Walking Randomly

This interview with Oliver Henrich is part of my series of interviews on the new cohort of EPSRC Research Software Engineering Fellows.

Which University are you from?

I work at the School of Physics and Astronomy and the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre at the University of Edinburgh.

Could you tell us a little about yourself and how you became a Research Software Engineer?

I have a background in soft condensed matter physics, a relatively new and interdisciplinary field of science at the interface of physics, chemistry and biology. Soft matter is squidgy stuff that you know from your everyday lives: viscous liquids, polymers, foams, gels, granular materials, liquid crystals, but also biological materials. The behaviour of soft matter is difficult to predict, which is why computer simulations are a major tool of the trade. Over several postdoctoral appointments and a previous fellowship I evolved from an application scientist to a research software engineer (RSE). This is also why I still have a small personal research agenda, contrary to many other RSEs.

What do you think is the role of a Research Software Engineer? Is it different from a ‘normal’ researcher?

I think the roles of RSEs and researchers are very different. Researchers apply software as application scientists and publish their results in scientific publications. Developing new software is almost always just a means to an end of getting the next publication out. With the focus on science traditional researchers often lack the programming skills and rigorousness for developing sustainable, extendible and failure-proof software solutions. RSEs combine in-depth knowledge of IT technology with a scientific background. This skill set is also quite distinct from that of a Postdoctoral Research Associate. The role of RSEs is more akin to those of managers of experimental labs. Research software engineers are the caretakers of ‘virtual laboratories’, and in that sense do complementary and important infrastructural work for traditional researchers.

You’ve recently won an EPSRC RSE Fellowship – congratulations! Can you give a brief overview of your project?

My programme of software development consists roughly of two different tracks. The first strand of projects is related to Ludwig, a code for simulation of complex fluids which uses the lattice-Boltzmann method. Ludwig has unique capabilities and can model the flow of liquid crystals, bacterial and algae suspensions or liquid electrolytes in complex, nano- and microscopic geometries. Surprisingly little is known about the dynamics of these systems. My goal is to enable new research by extending Ludwig’s capabilities. We also want to make Ludwig part of an open source, scalable library for simulation of complex fluids. Something like this exists for conventional computational fluid dynamics in the form of the celebrated OpenFOAM framework.

The other strand of projects is about developing a community code for multiscale modelling of DNA and RNA. While we know a lot about DNA through genetic sequencing we know little as to how DNA and RNA behave dynamically in space. With sequencing we get the analogue of a 2D still photography of DNA, but what we need to understand its behaviour and functionality in more detail is in fact something like a 3D movie.

Besides these activities I am also involved in a number of other High-Performance Computing projects and outreach events. I am also planning to approach local coding clubs and give software enthusiasts an idea of the job role of RSEs.

How long did it take you to write your Fellowship application? Any other thoughts or advice on the application process?

It took me about 2-3 weeks to write and compile all necessary documents, i.e. the track record, case for support, pathways to impact statement and the support statements and letters of support from my project partners. I have to admit this is a lot of work for a single person, comparable to writing an EPSRC Standard Grant application all alone. This, however, would be normally done in a team together with other researchers. Other fellowship schemes take this into account and make their applications more lightweight.

I think what is really important is to ask for guidance from the research council. It helped me a lot to understand what the aim of this specific call was and how I had to write my application.

Who are your project partners?

As I am based at the University of Edinburgh I work with a number of local people, primarily members of the local Soft Matter Group, EPCC and researchers at the School of Engineering. My other project partners further afield are at the University of Barcelona in Spain, Sandia National Laboratories in the USA and domestic universities like the University of Oxford, University College London and the University of Cambridge. One of my project partners is actually the incumbent Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, showing how far research software engineering is linked to cutting-edge science.

Tell me about your RSE group.

There is strictly speaking no such thing as my group. I am a member of the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC), a growing group of about 90 software development experts and work with them on a per-project basis. At EPCC, now in its 26th year, the career path of RSE is relatively well established. Many people have been around for a long time and built unique skill sets. It is a big advantage for me to be able to draw on their long-term experience and expertise. I also work with various academic researchers, Postdocs, PhD students and MSc students at the School of Physics and Astronomy and the School of Engineering.

Which programming languages and technologies do you regularly use?

Most of the time I use C/C++ and MPI for my applications and Python for scripts for pre- and postprocessing. I am also working with OpenMP and CUDA C, but I am not one of the lead developers and tend to extend and enhance existing code. For our own in-house software we use advanced UNIX language features for automated testing suites and nightly build tests.

Are there any languages/technologies that you used to use a lot but have now moved away from? Why?

I used Fortran a lot in the past and moved now away from it. This, however, reflects more the specific applications I work with at the moment. Some of my colleagues at EPCC are full-time Fortran programmers and there are fantastic Fortran codes out there which are virtually irreplaceable and would be difficult to rewrite in the current funding situation. Object-oriented programming has become so ubiquitous and offers a wide range of convenient features which simplify maintenance and reuse of code. This is more naturally embedded in C++.

Is there anything on your ‘to-learn’ list?

The latest standard MPI 3.1 (pdf download) offers a lot of sophisticated single-sided communication features which I would like to become acquainted with. I would also like to get a better understanding of CUDA C and OpenCL, but fear this will never go beyond basic knowledge as I don’t seem to have enough time to engage intensively with applications that are written in these languages. As for the computational science I need to become more familiar with specific algorithms and computational concepts. This includes advanced sampling techniques for rare events and discrete, non-standard methods for fluid dynamics.

Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to become a Research Software Engineer?

I think most of the people in this new and emerging profession have evolved towards rather than chosen this line of work. So aiming directly for this career is somewhat unprecedented. I would emphasise the importance of working in a research environment with scientists. Ultimately the job requires a very specific skill set between a traditional academic researcher and a software expert. Hence, a PhD or postdoctoral appointment in a specific field of interest with a strong focus on software development could be a good starting point for such a career.