This award in the Divisions of Chemistry and Materials Research in the Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences and in the Division of Chemical and Transport Systems in the Directorate of Engineering supports a Workshop on Constructing a Kinetics Database organized by David M. Stanbury of Auburn University to be held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on April 19-21, 2004. The Workshop will address 16 questions posed to determine whether existing databases are adequate for accumulating essential kinetic data in gas phase, solution, biochemical and solid state reactions. The answers to these questions are likely to mandate the creation of a new kinetics database. Implementation of this mandate is expected to require the formation of a committee, which could be established during the Workshop, to develop standards for the database and to ensure its creation. The Workshop would provide the committee with guidance as to identifying and defining the organizational structure for creating the database. After establishing the database project, it is expected that the committee would continue in an advisory and oversight capacity. Possible specific goals to be reached within one year after the Workshop under the committee's auspices are: 1) Securing funds for the committee's operation. 2) Rendering an opinion as to whether the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or some other organization would provide the site, project leader, and resources for establishing and maintaining the database. 3) Determining specifications for an overall architecture for the database. 4) Developing a road map to secure funds to initiate the design and creation of the software for data collection and storage. 5) Negotiating model agreements with appropriate journals that would cause the journals or their contributing authors to submit their kinetic data to the database in a standard format. 6) Suggesting mechanisms as to how the data might best be mined by users in academia, industry and government.
