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Announcements🔗︎

Reminder: Improving Scientific Software Conference Accepting Abstracts

The 2026 Improving Scientific Software Conference is accepting abstracts through January 23, 2026. The conference is planned for April 6-10, 2026 at NSF NCAR's Mesa Laboratory in Boulder, CO with the theme being Maintaining the Joy of Software Development. We are accepting abstract submissions for talks, tutorials, and panel sessions, and presenters may attend either in person or virtually.

You have likely seen news coverage last week that the National Science Foundation (NSF) is planning a review of NSF NCAR's research and observational capabilities. The ISS Conference organizers have no additional details on the exact timing or scope of the review. We understand that this news may raise questions or concerns about any potential impacts on the conference. At this time, we do not expect any disruption and plan to continue with the conference as intended. We encourage all interested in participating to proceed with submissions. We will keep you updated if anything changes.

2026 Improving Scientific Software Conference now accepting abstracts

The UCAR Software Engineering Assembly's Improving Scientific Software Conference is returning in 2026! Next year's ISS will take place April 6-10, 2026 at NSF NCAR's Mesa Laboratory in Boulder, CO. The theme of the conference will be:

Maintaining the Joy of Software Development.

We are now accepting abstract submissions for talks, tutorials, and panel sessions. As always, we welcome anyone with an interest in improving scientific software design, quality, development, deployment, and support. Abstracts are due by: Friday January 23, 2026. We plan to provide student support as funding allows and will accept paper submissions for a conference proceeding.

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

In-person registration is now closed for ISS 2025

Registration for in-person attendance has now closed for this year's ISS Conference. Thank you to all who have signed up to join us in Boulder next month; we look forward to seeing you! If you have not yet registered but would still like to attend, virtual registration will remain open until the end of the day on April 3rd.

See our ISS 2025 Conference Site for more information about registration and our virtual conference program for a listing of all planned talks, tutorials, and events.

ISS 2025: Program and registration are available now

The online program is now available for the 2025 Improving Scientific Software Conference. Our 4-day program includes a number of talks and two tutorials, along with two keynote presentations (details to be announced soon). We would like to thank all who submitted an abstract to this year's event!

Remember that registration is open now for the conference, which will take place April 7-10, 2025 in Boulder, CO and virtually. In-person registration closes on Friday, March 21, so make sure you register soon if you plan to join us in Boulder. Virtual registration will close on April 3. We have also extended the reduced-rate conference hotel booking deadline to March 19th. For more information along with the link to the registration portal, visit the ISS 2025 website.

Registration is now open for ISS 2025 Conference

The Improving Scientific Software (ISS) Conference committee is pleased to announce that registration is now open for our 2025 Conference, taking place April 7-10 in Boulder, Colorado. ISS brings together software engineers, scientists, developers - any individuals with an interest in scientific software design - to share novel experiences and best practices, develop connections across divisions and institutions, and advance our community.

Participants may register either for in-person or virtual attendance. In-person registration will close on March 21st, while virtual registration will close on April 3rd. For more information and the link to the registration page, see the ISS 2025 Conference website.

ISS 2025 Abstract Submission Deadline Extended to Jan 30

The abstract submission deadline for the annual Improving Scientific Software Conference, which will take place April 7-10, 2025 in Boulder, CO and virtually, has been extended to 5 PM MT on Thursday, January 30. Thank you to all who have already submitted an abstract. The theme of ISS 2025 is From Legacy to Leading-Edge: Transforming Software Design in Science to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges, a focus which feels more relevant to us than ever. We are accepting submissions for talks, as well as tutorial and panel sessions.

As a reminder - 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.

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.