Open Source Conference GW OScon
Join students, faculty, and staff for two days of learning, sharing, and collaborating in open-source software.
Hosted by the GW Open Source Program Office (OSPO), this conference brings together students, faculty, and staff passionate about open-source software, with guests from our cherished city of Washington DC, and beyond. Whether you’re an experienced contributor or just beginning, this event offers a platform to learn, share, and connect with others in the open-source community.
Conference Highlights
The GW OScon will feature:
Presentations from key members of GW's open source community.
Lightning talks from students and researchers contributing to open source.
Panel discussions with policy makers and federal agency representatives.
The event opening will feature welcome remarks by GW law professor and Provost, Christopher Bracey. He is a leading scholar on race, inequality, and the law
March 24, 9:00 AM
Keynote Speakers
Be inspired by these leaders of the open source community, from our university, the Washington DC area, and beyond (more speakers to be announced soon).
Prof. Keith Crandall
Director of the Computational Biology Institute and the Genomics Core at GW, Prof. Crandall is a pioneer in bioinformatic approaches for studying microbial pathogenesis, candidate gene detection, and variant associations with disease and treatment states. His ModelTest paper was highlighted by Nature in 2014 as one of the top 100 cited papers in the history of science.
Dr. Steve Crawford
Astronomer and Science Data Officer for the Science Mission Directorate of NASA, Dr. Crawford previously managed the teams maintaining the calibration software for the Hubble Space Telescope and building the calibration software for the Webb Space Telescope and Roman Space Telescope. He is the program officer for NASA's support of open-source software tools, frameworks, and libraries
Dr. Lawrence Gray
Director of Engineering at professional services start-up KUNGFU.AI, Dr. Lawrence Gray has experience in consulting, accounting, and geospatial intelligence. He has a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Physiology, and volunteers as a member of the Board of Directors for NumFOCUS, a nonprofit supporting open source software for science. He teaches Data Analytics and Data-Driven Decision Making at Georgetown University.
TBA
Stay tuned for another keynote speaker, to be announced soon...
To be announced...
External speakers and panelists from other areas of science and government.
Program coming soon!
We received nearly 50 proposals for lightning talks (5 minutes) and regular talks (15 minutes) that cover topics such as open-source projects, applications, best practices, community-building, and more. Attend to support our speakers and help us build a vibrant, inclusive open-source ecosystem at GW.
Proposal were due midnight February 9, 2025 (extended from Feb 6) and are being evaluated by the Program Committee now.
Conference organizers
General Chair
| Lorena A. Barba — Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and OSPO Faculty Director |
Planning Committee
| David Lippert — OSPO Director |
| Robin Delaloye — Associate Dean, Student Success and Scholarly Technology |
| Daniel Kerchner — Senior Software Developer, Libraries and Academic Innovation |
| Mike Sanders — Senior Research Associate, GW Institute of Public Policy (GWIPP) |
| Chenxi Zhou — PhD student, GW Human-Technology Collaboration Program |
Program Committee
| Lorena A. Barba — Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and OSPO Faculty Director |
| David Lippert — OSPO Director |
| Clark Gaylord — Director, GW Research Technology Services |
| Natalia Clementi — GW Alumna (PhD) |
Program
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 8–9am | Registration & Coffee |
| 9–9:30am | Welcome & Provost remarks |
| 9:30–10am | Keynote: Steve Crawford, program executive for NASA's Open Source Science Initiative |
| 10:10–10:30am | Featured speaker: Inessa Pawson, OpenTeams (sponsor) |
| 10:30–11am | Coffee Break |
| 11am–12:00pm | Regular talks - 4 × 15 min (2 Tracks) |
| 12:00–1:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00–2:00pm |
|
| 2:00–2:30pm | Break |
| 2:30–3:30pm | Regular talks - 4 × 15 min (2 Tracks) |
| 3:30–3:45pm | Short Break |
| 3:45–5:30pm | Lightning talks - 5 min each |
| 6–8pm | Dinner for presenters, sponsors, and organizers |
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 8–9am | Registration & Coffee |
| 9–9:15am | Welcome |
| 9:15–9:45am | Keynote: Dr. Lawrence Gray |
| 9:45–10:30am | Featured speakers |
| 10:30–11am | Coffee Break |
| 11am–12:00pm | Panel - Open Source and Artificial Intelligence |
| 12:00–1:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00–2pm | Regular talks - 4 × 15 min (2 Tracks) |
| 2–2:30pm | Break |
| 2:30–3:30pm | Closing Keynote: Keith Crandall + Closing remarks |
| 3:30–5:30pm | Art show & reception |
The Sponsors of GW's First Annual Open Source ConferEnce
GW believes in the power of open source to drive innovation and education. As the only R1 research institution with an engineering school in the nation’s capital, we are uniquely positioned to foster meaningful connections between academia, industry, and government.
Our sponsors are our partners in this inaugural celebration of open source communities in Washington DC!
Gold Sponsor
$10,000
OpenTeams is a global leader in Open SaaS AI, making artificial intelligence transparent, ethical, and accessible by leveraging open source innovation.
Silver Sponsors
$5,000
Simpler Grants is a project to modernize the Grants.gov experience and make it easier to find, share, and apply for grants. Led as an open-source project on GitHub.
RStudio (now Posit) was founded in 2009 to create open-source software for data science, scientific research, and technical communication.
Technology integrator and services for HPC, AI, scientific workstations, big data, and more.
Pythonic orchestration for modern teams. Meet the workflow engine replacing Airflow at Cash App and Progressive. Build pipelines in pure Python, skip the boilerplate, and deploy with confidence.
Bronze Sponsor
$1,000
AWS
GW's Open Source Programs Office is generously supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
All GW OSCON participants are expected to follow our Code of Conduct.
Please use the GW Public Health and Safety site for emergency contacts, campus advisories, alerts, policy information, weather updates, and more.
Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion (JEDI)
The GW OSCON is proud to have recieved a gold DEI badge from the CHAOSS DEI Badging for Events. 
Getting Here
The GW Campus in Foggy Bottom is conveniently located in the heart of Washington, D.C., close to three major airports: Ronald Reagan Washington National, Washington Dulles International and Baltimore Washington International, as well as to Union Station where you can take the bus or train.
Public transportation is at your doorstep with the Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro stop on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines located right on campus.
