PyHC project status, August 2020


This quarterly progress report wraps up the above-mentioned grant for PyHC. We submitted a new grant to continue to the efforts of this grant, which was accepted and began in mid-August 2020. During the last quarter of this grant, we submitted a PyHC session proposal (titled “Python Application Development for Solar and Space Physics) to the virtual AGU 2020 meeting. This session proposal was accepted, and we had 11 abstract submissions to the session, two of which are student-led abstracts. We also began planning for the virtual Fall 2020 PyHC meeting, which will take on a different format from the virtual Spring 2020 PyHC meeting; we plan to spread out the meeting over an approximately month-long period in lieu of spending a few consecutive, long days on Zoom. The Monday of each week will have a normal, hour-long telecon, during which we have open slots for presentations, time for wrapping up from the previous meeting session, etc. Each week will also have an extra, three-hour long session dedicated to hackathons, tutorials, or unconferences. Next, we’ve continued to hold telecons on an approximately bi-weekly schedule. Topics have included SunPy and SpacePy package updates, Python type checking, upcoming abstract submission opportunities, drafts of a PyHC logo, and Fall meeting planning. Finally, our PyHC-dedicated developer, Tom Baltzer, left LASP for a position at a different company. We filled the open PyHC Technical Lead position with a new-hire to the LASP web team, Shawn Polson.