Esters, M., Oses, C., Divilov, S., Eckert, H., Friedrich, R., Hicks, D., Mehl, M. J., Rose, F., Smolyanyuk, A., Calzolari, A., Campilongo, X., Toher, C., & Curtarolo, S. (2023). aflow.org: A web ecosystem of databases, software and tools. Computational Materials Science, 216, Article 111808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commatsci.2022.111808
To enable materials databases supporting computational and experimental research, it is critical to develop platforms that both facilitate access to the data and provide the tools used to generate/analyze it — all while considering the diversity of users’ experience levels and usage needs. The recently formulated FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) establish a common framework to aid these efforts. This article describes aflow.org, a web ecosystem developed to provide FAIR-compliant access to the AFLOW databases. Graphical and programmatic retrieval methods are offered, ensuring accessibility for all experience levels and data needs. aflow.org goes beyond data-access by providing applications to important features of the AFLOW software [1], assisting users in their own calculations without the need to install the entire high-throughput framework. Outreach commitments to provide AFLOW tutorials and materials science education to a global and diverse audiences will also be presented.
