McMaster University’s Research Software Development team has a new home.
Established in 2018 through initial funding from the Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research Industry and Education and the Office of the Vice President, Research, the group provides software development support for researchers, groups, and facilities at McMaster.
As of January 2023, the team relocated to McMaster University Library to support the Digital Research Commons Pilot, a three-year initiative to advance digital user support for McMaster’s research community.
“This is an exciting time for our team,” said David Beardwood, Research Software Development team lead. “Moving to the library and joining the Digital Research Commons Pilot project gives us the greatest potential to extend software development support to more researchers across the university.”
The Research Software Development team includes developers Elias Eid, Ola Hejazi, and Kelvin Lee. The team is located in the Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship on the main floor of Mills Memorial Library, where they will have the opportunity to work closely with library and Digital Research Commons Pilot colleagues.
“Since our inception, our group has been involved in a collection of projects to help McMaster researchers,” said Beardwood. “Most notable is our support with the Return to Research Approval Dashboard which was a tool that helped coordinate the return of researchers to campus during the height of the pandemic.”
The team is currently busy connecting with researchers across campus to identify needs and gaps in software development at McMaster and establish potential resources, training, and services.
Jay Brodeur, associate director, Digital Scholarship Services, says he is thrilled to welcome the experienced group to the library.
“The team brings a wealth of experience and expertise into the Digital Research Commons Pilot and the library,” said Brodeur. “We’re excited to work together to expand support and community for research software development across McMaster.”
For more information about research software development at McMaster or to connect with the team, visit the Research Software Development webpage.
To learn more about how the Research Software Development team is supporting the larger pilot project, visit the Digital Research Commons Pilot webpage.
