Who should attend?

  • Active developers of research software (regardless of job title)
  • Computational researchers
  • Students with an interest in computational research
  • Developers of open-source software to support research
  • Researchers with an interest in software development

Why should you attend?

  • To learn, collaborate, exchange ideas, and discuss common issues affecting software development for academic research
  • To further build a cohesive Canadian community of academic research software developers
  • To strengthen the impact of public funds for research

Highlights from the last Canadian Research Software Conference…

The Canadian Research Software Conference in 2 Minutes:

How can you contribute?

There are three ways to contribute:

  • Short Talks: 15 minutes plus 5 minutes for Q&A
  • 5-minute Lightning Talks: Share your ideas with the group quickly through a super short talk (perfect for new presenters)
  • Poster Competition: The top three entries, chosen by conference attendees, will receive prizes.

Call for Presentations

Research software developers, computational researchers, and students are invited to submit proposals for presentations.

Topics should:

  • concentrate on the software, rather than the research
  • discuss software engineering techniques, describe how you used software to solve a research problem, or used software on non-traditional devices (like mobile, sensors, or drones) to support research
  • focus on non-technical issues surrounding research software development, like managing a research software project/team, working with non-technical disciplines, or keeping up with new technologies

Proposals for both Short Talks and Lightning Talks are welcome from both individuals and groups. All those selected to speak at the conference will receive complimentary registration. Slides must be in widescreen PowerPoint or PDF format.

Key Dates:

Slides due to conference organizers (Julie Bortolotti) – 5 p.m. ET | May 24, 2022

Call for Presentations is now closed.

Call for Posters

Topics for posters may include discussions of your current project or other topics related to the development of software for academic research that you wish to discuss with conference attendees. Posters will be on display during both days of the conference, with poster sessions during coffee and lunch breaks.

All conference attendees will vote on the posters, with prizes awarded during the closing remarks at the end of day on June 1.

Prizes

1st Place: $500 Amazon.ca Gift Card

2nd Place: $350 Amazon.ca Gift Card

3rd Place: $150 Amazon.ca Gift Card

Please note: For those selected, posters should be legible from a distance of 1 metre and must not be larger than 0.9m x 1.2m (3ft x 4ft).

The Call for Posters is now closed.

Registration

All fees are in CAD and are subject to HST.

COVID-19 Precautions

For many of us, this will be the first time we are returning to travel to attend an in-person conference. Everyone’s comfort levels are different, and our planning team is working hard to make the event feel comfortable and safe for all attendees.

The venue’s protocols will depend on Quebec’s public health guidelines at the time of the conference. Additionally, we will take a few steps for the comfort and added safety of our staff and attendees:

  • Vaccination (two doses) is mandatory for all attendees. Upon check-in, all attendees’ vaccination status will be verified, along with government-issued photo ID.
  • All hotel staff who are serving meals and/or clearing our conference space will wear a mask.
  • Masks are mandatory for all attendees throughout the entire conference, except while eating, drinking, or presenting.
  • Buffets during breakfast, breaks, and lunch will be served by hotel staff.

Program

Please note that the program has changed – talks are now 15 minutes earlier in the morning on both days.

Check back often for Program updates.

Please note: the Canadian Research Software Conference will be conducted in English. Simultaneous interpretation will also be provided in French.

May 31

June 1

Keynote Speakers

George Tzanetakis

Professor, Department of Computer Science | University of Victoria

Dr. Tzanetakis is Professor in Computer Science (also cross-listed in Music and Electrical and Computer Engineering) at the University of Victoria. He is one of the pioneers of Music Information Retrieval, and from 2010 to 2020 he was a Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in the computer analysis of audio and music. He received his PhD degree in Computer Science from Princeton University in May 2002,XS and was a PostDoctoral Fellow (2002-2003) at Carnegie Mellon University working on query-by-humming systems with Prof. Dannenberg and on video retrieval and microphone array processing with the Informedia group. His classic paper on automatic music genre classification has had significant impact (3846 citations, Google Scholar, May 2022), and was awarded the IEEE Signal Processing Society Best Young Author award in 2004. He has more than 200 publications spanning all areas of audio and music processing combining ideas from digital signal processing and machine learning. He is also an active musician and has studied saxophone performance, piano, music theory, and composition.

Paria Shirani

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science | Toronto Metropolitan University

Paria Shirani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Toronto Metropolitan University. She joined Toronto Metropolitan University from an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship position at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), USA. During her PhD, she was awarded the FRQNT Doctoral Scholarship. Paria received her PhD degree in information systems engineering from Concordia University, where her research explored several important cybersecurity problems (e.g., malware analysis and vulnerable function detection) and built practical security frameworks and tools. Her recent research focuses on several fields of cybersecurity, such as code fingerprinting and malware analysis, IoT security, vulnerability research, and threat intelligence generation.

Ghilaine Roquet

Vice President, Strategy and Planning | The Digital Research Alliance of Canada

Ghilaine Roquet is a former Associate Vice-Principal, Information Technology and CIO at McGill University. She has more than 20 years of experience in IT in higher education, previously serving as Associate Vice-Rector and CIO at l’Université de Montréal and as Director, IT Services at HEC-Montréal. Ms. Roquet is a Past President of the Canadian University Council of Chief Information Officers (CUCCIO) and a former member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Réseau d’informations scientifiques du Québec (RISQ).

Travel

Accommodations

Humaniti Hotel is in the heart of downtown Montréal near Quartier des Spectacles, surrounded by a wealth of art and culture.

We have secured a room block at the Humaniti at the discounted rate of $249/night + taxes. Rooms in this block are limited, so please book your accommodations as soon as possible.

Local Dining

Montreal is host to a wide range of restaurants to fit every palate. The city’s ethnic diversity will allow you to travel the tastes of the globe as you explore your surroundings.

Travel to Montreal

Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport

Visit the Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport website to find flight information and rental car options. Transportation is also available directly from the terminal to downtown Ottawa via bus, taxi, limousine, or Uber.

VIA Rail

VIA Rail provides frequent daily service to Montreal from most Canadian cities. Montreal’s Central Station is a short five-minute walk to the Humaniti Hotel.

Public Transit

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) provides comprehensive transit information for Montreal’s bus and metro system. The InterContinental Montreal is easily accessible by bus or metro from the airport and train station.

Speakers

Steve Marks

Digital Preservation Librarian, University of Toronto

+ Read Bio

Steve Marks is the Digital Preservation Librarian at the University of Toronto Libraries, where he is responsible for the long-term care and maintenance of the library’s digital collections. Steve has worked on national RDM initiatives since 2010, when he started at Scholars Portal, a shared IT service provider for Ontario universities. He was involved with Research Data Canada and currently serves as the co-chair of the Preservation Experts Group for the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. 

Mohammad Amin Sadeghi

Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Waterloo

+ Read Bio

Mohammad Amin Sadeghi is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Waterloo. His research is on pore-scale modeling of electrochemical devices. He is also one of the core developers of OpenPNM, a library for pore network simulations, and PoreSpy, for analyzing tomography images of porous materials. 

Spencer Smith

Associate Professor, Computing and Software Department, McMaster University, McMaster University

+ Read Bio

Spencer obtained his undergraduate and graduate (M.Eng., Ph.D.) degrees in Civil Engineering from McMaster. In 2000 he started a position as an Assistant Professor in the newly formed Department of Computing and Software at McMaster.  Currently, Spencer is an Associate Professor. His research focuses on improving the quality of scientific computing software via the application of software engineering methods. Spencer obtained his Professional Engineering license (PEng) in 2006. 

Najmeh Khalili-Mahani

McGill Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, McGill University 

+ Read Bio

Najmeh Khalili-Mahani is a biomedical engineer and a pharmaco-imaging neuroscientist whose research focuses on inter-disciplinary translational neuroimaging. She is a senior Research Associate at McGill University and Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Concordia University. She is the Co-PI of the CANARIE RS3-031 project entitled:  CBRAIN for Multidisciplinary Reproducible Science. 

Doug Mulholland

Technical Manager, Computer Systems Group, University of Waterloo

+ Read Bio

As online data repositories proliferate, the likelihood of data overlaps and redundancies grow. In the environmental information sector, even within just Ontario data, several systems with data overlaps occur. This presentation will review how the developers of a system focused on small, wadeable streams connected, linked, or even synchronized to half a dozen other systems with related data. In support of the FAIR principles of data management, researchers are given easier access to related data sources. Mitigating related concerns, such as detecting broken links, improving sustainability, and reconciling remote system restructuring will also be discussed. 

Suluxan Mohanraj

Software Developer, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

+ Read Bio

Suluxan Mohanraj is a software developer in the Pugh Lab at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto where he is responsible for building bioinformatics applications to empower researchers and clinicians and improve data accessibility. He leads the development of CReSCENT, a web portal for single-cell analysis, and P.L.B.R, a liquid biopsy database for cell-free DNA. He is also a part-time professor at Seneca College in the School of Software Design and Data Science. 

Martin Pham

Software Developer, University Health Network (UHN)

+ Read Bio

Martin is a developer in the DATA Team at University Health Network in Toronto as well as a graduate student in the department of computer science at the University of Toronto. At the hospital, he develops software for computational and clinical researchers. At UofT, his research is related to biological plausibility and neurosymbolic dynamical systems for robotics applications. 

Sanjay Kharche

Western University

+ Read Bio

Sanjay is an applied mathematician and computer scientist who uses routine clinical data to elicit deeper understanding of hemodynamic risks in human blood vessels. 

Drew Leske

Senior ARC Software Dev Team Lead, University of Victoria

+ Read Bio

Drew Leske is a software developer and past systems administrator with 20 years’ experience supporting research computing, administering HPC clusters and other infrastructure at the University of Victoria and later creating support software with Compute Canada.  His current role is team lead for development of ARC software in UVic’s Research Computing Services group. 

Ryan McRonald

Senior Security Analyst, University of Victoria

+ Read Bio

Ryan McRonald is a Senior Security Analyst with the University of Victoria. He supports advanced research computing for uVic and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. Over his career, he has been responsible for designing secure systems, assessing systems, and for managing compliance. 

Jeffrey Dungen

Co-founder and CEO, reelyActive

+ Read Bio

Jeffrey is a computer engineer with nearly two decades of experience in RFID and IoT startups, including reelyActive.  He has co-authored several IEEE publications and contributed extensively to open source software development to this end, including a CANARIE BoosterPack for IoT. 

Sebastian Ballesteros Ramirez

Software Developer, Canadian Centre for Computational Genomics (C3G)

+ Read Bio

While pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering at McGill University, Sebastian joined the Canadian Centre for Computational Genomics as an intern in 2020 working in projects such as EpiShare and Bento, which involved genomic and epigenomic data. He contributed to the development and implementation of software solutions in multiple technologies. After graduation, he joined the team as a Software Developer to work mainly on the FreezeMan platform. 

Ian Percel

Lead Research Software Developer, University of Calgary

+ Read Bio

Ian Percel (they/them) is currently the lead research software developer for the Local Research Software Support team in Research Computing Services at the University of Calgary. They have spent the last nine years as a high-performance computing specialist, data scientist, and data engineer. In 2018, they completed a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a specialization in applied mathematics. 

Xiaofang (Ada) Xing

Research Software Developer, University of Calgary

+ Read Bio

Ada (she) is currently a research software developer for the Local Research Software Support team in Research Computing Services at the University of Calgary. She is working for designing and implementing the data pipeline and workflow management within the team, before that, worked as a software developer in industry, building web app and machine learning model. In 2018, she completed a bachelor of computer science and mathematics at the University of Alberta. 

Graham Jensen

Mitacs Elevate / Accelerate Industrial Postdoctoral Fellow in Open, Collaborative Scholarship (Arts & Humanities), University of Victoria

+ Read Bio

Graham Jensen is a Mitacs Industrial Postdoctoral Fellow in Open, Collaborative Scholarship (Arts & Humanities) in the Electronic Textual Cultures Lab at the University of Victoria. He is also Principal Investigator of the forthcoming Canadian Modernist Magazines Project. From 2001-2011, he was Executive Director of Media Manifesto (a web design company). His research interests include digital humanities, open publishing and pedagogy, critical infrastructure studies, and critical design studies. 

Paul Mercier

IT Manager, University of Ottawa

+ Read Bio

Paul Mercier started his career at uOttawa in 1990 in the computing and management fields. He worked at the Office of the President, at the Faculty of Social Sciences, and at the Faculty of Science. From 2009 to 2017, he was the IT Manager for Infrastructure Services. Since then, he fills in the role of IT Manager for research support. He holds four degrees from the University of Ottawa. 

Victoria Smith

Digital Research Alliance of Canada

+ Read Bio

Victoria Smith specializes in sensitive data, privacy, and research policy, and is passionate about intelligent data access. In her work with the Alliance’s Research Data Management team, Victoria leads a sensitive data repository project based on zero-knowledge encryption and collaborative policy framework development. She is also engaging in relationship building with stakeholders, supporting the Sensitive Data Expert Group, and providing guidance and input on other projects. 

Bryan Caron

McGill University

+ Read Bio

Bryan Caron is leader of the CBRAIN platform and Co-Principal Investigator and Director, Operations and Development of the NeuroHub project, a core facility platform of McGill University’s Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives initiative. Prior to leading CBRAIN and NeuroHub, Bryan was a Research Scientist, Adjunct Professor and Director, Business Operations of the McGill High Performance Computing Centre. Bryan has over 20 years of experience in high performance computing and data intensive science. 

Gabriel Couture

Research Software Developer, Université Laval

+ Read Bio

Gabriel Couture is a graduate (B.Sc.) from Laval University in physics and is about to complete a master’s degree (M.Sc.) in good practices in data engineering in radiation oncology at the CHU de Québec – Université Laval. As part of the Université Laval Research Software Development Support Team for over a year, Gabriel has participated in software development in multiple spheres of research, such as health, hydrology, text analysis, and geographic data manipulation. 

Mark Goodwin

Metadata Coordinator, University of British Columbia

+ Read Bio

As Metadata Coordinator at the University of British Columbia, Mark works closely with the Digital Research Alliance of Canada’s Research Data Management team. He is responsible for the Federated Research Data Repository’s Discovery Service and leads technical support for the DataCite Canada Consortium. Mark is passionate about improving access to information and is excited to help enhance discoverability of research data in Canada. 

Olivier Banville

Software Developer, Université Laval

+ Read Bio

Olivier C. Banville is a graduate (BSSC) from Université Laval and full-stack developer for the same establishment. As part of the Université Laval’s Research Software Development Support Team for over a year, Olivier has participated in the development of several tools, platforms and software used in multiple spheres of research, including animal biology, political science, and healthcare. 

Ali Hirji

Durham College

+ Read Bio

Ali Hirji works at the AI Hub and the Centre for Cyber Innovation at Durham College. He has over 14 years of experience working on a variety of technology implementations in the government, academic and not for profit sectors.

Shikharesh Majumdar

Carleton University

+ Read Bio

Majumdar is a Chancellor’s Professor & the Director of Real Time and Distributed Systems Research Centre at Dep. of Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University. He is a Fellow of IET, a member of ACM, and a senior member of IEEE. He was the Distinguished Visitor for IEEE Computer Society (1998-2001). His research is funded by NSERC, CANARIE & industries. Research projects led by him include CANARIE’s RP-SMARF research platform project. He has received multiple awards from IEEE and ACM. 

Zohaib Anwar

Postdoctoral Researcher, Simon Fraser University

+ Read Bio

Dr. Anwar is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Center for Infectious Disease Genomics and One Health (CIDGOH) at the Simon Fraser University, BC. Dr. Anwar is a computational biologist, developing open-source, reproducible, and portable software and workflow for analyzing genomics data from emerging pathogens e.g., SARS-CoV-2 for the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network (CanCOGeN). His work enables public health labs to analyze and visualize epidemics w.r.t to epidemiological data captured. 

Shahab Shahnazari

Indoc Research

+ Read Bio

Shahab is Senior Director, Informatics Programs at Indoc Research and is responsible for product and partnership development activities. Prior to joining Indoc, Shahab was with MaRS Discovery District where he led teams focused on engaging the global community in identifying, testing, and implementing novel products that address systemic innovation gaps and needs. He holds a B.Sc. in biochemistry from McMaster University and a PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Toronto. 

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