EP024 UK RSE and Software Sustainability

In episode 24, we interviewed Simon Hettrick Professor at the University of Southampton in the UK. We started the discussion with him by asking about his transition from deveoppin high-power lasers to founding the research software engineers (RSE) association and how his experiences got him in his current position. We then discussed about the roles of RSE in research and how funding for RSE evolved over the past. The discussion went on about the RSE association, its growth over time, branches in other countries and local events. We discussed that the relation between FLOSS and more sustainable research software is not always clear and more work is needed in that area. After talking with him about the lack of sufficient preparation that students receives during their undergrad studies in regard to the tools needed to tackle research software development we finished with our usual quick questions. 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:18 Introduction and Simon Hettrick's presentation 00:00:56 His academic status at the University of Southampton 00:01:53 His transition from developping high power compact lasers to RSE 00:03:31 About his PhD and general comments about PhD defenses 00:04:21 Any relations between laser and his current research area? 00:07:57 1 minute elevator pitch for UK RSE 00:08:32 The growing importance of software and the effect on funding 00:14:03 Defining what is a RSE 00:17:35 How many RSE in UK? 00:18:20 The state of preparation of the research community for brexit 00:20:05 When was the RSE association founded? 00:20:16 How to become a member of RSE UK and the growth rate of the association 00:22:44 Other RSE branches 00:24:42 Relations between RSE associations 00:25:40 Regional RSE organizations and RSE groups 00:27:09 Local meetups groups 00:28:00 Crediting research software development 00:31:39 Is FLOSS the norm or the exception for RSE? 00:35:09 Does FLOSS helps providing better and more sustainable research software? 00:38:55 Curriculum for new researchers 00:43:50 The state of research software licensing 00:46:13 Most notable recent scientific discovery 00:48:13 His favourite text processing tool 00:48:58 A topic in science he changed his mind about 00:50:13 How to contact Simon 00:50:37 Conclusion