The multiscale nature of materials and varied investigative methods in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) lead to highly diverse data structures and formats. Metadata often lacks consistency across applications and is stored in unstructured formats, limiting interoperability and machine readability. To address this, the NFDI-MatWerk consortium has developed tools and services to improve (meta)data quality within a decentralized framework. However, many solutions remain confined to local infrastructures, restricting findability and reusability.

The MSE Knowledge Graph (MSE-KG) [1] acts as a central repository that semantically links metadata from dispersed sources, serving as “semantic glue” in a unified, searchable data space. The semantic backbone of the MSE-KG is the MatWerk ontology (MWO) [2] which provides the key concepts necessary for finding data in the MSE domain and extends concepts from the NFDI-core ontology [3]. By aligning local data infrastructure semantics with the MSE-KG, organizations can establish continuous (meta)data feeds into the MSE-KG. This broad, interconnected view of MSE metadata enables data queries and exchanges across domains while allowing providers to retain full control over their data. As a result, the MSE-KG enhances the visibility and accessibility of resources in the MSE domain, supporting ongoing innovation in the field.
References
[1] https://go.fzj.de/mse-kg
[2] http://purls.helmholtz-metadaten.de/mwo/
[3] https://github.com/ISE-FIZKarlsruhe/nfdicore