
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Better Data Just Can't Wait

Data visualization comparing two input parameter values, one on each axis (for example, the temperature at which an experiment is being conducted and the intensity of a laser being used), with the color scale representing uncertainty in current knowledge. Yellow regions indicate the experimental-parameter settings that would reveal the greatest amount of new information.
Much of modern science is so complex that it requires time-consuming supercomputer simulations to interpret the effects of adjusting experimental parameters and equally time-consuming data reduction to interpret the results. Furthermore, as experimental facilities have grown more sophisticated in their instrumentation and data collection, the volume of data they produce has grown to the point where it takes months or even years to pore through it and see what it really contains. And by then, it may be too late.
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