Speaker
Description
Simulation software packages are fundamental for advancing modern scientific
research. These tools vary widely in scale, from a few thousand lines of code
to millions, demanding significant human expertise and computational resources
for their development and long-term maintenance. Yet, despite this critical
role, both the developers and the process of scientific software development
are often underappreciated in academic settings.
In this talk, I will explore aspects and challenges specific to scientific
code development within academia, aiming to stimulate a broader discussion
around several core questions: Is the current academic model the most
effective way to develop research software? How much should society invest in
building and maintaining research software? What strategies can we adopt to
ensure that scientific code is robust and reliable? What unique questions and
obstacles do scientific software development projects encounter? Furthermore,
how can we ensure the long-term accessibility, maintenance, and
reproducibility of simulation software and simulation results?
Drawing on two decades of experience as a co-developer and co-manager of the
DFTB+ quantum mechanical atomistic simulation software, and as an active
member of the Fortran developer community, I will share some lessons learned
so far and offer some views on the future of research software engineering.
