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The UCAR Software Engineering Assembly (SEA) exists to serve the interests of the software engineering community at UCAR and NCAR. All members are encouraged to interact with the SE community at UCAR, participate in communities of practice, attend our yearly Improving Scientific Software (ISS) conference, share tips and techniques, and engage in respectful and constructive discussion.

Anyone who is interested in software engineering activities at UCAR is welcome to join the SEA (including external collaborators). For those members who are SE staff at UCAR and NCAR, the SEA is also a vehicle to provide input to and drive dialog with senior management. As membership is not limited to a single lab or facility, the SEA is uniquely positioned to provide a holistic view of the perspective of SEs across the institution and the common challenges we face.

Latest Updates🔗︎

SEA Panel Discussion on Language Interoperability

The UCAR Software Engineering Assembly will hold a panel of lightning talks followed by a discussion on language interoperability at 3 PM MT on Wednesday February 26, 2025.

The discussion can include more traditional Fortran-C/C++ interoperability, but we're especially interested in interoperability of compiled codes with interpreted languages such as Python and Julia. For example, the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) team is considering building out capabilities to facilitate the coupling of model components written in Python or Julia with those in Fortran, C and C++.

We currently have the following panel speakers, who will present ~5 minute lightning talks on related experiences and perspectives:

  • Bill Sacks - thoughts on prospective ESMF capabilities to facilitate the coupling of model components written in Python and Julia with C/C++/Fortran code
  • Kyle Shores - team maintains a lot of C++ code with C interface exposed for Fortran and Python interoperability
  • Orhan Eroglu - GeoCAT experiences leveraging Python-Fortran (via f2py) and Python-C++ (via Cython) interoperability

There is still room for 1-2 more panelists, so please reach out to the SEA committee if you may be interested. If you are NCAR/UCAR staff, you can use this calendar link to save this event. If you are external to the organization but wish to attend, contact our admin team for a registration link.

Support Available for Students with Submissions to ISS 2025

Abstract submission is open until January 24, 2025 for the annual Improving Scientific Software Conference, which will take place April 7-10, 2025 in Boulder, CO and virtually. The theme of ISS 2025 is From Legacy to Leading-Edge: Transforming Software Design in Science to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges. We are accepting submissions for talks, as well as tutorial and panel sessions.

The ISS Committee is pleased to announce that travel and registration support will be available for a select number of accepted student (undergraduate and graduate) submissions. For more details on the Conference, abstract submission, and student travel support, please visit our conference website.

2025 Improving Scientific Software Conference now accepting abstracts

The UCAR Software Engineering Assembly's Improving Scientific Software Conference is now accepting abstracts for our 2025 event which will take place April 7-10, 2025 at NSF NCAR's Center Green Campus and virtually. The theme of ISS 2025 is:

From Legacy to Leading-Edge: Transforming Software Design in Science to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges.

As always, we welcome anyone with an interest in improving scientific software quality, development, and design. Abstracts are due by: Friday January 24, 2025. We are accepting submissions for talks, as well as tutorial and panel sessions.

You may submit an abstract here and visit our conference website for more information.

Participate in an upcoming SEA event on language interoperability

The UCAR SEA is planning to have a discussion, with a few short presentations, on the topic of language interoperability, providing an opportunity for groups to share their experiences and plans in this area. This can include more traditional Fortran-C/C++ interoperability, but we're especially interested in interoperability with other languages such as Python and Julia.

For example, the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) team is considering building out capabilities to facilitate the coupling of model components written in Python or Julia with those in Fortran, C and C++.

We are looking for volunteers to give microtalks on the subject. Do you have experience with this kind of language interoperability that you would be willing to share in a short (~ 5-minute) presentation or through participation in a discussion session on this topic – sharing successful techniques, challenges you’ve encountered, etc.? Or does your group have plans to add capabilities in this area that you would be willing to share?

If so, please contact Brian to discuss how you can get involved.

Upcoming SEA Discussion: Strategic Plans and navigating big picture themes

Join the UCAR Software Engineering Assembly (SEA) at 9:00 am MT on November 14th for a lightly-moderated discussion on Strategic Plans and navigating big picture themes.

Recently, NSF NCAR staff were invited to provide feedback on the first draft of the 2025-2029 NSF NCAR Strategic Plan (if you are staff, see this Sundog link for more information and the draft itself). Initial feedback from staff is due at the end of November, and so the SEA is holding this impromptu discussion for two primary purposes: (a) provide a venue for research software engineers within our organization to discuss the draft document and (b) to discuss strategic planning in general. In addition to specific feedback the SEA can pass forward to management, we’d encourage you to bring your thoughts on:

  • What do you focus on when reviewing or drafting a strategic plan?
  • Do you feel represented in strategic plans? If not, how could that be improved?
  • Do you see the impact of strategic plans on your work and/or environment?

This event is primarily intended for NSF NCAR/UCAR Staff. To join, add this event to your calendar.

Upcoming SEA Seminar and Open Discussion on Developer Exchange Programs

Join the UCAR Software Engineering Assembly (SEA) at 2pm MT on October 10th for a short presentation on developer exchange programs followed by a lightly-moderated discussion.

Inspired by the 'visiting scientist' concept, ACOM and Unidata piloted a Developer Exchange Program. From January to July of last year, Kyle Shores (ACOM) and Ward Fisher (Unidata) asynchronously dedicated a portion of their time working on projects across organizations. Kyle spent three months contributing cmake and modern build & test infrastructure expertise to the netCDF project at Unidata, after which Ward reciprocated with 3 three months of expertise in structured software engineering and cross-platform software development to the Musica project at ACOM. Kyle and Ward's work focused on how their skill sets could benefit the other's projects. With the successful completion of this pilot program, we want to gauge interest in expanding this program so that any software developer can participate.

If you wish to join us for this event and you are NCAR/UCAR Staff, add this event to your calendar. If you are external, please email Taysia Peterson for an invitation.

Welcome to the new SEA website

The UCAR Software Engineering Committee is excited to officially launch the new SEA public facing website today! This long-awaited update will make it easier for the SEA to provide timely updates and content to you, our community. Expect additional content to be added the coming months.

In the meantime, please check out our archives of recent Improving Scientific Software Conferences, Open Discussions, and links to our community portals. We also have an archive of our old site available, so the content provided there is still available.

If you have an interest in helping us with website content, feel free to submit a pull request - this website uses a modified mkdocs template and pages are tracked via the GitHub repository linked in the upper right.

Upcoming SEA Open Discussion on GPUs and Accelerators

Join the UCAR Software Engineering Assembly at 11 AM MT on Tuesday, August 13 for a lightly-moderated discussion on the use of GPUs or any other hardware accelerators across UCAR.

Any discussion topics are welcome, as are all experience levels. We encourage you to share your experiences, good and bad.

Some potential discussion topics include:

  • Current uses of GPUs and accelerators, including applications, discovered benefits, and methods of implementation (CUDA, OpenACC, etc.).
  • Barriers, challenges, or pitfalls to using GPUs.
  • Thoughts on UCAR/NCAR pursuing GPU or accelerator capabilities versus other software-related goals or facilities.
  • What could SEA do to help support and/or advocate for community needs in this area?

Hope to see you there! For NCAR/UCAR Staff, add this event to your calendar. If you are external, please email Taysia Peterson for an invitation.

Questions? Email Jesse Nusbaumer or email Supreeth Suresh.