Mike Croucher

SSI fellow

University of Sheffield

Interests

Science, engineering and mathematical software, high performance computing, programming in many languages. Helping researchers do more with less.

Research

I am an EPSRC Research Software Engineering Fellow working at The University of Sheffield who specialises in assisting 'long tail' researchers to produce better quality software. "Long Tail Science" - attributed to Jim Downing of the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics - refers to the large number of small research units who perform a huge amount of research.

Technological development in software is more like a cliff-face than a ladder – there are many routes to the top, to a solution. Further, the cliff face is dynamic – constantly and quickly changing as new technologies emerge and decline. Determining which technologies to deploy and how best to deploy them is in itself a specialist domain, with many features of traditional research.

Researchers need empowerment and training to give them confidence with the available equipment and the challenges they face. This role, akin to that of an Alpine guide, involves support, guidance, and load carrying. When optimally performed it results in a researcher who knows what challenges they can attack alone, and where they need appropriate support. Guides can help decide whether to exploit well-trodden paths or explore new possibilities as they navigate through this dynamic environment.

These guides are highly trained, technology-centric, research-aware individuals who have a curiosity driven nature dedicated to supporting researchers by forging a research software support career. Such Research Software Engineers (RSEs) guide researchers through the technological landscape and form a human interface between scientist and computer. A well-functioning RSE group will not just add to an organisation’s effectiveness, it will have a multiplicative effect since it will make every individual researcher more effective. It has the potential to improve the quality of research done across all University departments and faculties.

I have been one of these RSE “guides” for 10+ years and have assisted thousands of researchers across a wide range of academic subjects. I am co-founder of The University of Sheffield's Research Software Engineering group and play a major role in the Sheffield Open Data Science Initiative. I am also the author of www.walkingrandomly.com, a popular blog that covers a range of topics including Research Software Engineering and mathematics.

Check out contributions by and mentions of Mike Croucher on www.software.ac.uk