IEEE Software Special Issue
Call for Articles
Developing Scientific Software
Publication date: July/August 2008
Submission deadline: 9 January 2008
IEEE Software seeks submissions for a special issue on the topic of
scientific software development. By “scientific software development,” we
mean the development of software that directly supports the work of
scientists in attempting to push back the boundaries of domains which are
both complex and poorly understood. We take a broad view of scientists to
include mathematicians and applied scientists such as engineers, as well
as physicists, chemists, biologists, etc.
Many of the recent advances in science have been dependent on
software. Because of the complex nature of the science underlying the
software, much scientific software is written either by scientists
themselves or by multidisciplinary teams of software engineers and
scientists. In the former case, scientists face the challenge of knowing
little about software engineering beyond coding. In addition, they often
work within a culture in which the skills and knowledge required to
develop software are devalued. They thus fall into the category
of “professional end-user developers.” In the latter, the
multidisciplinary teams face the challenges of different cultures (science
and software development) and communication. The aim of this issue is to
explore the particular challenges facing scientific software development
and the ways by which these challenges might be addressed.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to
• Case studies of scientific software development
• Analyses, grounded in practice, of the
o particular characteristics of, and problems facing, scientists as
professional end-user developers
o particular characteristics of scientific software development
o particular characteristics of, and problems facing, multidisciplinary
development teams comprising software engineers and scientists.
• Discussions of tools, techniques, and strategies specifically designed
to support scientific software development. We are not interested here in
purely technical papers, but rather in papers which ground a discussion in
the actuality of scientific software development.
• Discussion of how tools, techniques, and strategies commonly deployed by
software engineers might be usefully deployed, perhaps with some
modification, by professional end-user developers. Again, we expect such a
discussion to be grounded in the actuality of scientific software
development.
If you are unsure whether your article fits in with the focus of the
special issue, please contact Judith Segal ([log in to unmask]) or Chris
Morris ([log in to unmask])
Manuscripts must not exceed 5,400 words including figures and tables,
which count for 200 words each. Submissions in excess of these limits may
be rejected without refereeing. The articles we deem within the theme’s
scope will be peer-reviewed and are subject to editing for magazine style,
clarity, organization, and space. We reserve the right to edit the title
of all submissions.
For author guidelines and submission details, please visit our Author
Center (http://www.computer.org/software/author.htm) or contact the
publications coordinator ([log in to unmask]). Submit your article via
the Computer Society's Electronic Submission System
(http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cs-ieee) by 9 January 2008. Only
Postscript or PDF files can be submitted for review. Specify that you are
submitting it for the “Developing Scientific Software” special issue.
For more information, contact the Guest Editors:
Judith Segal ([log in to unmask])
Chris Morris ([log in to unmask])
|