TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - The dark side of science N2 - This talk explores the various ways in which bad science can proliferate in the current academic environment, and what can be done to recognize and (maybe) correct it. T2 - Better with Scattering workshop 2020 CY - BAM, Berlin, Germany DA - 16.03.2020 KW - Scientific rigor KW - Academic fraud KW - Academic metrics PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51017 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - McSAS for SAS analysis: Usage, Benefits and Potential Pitfalls N2 - This talk introduces McSAS, code for analysis of scattering patterns to extract particle size distributions. It highlights how it works, how it should be used, and when it may (not) be applied T2 - Better with Scattering workshop 2020 CY - BAM, Berlin, Germany DA - 16.03.2020 KW - Small angle scattering KW - Software KW - Analysis PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51019 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - The Dark Side of Science N2 - An overview of the dark side of science: what it is, how it occurs, and what you can do to understand it and fight for the light side. T2 - First training event of the ITN-Project GW4SHM CY - Online meeting DA - 23.11.2020 KW - Scientific rigor KW - Scientific misconduct KW - Data manipulation KW - Image manipulation PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51830 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - The Dark side of Science N2 - We all may have started out as bright-eyed students trying to do science to the best of our abilities, but over time, some of us have gradually drifted to the dark side. The dark side of science has an impressive publication rate in high-ranking journals, good success with funding agencies, and rocks the world with stellar findings. Unfortunately, these findings aren't real, either by accident or on purpose. As the presenter and his colleagues found, trying to correct or even dispute any of these findings in literature is a supremely complex and time-consuming effort. With no recent reduction in the frequency of such false findings, it is up to us to try to stem the flow. Besides looking at examples, we need to understand the underlying driving forces behind this dark scientific movement. By combining this understanding with a refresher of the core scientific principles, we can then develop the necessary argumentative tools and mechanisms that may prevent our own slide down the slippery slope. This talk will therefore start out with several entertaining examples of probably accidental, as well as definitely deliberate, false scientific findings in literature (and in particular in the field of materials research). We will then take a brief look at the possible causes for these developments, after which some tools will be presented that can help both the fresh as well as the well-seasoned scientist to rise up against the dark side. T2 - DGM special event (invited lecture) CY - Online meeting DA - 23.06.2021 KW - Scientific fraud KW - Reproducibility crisis KW - Bad science KW - Scientific method KW - Publication pressure PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53274 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Everything SAXS Part 1: Introduction, Sample Requirements and Measurement "Space" N2 - This talk for the Swiss Society for Crystallography (SSCr) workshop on SAXS will introduce scattering from various angles, focusing in particular on: - Information content of X-ray scattering experiments, three entry points… - An introduction to Fourier Transforms - Sample criteria, compatibility, and selection - Key indicators of a measurement – where is the information? - Key indicators of measurement quality - Experiment planning, the basics T2 - Topical workshop of the Swiss Society for Crystallography CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 08.09.2023 KW - X-ray scattering KW - Data stewardship KW - Measurement science KW - MOUSE KW - Holistic experiment approaches PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58235 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Everything SAXS Part 2: Data Processing, Workflow and Pitfalls N2 - The second talk for the Swiss Society for Crystallography (SSCr) workshop on SAXS will highlight the data processing challenges, holistic experimental workflow developments, and the pitfalls. In particular, the following items will be addressed: - The importance of data processing and estimating uncertainty - A universal correction pipeline – away with the headaches, at least for this step! - Experiment planning part 2, some tips and advice to improve your corrected data. - Sample preparation, background selection, some tips and advice to improve your corrected data. - Automate for your mental well-being; electronic logbooks, measurement catalogs and workflow management software - Life on the edge: several pitfalls to avoid… T2 - Topical workshop of the Swiss Society for Crystallography CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 08.09.2023 KW - X-ray scattering KW - MOUSE KW - Data processing KW - Uncertainties KW - Pitfalls PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58236 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - The Dark Side of Science (2023 edition) N2 - An introductory lecture on the Dark Side of Science; what it is, why it exists, and what can be done to fight it. This lecture illuminates the increasing prevalence of fraudulent scientific work (e.g. faked data, manipulated images, paper mills) with plenty of examples and sources. The second section expands on the driving forces that caused this phenomenon to emerge, largely driven by pressures from management, peers and the researcher themselves. The third section expands on methods and tools that can be used to educate and arm oneself against this phenomenon. The 2023 edition includes new examples of larger fraudulent bodies of work emerging, and the problems posed by the arrival of LLMs. T2 - Lecture series on "Information management" CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 27.11.2023 KW - Research fraud KW - Scientific misconduct KW - Paper mills KW - Metrics-driven science KW - Image manipulation KW - Faked research PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58925 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - The Dark Side of Science (2024.v2 edition) N2 - This talk introduces the dark side of science (the ever increasing levels of fraudulent activities in science and scientific publishing). It furthermore explores why the focus on inherently limited metrics drives this phenomenon, and how one can arm themselves against going down this gradient. Tools and tips are presented to enable assessment of other works, and what can be done in general to move away from this. T2 - Informationsmanagement“ im Master Lebensmitteltechnologie CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 26.11.2024 KW - Research fraud KW - Scientific misconduct KW - Literature research KW - Materials science PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61792 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - AI/ML starts with data, …a practical example N2 - A brief introduction to the efforts we have done in our lab towards AI/ML analysis of SAXS data. For this, we need to extend the data with an extensive, structured hierarchy of metadata and associated data. A practical look into the information stored in our files, and the organization of the files in a data catalog is presented. T2 - Benchmarking for AI for Science at the Exascale A2 Workshop for Materials Science CY - Online meeting DA - 23.11.2020 KW - Small angle scattering KW - Machine learning KW - Data organization KW - Data curation KW - Metadata structuring PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51660 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - The Dark Side of Science (2024 edition) N2 - This presentation highlights ongoing scientific misconduct as found in academic literature. This includes data- and image manipulation, and paper mills. Starting with an expose of examples, it delves deeper into the causes and metrics driving this phenomenon. Finally a range of possible tools is presented, that the young researcher can use to prevent themselves from sliding into the dark scientific methods. T2 - Winter School on Metrology and Nanomaterials for Clean Energy CY - Claviere, Italy DA - 28.01.2024 KW - Scientific misconduct KW - Data manipulation KW - Image manipulation KW - Paper mills KW - Causes leading to scientific misconduct KW - Tools to combat scientific misconduct KW - Metrics PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59622 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Glimpses of the future: Systematic investigations of 1200 mofs using a highly automated, full-stack materials research laboratory N2 - By automatically recording as much information as possible in automated laboratory setups, reproducibility and traceability of experiments are vastly improved. This presentation shows what such an approach means for the quality of experiments in an X-ray scattering laboratory and an automated synthesis set-up. T2 - Winter School on Metrology and Nanomaterials for Clean Energy CY - Claviere, Italy DA - 28.01.2024 KW - Digitalization KW - Automation KW - Digital laboratory KW - Scattering KW - Synthesis KW - Nanomaterials KW - Holistic science PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59621 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - X-ray generation N2 - This talk was recorded during the 2020 Better with Scattering workshop held at BAM in Berlin. This educational talk explains the various ways in which X-rays can be generated in the lab as well as at the synchrotron, with benefits and drawbacks for all. T2 - Better with Scattering workshop 2020 CY - BAM, Berlin, Germany DA - 16.03.2020 KW - Small angle scattering KW - X-ray instrumentation KW - X-ray generation PY - 2020 UR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hze3PvcK7es AN - OPUS4-51016 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - A brief history of scattering N2 - Recorded on the first day of the Better with Scattering workshop. In this video, I explore some of the highlights of the development of small-angle X-ray scattering over its long history. I discuss developments on the technical side, analytical methods, detectors, data quality and data management. T2 - Better with Scattering workshop 2020 CY - BAM, Berlin, Germany DA - 16.03.2020 KW - Small angle scattering KW - History PY - 2020 UR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFH6P4tZbyM AN - OPUS4-51015 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Basics and applications of good SAXS: Quantifying the fine structure of lots of materials N2 - In contrast to the crisp, clear images you can get from electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns are rather featureless. These patterns, however, contain averaged structural information of all of the finest material structures that were illuminated by the X-ray beam. With careful and precise investigation, and supplementary information from complementary techniques, this bulk material structure can be quantified to reveal structural information spanning four or even five decades in size. Additionally, while the data correction and analysis is complex, sample preparation is very straightforward, also allowing for in-situ and operando measurements to be performed without breaking a sweat. In the right hands, then, this technique can be the most powerful tool in your analytical arsenal. T2 - OpTecBB webinar within the scope of the focus area Optical Analytics CY - Online meeting DA - 27.05.2020 KW - Small-angle scattering KW - Introduction KW - Application KW - Saxs KW - Nanomaterials KW - Nanostructure PY - 2020 UR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXkYL3dSsTY UR - https://optecbb.de/veranstaltungen/veranstaltung/webinar-basics-and-applications-of-good-saxs-1238/ AN - OPUS4-50879 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Everything and the kitchen sink: correcting X-ray data for everything N2 - Recorded at the Better with Scattering workshop 2020, this talk highlights the complete set of data correction steps that we do for the MAUS, and how they can be used elsewhere too. This links well with the talk in this series by Dr. Tim Snow, and also highlights the details of the background subtraction that needs to be done. T2 - Better with Scattering workshop 2020 CY - BAM, Berlin, Germany DA - 16.03.2020 KW - Small angle scattering KW - Data corrections PY - 2020 UR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp4qziOxZFk AN - OPUS4-51018 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Small-angle scattering for everyone: How to unlock the power of this ancient technique N2 - The obscure, yet fundamental technique of scattering can unlock essential information on the fine structure of materials. For you, it can help you understand how your batteries charge, how squid backbones work, or how hundreds of small variations in your syntheses affect your samples. As a nondestructive technique, it also measures your materials *in situ* or operando, as you pull it, heat it, electrify it, or align it one way or another. Scattering can be done using light, X-rays, neutrons, and even electrons, giving you the choice on which probe is best for you. The only downside? Scattering will always remain a complicated technique to do right. The technique gives you only one piece of information: the length distribution of density in your sample. How you interpret this (rather abstract) piece of information is up to you and your samples. Unlike microscopy, where the real-space image can be interpreted almost intuitively and artefacts are easier to spot, in scattering you cannot always easily identify artefacts. Therefore, the only way to do scattering experiments correctly is through rigour and care. For those of us with that particular eccentricity, seeing the rigour and care pay off is exhilarating, and opens the door to a life of happiness and excitement. This lecture will introduce scattering (in particular using X-rays and neutrons), what it is, what you can (and cannot) get out of it, and how to approach your scattering experiment. Regarding the experimental section, it will discuss the five parts that make up a successful scattering experiment based on real-life examples: Preparation: which and how you prepare your samples affects what you can get out of the interpretation Measurement: The machine design and your measurement choices dictates the final quality of your data Correction: Obtaining trustworthy scattering curves will greatly improve the speed and quality of your analysis. Analysis: Do you linearize, use generic scattering models, perform classical least-squares fitting, play with Monte-Carlo analysis or transform your data.. Some tips to help you make a choice. Interpretation: what does the analysis of all your samples tell you? Can you fit the puzzle pieces together to form a piece of knowledge? For further information, please feel free to explore the https://lookingatnothing.com/ weblog, the https://youtube.com/drheaddamage video channel, or by asking me in person or by email for specific questions at brian.pauw@bam.de . Some introductory reading can be found in the following papers: Pauw, B. R. (2013): Everything SAXS: small-angle scattering pattern collection and correction. _J. Phys.: Condens. Matter_ 25: 383201. DOI: [10.1088/0953-8984/25/38/383201](http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/25/38/383201) B. R. Pauw, A. J. Smith, T. Snow, N. J. Terrill, A. F. Thünemann, (2017): The modular SAXS data correction sequence for solids and dispersions, _Journal of Applied Crystallography_, 50: 1800–1811, DOI: [10.1107/S1600576717015096](https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600576717015096) G. J. Smales, B. R. Pauw (2021): The MOUSE project: a meticulous approach for obtaining traceable, wide-range X-ray scattering information. _Journal of instrumentation_ 16 (6) P06034. DOI: [10.1088/1748-0221/16/06/P06034](https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/16/06/P06034) T2 - SAS School at the XIX International Small Angle Scattering Conference CY - Taipei, Taiwan DA - 02.11.2024 KW - X-ray scattering KW - Neutron scattering KW - Scattering KW - X-ray KW - Neutron KW - Introduction KW - Methodology PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61623 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Chasing perfection: A holistic approach to materials science scattering experiments N2 - The materials scientists we work with do not want (or need) to learn the ways of the scatterer; they are primarily interested in obtaining trustworthy answers. In particular, they need structural understanding in light of the wider framework of their experiment(s). Our interest, therefore, lies in helping them attain this this interconnected understanding, while using such investigations to further hone our methodology to approximate perfection. While perfection is by definition an unattainable goal, we have spent the last 15+ years exploring and expanding on many of its constituent aspects (often together with likeminded people) [1]. These aspects include: - developing various visualization and simulation tools, - deconstructing data corrections and uncertainty estimation, - advancing analysis methods, - quantifying questions on traceability, documentation, - reproducible automation of synthesis-, measurement- and data pipelines, - data visualization, exploration and education, - and many more… T2 - XIX International Small Angle Scattering Conference CY - Taipei, Taiwan DA - 04.11.2024 KW - Methodology KW - X-ray scattering KW - Data quality KW - Data provenance KW - Data stewardship KW - Lab automation KW - Perfection PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61625 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Synthesizing a library of 1000+ reproducible MOFs N2 - While the synthesis of Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) particles can be as easy as adding two solutions together, reproducibly obtaining the same particles, time and time again, is a lot harder. As laboratory-independent reproducibility is a cornerstone of the scientific method, we must put effort into finding and controlling all necessary parameters to achieve this. An open-source Python/EPICS-controlled robotic platform (see picture) was adapted to systematically explore this for a 20 ml MOF synthesis of the Zeolitic Imidazole Framework-8 (ZIF-8) chemistry in methanol. Parameters that were explored included: 1) addition sequence, 2) addition speeds, 3) reaction times, 4) source chemicals, 5) stirring speeds, 6) stirring bar choice, 7) starting concentrations, and 8) workup methodologies. It was found that, by controlling these parameters, highly reproducible syntheses are obtained. Secondly, the variation of these parameters alone led to a dramatic difference in volume-weighted particle size means, which exceeds an order of magnitude as investigated by our in-house X-ray scattering instrument [1]. The syntheses are thoroughly documented in an automated fashion, and the synthesis libraries as well as analyses libraries will become available in batches soon. With this library, it will be possible to extract previously unknown correlations, and other laboratories can produce specific particles by following the exact procedures of the particles of their choice. T2 - 787. WE-Heraeus-Seminar: Accelerated Discovery of New Materials CY - Bad Honnef, Germany DA - 15.05.2023 KW - Metal organic frameworks KW - Automation KW - Lab automation KW - Robotic-supported synthesis KW - Reproducibility KW - Synthesis library KW - X-ray scattering KW - Particle size distribution PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57596 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - What’s that beyond the grasslands? Expanding your world view via wide-range X-ray scattering N2 - This talk introduces the expanded view that comes from wide-range X-ray scattering investigations. Compared to X-ray diffraction studies alone, the additional angular range of this technique provides information on the larger structural dimensions present in your samples. This allows for the extraction of information on the size and size distribution of nanostructural components, such as nanoparticles, nanovoids, and any other structure exhibiting an electron density contrast. The talk introduces the technique, the MOUSE instrument used for these investigations, and provides several real-world examples of its uses. The audience is invited to choose which examples captures their interest from a range of options, in the latter segment of the talk. T2 - ECS8: European Crystallography School 2023 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 18.06.2023 KW - X-ray scattering KW - Introduction KW - Fourier transforms KW - Nanostructure investigation KW - Instrument automation KW - MOUSE PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57769 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard A1 - Breßler, Ingo T1 - 30.000+ datasets in an underground SciCat instance: the good, the bad, and the improvables. N2 - For the last four years, we have been running a SciCat instance to manage the projects and data in our X-ray scattering laboratory. We here report on the configuration of this SciCat instance, how it connects to the scientific workflow, and how it is integrated in the data pipeline. T2 - SciCat 2023 CY - Didcot, UK DA - 18.07.2023 KW - Scicat KW - X-ray scattering KW - Laboratory management KW - Research Data Management KW - Laboratory organization KW - RunDeck PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57958 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - McSAS3: live demo of a Monte Carlo data analyis package for scattering studies N2 - McSAS3 is a refactored software package for fitting large batches of (X-ray or Neutron) scattering data. It uses a Monte-Carlo acceptance-rejection algorithm to optimize model parameters - ideal for analysis of size-disperse scatterers. The refactored code can exploit multiprocessing, traceably stores (multiple) results in the output file, and allows for re-histogramming of previous optimizations. Besides analysis of large batches, it can also be integrated in automated data processing pipelines. The live demonstration will show how to use the software, what its limitations are, and what outcomes can look like for batches of results. T2 - SAS Analysis Course 2023 CY - Didcot, UK DA - 05.06.2023 KW - Scattering KW - Software KW - Analysis KW - Demonstration KW - McSAS3 KW - MOUSE KW - Monte Carlo KW - Automated analysis PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57630 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - How to manage a modern X-ray scattering lab – a modest example N2 - Introduction A good laboratory organization can help address the reproducibility crisis in science, and easily multiply the scientific output of a laboratory, while greatly elevating the quality of the measurements. We have demonstrated this for small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering in the MOUSE project (Methodology Optimization for Ultrafine Structure Exploration). In the MOUSE, we have combined: a) a comprehensive laboratory workflow with b) a heavily modified, highly automated X-ray scattering instrument. This combination allows us to collect fully traceable scattering data, with a well-documented data flow (akin to what is found at the more automated beamlines). With two full-time researchers, the lab collects and interprets thousands of datasets, on hundreds of samples for dozens of projects per year, supporting many users along the entire process from sample selection and preparation, to the analysis of the resulting data. While these numbers do not light a candle to those achieved by our hardworking compatriots at the synchrotron beamlines, the laboratory approach does allow us to continually modify and fine-tune the integral methodology. So for the last three years, we have incorporated e.g. FAIR principles, traceability, automated processing, data curation strategies, as well as a host of good scattering practices into the MOUSE system. We have concomitantly expanded our purview as specialists to include an increased responsibility for the entire scattering aspect of the resultant publications. This ensures full exploitation of the data quality, whilst avoiding common pitfalls. Talk scope This talk will present the MOUSE project as implemented to date, and will introduce foreseeable upgrades and changes. These upgrades include better pre-experiment sample scattering predictions to filter projects on the basis of their suitability, exploitation of the measurement database for detecting long-term changes and automated flagging of datasets, extending the measurement range through an Ultra-SAXS module, and enhancing MC fitting with sample scattering simulations for better matching of odd-shaped scatterers. T2 - 2021 joint virtual meeting of the African Light Source (AfLS), the African Physical Society (AfPS), and Pan African Conference on Crystallography (ePCCr) CY - Online meeting DA - 15.11.2021 KW - X-ray scattering KW - MOUSE KW - Instrumentation KW - SAXS KW - Methodology KW - Laboratory management KW - Databases KW - Data management KW - Data catalog KW - Scicat PY - 2021 UR - https://events.saip.org.za/event/170/contributions/7619/ AN - OPUS4-53811 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Better with Scattering Part 1: Fundamentals of X-ray scattering N2 - Today's speaker is a young scientist whose research on all aspects of small-angle scattering has taken him from his birthplace in Netherlands, to Denmark, Japan and now Germany. His research has led to a new method and software for scattering pattern analysis, a comprehensive set of data corrections together with the Diamond Light Source, and a new ultra-SAXS plug-in instrument. For the last few years, he has been working on a comprehensive and universal methodology to get high-quality X-ray scattering measurements for any sample, using his new instrument at the institute. This instrument has now been heavily modified both in hardware and software, so that it can deliver better data. These developments are always driven by interesting collaborations with materials researchers and other scientists. As a joint member he has published works on a wide variety of materials, including self-assembled structures in liquids, composite materials and porous carbon catalysts. He has also been very active in outreach, for example by co-organizing an online lecture series called ‘#the Light Stuff’ on scattering and diffraction, running the ‘looking at nothing’ weblog, hosting a yearly introductory scattering course, and he has many scattering-related lectures available on YouTube. Our distinguished speaker is Dr. Brian Richard Pauw from the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in Germany. I proudly invite Dr. Pauw to begin his talk T2 - The first training course on the principles & application of X-ray scattering in nanomaterials CY - Online meeting DA - 28.04.2021 KW - X-ray scattering KW - Methodology KW - MOUSE KW - Introduction KW - Theory PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53275 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Better with Scattering Part 2: Nanostructural investigations with X-ray scattering N2 - Today's speaker is a young scientist whose research on all aspects of small-angle scattering has taken him from his birthplace in Netherlands, to Denmark, Japan and now Germany. His research has led to a new method and software for scattering pattern analysis, a comprehensive set of data corrections together with the Diamond Light Source, and a new ultra-SAXS plug-in instrument. For the last few years, he has been working on a comprehensive and universal methodology to get high-quality X-ray scattering measurements for any sample, using his new instrument at the institute. This instrument has now been heavily modified both in hardware and software, so that it can deliver better data. These developments are always driven by interesting collaborations with materials researchers and other scientists. As a joint member he has published works on a wide variety of materials, including self-assembled structures in liquids, composite materials and porous carbon catalysts. He has also been very active in outreach, for example by co-organizing an online lecture series called ‘#the Light Stuff’ on scattering and diffraction, running the ‘looking at nothing’ weblog, hosting a yearly introductory scattering course, and he has many scattering-related lectures available on YouTube. Our distinguished speaker is Dr. Brian Richard Pauw from the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in Germany. I proudly invite Dr. Pauw to begin his talk. T2 - The first training course on the principles & application of X-ray scattering in nanomaterials CY - Online meeting DA - 28.04.2021 KW - X-ray scattering KW - Methodology KW - MOUSE KW - Practical examples KW - Automation KW - Data organization PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53276 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - More of the same, please! Standardizing a perfectionist X-ray Scattering methodology for labs and synchrotrons N2 - After a colleague sent me a more useful measurement from a laboratory instrument than what I could get from the beamline, I knew it was time to reassess my life's choices. Over the course of several subsequent post-doc and permanent positions around lab instruments, I managed to refine a flexible, comprehensive methodology for data collection, correction and analysis which can be applied to many X-ray scattering investigations at the lab and at the synchrotron. With the help of friends at round places, this methodology was implemented and put into production, and has been delivering high-quality data since then. Now, we have almost all possible data corrections (for X-ray scattering) implemented, and are improving the hardware to deliver higher-quality metadata to enable the corrections to be performed to a higher accuracy. Simultaneously, we have set up a mini-large facility at BAM with the MAUS, the Multi-scale Analyzer for Ultrafine Structures. The MAUS combines the freedom of a laboratory instrument, with the spectrum of users of a beamline: besides measuring our own samples, and performing our own machine and methodology developments, we have opened this instrument for collaboration with fellow scientists from within BAM and from external institutes and universities. Here, we provide a comprehensive support for these collaborations, guiding the user from concept to sample selection, to interpretation and analysis. In 2019, we have supported over 30 different projects this way, leading to seven co-authored publications involving the MAUS in that year alone. As the MAUS uses the latest iteration of our comprehensive measurement methodology, the data quality is unmatched by any other lab instrument, and fully traceable to boot. The freedom of the laboratory allows for more proof-of-principle experimentation than what is possible at the synchrotron. Therefore, the MAUS provides a good first (and sometimes final) step towards many experimental materials science investigations, nicely complementing the capabilities of the synchrotron. If and when more flux is needed, the step to the synchrotron is now smaller than ever, in particular with the same method T2 - Symposium on large scale facilities CY - BAM, Berlin, Germany DA - 09.03.2020 KW - Small angle scattering KW - Methodology KW - X-ray scattering PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51014 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - The Meticulous Approach: Fully traceable X-ray scattering data via a comprehensive lab methodology N2 - To find out if experimental findings are real, you need to be able to repeat them. For a long time, however, papers and datasets could not necessarily include sufficient details to accurately repeat experiments, leading to a reproducibility crisis. It is here, that the MOUSE project (Methodology Optimization for Ultrafine Structure Exploration) tries to implement change – at least for small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS). In the MOUSE project, we have combined: a) a comprehensive laboratory workflow with b) a heavily modified, highly automated Xenocs Xeuss 2.0 instrumental component. This combination allows us to collect fully traceable scattering data, with a well-documented data flow (akin to what is found at the more automated beamlines). With two full-time researchers, the lab collects and interprets thousands of datasets, on hundreds of samples for dozens of projects per year, supporting many users along the entire process from sample selection and preparation, to the analysis of the resulting data. While these numbers do not light a candle to those achieved by our hardworking compatriots at the synchrotron beamlines, the laboratory approach does allow us to continually modify and fine-tune the integral methodology. So for the last three years, we have incorporated e.g. FAIR principles, traceability, automated processing, data curation strategies, as well as a host of good scattering practices into the MOUSE system. We have concomitantly expanded our purview as specialists to include an increased responsibility for the entire scattering aspect of the resultant publications, to ensure full exploitation of the data quality, whilst avoiding common pitfalls. This talk will discuss the MOUSE project1 as implemented to date, and will introduce foreseeable upgrades and changes. These upgrades include better pre-experiment sample scattering predictions to filter projects on the basis of their suitability, exploitation of the measurement database for detecting long-term changes and automated flagging of datasets, and enhancing MC fitting with sample scattering simulations for better matching of odd-shaped scatterers. T2 - S4SAS CY - Online meeting DA - 01.09.2021 KW - X-ray scattering KW - Methodology KW - MOUSE KW - Data organization KW - Automation KW - Traceability PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53273 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard A1 - Smales, Glen Jacob T1 - The SPONGE N2 - This software tool is intended to calculate X-ray scattering patterns from 3D objects described by an STL file. The fundamentals and use example(s) are shown. T2 - Better with Scattering workshop 2020 CY - BAM, Berlin, Germany DA - 16.03.2020 KW - Small angle scattering KW - Software KW - Simulation PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51020 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - X-ray Scattering for Nanostructure Quantification, and the Quest for the Perfect Experiment N2 - Compared to the clear, real-space images you can get from electron microscopy, X-ray scattering patterns are rather featureless. These patterns, however, contain structural information from all of the material structure illuminated by the X-ray beam. With this technique, you can measure nanoparticle dispersions, catalysts, composites, MOF powders, battery materials, light metal alloys and gels to reveal information on the structural features found within these materials. We have even measured many such materials for several research groups from the University of Birmingham, revealing structure features in the sub-nm to the micrometer range. Measuring an X-ray scattering pattern is relatively easy, but measuring a high-quality, useful pattern requires significant effort and good laboratory organization. Such laboratory organization can help address the reproducibility crisis in science, and easily multiply the scientific output of a laboratory, while greatly elevating the quality of the measurements. We have demonstrated this for small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering in the MOUSE project (Methodology Optimization for Ultrafine Structure Exploration) [1]. With the MOUSE, we have combined: a) a comprehensive and highly automated laboratory workflow with b) a heavily modified X-ray scattering instrument. This combination allows us to collect fully traceable scattering data, within a well-documented, FAIR-compliant data flow (akin to what is found at the more automated synchrotron beamlines). With two full-time researchers, our lab collects and interprets thousands of datasets, on hundreds of samples, for dozens of projects per year, supporting many users along the entire process from sample selection and preparation, to the analysis of the resulting data. T2 - School of Chemistry Seminars CY - Birmingham, UK DA - 10.11.2021 KW - X-ray scattering KW - MOUSE KW - Instrumentation KW - SAXS KW - Methodology KW - Nanostructure PY - 2021 UR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2kY4wbqeM4 AN - OPUS4-53810 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - What is in X-ray scattering Data? An overview of features. N2 - During the Better with Scattering 2021 workshop, we discuss what information can be obtained from an X-ray scattering pattern. Examples of structural features and their physical expression in scattering patterns are demonstrated. T2 - Better with Scattering workshop 2021 CY - Online meeting DA - 29.11.2021 KW - Scattering KW - SAXS KW - X-ray scattering KW - Data analysis KW - Data interpretation KW - Fourier transforms PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-54011 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - "Ultima Ratio": Multi-scale, high-resolution 3D-FFT scattering pattern simulations N2 - This talk highlights a proof-of-concept that demonstrates the ability to calculate high-resolution Fourier transforms. These can be combined with multi-scale modeling to simulate scattering over a wide range, from small-angle scattering to XRD and PDF. T2 - Shapespyer/MuSSIC Launch Workshop CY - Didcot, UK DA - 20.02.2023 KW - X-ray scattering KW - Simulation KW - Fourier Transform KW - 3D KW - High resolution KW - Multi-scale PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57031 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Laboratory x-ray scattering instruments as agile test-beds towards holistic experimentation N2 - Laboratory sources offer a unique advantage compared to synchrotron sources, largely in terms of freedom of operation. This freedom from user obligations, technology and software stacks and legacy decisions make the laboratory a very flexible place to develop and explore new ideas. The unparalleled availability furthermore allows for iterative improvement of instrumentation, sample environments and measurement methodologies to maximise the quality of the data obtained. This talk will highlight the use of the laboratory as an agile test-bed and development space, by giving examples of some complete and incomplete investigations undertaken in our laboratory over the last years. Furthermore, it will introduce the concept of holistic experimentation, where the laboratory provides broad-ranging support for materials science investigations. This means that we assist in the experimental preparation, perform the measurements, correction and analysis, and follow-up with assistance in interpretation of our analyses in light of the results from other techniques applied to the investigation. T2 - Invited talk at Diamond Light Source CY - Didcot, UK DA - 22.05.2024 KW - X-ray scattering KW - Methodology development KW - Laboratory management KW - Holistic experimentation KW - Laboratory automation KW - Nanostructural analysis PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60582 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Getting down to business: pragmatic solutions for laboratory automation N2 - A chemical engineer by training, Brian drifted towards physics and now focuses on a broad spectrum of activities with the aim to improve scientific reproducibility. This includes studies on holistically improving data quality, data collection efficiency and traceability, as well as concomitant laboratory automation for the preparation of consistent, well-documented sample series. The need for pragmatism led to an inexpensive, flexible laboratory automation platform that can be implemented in a modest amount of time. This talk presents that effort. T2 - Future Labs Live 2024 CY - Basel, Switzerland DA - 25.06.2024 KW - Laboratory automation KW - Experiment tracking KW - Holistic experimentation KW - Experimental traceability KW - Data visualisation KW - Parameter correlation. PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60583 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Digital Everything: X-ray Scattering and Synthesis Laboratories N2 - In our (dramatically understaffed) X-ray scattering laboratory, developing a systematic, holistic methodology let us provide scattering and diffraction information for more than 2100 samples for 200+ projects led by 120+ collaborators. Combined with automated data correction pipelines, and our analysis and simulation software, this led to more than 40 papers in the last 5 years with just over 2 full-time staff members. This year, our new, modular synthesis platform has made more than 1000 additional samples for us to analyse and catalogue. By virtue of the automation, the synthesis of these samples is automatically documented in excruciating detail, preparing them for upload and exploitation in large-scale materials databases. This talk is intended to spark ideas and invite collaborations by providing an overview of: 1) the current improvements in our wide-range X-ray scattering laboratory methodology, and 2) introducing our open, modular robotic platform for systematic sample preparation. T2 - Seminar at KIT CY - Karlsruhe, Germany DA - 17.08.2023 KW - Lab automation KW - Data stewardship KW - Scattering KW - X-ray scattering KW - Automated synthesis KW - Data pipelines PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58234 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Glimpses of the future: a “full stack”, highly automated materials research laboratory N2 - In our (dramatically understaffed) X-ray scattering laboratory, developing a systematic, holistic methodology let us provide scattering and diffraction information for more than 2100 samples for 200+ projects led by 120+ collaborators. Combined with automated data correction pipelines, and our analysis and simulation software, this led to more than 40 papers in the last 5 years with just over 2 full-time staff members. This year, our new, modular synthesis platform has made more than 1000 additional samples for us to analyse and catalogue. By virtue of the automation, the synthesis of these samples is automatically documented in excruciating detail, preparing them for upload and exploitation in large-scale materials databases. Having developed these proof-of-concepts, we find that materials research itself is changed dramatically by automating dull tasks in a laboratory. This talk is intended to spark ideas and collaborations by providing an overview of: 1) the current improvements in our scattering laboratory methodology, 2) introducing our open, modular robotic platform that is used for systematic sample preparation, and 3) demonstrating the data structure of the synthesis logs and measurements. Finally, the remaining bottlenecks and points of attention across all three are highlighted. T2 - FAIRmat seminar CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 28.09.2023 KW - Data stewartship KW - Metadata collection KW - Laboratory methodology KW - MOUSE KW - Robotics KW - Lab automation KW - Holistic science PY - 2023 UR - https://www.fairmat-nfdi.eu/events/brian-pauw AN - OPUS4-58464 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Glimpses of the Future : Advancing X-ray Scattering in an Automated Materials Research Laboratory N2 - In our (dramatically understaffed) X-ray scattering laboratory, developing a systematic, holistic methodology1 let us provide scattering and diffraction information for more than 2100 samples for 200+ projects led by 120+ collaborators. Combined with automated data correction pipelines, and our analysis and simulation software, this led to more than 40 papers2 in the last 5 years with just over 2 full-time staff members. This year, our new, modular synthesis platform has made more than 1000 additional samples for us to analyse and catalogue. By virtue of the automation, the synthesis of these samples is automatically documented in excruciating detail, preparing them for upload and exploitation in large-scale materials databases. Having developed these proof-of-concepts, we find that materials research itself is changed dramatically by automating dull tasks in a laboratory. This talk is intended to spark ideas and invite collaborations by providing an overview of: 1) the current improvements in our wide-range X-ray scattering laboratory methodology, 2) Introduce some of our open-source analysis and simulation software, touching on scattering, diffraction and PDF, and 3) introducing our open, modular robotic platform for systematic sample preparation. Finally, the remaining bottlenecks and points of attention across all three are highlighted. T2 - Swiss Society for Crystallography (SSCr) annual meeting CY - Zurich, Switzerland DA - 08.09.2023 KW - Lab automation KW - Fourier transforms KW - X-ray scattering KW - Robotic synthesis KW - Data stewardship KW - Holistic experimental procedures KW - MOUSE KW - Metal-organic frameworks KW - High-throughput measurements PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58237 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Glimpses of the Future : Oh my god it’s full of metadata! N2 - In this talk, the importance of metadata is underscored by real-world examples. Metadata is essential to alleviating the reproducibility crises in science. This imples that a wide range of metadata must be collected, with a heavy emphasis on the automated collection of such metadata. This must subsequently be organized in an intelligible, archival structure, when possible with units and uncertainties. Such metadata can aid in improving the usage efficiency of instrumentation, as is demonstrated on the MOUSE instrument. This metadata can now be used to connect the various aspects of the holistic experimental procedure to gain better insights on the materials structure. A second example shows the extraction and organization of such metadata from an automated materials development platform, collected during the synthesis of 1200 samples. These metadata from the synthesis can then be linked to the results from the analysis of these samples, to find direct correlations between the synthesis parameters and the final structure of the materials. T2 - Helmholtz Incubator Summer Academy - Next Level Data Science CY - Online meeting DA - 18.09.2023 KW - Metadata KW - Lab automation KW - Data provenance KW - High-throughput KW - Correlative analysis KW - MOUSE KW - X-ray scattering KW - Robotics PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58463 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - A holistic experiment chain for scattering-powered materials science investigations N2 - In our (dramatically understaffed) X-ray scattering laboratory, developing a systematic, holistic methodology1 let us provide scattering and diffraction information for more than 2100 samples for 200+ projects led by 120+ collaborators over the last five years. Combined with universal, automat-ed data correction pipelines, as well as our analysis and simulation software, this led to more than 40 papers2 in the last 5 years with just over 2 full-time staff members. While this approach greatly improved the consistency of the results, the consistency of the samples and sample series provided by the users was less reliable nor necessarily reproducible. To address this issue, we built an EPICS-controlled, modular synthesis platform to add to our laboratory. To date, this has prepared over 1200 additional (Metal-Organic Framework) samples for us to meas-ure, analyse and catalogue. By virtue of the automation, the synthesis of these samples is automat-ically documented in excruciating detail, preparing them for upload and exploitation in large-scale materials databases alongside the morphological results obtained from the automated X-ray scat-tering analysis. Having developed these proof-of-concepts, we find that the consistency of results are greatly im-proved by virtue of their reproducibility, hopefully adding to the reliability of the scientific findings as well. Additionally, the nature of the experiments has changed greatly, with much more emphasis on preparation and careful planning. This talk will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this highly integrated approach and will touch upon upcoming developments. T2 - canSAS-XIII CY - Grenoble, France DA - 16.10.2023 KW - Methodology KW - Lab automation KW - X-ray scattering KW - Automated synthesis KW - Data stewardship KW - Holistic experimental procedures KW - Scicat PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58643 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - A place for everything: traceable science using metadata from syntheses and characterisation N2 - In our laboratory, we rely heavily on automation for synthesis and measurement. Done right, automation can deliver reliable quantities of excruciatingly detailed data, produced in a reproducible and traceable way. This data then needs sorting and organising, and a good structure of metadata is a good start to long-lasting data. This metadata collection is an essential part of our “holistic experimentation”-approach. In this approach, we try to ensure that all aspects of the experimental chain are performed to a high standard, so that experimental integrity is maintained. In other words: as a failure in one of the components of the chain can make an entire experiment worthless, we must ensure each component is done (and documented) well. In this talk, we show how we 1) synthesise well-documented sample series, 2) apply a complete end-to-end X-ray scattering characterisation methodology to those samples, and 3) can link the data from the synthesis to the structural details obtained from the scattering experiments in a visual dashboard. Furthermore, we will show examples on how data can be organised in hierarchical structures in HDF5-based datafiles, and how this helps move towards more trustworthy, traceable science. About the speaker: Brian Pauw is a full-stack X-ray scattering expert with over 15 years of experience in materials science. After earning a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark in 2009, Brian advanced scattering techniques at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science before joining BAM (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing) in Germany as a permanent researcher. At BAM, Brian focuses on small-angle scattering of polymers, metals, catalysts, and more – developing precise methodologies for data collection, correction, and analysis. They also lead efforts in laboratory automation, including robotic systems for reproducible sample preparation, aiming to enhance the efficiency and reliability of experimental workflows. T2 - Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration: FAIR Friday Lecture Series CY - Online meeting DA - 09.05.2025 KW - Methodology KW - X-ray scattering KW - Traceability KW - Data provenance KW - Metadata KW - Lab automation KW - Holistic science PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63078 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - NeXus at the core of the HExX-lab N2 - Through bottom-up, comprehensive digitalisation of all aspects of an experiment, the HEX-lab improves the trustworthiness (traceability, reproducibility, quality) of scientific findings. The five main parts that make up a materials science experiment, i.e. Sample preparation, Measurements, Processing, Analysis, and Interpretation, each have been addressed in thorough and unique ways in this lab, building up a foundation for a wide range of materials science collaborations. Improvements span the spectrum. Hardware developments include new sample environments and stages, such as grazing incidence motion towers, electrochemistry cells and flow-through holders, electronic components such as safety interlocks and multipurpose I/O controllers, and liquid handling systems such as coolant flow cross-over systems. Software developments include: 1) a new comprehensive control system operating on both the RoWaN as well as the MOUSE allowing for full Python control and sequencing of all experimentation, 2) Automated scripts for instrument optimization, sample alignments and measurements, 3) revamped data pipelines and analysis software, standalone or launched as part of operations sequencing dashboards on servers, and 4) meticulously structured archival datafiles, fully documenting sample preparation, measurements, processing and analyses. These allow for holistic databases and dashboards to be constructed to investigate the links between synthesis parameters and resulting morphology. This presentation will highlight some of the tools and techniques developed and available in the HEX-lab over the years, from sample environments to overarching experiment and data organisation structures. T2 - Materials Science Core Facility Synergy Forum 2025 CY - Bremen, Germany DA - 26.02.2025 KW - Digitalization KW - Automation KW - HDF5 KW - Traceability KW - Data stewardship KW - Lab automation KW - Holistic science KW - Methodology PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62676 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - X-ray Scattering USAXS/SAXS/WAXS (/XRD/PDF) N2 - A ten minute introduction to the technique of X-ray scattering. This talk discusses the foundation and the resulting morphological parameters that can be obtained from the technique. The talk is prepared for discussion within the framework of the OECD REACH guideline for nanomaterials. T2 - Digitaler Info-Tag "Nano or not Nano" CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 16.02.2023 KW - X-ray scattering KW - BAM Academy KW - SAXS KW - XRD KW - WAXS KW - Nanomaterial KW - REACH KW - OECD KW - Guideline PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57013 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Reimagining user-driven science N2 - The materials scientists we work with do not want (or need) to learn the ways of the scatterer; they are primarily interested in obtaining trustworthy, authoritative answers. In particular, they need structural understanding in light of the wider framework of their experiment(s). Our interest, therefore, lies in helping them attain this this interconnected understanding, while using such investigations to further hone our methodology to approximate perfection. While perfection is by definition an unattainable goal, we have spent the last 15+ years exploring and expanding on many of its constituent aspects (often together with likeminded people) [1]. These aspects include: developing various visualization and simulation tools, deconstructing data corrections and uncertainty estimation, advancing analysis methods, quantifying questions on traceability, documentation, reproducible automation of synthesis-, measurement- and data pipelines, data visualization, exploration and education, and many more… As we explored these individual aspects, it has become clear that high quality output demands involving ourselves in the entire experimental workflow, with all associated aspects. This allows you to establish trustworthy links between parameters, structure, and performance. Through multiple cross-checks and validations, we can furthermore assign a degree of confidence to our findings. This is what we call the holistic approach. This talk will briefly define perfection in scattering experiments, expand on the holistic approach, and show examples to demonstrate its benefits. T2 - Invited talk - special event CY - Trieste, Italy DA - 15.05.2025 KW - X-ray scattering KW - Holistic experiments KW - Laboratory management KW - Laboratory automation KW - Data stewardship KW - User support PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63372 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - and now it's bigger…: setting up for large scale experimentation N2 - In our laboratory, we rely heavily on automation for synthesis and measurement. Done right, automation can deliver reliable quantities of excruciatingly detailed data, produced in a reproducible and traceable way. This data then needs sorting and organising, and a good structure of metadata is a good start to long-lasting data. This metadata collection is an essential part of our “holistic experimentation”-approach. In this approach, we try to ensure that all aspects of the experimental chain are performed to a high standard, so that experimental integrity is maintained. In other words: as a failure in one of the components of the chain can make an entire experiment worthless, we must ensure each component is done (and documented) well. In this talk, we show how we 1) synthesise well-documented sample series, 2) apply a complete end-to-end X-ray scattering characterisation methodology to those samples, and 3) can link the data from the synthesis to the structural details obtained from the scattering experiments in a visual dashboard. Furthermore, we will show examples on how data can be organised in hierarchical structures in HDF5-based datafiles, and how this helps move towards more trustworthy, traceable science. T2 - Future Labs Live 2025 CY - Basel, Switzerland DA - 27.05.2025 KW - Lab automation KW - Holistic experiments KW - Synthesis KW - Traceability KW - Data stewardship PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63373 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - A quick intro to our NeXus format… N2 - A brief introduction is given into our data collection and organization procedure, and why we have settled on the HDF5-based NeXus format for describing experimental data. The links between NeXus and the SciCat data catalog is also provided, showing how the NeXus metadata is automatically added as searchable metadata in the catalog. T2 - NFDI NeXus Workshop CY - Online meeting DA - 17.03.2022 KW - Data management KW - Measurement organization KW - Measurement data KW - NFDI KW - FAIR KW - Open access KW - Data mining KW - Data tagging KW - Automated data tagging PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-54823 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - The human factor: A round robin study on the variation in data analyses N2 - How much do we, the small-angle scatterers, influence the results of an investigation? What uncertainty do we add by our human diversity in thoughts and approaches, and is this significant compared to the uncertainty from the instrumental measurement factors? After our previous Round Robin on data collection, we know that many laboratories can collect reasonably consistent small-angle scattering data on easy samples. To investigate the next, human component, we compiled four existing datasets from globular (roughly spherical) scatterers, each exhibiting a common complication, and asked the participants to apply their usual methods and toolset to the quantification of the results (https://lookingatnothing.com/index.php/archives/3274). Accompanying the datasets was a modicum of accompanying information to help with the interpretation of the data, similar to what we normally receive from our collaborators. More than 30 participants reported back with volume fractions, mean sizes and size distribution widths of the particle populations in the samples, as well as information on their self-assessed level of experience and years in the field. While the Round Robin is still underway (until the 25th of April, 2022), the initial results already show significant spread in the results. Some of these are due to the variety in interpretation of the meaning of the requested parameters, as well as simple human errors, both of which are easy to correct for. Nevertheless, even after correcting for these differences in understanding, a significant spread remains. This highlights an urgent challenge to our community: how can we better help ourselves and our colleagues obtain more reliable results, how could we take the human factor out of the equation, so to speak? In this talk, we will introduce the four datasets, their origins and challenges. Hot off the press, we will summarize the anonymized, quantified results of the Data Analysis Round Robin. (Incidentally, we will also see if a correlation exists between experience and proximity of the result to the median). Lastly, potential avenues for improving our field will be offered based on the findings, ranging from low-effort yet somehow controversial improvements, to high-effort foundational considerations. T2 - International Small-Angle Scattering Conference (SAS2022) CY - Campinas, Brazil DA - 11.09.2022 KW - Round robin KW - Data analysis KW - Small angle scattering KW - Nanomaterials KW - MOUSE KW - Interlaboratory comparison KW - Intercomparability KW - Reliability KW - Data analysis round robin KW - Large number of participants PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55762 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - X-ray scattering for nanostructure quantification, and the quest for the perfect experiment N2 - Measuring an X-ray scattering pattern is relatively easy, but measuring a steady stream of high-quality, useful patterns requires significant effort and good laboratory organization. Such laboratory organization can help address the reproducibility crisis in science, and easily multiply the scientific output of a laboratory, while greatly elevating the quality of the measurements. We have demonstrated this for small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering in the MOUSE project (Methodology Optimization for Ultrafine Structure Exploration). With the MOUSE, we have combined a comprehensive and highly automated laboratory workflow with a heavily modified X-ray scattering instrument. This combination allows us to collect fully traceable scattering data, within a well-documented, FAIR-compliant data flow (akin to what is found at the more automated synchrotron beamlines). With two full-time researchers, our lab collects and interprets thousands of datasets, on hundreds of samples, for dozens of projects per year, supporting many users along the entire process from sample selection and preparation, to the analysis of the resulting data. This talk will briefly introduce the foundations of X-ray scattering, present the MOUSE project, and will highlight the proven utility of the methodology for materials science. Upgrades to the methodology will also be discussed, as well as possible avenues for transferring this holistic methodology to other instruments T2 - SNI 2022 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 05.09.2022 KW - Methodology KW - X-ray scattering KW - Laboratory management KW - Instrumentation utilization KW - MOUSE KW - SAXS KW - WAXS KW - Automation PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55760 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - Reusable data: putting the “Arr” in FAIR N2 - This talk demonstrates how to apply FAIR principles to data from actual scientific investigations. The reasons and practical benefits of FAIR data are highlighted. Several levels of reusability are discussed, i.e. the “trust me”-level, the “I’ll not need to repeat my measurement”-level, and the “you’ll not need to repeat my measurements”-level. Practical FAIR datafiles are explored and their information content highlighted. T2 - Reusability of Scientific Data for Matter CY - Online meeting DA - 13.11.2025 KW - Methodology KW - Metadata KW - FAIR KW - Reusability KW - X-ray scattering KW - Traceability PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-65309 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -