Recognizing and Developing Cyberinfrastructure Professionals through the Better Scientific Software (BSSw) Fellowship Program

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, there are 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 (https://bssw.io/fellowship)—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. Beginning in June 2023, the BSSw Fellowship Program (BSSwF) has been administered by the BSSwF Management Partnership, consisting of Sustainable Horizons Institute (who provide extensive experience in managing workforce development programs and diversity, equity, and inclusion), a representative from NSF, and the scientists at Argonne, Berkeley, Livermore, Oak Ridge, and Sandia National Laboratories who launched the BSSwF and lead it. NSF supported three BSSw Fellows and three Honorable Mentions in 2022, 2023, and 2024, following support in 2021 of one each. These 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 2025 and 2026 fellowship classes. NSF partnership in sponsoring the BSSwF enables a more robust approach toward pioneering the future of advanced computing ecosystems and communities in support of US scientific leadership, including the strengthening of connections between NSF and DOE scientific communities. 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.’ The BSSw Fellowship Program enhances CI workforce development and pathways to NSF and DOE software communities, 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. The addition of Sustainable Horizons Institute to the Executive Team brings 10 years of success in recruiting and cultivating a diverse CI workforce as well as catalyzing a more inclusive CI ecosystem. 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.