NFDI MatWerk Ontology (MWO) V3.0.0: A BFO-Compliant Ontology for Materials Science and Engineering

The National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) is a German initiative aiming to develop a sustainable, standardized research data infrastructure across various disciplines [1]. As one of the specialized consortia within the NFDI framework, NFDI-MatWerk focuses on creating a digital infrastructure for Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) to integrate diverse data, workflows, and ontologies [2]. One of the initiative aims of NFDI MatWerk consortia is to create a knowledge graph for Materials Science and Engineering by integrating FAIR digital objects, facilitating the digital mapping of materials and processing parameters. In this regard, a standardized materials ontology will enable seamless integration of decentralized data and workflows, enhancing interoperability and reproducibility. The NFDI MatWerk Ontology (MWO) that is presented in this article, serves as a foundational framework for the MSE community, structuring research data and enhancing accessibility and interoperability. The previous version of MWO (V2.0.0) captured MSE community data, focusing on researchers, institutions, infrastructure (like software, workflows, and educational resources), data repositories, publications, and reference datasets [3]. This presentation aims to introduce the newest version of MWO (V3.0.0) which has been mapped to the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO). BFO was selected as the top-level ontology due to its well-structured design, broad applicability, and ability to integrate with various ontologies. Its conformance to the ISO/IEC 21838-2 standard [4] ensures it meets top-level ontology requirements, enhancing interoperability in developed ontologies. As also shown in Figure 1, MWO V3.0.0 has also been built based on NFDIcore mid-level ontology, which features a modular structure for improved interoperability among NFDI consortia [1]. This modular approach enriches metadata through standardized classes, properties, and SWRL rules, allowing MWO to integrate with various ontologies in the materials science domain, like the Platform MaterialDigital Core Ontology (PMDco v3.0.0). As the foundation for the MSE knowledge graph, MWO facilitates efficient data integration and retrieval, thereby promoting collaboration and advancing knowledge representation across MSE domains. This digital transformation not only enhances data discoverability and reusability but also accelerates innovation and scientific discoveries by optimizing scientific exchange and data handling within the field.

[1] Bruns, O., Tietz, T., Waitelonis, J., Posthumus, E., & Sack, H. (2024). NFDIcore 2.0: A BFO-Compliant Ontology for Multi-Domain Research Infrastructures. arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.01821.

[2] Eberl, C., et al., (2021). Consortium Proposal NFDI-MatWerk. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5082837

[3] https://nfdi-matwerk.pages.rwth-aachen.de/ta-oms/mwo/docs/index.html#

[4] ISO, 2022. ISO/IEC 21838–2:2021 Information technology — Top-level ontologies (TLO) — Part 2: Basic Formal Ontology (BFO).