data science to strive for a sustainable future.

This is the fifteenth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October 2023.  Daisy Selematsela is a candidate for the role of CODATA Vice-President or Executive Committee Ordinary Member. She was nominated by South Africa. 

CODATA Executive member candidacy 2023 – 2025

Daisy contributed to the former ICSU (International Council for Scientific Union); ICSU Regional Office for Africa and CODATA on a number of forums since 2007, contributed to position papers, coordinated workshops, chaired conference sessions and made numerous local and international presentations on areas related to ICSU and CODATA objectives. She has served CODATA in the following areas:

Data Science Journal Review – corresponding Editor 2009

Executive member of International Council for Science Union (ICSU SCID) ad Hoc Committee on Information and Data in 2007.Executive member of (ICSU EDC Panel) International Science Union World Data Centre Panel 2008.

Served as ex-officio member of the South African National Committee for CODATA for 11 years that hosted the 2010 CODATA General Assembly in Cape Town.

Chair of International Council for Science: Committee on Data for Science & Technology (ICSU: CODATA) Task Group on Data Sources for Sustainable Development in SADC 2007 -2011.

Contributed to the prototype proposal, development and hosting of the World Data Centre on Biodiversity and Human Health through SAEON (South African Earth Observation Network);

Member of CODATA Task Group on Preservation of and Access to Scientific and Technical Data in/for/with Developing Countries. Co-chairs: CODATA – WDS joint subgroup until 2021.

Daisy served as the Chairperson of South African National Committee for CODATA 2021 -2023 and CODATA Executive Board as ordinary member.

Daisy serves on a number of scientific bodies and a as an editorial board member of a number of journals and the Global Change Research Data Publishing and Repository and a reviewer of several programs.

She serves on a number of national boards and Advisory Councils. Internationally she is a former Board member of Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) and Board of Directors of ORCID (represent EMEA – East Asia, Middle East and Africa) and Research4Life.

She was part of the Founding and Executive Members of the International Data Forum (IDF) 2007-2010. Instrumental in the drafting NRF (National Research Foundation) Statement on Open Access for grant funding; Statement on ORCID ID and Predatory Publishing.

She holds a PhD in Information Science and is also Professor of Practice of Information and Knowledge Management of the University of Johannesburg.; a Fellow of the Higher Education Resource Service for Women in Higher Education (HERS) South Africa and Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia, USA. Acknowledged with the Knowledge Management Award in 2016 by the World Education Congress.

The global South requires a voice to champion the positioning of open science and open data challenges and cement CODATA Decadal program in the region. The ISC Open Access project known as ‘Opening the record of science’ which is based on the premise that science is a public good and that the bulk of research is produced using public resources speaks to scholarship challenges in the south. The global South is disadvantaged in accessing free to read publications and the ISC 8 principles explores the role of publishing in the scientific enterprise to optimise the access and benefits of science to wider audiences globally which embraces the narrative of social justice as it applies to the global south. Social justice in this context of open science and open data relates to the information society narrative, and how restriction of access to knowledge led to marginalisation and exclusion. As a librarian and information specialist we encounter researchers and emerging researchers who requires guidance and understanding of the open science and open data processes as part of their research lifecycle as the policies and repositories are developed and hosted in academic and research libraries. The issues of data literacy is core to the training of researchers and students wherein the CODATA Data Schools play a role in raising awareness and understanding of data science. My role at the CODATA level will be instrumental in championing global synergies with the National Committees. 

This is the thirteenth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October, 2023. Dong Liang is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by the International Society for Digital Earth.

We live in a time where digital technologies offer unprecedented potential for progress and development, but whether that potential is realized will depend on global collaboration, open data, and accessible knowledge. As a candidate for Ordinary Member of the CODATA Executive Committee, I’m excited to share my years of experience in bringing together people and information by advancing open data science and international collaboration. My expertise encompasses remote sensing, international partnerships, and applications of big data for solutions to global sustainability challenges. As Assistant Director-General at the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), I lead the effort to utilize big data analytics for evidence-based policymaking. My most important achievements in this domain have used Big Earth Data concepts and methods for data-driven decision-making and for tracking progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For an equitable and prosperous future globally, it is essential to enable developing nations to effectively leverage data science. Therefore, my recent efforts have highlighted the significance of digital public goods for policy and decision support systems to achieve the SDGs. 

During my long-standing direct and indirect engagement with CODATA, I have played an active role in fostering connections and partnerships among different members from across the globe to promote knowledge and data sharing. Over the past several years, I have also contributed significantly to organizing and facilitating CODATA events. I took part in the organization of the CODATA 45th Anniversary Ceremony in 2011 and helped organize the Workshop on Big Data for International Scientific Programmes in 2014. Both of these were milestone events that shaped CODATA’s future strategic plan by convening stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities in advancing open data science globally. The meetings also highlighted the need for data-intensive science and the utilization of big data for significant scientific endeavors. 

My experience serving on diverse data committees has equipped me with valuable insights into evolving policy issues and provided me with the opportunity to share perspectives from China. I have also made significant contributions to two partnerships under CODATA’s “Hand in Hand” program, including the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) program and International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE). These partnerships helped expand CODATA’s international cooperation and impact. Furthermore, I have led workshops and facilitate agreements between CODATA and major programs like the Digital Belt and Road Program (DBAR), which strengthened CODATA’s network and cooperation internationally. 

Establishing consensus plays an important role in clearing obstacles related to data sharing, accessibility, and interoperability. Hence, my efforts have consistently been focused on fostering connections between various groups, extending beyond my involvement with CODATA. Throughout the years, I have successfully achieved this objective by organizing workshops that link policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders. These collaborative endeavors have identified challenges and opportunities for open data. 

I have also been a vocal advocate for open science and data-driven development while serving in editorial roles, standards committees, and advisory positions both nationally and internationally. As Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese National Committee of ISDE and DBAR, I actively led official engagements and major international open data efforts to bring data and information to people while building their capacity to use it. I have been a proponent of open science, playing a key role in co-developing the Big Earth Data concept and providing valuable contributions to the SDG Big Data Platform. 

Obstacles still exist in fully harnessing the global potential of open data science. Cultivation of capabilities and the training of data professionals, especially for under-resourced regions, is critically important. As Ordinary Member of the CODATA Executive Committee, my efforts will be directed towards training and development of international research networks to expand data literacy and data skills for global sustainability. A pivotal aspect of this endeavor will be cross-border cooperation to fully harness the vast potential of the concept of open data. I strongly believe that through dedicated collaboration, we can build truly inclusive, ethical, and impactful open data infrastructure and policies that empower people through data. Together, we can drive progress on shared global challenges and usher in a new era of discovery to advance CODATA’s vision and mission.

This is the twelfth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October, 2023.  Marc Nyssen  is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine.

Marc Nyssen has been active in the fields of medical informatics and biomedical engineering, as a researcher, as a developer, as a professor and as a volunteer. Pioneering in the medical internet applications, advocating Open Data and the adherence to the FAIR principles. He designed and developed several ICT systems in health care, among which the nation-wide electronic prescription system, fully deployed in Belgium. On the international level, he is devoted to the propagation of knowledge and experience world-wide via the IFMBE federation and the IUPESM union, also as promoter of several academic projects and education programs in Africa (RDC, Rwanda, Burundi, Niger) and in Cuba. Also since 10 years a member of the Flemish Data Privacy Authority.

The importance of sharing high quality data among scientists cannot be underestimated, therefore the data committees such as CODATA, especially in the ISC context are instrumental to improve data sharing, primarily in the scientific community but with impact on the whole world.

In my field “medical informatics”, I see two major challenges regarding data that could be addressed:

• the appropriate sharing of medical data, while protecting the privacy of the individual
• the rewarding of scientists who share quality and well documented data, resulting from their research.

To illustrate the importance of the first of these challenges just think of the way tests of new medication are performed: it would not be possible to include millions of patients; therefore potential rare side-effects cannot be detected; well controlled follow-up via appropriately encoded medical records would potentially save lives and hardship when carried out, perhaps over many years. But with respect of the privacy of the participants and their right to retract their data.

In this field, collaboration with the WHO would be a very interesting factor, possibly leading to a breakthrough.                                                                                                        

Scientists currently are judged mainly by the impact factors of their publications. Would it not be good to include an impact factor, related to the well documented quality data they provide to the scientific community?

I will gladly contribute to these and other matters regarding FAIR and Open data.

This is the eleventh in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October, 2023.  Leo Lahti  is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by Finland.

I have a background in computational science. Throughout my 20-year research career I have developed algorithmic solutions for data-intensive problems in a range of application fields from molecular life sciences to ecology, computational history, and computational social sciences. The focus of our research team is the analysis and modeling of complex natural and social systems, and the development of open data science frameworks that help to bridge the gap between theoretical and applied research.

After my doctoral degree (2010) at the Department of Information and Computer Science, Aalto University, Finland, I spent 7+ years abroad in central European research laboratories before establishing my own team at the University of Turku, Finland, where I was recently nominated as professor in Data Science.

I have advocated open science throughout my career, including the development of open research software in microbiome research and open government data analytics (altogether ~10,000 downloads/month), supported by regular international workshops in applied data science. I act currently as vice chair for the national coordination on open science in Finland. As part of this work, I led the working group that developed national policy on open access to research methods and infrastructures (2023). In addition, I am board member in Open Knowledge Finland NGO and its representative in the Ministry of Justice work group that is preparing an updated version for the law on public information in Finland. In 2021 I received national open science award by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies.

I joined CODATA as the national delegate for Finland in 2022, based on my activities in the relevant areas of research and research policy. As part of CODATA I have participated in the national forum and the Data Ethics work group, which will present its recent activities during the International Data Week in Salzburg, Austria. In addition, I have led the national branch in Finland, which brings together the relevant national actors. I am looking forward to continue this work and strengthen the links between CODATA and Northern Europe. I  am willing to develop data science training to promote CODATA mission and responsible openness, with a particular focus on the methods of data science in research and policy work.