Episode 264

Neil Chue Hong on the Software Sustainability Institute

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March 21st, 2025

39 mins 19 secs

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About this Episode

Guest

Neil Chue Hong

Panelists

Richard Littauer | Justin Dorfman

Show Notes

In this episode of Sustain, hosts Richard Littauer and Justin Dorfman talk with Neil Chue Hong, Director of the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI). They discuss the SSI's mission to sustain software used in research, the institute's history and funding, the role of research software engineers, and the newly launched Research Software Maintenance Fund (RSMF) with £4.8 million dedicated to supporting research software. Neil shares insights into the collaboration, training initiatives, and policy work done by the SSI to promote sustainability in software development. The episode also touches on the impact of large funding initiatives like those from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the evolving role of software development in the age of large language models (LLMs). Hit the download button now!

[00:01:44] Neil explains SSI’s mission and purpose.

[00:02:27] Richard inquires about SSI’s funding model and how long SSI has existed. Neil explains SSI is a government funded collaboration via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and it was founded in 2010 and is funded through 2028.

[00:05:03] Richard highlights SSI’s impact and Neil discusses how SSI helped establish “Research Software Engineer (RSE)’ as a recognized role.

[00:08:20] SSI’s annual Collaborations Workshop (May 13-15 in Stirling, UK) is mentioned, and Neil recalls a pivotal collaboration with Greg Wilson (Software Carpentry), which expanded training programs.

[00:11:16] Neil explains that the SSI has evolved from consultancy to training, community initiatives, and policy advocacy to scale its impact and ensure long-term sustainability in research software.

[00:13:57] Richard introduces SSI’s new £4.8M Research Software Maintenance Fund (RSMF). Neil explains it supports maintaining existing research software and it’s funded by the UK’s Digital Research Infrastructure Programme (UKRI).

[00:16:54] A question comes up about the geopolitical impact of this funding and Neil states the UK is maintaining leadership in research software sustainability, not just focusing on national capability.

[00:20:54] Neil defines research software products being targeted by the RSMF as software used beyond its original development team.

[00:22:54] Richard asks if £4.8M is a significant investment and Neil explains this is comparable to past UK research software grants..

[00:25:10] Neil acknowledges Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) for improving funding models for research software.

[00:29:45] Justin asks how LLMs are changing research software engineering. Neil compares LLMs’ impact on software development to smartphones revolutionizing photography.

[00:34:05] Find out where you can connect with UKRI, SSI, and with Neil on the web.

Quotes

[00:02:07] “We’ve got this motto: Better Software, Better Research.”

[00:29:03] “You can define what is clearly sci-fi, you can define what is clearly research software, but making an arbitrary cut-off point is really hard.”

Spotlight

  • [00:35:13] Justin’s spotlight is ghostty.
  • [00:35:40] Richard’s spotlight is Olympus Tough cameras.
  • [00:36:34] Neil’s spotlight is The Carpentries and Cinema For All.

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