title: Blending Education and Polymer Science: Semi Automated Creation of a Thermodynamic Property Database.
abstract: Structured databases of chemical and physical properties play a central role in the everyday research activities of scientists and engineers. In materials science, researchers and engineers turn to these databases to quickly query, compare, and aggregate various properties, thereby allowing for the development or application of new materials. The vast majority of these databases have been generated manually, through decades of labor-intensive harvesting of information from the literature; yet, while there are many examples of commonly used databases, a significant number of important properties remain locked within the tables, figures, and text of publications. The question addressed in our work is whether, and to what extent, the process of data collection can be automated. Students of the physical sciences and engineering are often confronted with the challenge of finding and applying property data from the literature, and a central aspect of their education is to develop the critical skills needed to identify such data and discern their meaning or validity. To address shortcomings associated with automated information extraction, while simultaneously preparing the next generation of scientists for their future endeavors, we developed a novel course-based approach in which students develop skills in polymer chemistry and physics and apply their knowledge by assisting with the semi-automated creation of a thermodynamic property database.
authors: The Department of Computer Science, The University of Chicago, Illinois 60637 United States.
authors: Roselyne B
authors: RB
authors: Tchoua
authors: The Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 United States.
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Qin
authors: Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 United States.
authors: Debra J
authors: DJ
authors: Audus
authors: The Computation Institute, The University of Chicago, Illinois 60637 United States.
authors: Kyle
authors: K
authors: Chard
authors: The Department of Computer Science, The University of Chicago, Illinois 60637 United States; The Computation Institute, The University of Chicago, Illinois 60637 United States; Mathematics and Computer Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439 United States.
authors: Ian T
authors: IT
authors: Foster
authors: The Institute for Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago, Illinois 60637 United States; The Computation Institute, The University of Chicago, Illinois 60637 United States; Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois 60439 United States.
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: de Pablo
keywords: Collaborative / Cooperative Learning; Computer-based Learning; Curriculum; First-Year Undergraduate / General Public; Material Science; Physical Properties; Polymer Chemistry