Affinity Groups
What is an Affinity Group?
An affinity group is a set of people linked by a common interest or purpose. Affinity groups have fewer formal requirements than working groups (next section) and can serve as a bridge to form future working groups. Affinity groups may be affiliated with other organizations, e.g., a Women in HPC affinity group, to foster connections across groups.
Some examples are:
- Tool-centric groups (e.g., Python, Rust)
- Hobbies (e.g., hiking, baking)
- Regions (e.g., Southwest RSEs, Chicago RSEs)
How do I join an Affinity Group?
We are currently collecting the full list of active affinity groups and will be migrating them over to follow the standard naming convention (listed below). In the interim, the best way to find an affinity group is to browse open Slack channels or talk to others in the #general channel!
How do I make a new Affinity Group?
We encourage all members of US-RSE to make your own affinity group if you can’t find one for your particular interest or purpose! The Group Management Working Group provides a process for getting your new group set up, including all of the infrastructure to support it.
Please review the Processes and Requirements for Forming US-RSE Affinity Groups page for more details!
Active Affinity Groups
Neuro-RSE
Neuroscience RSE (Neuro-RSE) is an affinity group for those working on research software in neuroscience. We meet to support each other and discuss common issues and concerns.
Neuro-RSE is open to anyone who considers themselves a research software engineer and who works in the field of neuroscience, regardless of job title or domain. This includes grad students, postdocs, and professors, as well as those in permanent positions with “engineer” or “scientist” in their title.
DMV-RSE
DMV (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) RSE is a regional affinity group for professionals in RSE and RSE-adjacent disciplines. We organize informal gatherings where interested professionals can connect and learn from each others.
R-RSE
The R Affinity Group (R-RSE) exists to increase the representation of R users in the US-RSE community and provide opportunities for members to develop R skills.
North Carolina Regional Group
The North Carolina Regional Group connects US-RSE members in North Carolina and organizes local events.
St. Louis Metro Regional Group
The St. Louis Metro Regional Group connects US-RSE members in the St. Louis Metro region and organizes local events.
New York City Regional Group
The New York City Regional Group connects US-RSE members in/around NYC and organizes local events.
Institutional RSE Networking
The Institutional RSE Networking Affinity Group connects Research Software Engineers (RSEs) who support or aspire to develop RSE communities within their organizations.