Episode 103: Samuel Wein on OpenMS and Mass Spectrometry

Guest Samuel Wein Panelists Richard Littauer | Justin Dorfman Show
Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! The podcast where we talk about
sustaining open source for the long haul. On today’s episode, we
are very excited to have as our guest, Samuel Wein, who is a core
developer and Executive Chairman of the OpenMS Foundation, a Post
Doc at University of Tuebingen in Germany, and the head of a
software consultancy specializing in analysis of RNA using Mass
Spectrometry. Samuel fills us in on OpenMS and Mass Spectrometry
and how he’s trying to make it better and expand it. He explains
more about the governance process, how the funding process is
going, training programs he’s done, and an internship program in
the works to get more diversity. Samuel shares some great groups to
get involved in the open source projects sciences area, and what he
would like to change with OpenMS. Go ahead and download this
episode now to find out more! [00:02:14] Samuel is a scientist, so
we find out how he ended up being a coder. [00:03:27] Samuel
explains OpenMS and Mass Spectrometry, and Justin wonders if this
was instrumental in the mRNA research from Moderna and the other
place that Pfizer teamed up with. [00:06:47] Justin wonders how
many times Samuel has been trying to get recruited from companies,
such as Moderna, since they are probably looking for people like
Samuel, and what’s keeping him away from them. [00:08:14] Richard
wonders what the governance process was like. [00:11:09] Samuel has
three partnerships for funding right now and Justin wonders if they
are his go-to or if he needs to get more funding from different
partners. [00:13:08] Richard asks Samuel if he can talk about how
he’s keeping the project from ending up bending the corporate
interest and what it looks like for him. [00:14:29] Justin wonders
what other revenue streams Samuel has besides his donors and grants
and if he has any training programs that he’s put together.
[00:17:34] Besides documentation, Richard is curious to know if
Samuel could think of looking at his organization and then the
wider field as a whole of really improving JEDI work, and if
there’s anything he’s working on besides that. [00:20:00] Samuel
explains how people can get involved and what was helpful for him.
[00:22:17] We find out what Samuel is interested in learning and
changing, as well as other things he’s interested in doing with
OpenMS. [00:24:07] Samuel suggests some groups that have useful to
him to join, such as Open Bio, EuBIC-MS, and HUPO PSI. [00:25:45]
Find out where you can follow Samuel on the internet. Quotes
[00:08:19] “My experience with scientific projects developed in
labs is that they unfortunately tend to have a lifecycle that is
contingent upon the career path of the core developer.” [00:08:45]
"There are issues with sustainability and maintainability once the
original developer has left.” [00:09:39] “[On community organizing
in OSS] It’s all volunteer, it’s all passion projects, and you need
to steer people towards their passions.” [00:16:20] “We’re looking
for a Community Manager.” [00:22:41] “I would like to convince more
scientists of the importance of choosing their software based on
it’s openness.” Spotlight [00:27:23] Justin’s spotlight is BioJS.
[00:27:56] Richard’s spotlight is _The Wheel of Time _books by
Robert Jordan. [00:28:45] Samuel's spotlight is Anathem by Neal
Stephenson. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS
Twitter
(https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) Samuel
Wein PhD Linkedin
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-wein-phd-20700323) Samuel Wein
GitHub (https://github.com/poshul) OpenMS (https://www.openms.de/)
sam@samwein.com (mailto:sam@samwein.com) Otakon
(https://www.otakon.com/) Open Bioinformatics Foundation
(https://www.open-bio.org/) EuBIC-MS (European Bioinformatics
Community for Mass Spectrometry) (https://eubic-ms.org/) HUPO-PSI
(HUPO Proteomics Standards Initiative) (https://psidev.info/) BioJs
(https://biojs.net/#/) [The Eye of the World: Book One of The Wheel
of Time by Robert
Jordan](https://www.amazon.com/Eye-World-Book-Wheel-Time/dp/1250832365/ref=sr14?keywords=the+wheel+of+time&qid=1639498260&sr=8-4)
[Anathem by Neal
Stephenson](https://www.amazon.com/Anathem-Neal-Stephenson/dp/006147410X/ref=sr13?crid=16WXX28YH3HTQ&keywords=neil+stevenson+books&qid=1639498801&sprefix=neil+ste%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-3)
Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/)
Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound
(https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr
Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest:
Samuel Wein.