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Event

When: September 1 to 3, 2026 (3 day meeting)

Where: Virtual (via Webex) and in-person at the University of Virginia Darden in Arlington, VA.

Who: The meeting is open to anyone in the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) data and information stewardship community, including SMD data repository stewards, SMD-funded data producers, and data system infrastructure engineers. 

Meeting Description

Please join us from September 1-3, for the 2026 NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Open Source Science Data Repositories annual meeting at UVA Darden in Arlington, VA. This three-day meeting will bring together data officers, repository data stewards, NASA-funded data producers, data system infrastructure engineers and NASA Office of the Chief Science Data Officer (OCSDO) leadership to discuss current progress and identify potential technology and frameworks that can enhance scientific productivity and impact across NASA SMD repositories.

The theme of the meeting is “Aligning Data Stewardship for the AI Era: Unlocking NASA Science Data for Discovery and Analysis”. During the meeting, participants will examine how artificial intelligence and the emerging commercial data paradigms are reshaping the role, responsibilities and practices of data stewardship. Hands-on sessions will also focus on preparing data systems for usability in the emerging AI landscape, along with effectively integrating agents into data stewardship workflows. Finally, there will be opportunities for data repository stewards and owners to share recent accomplishments and gather to form a stronger and more cohesive community.

Key Objectives

  • Foster a shared conceptual framework for data stewardship in an evolving AI environment
  • Develop approaches for preparing AI-ready data systems, including accessibility for large language models, and integrating AI into data stewardship workflows
  • Identify key gaps in current stewardship practices, policies and infrastructure as it relates to both AI and commercial data
  • Strengthen cross-organizational coordination and a community of practice around data stewardship
  • Socialize and obtain feedback on current SMD governance activities
  • Brainstorm strategies to improve the interoperability of data, metadata, and distribution mechanisms

The meeting will take place at UVA Darden. The event space includes large conference rooms and breakout/discussion rooms for all planned activities. Each room will accommodate virtual attendance options. There is no registration fee.

The meeting agenda will be added when finalized this summer.

Meeting Material

Read the previous 2025 Workshop Report.

Code of Conduct

This meeting will be held following the Open Science Code of Conduct.

For More Information

If you have any questions, please contact Kaylin Bugbee - DASP Lead.

To see the previous meeting held in 2025, visit Open Source Science Data Repositories Workshop 2025.