NFDI-MatWerk Impact Insights: Dr.-Ing. Özlem Özcan on Aligned Workflows for Autonomous Experimentation

The next contribution in the NFDI-MatWerk Impact Insights video series features Dr.-Ing. Özlem Özcan from the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) in Berlin. Speaking from the MAPS laboratories, she presents how automated modules for material synthesis, sample preparation, characterization, and testing are integrated into end-to-end experimental workflows.

Dr. Özcan outlines how machine-learning–guided experiment design enables autonomous experimentation in MAPS and contributes to accelerating materials discovery. To operate effectively, this system requires strong connections between automated experiments, simulation-based material pre-screening, and early stages of upscaling and technology assessment. 

A central point of her contribution is the need for aligned workflows, structured metadata, and consistent data recording practices. She explains that these elements are crucial for making autonomous experimental systems reliable and interoperable. Within this context, NFDI-MatWerk provides a valuable foundation. The MAPS environment serves as a testbed where the infrastructures, standards, and tools developed by NFDI-MatWerk can be applied, validated, and improved. 

Her perspective illustrates how coordinated data practices and shared infrastructures support a more coherent and transparent process for generating and evaluating research data—an essential prerequisite for accelerating pathways towards new materials. 

Watch the full video here. 

NFDI-MatWerk
Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under the National Research Data Infrastructure – NFDI 38/1 – project number 460247524.

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