US-RSE July 2024 Newsletter

July 2024

newsletter July

Published: Jul 22, 2024

In this monthly newsletter, we share recent, current, and planned activities of the US-RSE Association, and related news that we think is of interest to US-RSE members. Newsletters are also available on our website alongside the growing resources and information on the US-RSE Association. To receive our newsletter, join US-RSE.

In this issue:

1. Membership Benefits

The US-RSE leadership team (Executive Director, Community Manager, and Steering Committee) has been strategizing about how to bring additional membership benefits to you, our valued members. We are excited to bring a new benefit, one that we hope is the first of many new tangible benefits for US-RSE members!

We’ve negotiated/partnered with the Agile Alliance to bring discounted rates to their upcoming conference. Agile Alliance is a global non-profit membership organization founded on the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. They support people and organizations who explore, apply and expand Agile values, principles, and practices. There is some clear overlap with US-RSE with goals in regard to agile development and material that can benefit people in agile software development and/or agile management.

Agile Alliance has their Agile 2024 conference from July 22-26th, 2024 at the Gaylord Texan. As US-RSE member you can get $200 off the registration fee with this code specifically for US-RSE AA21US-RSE!

Do you have suggestions for other organizations that could be potential US-RSE partners? Or other member benefits that you’d like to see? If so email sandra@us-rse.org.

2. US-RSE Conference 2024 (USRSE’24)

Registration is open!

Registration is open!

Conference Date

October 15-17, 2024, Albuquerque, NM

Travel Arrangements

Two hotels within a short walking distance are available with a special rate for those attending US-RSE’24. Are you getting ready and making travel arrangements? Please consider booking at one of these convenient locations! Visit the Travel page for codes, booking links, and more https://us-rse.org/usrse24/attend/travel/.

US-RSE 2024 Tutorials

Tutorials will be online only and conducted virtually in the weeks prior to the conference https://buff.ly/4f6USF4.

Conference Program Timetable

View our Program Timetable!

3. Community News

Community Calls

August Community Call - Summertime Coffee Chat

The next community call will take place on Friday, August 9, at 2pm ET/1pm CT/12pm MT/11am PT.

Call for Presenters: If you are interested in presenting at an upcoming community call, then please get in touch with Julia Damerow and Abbey Roelofs in the #communitycalls channel or by messaging them directly.

July Community Call (Past)

The July Community Call was all about Version Control.

Community and Travel Funds program

Part of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant for US-RSE has been delegated for the Community and Travel Funds program. Members of US-RSE can apply for funds for community or individual purposes for event costs, get-togethers, travel funding, and more.

Next Application Deadline: September 30, 2024.

RSE Empowerment in National Labs

The next RSE Empowerment in National Labs working group meeting will be Thursday August 22 at 3pm ET/ 2pm CT/ 1pm MT / 12pm PT. We will be continuing our “RSEs in the National Labs” speaker series with a presentation from Alicia Evans. She will be talking about her experience working at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). This meeting is open to all US-RSE members who are interested. You can find a link to the meeting in the bookmarks section of the #national-labs Slack channel.

Member Spotlight - Jamil Gafur

Jamil Gafur

Background

Hi! My name is Jamil.

As a first-generation Guyanese student from New York, my undergraduate journey illuminated the transformative potential of computer science across diverse disciplines. My initial experience in software development for domain scientists occurred in my third year of undergrad, where I integrated computational methods into their work. This opportunity revealed how my contributions could positively impact various domains. Subsequently, I expanded my experiences to prestigious institutions such as Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) before embarking on a doctoral program here at the University of Iowa.

Throughout my works, I have always collaborated closely with domain scientists. This was unknowingly my first step as a Research Software Engineer (RSE) and I eventually found the United States Research Software Engineer Association (US-RSE) in my first year of my Ph.D. Upon finding the US-RSE Association, my experience deepened my commitment to empowering scientists by enabling them to implement robust software solutions, thereby enhancing the reproducibility and impact of their research.

Research Software Engineering

My journey as an RSE began during my bachelor’s degree when I worked as a Research Assistant in a biochemistry lab. This experience introduced me to the world of research that impacts society positively, which fascinated me. Subsequently, I secured an internship at LANL, where I was exposed to diverse RSE opportunities like parallel computing for epidemiology, parameter optimization for material simulations, and software design for atmospheric modeling.

Discovering this field was a revelation; I found immense enjoyment in the work and was surprised that I could be paid to teach, conduct research, travel, and make a meaningful impact. During my program, I have deepened my understanding of the RSE field and also started mentoring others on the side. Collaborating with like-minded individuals and nurturing the next generation of RSEs has been immensely fulfilling.

US-RSE Involvement

The Education and Training Working Group’s seminars and the training materials on the US-RSE website have been invaluable resources for me. I take pride in contributing to the compilation of training resources featured on the site, which are designed for self-paced learning and offer members opportunities to acquire various skills.

Another aspect of the US-RSE community that I particularly enjoy is the memes channel I introduced on our Slack platform. This channel has been a lighthearted yet effective way to foster camaraderie and build a sense of community among members. Beyond sharing funny and relatable content, it has helped us connect on a more personal level, enhancing our overall experience as part of the US-RSE network. Building this community through humor has been a refreshing and positive contribution to our journey in the RSE field together.

Local Meetups

Are you hosting a local meetup for RSEs? Have you hosted one in the past year? We would love to hear more about your experience. Please email sophia@us-rse.org or contact me through Slack.

4. Interesting Events and Opportunities

💥Get Your Magical US-RSE Unicorn - Edition 2024!

Would you like to support US-RSE and get a magical unicorn? Our magical unicorn - Edition 2024 is here! https://give.communityin.org/02OaKa?ref=ab_5CNhbc

💥DiveRSE - Supporting EDI within the RSE community

Join this conversation about Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) in the RSE community. Ella Kaye (Research Software Engineer, University of Warwick) and Malvika Sharan (Senior Researcher – Open Research at the Alan Turing Institute and co-lead of The Turing Way) will converse about their experiences in/with the RSE community, as well as both the challenges and successes they’ve encountered when working to improve EDIA. They will discuss the importance and difficulties of community-building and why it matters from an EDIA perspective.

DiveRSE is a series of talks and related activities including discussion and panel sessions designed to support and raise awareness of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) challenges and successes within the research software community.

💥A Survey on Refactoring Practices in the Development of Scientific Software

The FORCOLAB at the University of Toronto (UofT)is conducting a research study on understanding the refactoring practices and challenges in open-source scientific software. The main objective is to better support refactoring tasks during scientific software development. Please share your refactoring experiences in open-source scientific software by completing this survey.

💥Survey on Software Environments for Heliophysics

For RSEs in helio/solar physics– IHDEA (International Heliophysics Data Environment Alliance) has formed a working group to define common heliophysics tools/software in python which the community may one day be able to use and base their software off of. They are collecting some initial feedback about the kinds of software folks in the community are using using this short survey: https://forms.gle/DumtthpGytnhWpCk6.

💥Center for Open-Source Research Software Stewardship and Advancement (CORSA)

The DOE-funded CORSA project has been collecting guidance, documents, examples, templates for open-source software projects, such as on governance, roadmaps, contributing, code of conduct, DEI, licenses, etc. Please feel free to add additional items, as PRs or new issues.

💥Survey on Generative AI for Scientific Software Development

Dr. Elle O’Brien at the University of Michigan will be conducting studies about how scientists are using generative AI tools as part of their scientific software development.

💥Survey to understand mentorship needs

Dr. Reed Milewicz from Sandia National Laboratories is conducting a survey on mentorship. The survey takes 10-15 minutes to complete.

💥Survey to understand how RSEs consider cybersecurity when writing software

Calling all research software engineers! We’re exploring how security is perceived in our community, and we want to hear from you. Whether you think about security every day or rarely think about security, your insights are invaluable to us. To participate, you will complete a survey that takes 20-30 minutes.

If you are willing to participate in this study, please click here.

💥Survey to better understand code review practices of RSEs

Dr. Jeffrey Carver, Dr. Nasir Eisty, and Md Ariful Malik of the University of Alabama are conducting a study to understand the practices, impacts and barriers of code review techniques for RSEs.

If you are willing to participate in this study, please click here.

Upcoming Events

💡HPC Best Practices series: Kitware Software Sustainability Matrix

As the reach and impact of open-source software continue to grow, the ability to assess and improve the long-term sustainability of open-source software projects is paramount. This talk describes the Kitware Software Sustainability Matrix (SSM), a simple set of metrics designed to evaluate the sustainability of software projects and indicate ways to improve. By examining key values—Impact, Risks, Community, and Technology—we provide a structured approach to assess and enhance software sustainability. Details: https://ideas-productivity.org/events/hpcbp-0086-softwaresustainability

💡Call for Participants: Open Science “Dynamic Convergence” Workshop

The workshop will bring together researchers, students, policymakers, funders, and other stakeholders to highlight impactful open science activities; explore collaboration opportunities; and find practical ways to speed up the global adoption of open science. More information about the program and logistics will be shared shortly. Please use this form to express your interest in participating in the workshop: https://forms.gle/rm9aaahGXZNmj4bs9. Applications will close 31 July 2024.

💡Open Science Success Stories in Heliophysics and the Geosciences

Please submit your stories to the “Open to Celebrate” session at AGU: https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu24/prelim.cgi/Session/229151!

💡Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Tutorials for Open Source Projects

View the schedule and register for free tutorials throughout August!

💡Call for Abstracts: Research Software Engineers in HPC

To be held as part of SC24, Atlanta, GA, USA and online.

This workshop will bring together RSEs and allies involved in HPC, from all over the world, to grow the RSE community by establishing and strengthening professional networks of current RSEs and RSE leaders. Participants will hear about successes and challenges that RSEs and RSE groups have experienced, and discuss ways to increase awareness of RSE opportunities and improve support for RSEs. Please visit the website to stay informed about key dates https://us-rse.org/rse-hpc-2024/.

💡The accomplishments of the Exascale Computing Project

Supercomputing Spotlights is a new webinar series featuring short presentations that highlight the impact and successes of high-performance computing (HPC) throughout our world. Presentations, emphasizing achievements and opportunities in HPC, are intended for the broad international community, especially students and newcomers to the field.

Running List of Conferences and Events

Previously shared conferences and events.

5. Interesting Reads, Videos, or Podcasts

6. Get Involved

New guidance was recently released on how to create new Affinity Groups and Working Groups. If you see an unmet need in the US-RSE community, we encourage you to create your own group!

As always, we thank everyone who is already contributing for their help in shaping and growing the organization.

US-RSE Working Groups:

7. Recent Job Postings

These opportunities were recently posted to the RSE Opportunities page:

  1. Software Engineer: Stanford University, Stanford, CA or Remote Posted: Jul 19, 2024
  2. Software Developer Beamline Controls: Berkeley Lab, Berkeley, California Posted: Jul 17, 2024
  3. Research Software Engineer: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY Posted: Jul 12, 2024
  4. Chief Technology Officer and Director for Software: NOIRLab/AURA, Tucson, AZ, USA / La Serena, Chile / Hilo, HI, USA Posted: Jul 11, 2024
  5. Cloud Data Scientist and Software Engineer: Earth Big Data, Remote, US Posted: Jul 10, 2024
  6. Senior Software Developer: Northwestern University, Evanston IL / Hybrid Posted: Jul 02, 2024
  7. Database Engineer: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Hybrid/Remote (Ithaca, NY) Posted: Jun 27, 2024
  8. User Experience Researcher: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA Posted: Jun 26, 2024
  9. Software Engineering Manager: Library Innovation Lab, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA (Hybrid- and Remote-eligible) Posted: Jun 26, 2024
  10. Full-stack Software Engineer: Manifest Technologies, New Haven, CT / Remote Posted: Jun 24, 2024
  11. Computational Research Scientist III: Henry M Jackson Foundation, Frederick, MD Posted: Jun 20, 2024]
  12. Computational Research Scientist III - PDM: Henry M Jackson Foundation, Frederick, MD Posted: Jun 20, 2024
  13. Computational Research Scientist II - PDM: Henry M Jackson Foundation, Frederick, MD Posted: Jun 20, 2024
  14. Computational Research Scientist II - FEA: Henry M Jackson Foundation, Frederick, MD Posted: Jun 20, 2024
  15. Research Software Developer: National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Urbana, IL Posted: Jun 17, 2024
  16. Postdoctoral Appointee – Machine Learning for X-ray Science: Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL USA Posted: May 16, 2024
  17. Research Scientist, Computational Fluid Dynamics Applications: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN Posted: May 09, 2024
  18. Research Scientist III, Computational Fluid Dynamics Applications: Oak Ridge National Laboratory], Oak Ridge, TN Posted: May 09, 2024
  1. Research Data Analyst Associate: Northwestern University, Chicago, IL Posted: Apr 30, 2024

Other Job Boards

The following boards might also be of interest.

  1. Research Software Engineering Opportunities in other associations/societies
  2. Software Carpentries Job Opportunities
  3. Academic Data Science Alliance Jobs
  4. High Performance Computing (HPC) Jobs from hpc.social

Please read our job posting policy first, then fill out this Google form to request additions to the job board.

This newsletter is a joint effort of members of the US-RSE Association.

© US-RSE • 2021-2024 • US-RSE is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

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