IU2. Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA)

Report to the 1999 IUPAP General Assembly

CODATA (Committee on Data for Science and Technology) is an interdisciplinary committee of ICSU (International Council of Scientific Unions).It was formed in 1966 as a small group intersted primarily in thermodynamic data, their evaluation, acquisition, retrieval, and the standardization of their presentation. In 1974 the scope of the Committee was broadened to include the softer sciences, and was opened to any Union of ICSU interested in quantitative data resulting from observations or experimental measurements and data management problems common to different scientific disciples and data used outside the field in which they were generated. The 1995 Strategic Plan states that it "seeks to become the central focus within ICSU on matters concerning the organization, management, quality control, and dissemination of data from all scientific and technical disciplines".

CODATA is composed presently of 14 Union members, 20 National members, and 5 co-opted members (organizations that share the objectives of CODATA but are not members of ICSU).The scientific activities are carried out by 10 Task Groups and 2 Commissions, only one of which, is primarily physics --- the Task Group of Fundamental Constants, which was established in 1969 and is by far (a factor of more than 2) the longest continuously operating Task Group. Physics is represented also in the Materials Database Management, the Geothermodynamic Data, and the thermodynamic data for Key Chemical Substances Task Groups. Other activities that have significance to the physics community on a different level are the Task Group on Data / Information and Visualization, and the Task Group on Outreach, education and Communication, and the Commission on Data Access.

The Task Group on Fundamental Constants, which produced the CODATA Recommended Values of the Fundamental Constants in 1973 and 1986, will publish the 1999 values later this year. The cut-off date for data input has been set as 31 Dec 1998. Peter J. Mohr (chair, 1999-2000) and Barry N. Taylor (chair, 1993-1998), both associated with the US Nat'l Institute for Science and Technology (NIST), are also producing an extensive and comprehensive review of the information and data analysis to be published in an archival Journal, accompanied by a shorter report on the Recommended values to be published as a CODATA Bulletin. It is expected that the data will also be published on the NIST World Wide Web site with links to the CODATA site as well as to IUPAP and IUPAC sites. This work is arguably the CODATA program that has the greatest impact in bringing it to the attention of the scientific community.

E.R. Cohen