PUNCH4NFDI - Particles, Universe, NuClei and Hadrons for the NFDI

• Subject Area: Physics
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 460248186

PUNCH4NFDI, the consortium of particle, astroparticle, astro-, hadron and nuclear physics, covers a substantial fraction of curiosity-driven basic research in physics, and in particular of data-intense physics at large facilities. PUNCH4NFDI is a merger of Astro@NFDI and PAHN-PaN. As such, the consortium in its forming process has already gone through a very productive transformative process that might prove representative for the upcoming challenges of the entire NFDI: finding the commonalities in the relevant use cases, agreeing on a common language and methodical approach, and defining and delivering solutions that serve a broader audience –ideally the entire NFDI. The PUNCH community has always been at the forefront of technological developments. In particular, it is a leading force in “big data” and “open data” in scientific data management and an avid pursuer and early adopter of the FAIR principles. Due to new data producers PUNCH science is facing challenges at an entirely new level in terms of data volumes, data complexity, data rates, and data irreversibility. The goal of PUNCH4NFDI is to develop and share solutions for these data challenges— which other science fields will also be confronted with in the future. Thus, PUNCH4NFDI already lives FAIR. The main product of PUNCH4NFDI will be a science data platform that serves the PUNCH community and the entire NFDI. Technically, the platform will consist of a data lake with storage and cloud computing systems, a data transformation layer allowing the analysis of the data, and a user-friendly interface functioning as a data portal. PUNCH4NFDI will achieve its objectives through an ambitious work programme. Several task areas (TA) address the various aspects of such an advanced layered data management model: TA 2 “Data management” provides solutions for standardised data access and interoperable storage solutions; it addresses the integration of storage with federated compute resources, and it deals with dynamic and intelligent data handling for advanced workflows. TA 3 deals with the “Data transformations” necessary for the maximum exploitation of scientific data, for the combination of different datasets, and for achieving higher levels of abstraction and thus new scientific insights. TA 4 will provide the “Data portal” which gives access to the underlying knowledge structure. Using the appropriate metadata, it connects the elements of interlinked digital research products that are central elements of the PUNCH knowledge fabric. TA 5 addresses the increasingly important issue of “Data irreversibility” and the problems of data loss, the necessary “real-time” decisions and dynamical archiving capabilities. TA 2–5 are complemented by the TA 6 and 7 on “Synergies & services” and “Training, education, outreach, and citizen science” that address topics of relevance for the entire consortium and for its connections to other consortia, to the entire NFDI, and the public at large.

• DFG Programme: NFDI technical and methodological consortia
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Applicant Institution: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
• Co-Applicant Institution: Forschungszentrum Jülich; Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS); GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH; Georg-August-Universität Göttingen; Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin; Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz; Karlsruher Institut für Technologie; Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP); Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. (MPG); Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik; Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn; Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; Technische Universität Dortmund; Technische Universität Dresden; Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg ; Karl-Schwarzschild-Observatorium; Universität Bielefeld; Universität Hamburg; Universität Regensburg
• Participating Institution: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften; Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft e. V.; Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR); Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main; Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR); Hochschule Darmstadt; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Institut für Sonnenphysik (KIS); Max Planck Computing and Data Facility; European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN); Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB); Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen; Ruhr-Universität Bochum; Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB); Technische Universität Darmstadt; Technische Universität München (TUM); Universität Münster; Universität Potsdam; Universität Siegen; Universität zu Köln; Verein für datenintensive Radioastronomie e.V.
• Spokesperson: Privatdozent Dr. Thomas Schörner
• Co-Spokespersons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Turany, since 9/2022; Privatdozent Dr. Philip Bechtle, until 5/2023; Professor Dr. Frank Bertoldi, since 6/2023; Professor Dr. Volker Büscher; Privatdozentin Sara Collins, Ph.D.; Dr. Andreas Haungs; Professor Dr. Hermann Heßling; Professor Dr. James Hinton; Dr. Matthias Hoeft; Professor Dr. Gregor Kasieczka; Professor Dr. Michael Kramer; Professor Dr. Kevin Kröninger; Professor Dr. Joseph Mohr; Professorin Dr. Susanne Pfalzner; Professor Dr. Arnulf Quadt; Professor Dr. Andreas Redelbach; Dr. Kilian Schwarz, until 8/2022; Professor Dominik Schwarz, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Matthias Steinmetz; Professor Dr. Arno Straessner; Professor Dr. Stefan Wagner