Scientific Software Days Conference

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

Technology and science have a wide influence on our lives. From the discovery of new medical treatments to the simulation of weather and climate systems, novel scientific research directly impacts the health, well-being and security of the nation. Computer systems, and the software that runs on them, serve as a vessel to execute this research. As a result, software is now a fundamental research tool that advances science. Software must be developed sustainably with adequate maintenance, testing and growth for the purposes of ensuring the reproducibility of scientific results and to promote the growth of science. This conference brings together experts across varying scientific disciplines to share best practices for the development of scientific software. Furthermore, this conference aims to reach the next generation of scientists and researchers that develop software, serving not only as an educational experience but also as an opportunity to see how to leverage open source contributions for the purposes of career development. Since the practice of developing software sustainably is applicable to all scientific domains, this conference will have a broader impact on science as a whole. Moreover, reaching an audience of earlier-career researchers has the twofold benefit of a) being an educational experience; and b) helping solidify and promote sustainable software development for the future. 21st century research increasingly relies on the development of ever more sophisticated scientific software. Projects such as R, Trilinos, PETSc, and IPython have been adopted in a manifold number of disciplines and now are indispensable tool sets. The goals of the Scientific Software Days (SSD) conference are twofold: (1) To bring together scientific software communities to share best practices; (2) Share information on the latest technologies of interest to communities. For both graduate students and early career academics interested in scientific software, SSD provides a natural venue to interact with scientific software leaders from three core areas: universities, research labs, and industry. In all three areas, the combination of deep domain expertise and advanced software development skills is in high demand. This conference will be held in the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Building (POB) at the University of Texas at Austin, February 25-26, 2016. The meeting will include invited talks from both young and established developers and scientists, a poster session to showcase the work of junior researchers, as well as a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities for developing and supporting scientific software in each of the three main career paths. Funding is included in the budget for travel and accommodations for poster session participants to support those who may not have another source of funding, and an effort will also be made to advertise to and promote the inclusion of members of underrepresented groups in these participants.