ABSTRACT
Research software has become a central asset in academic research. It optimizes existing and enables new research methods, implements and embeds research knowledge, and constitutes an essential research product in itself. Research software must be sustainable in order to understand, replicate, reproduce, and build upon existing research or conduct new research effectively. In other words, software must be available, discoverable, usable, and adaptable to new needs, both now and in the future. Research software therefore requires an environment that supports sustainability. Hence, a change is needed in the way research software development and maintenance are currently motivated, incentivized, funded, structurally and infrastructurally supported, and legally treated. Failing to do so will threaten the quality and validity of research. In this paper, we identify challenges for research software sustainability in Germany and beyond, in terms of motivation, selection, research software engineering personnel, funding, infrastructure, and legal aspects. Besides researchers, we specifically address political and academic decision-makers to increase awareness of the importance and needs of sustainable research software practices. In particular, we recommend strategies and measures to create an environment for sustainable research software, with the ultimate goal to ensure that software-driven research is valid, reproducible and sustainable, and that software is recognized as a first class citizen in research. This paper is the outcome of two workshops run in Germany in 2019, at deRSE19 - the first International Conference of Research Software Engineers in Germany - and a dedicated DFG-supported follow-up workshop in Berlin.
Subject(s)
Knowledge , Research Personnel , Software , Forecasting , Germany , HumansABSTRACT
Temperature-sensitive hydrogel films were synthesized by electron beam irradiation of poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) on silicon (Si/SiO(2)) substrates and gold (Au) coated glass slides. The temperature-dependent swelling behavior of the films in aqueous solution was characterized by in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry and a combination of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and optical waveguide spectroscopy (OWS). The results of both techniques are compared. The suitability of both techniques for the characterization of the swelling behavior of thin hydrogel films is demonstrated. The volume swelling degree in the swollen state decreases with increasing radiation dose D. This is explained by the fact that the number of formed polymeric radicals, and hence cross-linking density, increases with D. Above the phase-transition temperature, the swelling degrees were independent of D, slightly above 1. The swelling/deswelling process was fully reversible and is mainly directed perpendicular to the substrate surface. The phase-transition temperature was determined to be T(cr) approximately 33 degrees C. However, T(cr) slightly decreases with increasing D and increasing film thickness d.
ABSTRACT
Temperature-sensitive hydrogel layers on silicon (Si) substrates were synthesized by electron beam irradiation of spin-coated poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) films. The influences of the used solvent, the polymer concentration, and the spinning velocity on the homogeneity and the thickness of the PVME film were investigated. In the range of concentration c(p) = 1-15 wt% PVME in ethanol solution, homogeneous films with a thickness between d = 50 nm and 1.7 mum were obtained. The films were cross-linked by electron beam irradiation under inert atmosphere and analyzed by sol-gel-analysis. The results were compared with bulkgels formed by electron beam irradiation of PVME in the dry state. The film topography was analyzed by high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. An islandlike structure in the dry, swollen, and shrunken state of the hydrogel films was observed.
