3TU.Datacentrum

3TU.Datacentrum and DANS join forces

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:45:00 +0200

Wilma van Wezenbeek and Peter Doorn signing the partnership Research Data Netherlands, in the presence of Ron Dekker (director NWO), Wim Liebrand (director SURF) and Jeroen Rombouts (head 3TU.Datacentrum) [from left to right]

The Hague, 8 May 2013 - Today, 3TU.Datacentrum and Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) are launching the partnership Research Data Netherlands. With this coalition, which is open to other parties as well, the two data archives are joining forces in the area of sustainable data archiving. 3TU.Datacentrum and DANS have already been collaborating for some time, including activities involved in organising the biennial Dutch Data Prize and the course entitled Data Intelligence 4 Librarians. The establishment of the coalition will strengthen this collaboration, according to DANS Director Peter Doorn. “Research Data Netherlands is bringing us a step closer towards our shared mission: promoting sustainable accessibility and the responsible reuse of scientific research. This will ultimately be of benefit to science as a whole.” Wilma van Wezenbeek, Director of TU Delft Library and spokesperson for 3TU.Datacentrum, is also pleased with the initiative. “It’s a logical step to collaborate, because it will allow us to approach all issues concerning research data across disciplines and institutions in a much more efficient and customer-friendly manner.” Partners
Both Directors emphasize that Research Data Netherlands (RDN) is open to other research libraries and archives, provided they meet the requirements for a Trustworthy Digital Repository (e.g. the Data Seal of Approval). About 3TU.Datacentrum and DANS
3TU.Datacentrum is an initiative of the three universities of technology in the Netherlands (Delft, Eindhoven and Twente). 3TU.Datacentrum offers researchers permanent access to research data, as well as advice and support related to data management. It currently hosts approximately 5300 technical-scientific datasets. Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) is an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). It promotes sustained access to digital research data, including through the online archiving system EASY. With NARCIS.nl, DANS also provides access to thousands of scientific datasets, e-publications and other research information in the Netherlands. In addition, the institute provides training and advice, and performs research into sustained access to digital information. Additional information
For additional information about Research Data Netherlands, please contact Ingrid Dillo, policy advisor at DANS, at ingrid.dillo@dans.knaw.nl.

Brochure 3TU.Datacentrum 2013

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:37:00 +0200

Spring 2013 3TU.Datacentrum published a new brochure. This brochure shows some examples of what 3TU.Datacentrum can do for researchers and their reseach data. Take a look and read the stories of your fellow researchers.

Data Seal of Approval assigned to 3TU.Datacentrum

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:10:00 +0100

January 28th 3TU.Datacentrum received from the DSA Board the Data Seal of Approval. This DSA ensures that in the future, research data can still be processed in a high-quality and reliable manner, without this entailing new thresholds, regulations or high costs. The Data Seal of Approval and it's quality guidelines may be of interest to research institutions, organizations that archive data and to users of that data.Anyone who archives his or her data would like to be able to find, recognize and use it in the future. With electronic data this cannot be taken for granted, after all hardware and software are changing all the time. Making data future-proof can be accomplished by ensuring that data sets and metadata meet certain requirements. In consultation with large data producers and managers, the Dutch data archive DANS documented what those requirements need to be in the Data Seal of Approval, which have been further developed since and handed over to the DSA Board in May 2009.

3TU.Datacentrum wishes you a datalicious 2013!

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:24:00 +0100

Dutch Data Prize 2012

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:41:00 +0200

Political Mashup and OpenEarth win 2012 Data Prize

This year the Dutch Data Prize goes to Political Mashup (Data Prize for the Humanities and Social Sciences) and OpenEarth (Data Prize for the Exact and Technical Sciences). OpenEarth: the best of the best
Professor J. T. Fokkema was also extremely enthusiastic about OpenEarth, winner of the Data Prize for the Exact and Technical Sciences. “It was a privilege to be able to study the datasets submitted. We decided to award the prize to the best of the best, OpenEarth, on the basis of originality, accessibility and reproducibility. Because,” followed Fokkema, “Data collection is only half the battle. Data classification and compression are without a doubt just as important. The data can then be shared with colleagues and other interested parties. The method OpenEarth uses to collect and publicly disseminate research data is second to none, making OpenEarth the rightful winner of the Data Prize.” Political Mashup: an indispensable product
During the presentation on 18 October, Professor W.W. Mijnhardt, jury chairman for the Data Prize for the Humanities and Social Sciences, said that the jury members had unanimously agreed to award the prize to Political Mashup. Full of praise, he shared their reasons with the audience: “Extensive, a large variety of sources, accessible to a wider public and immensely relevant for society; that's what characterises Political Mashup.” He followed enthusiastically with: “Political Mashup enables every citizen to gain a better understanding of the political process, with regard to both the distant and recent past, and to effectively monitor his or her elected representative. As such it improves the reliability (and repeatability) of political and historical research, but also allows citizens to be true democratic citizens.”

Winners (from left to right) Maarten Marx (Political Mashup) and Thijs Damsma, Gerben de Boer and Mark van Koningsveld (OpenEarth). Photo: Bart van Vliet The 2012 Dutch Data Prize
The Dutch Data Prize - a prize for researchers who collect and document research data and make it accessible to the sciences - is a joint initiative of 3TU.Datacentrum and DANS. There were two prizes this year. In addition to the nominees, invited parties and jury members, the event was also attended by B.J. van den Bergh MKM, who until recently was Director of Research and Science Policy at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and Professor J.J. Engelen, chairman of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The latter two presented the prizes to the proud researchers. No losers
There are no losers when it comes to the Data Prize. Besides Political Mashup and OpenEarth,
• Geoplaza
• Interviewproject Nederlandse Veteranen
• Signatures of Majorana fermions
• Water Footprint
were nominated. The winners went home with: a sculpture, €7500 to make the dataset even more accessible and an all-expenses-paid dinner for the groups of researchers involved in generating and making accessible the respective datasets. More information
More information about the Data Prize and, for example, an event report of the presentation can be found at DANS, or contact Mr Jeroen Rombouts (3TU.Datacentrum).

DataIntelligence4Librarians

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 11:46:00 +0200

Spring 2012 the first training "Data Intelligence4Librarians" has been given by 3TU.Datacentrum. This training is designed for Research Supporters, who want to learn more on datamanagement. the first training was especially set up for the three technical universities.

Now DANS and 3TU.Datacentrum join forces to broaden the training to all disciplines.

More information
Next training will start in September 2012. The training will have a 4 days programme and background information on the website.
Any available will be published on the website of DANS and 3TU.Datacentrum

Data sets in the 3TU.Datacentrum now accessible via NARCIS

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:31:00 +0200

All the data sets stored in the 3TU.Datacentrum are now accessible also via the NARCIS repository. NARCIS is the gateway to scholarly information in The Netherlands. Due to the link between NARCIS and 3TU.Datacentrum the research data sets can now be found even easier. In the 3TU.Datacentrum all data sets have a DOI (digital object identifier) that provides a unique and persistent link to current information about that digital object, including location where the object can be found on the Internet. While information about an object, such as URL, can change over time, its DOI will remain the same thus ensuring that the object can be found. This enables secure retrieval and citation of the data sets. Data citation, in return, creates a scholarly structure that recognises and rewards data producers. The access to the descriptions of the data sets via NARCIS is as follows. At the home page of NARCIS click on ‘DATASETS’. Subsequently select ‘3TU.Datacentrum’ from the menu bar on the left. This will list all datasets archived in the 3TU.Datacentrum and provide direct linking.

Nanoscientists find long-sought Majorana particle

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:01:00 +0200

In the 1930s, the brilliant Italian physicist Ettore Majorana deduced from quantum theory the possibility of the existence of a very special particle, a particle that is its own anti-particle: the Majorana fermion. That ‘Majorana’ would be right on the border between matter and anti-matter.
Nanoscientist Leo Kouwenhoven already caused great excitement among scientists in February by presenting the preliminary results at a scientific congress. On 12 April, the scientists will publish their research in Science. The research was financed by the FOM Foundation and Microsoft. Quantum computer and dark matter
Majorana fermions are very interesting – not only because their discovery opens up a new and uncharted chapter of fundamental physics; they may also play a role in cosmology. A proposed theory assumes that the mysterious ‘dark matter, which forms the greatest part of the universe, is composed of Majorana fermions. Furthermore, scientists view the particles as fundamental building blocks for the quantum computer. Such a computer is far more powerful than the best supercomputer, but only exists in theory so far. Contrary to an ‘ordinary’ quantum computer, a quantum computer based on Majorana fermions is exceptionally stable and barely sensitive to external influences. Nanowire
For the first time, scientists in Leo Kouwenhoven’s research group managed to create a nanoscale electronic device in which a pair of Majorana fermions ‘appear’ at either end of a nanowire. They did this by combining an extremely small nanowire, made by colleagues from Eindhoven University of Technology, with a superconducting material and a strong magnetic field. ‘The measurements of the particle at the ends of the nanowire cannot otherwise be explained than through the presence of a pair of Majorana fermions’, says Leo Kouwenhoven.. _{The device is made of an Indium Antemonide nanowire, covered with a Gold contact and partially covered with a Superconducting Niobium contact. The Majorana fermions are created at the end of the Nanowire.} Particle accelerators
It is theoretically possible to detect a Majorana fermion with a particle accelerator such as the one at CERN. The current Large Hadron Collider appears to be insufficiently sensitive for that purpose but, according to physicists, there is another possibility: Majorana fermions can also appear in properly designed nanostructures. ‘What’s magical about quantum mechanics is that a Majorana particle created in this way is similar to the ones that may be observed in a particle accelerator, although that is very difficult to comprehend’, explains Kouwenhoven. ‘In 2010, two different groups of theorists came up with a solution using nanowires, superconductors and a strong magnetic field. We happened to be very familiar with those ingredients here at TU Delft through earlier research.’ Microsoft approached Leo Kouwenhoven to help them lead a special FOM programme in search of Majorana fermions, resulting in a successful outcome.. ^{Prof.dr.ir. Leo Kouwenhoven and his team in the lab. Photo: Sam Rentmeester.} Ettore Majorana
The Italian physicist Ettore Majorana was a brilliant theorist who showed great insight into physics at a young age. He discovered a hitherto unknown solution to the equations from which quantum scientists deduce elementary particles: the Majorana fermion. Practically all theoretic particles that are predicted by quantum theory have been found in the last decades, with just a few exceptions, including the enigmatic Majorana particle and the well-known Higgs boson. But Ettore Majorana the person is every bit as mysterious as the particle. In 1938 he withdrew all his money and disappeared during a boat trip from Palermo to Naples. Whether he killed himself, was murdered or lived on under a different identity is still not known. No trace of Majorana was ever found. References
The article is published in Science Express on 12 April: Signatures of Majorana fermions in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowire devices, V. Mourik1†, K. Zuo1†, S.M. Frolov1, S.R. Plissard2, E.P.A.M. Bakkers1,2, L.P. Kouwenhoven1* 1Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, TU Delft, 2600 GA Delft.
2Department of Applied Physics, TU Eindhoven, 5600 MB Eindhoven.
†These authors contributed equally.
*E-mail: l.p.kouwenhoven@tudelft.nl Data: Majorana fermions More information More information is available via http://kouwenhovenlab.tudelft.nl/press-release.
See also http://www.fom.nl/live/english/home.pag © 2012, Webredactie M&C, TU Delft

Brochure 3TU.Datacentrum

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:50:00 +0100

The new brochure of 3TU.Datacentrum was released on February 1st, 2012. This brochure tells about all the services van 3TU.Datacentrum can offer.
One of our frequent users reports on his experiences with 3TU.Datacentrum.

Dutch Data Prize 2012

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:43:00 +0100

Awards ceremony of the Dutch Data Prize, October 18th.
3TU.Datacentrum and DANS present on October 18th the Dutch Data Prize. The Dutch Data Prize is a mark of appreciation for researchers who gather and document data, and make it accessible. 3TU.Datacentrum and DANS award a prize for the humanities and social sciences and a prize for the exact and technical sciences. Program
13:30 Reception
14:00 Welcomespeech
14:15 Presentations of the nominated datasets
15:30 Coffee/tea break
16:00 Presentation Data Prize Social Sciences
16:30 Presentation Data Prize Science
17:00 Drinks

Ms B.J. van den Bergh Ms. MKM, until recently Manager Research and Science Policy from the Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs and Science, will present the Data Prize Social Sciences. Prof. Phd J.J. Engelen, Chair of Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) will present the Data Prize Science. Please, sign up for this ceremony. The presentation takes place at NOW, Java Building, Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië 300, The Hague, route description. Questions?
Would you like to know more about the Dutch Data Prize? Please contact Jeroen Rombouts (3TU.Datacentrum)