Research

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at MIT (PDF)
The Scientific Data Flood: A Case Study of "How Much Information?"

Stuart Madnick, John Norris Maguire Professor of Information Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management & Professor of Engineering Systems, MIT School of Engineering

MacKenzie Smith, Associate Director of Technology, MIT Libraries

Kate Clopeck, Masters of Science, Technology and Policy Program, MIT

June 2009

Abstract:
This case study details how scientists at MIT’s Department of Chemistry Instrumentation Facility (DCIF) create, use and store data at the DCIF. The majority of data created at the DCIF is produced by seven Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers. These are large, highly specialized devices that allow scientists to study the physical, biological and chemical properties of matter. DCIF spectrometers generate a maximum of 3.3 gigabytes of spectral data per week, or approximately 165 gigabytes of data per year. The amount of data generated by the NMR spectrometers is growing as their usage increases. The case study concludes by explaining the DCIF’s data retention policies and the sharing and reuse of data with other university laboratories. Other papers examine other labs at MIT.