2026 Themes

DevSecOps Fundamentals

Scientific Software Infrastructure

  • CI/CD Tools and Infrastructure for HPC
  • Scaling CI/CD to HPC Systems
  • Overcoming CI/CD Challenges
  • Dependency Management and Software Configuration
  • Code Management Templates
  • ML Model Management and Deployment
  • Containerization

Software Development for Scientific Applications

  • Scientific Software Development Challenges
  • Coding for Graphics Processing Units (GPUs)
  • Integrating Open-Source Software (OSS)
  • Migrating Existing Software to Cloud Platforms
  • Software Security “Best” Practices
  • Sustainable Software “Best” Practices
  • Picking the  “Best” Software Tools for Your Software
  • Metrics to Determine Health of Your Software

AI and Machine Learning in Software Development

  • Role of AI in Scientific Software Development
  • Data and Model Curation for Machine Learning Workloads
  • Current Applications and Limitations of AI in Government Labs
  • 3–5-Year Strategies for Embracing AI/LLM
  • Hosting On-Prem, Open-Source LLMs

HPC System Management

  • System Management and Outage Recovery
  • Optimizing Jobs for HPC Systems
  • Architectural and Operational Strategies
  • Cluster Monitoring

Cross-Facility and Hybrid Computing

  • Cloud-HPC Integration
  • Hybrid Architectures
  • Software Portability and Reproducibility
  • Scaling Software for Multiple Platforms
  • Secure and Sustainable Cross-Facility Workflows

Team Building and Management

  • Building Successful Technical Teams
  • Research Software Engineering (RSE) as a Career
  • Mentoring and Sourcing Talent
  • Agility in Team Dynamics
  • Bridging the Gap Between Junior and Senior Engineers

Software Engineering Research and Innovation

  • Incorporating Human-Centered Design in Engineering Workflows
  • Technical Advancements in Software Engineering (e.g. Autonomy, VR/AR, IoT, Robotics)
  • Test Driven Development

Scientific Data Management

  • Metadata Management
  • Research Data Lifecycle
  • Data Platforms and Governance
  • AI-Ready Data
  • Data Centric Computing/Data Discovery