Symposium on Data-driven Approaches in X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

The organizers of DataXAS 2026, Maarten Nachtegaal, Aram Bugaev, Adam Clark and Tomas Aidukas, at the event.

DataXAS 2026, the Symposium on Data-Driven Approaches in X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, was an inspiring way to kick off the new year! Organized by NCCR Catalysis members Adam Clark, Aram Bugaev, and Maarten Nachtegaal, together with their colleague Tomas Aidukas, the NCCR Catalysis-sponsored symposium took place at the snow-covered ETH Hönggerberg campus on 5-6 January 2026.

The symposium brought together researchers from across the world. It featured talks on data-driven decomposition and spectral extraction; machine learning for XAS prediction and analysis; advanced approaches to EXAFS analysis; and bridging simulations and experiments with machine learning.

In addition to international guest speakers, NCCR Catalysis PI Teodoro Laino delivered the opening keynote on the outlook for machine learning in spectroscopy and reproducible data.

Angelo Bellia, an NCCR Catalysis PhD student in the group of Christoph Müller, felt that “the symposium was very stimulating and provided a unique opportunity to interact with experts working to take XAS to the next level. It was exciting to see how this work is already shaping tools and approaches that will benefit the next generation of researchers!”

Andrea Ruiz Ferrando, an NCCR Catalysis postdoc in the group of Javier Pérez-Ramírez found that “the symposium reinforced the idea that data science is becoming a key lever for extracting deeper insight from XAS, beyond experimental advances alone. What made it particularly compelling was the strong collaborative spirit, with many open tools and shared workflows shaping how the community moves forward.”

With such stimulating presentations and scientific discussions, we couldn’t think of a better way to start 2026!