SOFI's ELN (Electronic Notebooks) Project

The complexity and subtlety of the technical challenges in developing a commercial liquid solar fuel necessitate methods to capture, archive, and share detailed notes and data beyond peer-reviewed publications.  Critical details or techniques are often omitted or misrepresented in scientific journals.  All SOFI-funded programs (Fellows exchange program and Translational Prizes) will require researchers to fully utilize the SOFI intranet and digital collaborative tools.  The goal is to provide a platform for SOFI researchers to communicate and share successes and failures.  The platform starts with electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) that will allow SOFI researchers to:    

• Organize and archive laboratory data for present and future researchers
  
• Preserve all data securely, including all versions of all files
  
• Publish selected data to specific individuals or the public:
  

            -- dynamic updates of data to SOFI or lab websites
            -- assignment of Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) to selected notebook entries

• Protect intellectual property with time stamps and access control
  
• Deploy on all major platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, an iOS or Android device