Award Abstract # 2017259
Collaborative Research: CyberTraining: Implementation: Small: INnovative Training Enabled by a Research Software Engineering Community of Trainers (INTERSECT)

NSF Org: OAC
Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC)
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
Initial Amendment Date: July 21, 2020
Latest Amendment Date: January 22, 2025
Award Number: 2017259
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen
shabagch@nsf.gov
 (703)292-8104
OAC
 Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC)
CSE
 Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
Start Date: August 15, 2020
End Date: July 31, 2025 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $243,761.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $283,761.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2020 = $243,761.00
FY 2025 = $40,000.00
History of Investigator:
  • Jeffrey Carver (Principal Investigator)
    carver@cs.ua.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
801 UNIVERSITY BLVD
TUSCALOOSA
AL  US  35401
(205)348-5152
Sponsor Congressional District: 07
Primary Place of Performance: University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
AL  US  35486-0005
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
07
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): RCNJEHZ83EV6
Parent UEI: RCNJEHZ83EV6
NSF Program(s): CyberTraining - Training-based,
EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE
Primary Program Source: 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01002021DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 026Z, 9150
Program Element Code(s): 044Y00, 736100
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.070

ABSTRACT

Software forms the backbone of much current research in a variety of scientific and engineering domains. The breadth and sophistication of software skills required for modern research software projects is increasing at an unprecedented pace. Despite this fact, an alarming number of researchers who develop software do not have adequate training in software development. Therefore, it is imperative for researchers who develop the software that will drive tomorrow?s critical research discoveries to have access to software engineering training at multiple stages of their career, to not only make them more productive, but also to make their software more robust, reliable, and sustainable. This project, INnovative Training Enabled by a Research Software Engineering Community of Trainers (INTERSECT), provides training on software development and engineering practices to research software developers who already possess an intermediate or advanced level of knowledge. To achieve this goal, INTERSECT provides expert-led training courses and workshops to help build the pipeline of computational researchers trained in best practices for research software development. This project serves the national interest and NSF's mission of promoting the progress of science by preparing a workforce who are trained in research software engineering best practices and addresses a gap in the current training and education available to research software developers.

The INTERSECT project provides training in research software engineering practices for researchers who are engaged in software development by (1) involving practicing Research Software Engineers (RSEs) in workshops to curate, develop, and refine training material and (2) using experienced RSEs to conduct training courses focused on that material. INTERSECT assembles experienced RSEs from the growing RSE community across the country who are interested in being instructors, to gather information about their capabilities, knowledge, and expertise. In addition to developing materials, INTERSECT is curating the materials used in the workshops and training sessions into existing frameworks. This curation provides an open-source platform that allows RSEs to have ongoing engagement with the training material and helps coordinate efforts across the RSE-trainer community. To support the generation and curation of materials, INTERSECT sponsors multiple RSE-trainer workshops. These workshops connect practicing RSEs, who are also instructors, from across the country to both leverage the diversity of knowledge present in different institutions and to build and strengthen a national community of this increasingly important group of Cyberinfrastructure Professionals. By contributing to the growth of this community, INTERSECT will have a broad and long lasting impact on research software through increased access to peer support, resource and knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities for community members. By providing intermediate and advanced level training events and RSE workshops, INTERSECT will help to cultivate sophisticated Research Software Developers, bring awareness to the RSE career path, and strengthen the nascent national community of RSEs.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.

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