COS PEOPLE

We interviewed Harry Rybacki, a developer here at the Center for Open Science to see what he’s working on and why he cares about Open Science.  So, Harry, where are you from? Thief River Falls, Minnesota (Tiny town in NW Minnesota known for two things: how cold it gets, and how flat it is.) They conduct arctic training for North Pole expeditions frighteningly close to where I grew up. What is your educational background?

Rybacki University. Primary educators, Marie Rybacki (mother) and Harry Rybacki (father). Mrs. Rybacki focused on reading, writing, creativity, and out-of-the-box problem solving. Mr. Rybacki focused on hard work, responsibility, and mastering the art of stubbornness.

I did some other stuff at UNC-Greensboro but that doesn't matter as much. What is one fun fact about you? 

Fun fact about me? I tend to love and hate a lot of things at the same time. If that doesn't make sense it's okay, it doesn't make sense to me sometimes either. Can you tell me what “Open Science” actually is? 

Open Science simply /is/ the correct form of science. What is the Center for Open Science, then? 

COS is the bridge between FLOSS (free libre open source) and the academic world. What do you do here at COS? 

I think about code. I write some code. I look at other peoples' code. I help them with their code. They help me with my code. Aaaand then I start over again. What are you doing right now?  I'm working on adding mechanisms to the OSF that will allow public registrations to be retracted as well as an embargo period for private registrations going public in the future. These will really help push the idea that research objects are permanent things and artifacts should remain regardless of the findings. How do you feel about living in Charlottesville? 

Charlottesville is okay; it has great food and a nice music scene. But my heart will always be in Raleigh, NC.#missMyBikePeeps On that note, do you have any favorite places to eat here in Charlottesville? 

Like I said, Charlottesville has lots of amazing food. My 'favorite' is always in a state of flux. Currently it would have to be the sandwiches JM Stock makes Friday-Sunday. Listening to any cool music? 

INTERVIEW with BRIAN GORGES: COS Developer

We interviewed Bryan Gorges this week. Bryan is a developer here at the COS and has travelled all the way from Hawaii to come work with us. Bryan is into Ornithology, Fencing, and Open Science, check out what he has to say about Open Science and the COS. **

Where are you from?

Cheyenne, WY

Where did you go to school?

I attended the University of Wyoming and received my Computer Engineering BS. I am currently pursuing my Masters with Georgia Tech for Computer Science.

Do you have any particular scientific interests?

My personal favorite science interests are Ornithology (mostly birdwatching), and Astronomy.

Cool! Before we get into it, can you tell us one fun fact about yourself

Despite a high-tech career and reading science fiction, I enjoy fencing and archery, the less gadgets the better.

Okay Bryan, can you tell us what Open Science means?

Open Science means a sustainable ecosystem of scientific discoveries not impeded by what has grown up around the scientific method, specifically the inapproachable, unreproducible who-knows-if-this-is-actual-science part that the public is afraid of.

What drew you to COS?

Directly working to open science.

So what do you spend most of your time doing at the COS?

Learning, coming from moving telescopes means that web development requires quite a bit of diving in and figuring out what’s going on.

The COS works primarily on the OSF, can you tell me what the OSF is and why is it important?

The Open Science Framework is the “flagship product,” and it is an attempt (looks pretty successful) to make openness and collaboration easier for all fields of scientists is extraordinarily important.

What are you adding to the OSF to make it better for those goals?

Wiki notifications, collaborators can see when one another update the wiki. This will really help if one is waiting for another to finish adding a section.

Do you like living in Charlottesville, VA?

Yes, despite the cold weather immediately after moving from Hawaii, it has been nice. Lots more of everything.

I can imagine, but Hawaii probably has more interesting better birds.

Listening to any interesting music recently?

Traditional Celtic instrumental. Looking to go to Boxwood in Williamsburg next month with my cello.

We had the opportunity to interview Fabian von Feiltzsch. He’s a cool guy who grew up on a farm, teaches robotics, and values Open Science.  Hometown: Mostly Amissville, VA (grew up on a farm, so town sounds a little weird)

Educational background: Graduated from UVa in December with a BA in Computer Science and a BA in Cognitive Science

What is one fun fact about yourself?

I mentor FIRST Robotics Competition team 3373. The FRC is a really fun way to get high school kids involved in programming and engineering in a really fast-paced and informal way.

So, what is Open Science?

Open science is efficient science. It is science operating the way it should. Right now, we have a huge amount of knowledge that is being produced in research labs around the world, that is discarded as uninteresting and left out of the scientific canon. With open practices, and tools that make sharing data and materials trivial, we can eliminate a huge amount of redundant work while at the same time getting a more complete picture of what we, as a species, have actually learned.

What drew you here to the Center for Open Science? 

My personal values align very well with the Center's, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write free and open-source code to help scientists and science in general. The work is interesting, and it is one of the few places I could work without making any ethical compromises.

What is work like at the COS on a daily basis?

My day-to-day generally involves 1-3 cups of coffee, checking on github issues, commenting on SHARE or Elasticsearch related pull requests, checking in with the SHARE team to see how we are doing with our upcoming milestones (beta in three weeks!) and then picking a few issues to resolve for the day. These are important because the SHARE team is currently very small, but the project is getting to be very big. By staying up to date with everyone, and chipping away at open issues and features, I am doing my best to set us up for a clean and relatively easy release.

What is one of your current projects? 

 Currently I'm working on the SHARE Notification Service. It is a project that seeks to gather metadata on all research release events (publications, data releases, preprints, etc) and put in into a normalized form with a search and subscribe interface. 

How do you find Charlottesville? 

I spent most of my life on a farm, so to me Charlottesville seems like a huge and active city. I miss being around animals, and being in such close proximity to other people feels odd, especially at home. I don't miss the farm labor though.

Do you have a favorite place to eat? 

I'm gluten free, and I really appreciate how friendly C-ville is to people like me. The Smoked Barbecue co is a fantastic food stand that is frequently on the downtown mall, and I have eaten there like twice a week for weeks at a time

What are you listening to recently? 

Though on twitter he is known as @TheFoodGeek, a well known figure in food science writing (http://www.thefoodgeek.com/), here at the COS we know him as Brian Geiger and he is a developer. I’ve asked him a few questions about himself and how he ended up at the Center for Open Science.  Hometown: I was born in Denver, CO but remember it not at all. Let's consider Lawton, OK my hometown. What is your educational background?

Studied CS and Psychology at USF, graduated with a Psych degree. Where do you scientific interests lie? 

Scientific interest is general, but if I were to focus, it would be science of food. What is one fun fact about yourself? I wrote Fine Cooking Magazine's food science column for the 2009 issues. Also, I nearly drove Jim Cummings, the voice of Winnie the Pooh, crazy. He's fine, though. What does Open Science mean?

If I want to know why something happens, the only thing that should stop me is being willing to put the time and effort into learning it. Money and access should not be barriers to scientific knowledge.

What drew you to the OSF? 

An opportunity to change the world. What is your day to day life like at the COS? 

I am a developer for the OSF. I tend to focus on making it easier for people to use; scientists should focus on the science, not on having to work around a user interface. Right now, I am working on the developer API, so that people can create their own applications with publicly-available data.

Do I like living in Charlottesville? 

Charlottesville is great. I've lived here 16 years, which is longer than I've lived anywhere, and I'd be happy staying many more years.

And of course, I have to ask, what is your favorite place to eat? Yeah, there's a new Neopolitan pizza place called Lampo which I love. Wood fire oven, great food, and almost no seating. So you shouldn't go there. But it's so good. Listening to any good music? 

Jordan Gold is one of our QA interns. She works with the QA team to test the OSF and make sure it’s ready to go to production.  Hometown: Leesburg, VA

Educational Background:Univeristy of Virginia, Computer Science Major

What drew you to COS?

I was drawn in by the people and the friendly work environment as well as the message behind the company.

Describe some of your day-to-day duties and responsibilities.

I am a QA intern so I am constantly testing the OSF to catch bugs working closely with devs. My day to day responsibilities change depending on which stage of the release we are at.  It could range from creating test cards to making sure that nothing has changed with the updates (regression testing).

What is the OSF?

OSF stands for Open Science Framework and it is a place where researchers can publish their findings as well work with other contributors on any stage of their research.  This is important to promote open science.

What are you working on right now?

Currently we are working on the .30 release and testing functionality for that. Do you like living in Charlottesville, VA?

I enjoy living in Charlottesville.  It is extremely helpful that everything is within walking distance and its a large enough location where you can find things to do during all hours of the day.

Because this office is addicted to good food, do you have a favorite place to eat in C-ville?

My favorite place to eat in C-ville is Lemongrass.  

What type of music are you currently listening to?

TOP 5 Reasons you should use the OSF’s presentation service at your next conference.  For more information or to schedule a presentation service, email [email protected]. 

We’ve interviewed another developer intern, Harris Mendell, who has had a hand in projects like the Zotero and Mendeley integration.

Hometown: Upperville, VA

Educational Background:

4th year undergraduate in the Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science program at UVA.

Fun Fact About yourself:

I play in a punk band which has sold thousands of records and played hundreds of shows across the majority of the US and UK.

Can you tell us what Open Science means? Open Science is a movement to make scientific research accessible to all who are curious. It is a counter to the increasing presence of pay-walled articles and content in scientific journals. What drew you to COS? Coming out of college I knew I wanted to work for a company whose primary motivation was not money. Building infrastructure to support the pursuit of better scientific practices was something I could definitively get behind. Additionally, I knew there were a lot of really smart people here who I could learn from, and that has definitely been the case. Describe some of your day-to-day duties and responsibilities. Why are they important? Since January, the majority of my time at COS has been spent building add-ons for the Open Science Framework. Broadening the scope of what the framework is capable of is really important in convincing researchers that the OSF is a platform which is not only morally awesome, but technically awesome, complete with plenty of quality-of-life improvements over their current practices. When I’m not working on one of these add-ons I’m probably fixing bugs, or bettering myself as a software engineer by learning about and practicing a new language or framework that is integral to what we do here. What is the OSF and why is it important?

The OSF is a platform for researchers to engage with all aspects of their research’s life cycle. It facilitates collaboration, connections with existing frameworks via add-ons, and control over the privacy of every individual part of their data. This system is vital in achieving the Center’s pursuit of furthering openness and integrity in scientific research. It allows researchers a separate path from the traditional peer-reviewed life cycle. What are you working on right now?

Just last week the primary add-ons I was involved with, Zotero and Mendeley, went live. That means that currently I’m working on bug fixes for stuff on the production server, and will start a new primary project when I get back from spring break. What type of projects to interns generally get to work on here? It seems like interns get placed on a variety of different projects during their time at the center. As I previously mentioned I was first put on a team developing an add-on for reference manager tools, but my friend Casey is currently working on a better system for rendering PDFs on the framework, and Robert is working on a public wiki system. In terms of developer interns, I believe we are all working on the OSF, but there is a ton of variety in what were doing on the platform. Do you like living in Charlottesville, VA? Charlottesville is a small town, but there is always a lot going on. It’s beautiful, and generally a fun place to work, go to school, and live! Because this office is addicted to good food, do you have a favorite place to eat in C-ville? My favorite restaurant in Charlottesville is hands down Milan, an Indian restaurant out on 29. What type of music are you currently listening to?

Transparency and Reproducibility Methods for Social Science Research June 10-12, 2015 Application deadline : April 5th University of California, Berkeley Research norms are changing faster than ever before. There is a growing quantity of services and resources to archive and share data, report methods used to generate results, pre-register study plans, enable reproducibility of findings, as well as software tools to support transparent and collaborative workflows.  Sponsored by the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences, this workshop will provide participants with a thorough overview of best practices for open, reproducible research, allowing them to remain in the vanguard of new scientific frontiers. Course details and registration instructions are available on the ICPSR Summer Program Portal. Application material must be submitted no later than April 5, 2015. Stipends for travel and accommodation will be available for a limited number of accepted participants. What will be discussed? 

The Center for Open Science is full of amazing people doing important jobs with the common goals of promoting openness, integrity, and reproducibility in science. Today we are interviewing QA intern, Cailey Fitzgerald!  Name: Cailey Fitzgerald

Position: QA Intern

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Educational Background: "University of Virginia, Mathematics & Psychology, I’ve recently become very interested in the intersection of math and medicine, particularly cardiovascular modeling and simulation."

Tell us one fun fact about yourself: "I once memorized 314 digits of pi for Pi Day! I really love math."

Can you tell us what Open Science is in the form of a haiku, please?  

"Slightly amended for this purpose, here is a 6-7-6 haiku:"

Sharing knowledge without Fear because discovery Belongs to everyone

What drew you to COS?

"I was drawn to the passion and drive that permeates the office environment. Everyone is always willing to help me out with any problems, and I appreciate COS’s commitment to learning and inclusivity. People here really embrace the Center’s mission but also are careful to ensure that everyone who works here get as much out of the work as we put in."

Describe some of your day-to-day duties and responsibilities. Why are they important? 

"A typical day for me can vary widely. Before a new testing sprint begins, you can find me working in Trello writing cards and checklists that will be used to test new features. Once testing begins, I am working through checklists, making sure to carefully test each aspect of a new feature, documenting any bugs that I find. I also interface a lot with developers and project managers to update them on the testing team’s progress."

"Testing is an integral part of the development process here at COS. Making sure that all features have gone through the QA lifecycle is important for catching bugs and ensuring that our users are given a consistent and issue-free experience while using the OSF."

What are you working on right now? "Right now I’m working on testing features for the upcoming release. Four new QA interns also started in the past week, so I am working with them to bring them up to speed on the testing process and flow in COS."

What’s it like living in Charlottesville, VA? "I love Charlottesville! It is amazing to live in such a beautiful city, surrounded by so many intelligent and friendly people. I really enjoy being close to the mountains and experiencing all four seasons. In Houston, we only have two seasons – hot and slightly less hot – so I love watching Charlottesville transition through seasons (spring is my favorite!)."

Do you have a favorite place to eat in C-ville? "I like many Charlottesville restaurants, but I think my favorite place to eat might be Mellow Mushroom. Their pretzels and beer cheese should be criminal."

In 2013, OSF developed a Dataverse Add-On, which uses their SWORD-based API to automate deposit from OSF into Dataverse. By enabling the Dataverse Add-On for an OSF project, contributors can view, download, and upload files to a Dataverse study/dataset. 

The Open Science Framework integrates with a variety of research tools, including Dataverse. Dataverse, if you don't know, is an open source web application to share, preserve, cite, explore and analyze research data. Any organization or institution can install Dataverse (open source on GitHub) to use as their own data repository. 

We interviewed Eleni Castro who works at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science (Data Science team) at Harvard University as the research coordinator for Dataverse.