Improving the Sustainability of Research and Scientific Software

Improving the Sustainability of Research and Scientific Software

In the rapidly evolving field of computational science, sustainability of research and scientific software has become a crucial element for future progress. The robustness and long-term viability of scientific computing software ecosystems is essential for the success of many scientific and technical organizations. A critical aspect of promoting sustainability is the evaluation and monitoring of project health within these ecosystems. This minisymposium will explore sustainability metrics’ requirements and development, with speakers from the open-source software community, industry, and national laboratories sharing insights on theoretical models and practical experiences in software management. This event will also include a panel discussion, serving as a collaborative platform for exchanging best practices in software sustainability. It will address the challenges in software maintenance, the importance of effective stewardship strategies, and the crucial role of community involvement in ensuring the enduring success of scientific software. This event is more than a discussion—it’s an active engagement in shaping the future of scientific software sustainability. It offers a platform for collaboration among various stakeholders to ensure the resilience and vitality of scientific software, crucial for progress in computational science and technology.

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Workshop URL

https://pasc24.pasc-conference.org/session/?sess=sess135

Open-Source Scientific Software Ecosystem Stewardship: Pathways to Foundations

Broad communities across government, non-profits, industry, and academia are involved in the use and development of scientific software to readily integrate the latest approaches in computing such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The open-source foundation model has proved highly successful in the sustainment of research software. For example, the two-decade-old Linux Foundation supports over 200 communities and 3,400 project source code repositories, including the recently announced High Performance Software Foundation (HPSF). Additionally, NumFOCUS, Inc. established in 2012 and focusing on essential research software projects, has 45 sponsored and 51 affiliated projects. In this minisymposium, we explore strategies of stewardship pathways to foundations fostering innovation and providing common services and infrastructure that benefit all communities. Our speakers will address the following questions: Why would one want to join an open-source software foundation? What are potential pathways to joining a foundation? What challenges and opportunities may be encountered? The talks in this session will address lessons learned and facilitate a thought-provoking discussion aimed at enabling informed decision making when choosing pathways to open-source software advancement.

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Workshop URL

https://pasc24.pasc-conference.org/session/?sess=sess168