US-RSE May 2025 Newsletter

👯 This Month: Meetups! 👯

newsletter May

Published: May 28, 2025 by Tinashe M. Tapera

In this monthly newsletter, we share recent, current, and planned activities of the US-RSE Association, and related news that we think is of interest to US-RSE members. Newsletters are also available on our website. To receive our newsletter, join US-RSE.

This month, we’re highlighting the importance and impact of meetups in our community!

Meetups stock photo

Meetups are a great way to connect with fellow Research Software Engineers, share knowledge, and build relationships. Whether you’re interested in discussing best practices, collaborating on projects, or networking and making friends, meetups provide a valuable platform for engagement. Read on to hear about how our members are using meetups to connect with each other and the community at large.

In this issue:

🔔 1. US-RSE Conference 2025 (USRSE’25)

USRSE25 Banner

Are you making plans to join us in 🦅 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 🦅 October 6-8, 2025? The theme for the third annual conference from the United States Research Software Engineer Association (US-RSE) is “Code, Practices, and People.”

The conference organizers are pleased to share that we received many high quality submissions to the upcoming conference. Thank you to all who submitted your work! Reviews are underway and notifications should be sent by July 14. Registration will open in June.

While the submission deadline for most formats has passed, we continue to invite poster submissions for USRSE’25. Poster submissions will be accepted through July 20, 2025.

Whether you’re a research software engineer, data scientist, digital humanist, scientific programmer, software developer, or research software user, US-RSE is where people at the intersection of code and research come together. The USRSE’25 conference is your chance to connect with peers, mentors, and experts in the fast-growing world of research software. Don’t just take our word for it—100% of last year’s post-conference survey respondents said they would return and recommend the conference to others.

Visit the conference website for further details including:

  • Venue, hotel, and travel details
  • Posters: how and where to submit (still have questions? contact usrse2025@easychair.org)
  • Dates for notification of acceptance and other important dates

👯 2. Meetups! How RSE’s Connect 👯

Meetups are a vital part of any community, and US-RSE is no exception. They provide a space for our members to connect, share ideas, and collaborate on projects. This month, we want to highlight some of the recent meetups that have taken place in our community.

DMV Regional Group

The DC/Maryland/Virginia Regional Group (RG-DMV) hosts formal and informal gatherings every 2–3 months, offering professionals a chance to learn from and inspire each other. In January, they held a meetup focused on career development in research software engineering.

The event featured Dr. Angeline Burrell, a research physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory, who led a conversation on writing effective recommendation letters, publishing research code for impact, and incentivizing code and data sharing in grant applications — and, of course, featured pizza!

“A half-hour presentation led to about an hour of rich discussion and experience-sharing among RSEs from diverse research environments,” said one attendee, summarizing the value of the event. “Just what this meetup is supposed to do!”

Between formal events, the #rg-dmv-rse channel on Slack can often be heard buzzing away actively as they plan, attend, and chat about in-person social events they host across the region.

Indiana Regional Group

But what if there’s no meetup in my locale? you may be asking. Well, starting one himself is exactly what Daniel Madren did for local Hoosier-RSEs in the Indianapolis area. In April 2025, Daniel organized the first Indiana Regional Group meetup, bringing together RSEs from Indiana University, Purdue, and Notre Dame.

“We wanted to better understand how each of our teams operate,” he said. “And how we might build something more intentional: a sustainable, connected US-RSE Indiana Regional Group.”

The group kicked off with introductions, then dove into a breakout session with sticky notes, easel pads, and big ideas for future networking strategies. Some ideas included regular meetups and knowledge-sharing events; establishing regional support networks; and emphasizing more in-person collaboration at existing conferences and symposiums.

Wondering how to get started? Daniel’s advice is to just start! “The US-RSE Community Funds program helps break down the barriers of institutional silos. [And,] because of the travel support, folks from Notre Dame and IU could take part in Purdue’s 2025 Research Computing Cyberinfrastructure Symposium, attend the RSE meetup, and build relationships all in one trip.” By colocating events and taking initiative, the group maximized their time and laid the foundation for future collaboration on a modest budget.

🎉 Big thanks and congratulations to Daniel and the Indiana and DMV Regional Groups for sharing their stories! You can read Daniel’s full report here. Would you like to learn more about organizing a meetup? Check out our Forming US-RSE Affinity Groups guide, and don’t miss the Community Funds section below to see how US-RSE can support your next event.

🛞 3. Steering Committee Updates

In May, the Steering Committee continued advancing priorities identified during our earlier strategic planning efforts. A newly formed subcommittee began reviewing Steering Committee eligibility criteria, election procedures, and the potential introduction of appointed roles to better support the evolving organization. With the changing federal funding and policy landscape affecting many RSEs, we also discussed whether and how US-RSE should respond, and what role we might play in supporting the community through these changes. Jointly with our Executive Director, we mapped out key initial tasks, goals, and priorities for a new Community Manager. Finally, we began early planning discussions for the USRSE’26 conference.

🤝 4. Organizational Founding Membership

US-RSE envisions a future where Research Software Engineers are universally respected for advancing science, technology, and society through the transformative power of research software engineering. We’re excited to share that the momentum around our Organizational Founding Membership continues to grow! Our current members are listed below, and organizations that join on or before November 30, 2025, will be recognized in perpetuity as founding members. Founding organizations will also lock in current membership fees through December 31, 2028. Organizational support helps sustain and expand vital community offerings, including the annual conference, monthly calls and newsletter, job board, working groups, and new resources.

Please reach out to Sandra Gesing at sandra@us-rse.org if you are interested in becoming an organizational founding member!

Premier Members

Standard Members

Basic Members

✈️ 4. Community and Travel Funds program

Part of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant for US-RSE has been delegated for the Community and Travel Funds program. Members of US-RSE can apply for funds for community or individual purposes for event costs, get-togethers, travel funding, and more.

The next application deadline is September 30, 2026. We encourage you to apply for funding to support your community and travel needs!
The application process is simple and straightforward. You can find the application form here.

🗞️ 6. Community News

Community Calls

The next community call topic will be on AI in Research Software Engineering and will take place on June 13th at 1PM CDT/2PM EST. Please visit the Community Calls Website for more information and to access the registration link.

It’s been almost two years since we lasted talked about AI, ChatGPT, and LLMs in RSEng, and a lot has changed in that time! Let’s get together and share how we’re using these tools today to write code, check code, or otherwise help out in our roles as RSEs. What do they mean for our job? How are they best deployed? Do they create trustworthy code? Or maybe you use them for research rather than for creating code for research? What do they mean for the next generation of research software engineers? These and so many more questions will be discussed at our next community call.

May Community Call (Past)

The May Community Call was about the upcoming USRSE’25 Conference, and is available on YouTube:

YouTube Video Thumbnail

👀 7. Interesting Events and Opportunities

🦄 They Arrived as a Herd… But They’re Ready to Travel to You! 🚀

The 2025 US-RSE magical unicorns have officially arrived!

US-RSE Unicorn

They came as a herd, packed together in a carton, just like how research software engineers come together to build a stronger community. But now, these unicorns are ready to set off on their own journeys—finding new homes with RSEs, allies, and supporters like you.

This year’s edition proudly wears a red shirt featuring the US-RSE logo integrated with 2025, symbolizing another year of growth, collaboration, and impact. Just like our community, these unicorns remind us that while we each have our own paths, we are part of something bigger—a movement dedicated to advancing research software and supporting those who make it happen.

By adopting a unicorn, you’re not just getting a fun desk companion—you’re also supporting US-RSE’s mission to strengthen the RSE community, advocate for recognition, and create more opportunities for collaboration.

📦 Limited supply—once they leave the herd, they’re gone!

🚚 They’ll ship for free within the US! 🚚

If you're from another country and want to get your hands on a unicorn, reach out to us, and we'll find out whether we can arrange shipping for you.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to own a piece of US-RSE magic and donate to get your Unicorn 2025 Edition today. This edition will be available while supplies last until December 10, 2025 ✨🦄✨

👉 https://give.communityin.org/unicorn2025?ref=ab_20w0PysS59P20w0PysS59P

📚 8. Featured Reads, Videos, and Podcasts

📑 Recent Publications

  • Y. Perez-Riverol, W. Bittremieux, W. S. Noble, L. Martens, A. Bilbao, M. R. Lazear, B. Grüning, D. S. Katz, M. J. MacCoss, C. Dai, J. K. Eng, R. Bouwmeester, M. R. Shortreed, E. Audain, T. Sachsenberg, J. Van Goey, G. Wallmann, B. Wen, L. Käll, W. E. Fondrie, “Open-Source and FAIR Research Software for Proteomics,” Journal of Proteome Research, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 2222–2234, 2025. Read the article.

  • R. Littauer, G. Wilson, J. Ainali, E. A. AlOmar, S. Arabas, Y. Bellini Saibene, K. Bubendorfer, K. Champion, C. Dillon, J. Helske, P. Huybrechts, D. S. Katz, C. Liao, D. Lippert, F. Liu, P. Marshall, D. R. McCloy, I. McInerney, M. W. Mkaouer, P. Ojha, C. Treude, E. P. White, “10 Quick Tips for Making Your Software Outlive Your Job,” arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.06484, 2025. Read the article.

  • P. V. Hernández Serrano, M. Barker, D. S. Katz, C. Martinez-Ortiz, H. Shanahan, “Identifying Gaps in Research Software Policy: A Report from Subgroup 3/4 of the ReSA & RDA Policies in Research Organisations for Research Software (PRO4RS) Working Group,” Research Software Alliance & Research Data Alliance, 2025. Read the report.

  • B. U. Westner, D. R. McCloy, E. Larson, A. Gramfort, D. S. Katz, A. M. Smith, A. Delorme, V. Litvak, S. Makeig, R. Oostenveld, J.-M. Schoffelen, T. M. Tierney, “Cycling on the Freeway: The Perilous State of Open-Source Neuroscience Software,” Imaging Neuroscience, Vol. 3, 2025. Read the article.

📝 Blog Posts

  • A. Mittal, “From Cloud Chaos to Developer Delight — A Practical Guide to Building Your First Internal Developer Platform,” Medium, May 19, 2025. Read the post.

  • S. Willison, “Building software on top of Large Language Models,” SiminWillison.net, May 15, 2025. Read the post.

🎧 Podcast Highlights

Recent episodes from the #code4thought podcast:

  • Let’s Go Atomic (with Design) – Brad Frost
    Listen here

  • Pandoc: A Swiss-Army Knife for Documents – with J. MacFarlane, A. Krewinkel
    Listen here

Have something interesting you’d like to share? Please send us your suggestions for the next newsletter using the #newsletters channel in the USRSE Slack!

🏃 9. Get Involved

US-RSE Working Groups:

🧑‍💼 10. Recent Job Postings

These opportunities were recently posted to the RSE Opportunities page:

Other Job Boards

This newsletter is a joint effort of members of the US-RSE Association.

© US-RSE • 2021–2026 • US-RSE is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives

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