Key Session: Scientific Data and Science Innovation

With the development of information technology, in recent 10 years developed countries and regions have gradually  set up large-scale scientific data resources and developed advanced application systems, becoming infrastructure and supporting condition for information-based scientific research environment  facing knowledge innovation in 21^st century , providing data support for scientific and technology research and social, economic development. In modern scientific researches, more and more scientists are beginning to do digital scientific researches based upon data and mathematical models by using supercomputers and mass storage equipment, such as drug design, genome research, cosmic rays and high energy physics study. Scientific data are playing a more and more important role in the process of scientific innovation, and also gradually changing scientists’ thinking and research ways.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences, as the research center of China’s natural sciences, has produced and accumulated great amounts of scientific data and documentations of important scientific value and practical meanings during long term scientific research practices through different ways like observation, investigation, experiments and computations, and so on. Scientific database technology developed in the 1960s created favorable conditions for effective management, development and application of scientific data; from the 1970s on each institute began trying to establish database in respective discipline and area, in which the professional database in the chemical area has made quick progress. In 1982 the Chinese Academy of Sciences brought forward the construction project of “scientific database and its application system” (hereinafter referred as scientific database) and the project has become the scientific information service system whose amount of information is the largest, disciplines the broadest, service level the highest, and comprehensibility the strongest in China after more than 10 years’ construction and development. The scientific database is logically centralized and physically distributing, forming an integrated scientific and technologic information service system ranging from basic database retrieval to professional consultancy and decision service. In units of different disciplines that constructed databases, the designers of professional databases have collected and neatened valuable data resources accumulated in many years’ scientific research and set up professional databases. Meantime, they connected their professional knowledge and scientific research experience; developed mathematical models and expert system based upon professional database, and formed professional consulting system and analogue system of scientific research process and production process, even practical system like service system of comprehensive scientific research information to provide deep level professional consultancy service and value-added service of scientific database, which directly serves scientific research and national economic construction.

In the “Eleven-Five Informatilization Planning Program (2006-2010) of CAS”, as one of the important infrastructure of e-science, scientific database will play more important roles in scientific research and scientific innovation. Based upon the construction and development of scientific database, this session will study how to utilize scientific database to make scientific research and innovation, introduce the important application of scientific database in scientific research and scientific breakthroughs and thinking innovation brought about by such application.