New Podcast by Nicole Jung and Joachim Richert
NFDI4Chem has contributed to the NFDI podcast with a very important topic for chemistry: “Towards the lab of the future with electronic lab notebooks (ELNs)”
The podcast can be heard on the following platforms:
Dr Nicole Jung (KIT, NFDI4Chem) and Dr Joachim Richert (formerly BASF, NFDI4Chem) talk about the use of electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) in chemistry. Why are ELNs the key to FAIR data, what do they have to do with AI – and how do they change everyday life in the laboratory? It’s about standards, data expertise, acceptance in science and industry – and why open, structured data can massively accelerate innovation cycles.
Topics of the episode:
- What are ELNs – and what can they really do? Digital tools for structured documentation in the laboratory, for automating workflows and as preparation for repositories. ELNs take the burden off researchers – and create added value through standardisation, findability and analysis functions.
- Data as fuel for innovation: Why structured and interoperable data accelerates research processes, saves costs, avoids duplication and enables new insights.
- Science vs. business: How industry has been working with data for decades – and what academic research can learn from it.
- FAIR data starts in the lab: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable – this is only possible if the right tools are used in the first step (in the lab). ELNs such as Chemotion provide the technical basis for this.
- Acceptance and incentives: Why working group leaders make the difference – and how a systematic cultural change can succeed if data provision is not seen as additional work, but as an investment in the future.
- From individual project to infrastructure: Why ELNs should not be thought of as a short-term project solution – and why long-term, sustainable funding is crucial.
Guests:
Dr Nicole Jung heads the Compound Platform at the Institute for Biological and Chemical Systems at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and conducts research into digital tools for chemical laboratory work. At NFDI4Chem, she is responsible for Task Area 2 “Smart Labs”.
Dr Joachim Richert worked at BASF SE for over 30 years, most recently as Vice President Analytical Sciences. Today, he is a lecturer at TU Darmstadt, a member of the Industry Advisory Board of NFDI4Chem and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board for Chemistry & Process Technology at BAM.
