Research data & metadata
Structuring research data, recording provenance, and making handovers explicit with ROOT & SHAPE.
Dr. Lukas C. Bossert
Deputy Head of Research Process & Data Management at IT Center@RWTH Aachen University
I am a passionate classical archaeologist with a PhD from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. After working as a Data Steward in two Collaborative Research Centers, I now serve as the Deputy Head of the “Research Process & Data Management” department at RWTH Aachen University’s IT Center. I blend my expertise in classical archaeology with research data management and interdisciplinarity to bridge the gap between theory and practical applications. In my current role, I take a process-oriented and data-driven approach to ensure seamless collaboration among researchers, data managers, and IT professionals.
Explore my work
Research outputs, connected methods and practical learning materials.
Skills
Tools and methods I use to document research, work with data, and teach reproducible workflows.
LaTeX & bibliographies
Developing reusable publication templates and bibliography styles, from archaeological scholarship to research reports and posters.
Emacs
Bringing text, code, data, and documentation into one working environment for collaborative research.
Org mode & literate workflows
Keeping executable code beside its explanation and results with Org Babel, so the steps behind an analysis remain inspectable.
Git & GitLab
Tracking changes, collaborating on research materials, and teaching version control with Git and GitLab.
Shell & text processing
Automating repeatable text and data transformations with shell scripts and small, inspectable tools such as AWK and Make.
R
Statistical computing and graphics for research data evaluation.
SQLite
Designing and querying small databases for structured research data storage.
Experiences
1
IT Center @ RWTH Aachen University
Oct 2019 - Present
Aachen, DE
At the digital heart of RWTH Aachen University, the IT Center propels innovation—connecting ideas with technology to shape tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
Deputy Head of Department "Research Process & Data Management"
April 2022 - Present
Responsibilities:
- Empowering teams and cultivate success through collaboration and strategic leadership.
- Guiding a dynamic team as Group Leader—unleashing potential and achieving remarkable outcomes together.
Data Steward
Oct 2019 - Mar 2022
Responsibilities:
- Independently conceiving and implementing workshops focused on Research Data Management with a medical emphasis.
- Introducing an electronic laboratory journal within the medical faculty.
- Programming for metadata documentation and data evaluation of next-generation sequence analyses using languages like Python, PyQt, and Bash.
- Automating reporting and analysis of publications through scripting in Bash and R, as well as utilizing CI/CD practices.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Apr 2019 - Sep 2019
Berlin, Germany
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is a prestigious university known for its strong focus on research and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Scientific Coordinator
Apr 2019 - Sep 2019
Responsibilities:
- Managing and coordinating interdisciplinary research and teaching institutes at the August-Boeckh-Antike Center.
- Overseeing project management within the field of science management.
- Conducting courses on Digital Methodological Competence in Ancient Studies.
2
3
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin / Cluster of Excellence Topoi
Apr 2018 - Dec 2018
Berlin, Germany
The Cluster of Excellence Topoi focuses on the study of ancient societies through interdisciplinary approaches.
Research Assistant
Apr 2018 - Dec 2018
Responsibilities:
- Programming automated transfer and publication of research data in various formats and structures using Perl and LaTeX.
- Designing and implementing a conceptual, server-based, fully automated form creation system.
- Developing a data management plan and establishing comprehensive tests for automated alignment of newly programmed research data publication formats.
German Archaeological Institute (DAI)
Oct 2016 - Mar 2018
Berlin, Germany
The German Archaeological Institute is dedicated to archaeological research both nationally and internationally.
Research Assistant
Oct 2016 - Mar 2018
Responsibilities:
- Collaborating in the scientific editorial department with a focus on digital publishing at the German Archaeological Institute.
- Conceiving, developing, and maintaining the online publication portal iDAI.publications.
- Developing a media-neutral workflow for cross-media publication of scientific works with supplements.
4
Education
Projects
Open tools, reusable templates, and research examples. Each project links to its source or published materials.
Author2026
Five principles for making workflow decisions explicit, from recording provenance to evaluating results. Start with the published criteria and a local self-check.
Maintainer2015-
A bibLaTeX style for archaeologists, historians and philologists, with discipline-specific citation and bibliography conventions.
Maintainer2025-
ROOT — Robust, Open, Ongoing, Time-tested. Materials and examples for choosing established, community-maintained tools for sustainable research data management.
Maintainer2024-
A template for generating plots that are strictly based on provided data — enabling reproducible visualizations in academic and research contexts.
Maintainer2022-
A $\LaTeX$ template for writing a proposal for a Collaborative Research Centre (DFG).
Maintainer2022-
A $\LaTeX$ template for writing a documentation/report about various KPIs.
Maintainer2023-
A $\LaTeX$ template for creating a diagram about an organisation.
Maintainer2024-
A $\LaTeX$ template for creating an overview of IT assets distributed in several office rooms.
Maintainer2024-
This dataset analyzes the Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur (NFDI) network by visualizing connections among entities.
Maintainer2024-
A dataset analysing the network of data-competence centres (DKZ) by visualising their inter-institutional connections among nodes (institutions) and edges (collaboration strength).
Maintainer2024-
A template for issuing certificates of participation after events, workshops or courses, designed to be reusable and styled for recognition.
Talks & Publications
Talks, teaching, and research outputs, with dates, roles, and source materials.
Speaking & teaching
Recent examples in each format, from my activity ledger.
6 selected activities
–
trainer · workshop
co-author · poster
From Data Lake to Data Mesh: Implementing Distributed Research Data Management in CRC1382
Boosting Biodata Bootcamp 2026
Aachen, Germany
discussant · roundtable
trainer · workshop
presenter · poster
speaker · talk
Temporäres Bauen. Ein datengetriebener Ansatz zur Rekonstruktion von Forumsbauten anhand systematischer Lochstrukturen
14. Diskussionen zur Archäologischen Bauforschung
Berlin, Germany
All 61 activities, dates & roles →
Recent research outputs
The latest works from the shared catalogue, including co-authored outputs.
Poster · 2026-10-20
Deliberate Workflows. Why Small Decisions Define the SHAPE of Modern Research Data Processing
Bossert, Lukas C.
Publication · 2026-10-13
Leitfaden für Beratungsgespräche zu Coscine & Speicherplatzanträgen
ROOT & SHAPE
ROOT the tools. SHAPE the workflow.
ROOT
Robust · Open · Ongoing · Time-tested
A lens for choosing research tools whose behaviour, formats and maintenance make them usable over time.
SHAPE
Structure stages · Harmonize handovers · Automate actions · Propagate provenance · Evaluate explicitly
Five principles to apply throughout a workflow. Revisit every principle as inputs, responsibilities and methods change.
Explore the SHAPE materials ↗Learn by making
When missing is not zero
Compare two checked versions of a small dataset. See how one changed value affects the mean, the table and the figure.
Try the data experiment →Open a working example
The tours combine source code, explanations and reproducible outputs. Start with ROOT & SHAPE or browse the existing learning materials.
Browse all tours ↗Trainings and Workshops
Complete workshop & teaching history
Instructor3 and 7 November 2025
Teaching the basics for efficient coding.
$\LaTeX$ for Scholars of Classics
Instructor, Helper2016,2017,2018,2023,2025
Teaching the basics of $\LaTeX$ as introduction into the rabbit hole.
Wikidata Beginner’s Workshop
Instructor2023
Teaching the basics of Wikidata and SPARQL
Data Driven Visualization
Instructor2025
How to do visualization with $\LaTeX$ and data sets.
Network Visualizations using Wikidata, Gephi and InkScape
Instructor2025
Data and Visualization pipeline.
