Better Scientific Software Fellowship Program: Recognizing and Developing the Cyberinfrastructure Workforce

Researchers supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Energy (DOE) are longstanding leaders in advanced computing, pushing the growth of computational and data-enabled science and engineering as an essential driver of scientific and technological progress. However, we face growing challenges and needs in scientific software and in recruiting and retaining a skilled cyberinfrastructure (CI) workforce. Addressing these challenges requires broad collaboration to foster a diverse and skilled CI workforce, along with practices, processes, and tools to improve developer productivity and software sustainability—as key aspects of increasing scientific productivity and ensuring the integrity of computational results. The Better Scientific Software (BSSw) Fellowship Program—launched in 2018 with support from DOE, with NSF joining sponsorship in 2021—provides recognition and funding for leaders and advocates of high-quality scientific software. NSF partnership in sponsoring the BSSw Fellowship Program's 2024 cohort enables a more robust approach toward pioneering the future of advanced computing ecosystems and communities in support of US scientific leadership. This effort aligns with NSF's vision for "an agile, integrated, robust, trustworthy, and sustainable CI ecosystem that drives new thinking and transformative discoveries in all areas of science and engineering research and education." Beginning in summer 2023, the BSSw Fellowship Program (BSSwF) will be administered by the BSSwF Management Partnership, consisting of Sustainable Horizons Institute (who provide extensive experience in managing workforce development programs), a representative from NSF, and the scientists at Argonne, Berkeley, Livermore, Oak Ridge, and Sandia National Laboratories who launched the BSSwF and lead it. The successes—and clear synergies of the BSSwF with NSF’s Blueprint for CI Learning and Workforce Development—lay the foundation for continuing NSF sponsorship of three BSSw Fellows and three Honorable Mentions for the 2024 fellowship class. The program includes innovative workforce development methodologies and approaches designed to engage a broad range of diverse CI professionals on multiple fronts, including phase of career, age, institution type and size, and topical specialty. A specific focus is broadening participation of underrepresented groups, including people who are Black or African American, Hispanic/Latinx, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islanders, women, persons with disabilities, and first-generation scholars. The BSSw Fellowship Program enhances CI workforce development and pathways to NSF and DOE software communities, through community building and by nurturing a diverse network of people who advance software practices as a fundamental aspect of increasing overall scientific productivity and providing much-needed recognition for their contributions. 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.