Astronomy Data and Computing Services: Changing the way research software is developed, supported and maintained
Astronomy Data and Computing Services (ADACS) was established in 2017 by the Australian Astronomy community - with the leadership of Astronomy Australia Ltd. (AAL) - to provide astronomy-focused training, support and expertise to maximise scientific return on Australia's investments in astronomical data & computing infrastructure. One of our flagship services is the ADACS Merit Allocation Program (MAP). This program provides an opportunity for any Australian astronomer to compete (in the same way they compete for computing or telescope resources) for the time of dedicated software professionals to deliver:
- Bespoke training in skills related to software development, &/or
- Dedicated software development or design effort for new or established codebases.
To date we have successfully delivered over 120 projects involving over 100 unique applicants across all areas of astronomy through this program. The ADACS MAP is solving problems for researchers that otherwise could not have been solved; accelerating old science and enabling new science. More broadly however, we are working to shift the culture of computing in our community; moving to a more collaborative model, where wider skill-sets of multifunctional teams can be exploited.