Reliable atomic and nuclear data are essential ingredients in a wide range of applications, including the design and operation of nuclear power plants; management of nuclear waste; production and uses of radioisotopes, medical dosimetry and diagnostics; the development and applications of lasers and accelerators; fusion energy research; environmental monitoring; plasma processing; materials inspections; and nuclear safeguards.

Nuclear reaction data describe cross sections for fundamental collision processes, for example between a neutron and a nucleus or between two nuclei. Data of both kinds are used for simulations of nuclear reactors, production of nuclear isotopes, radiation damage in materials, neutron shielding, radiation therapy and many other applications. Atomic and nuclear data are also basic tools in many fields of science, from astronomy and astrophysics to earth and atmospheric physics.