Xiaogang (Marshall) Ma, an associate research scientist in the Tetherless World Constellation, has received the inaugural International Council for Science – World Data System Data Stewardship Award.

Xiaogang Ma

Xiaogang Ma

The World Data System (WDS) of the International Council for Science supports long-term stewardship of quality-assured scientific data and data services across a range of disciplines in the natural and social sciences, and the humanities. The WDS Data Stewardship Award highlights exceptional contributions to the improvement of scientific data stewardship by early career researchers through their engagement with the community, academic achievements, and innovations.

Ma researches the use of Semantic Web methodologies and technologies to support data-intensive research, especially those in Earth and space sciences. His work was used in the Global Change Information System of the U.S. Global Change Research Program to enable provenance tracing.

Such research, on provenance of global change information, addresses a crucial need for transparent scientific workflows and credible scientific findings as global change information becomes more abundant and increasingly important. His perspective on the subject was featured in a commentary published in the June edition of Nature Climate Change. Most recently, Ma has been working with Peter Fox, Tetherless World Constellation chair and professor of earth and environmental sciences and computer science, to develop a cyber-enabled data science platform for the Deep Carbon Observatory.