A new short documentary film airing during the COP28 climate summit highlights Carnegie Mellon’s leadership in environmental research and education and the role of open source software to amplify the impact of these efforts.
Produced by science media company One World Network in partnership with the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries and the Carnegie Mellon University Open Source Program Office, “Open Source: Building Community to Address Sustainability and Climate Change” features interviews with CMU leaders and researchers, including Helen and Henry Posner, Jr. Dean of the University Libraries Keith Webster and Director of Open Source Programs Office Sayeed Choudhury. It will air on the COP28 live stream during conference proceedings and is available on YouTube.
Carnegie Mellon’s Open Source Programs Office (OSPO) launched in July 2022 with a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Since then, it has received additional funding to launch community building efforts to support the expansion of university open source programs offices across the United States. Carnegie Mellon’s OSPO builds upon the Libraries’ responsibility for supporting all aspects of open science – the principle of making research products and processes available to all – as well as more granular support and services for open data and open access. The Libraries’ open science program was established in 2018 as one of the first in an academic library in the U.S.
“Climate change is an existential threat, demanding bold solutions with a collaborative approach, and CMU is leading the way,” said Choudhury. “Open source software – software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance – provides a framework through which CMU’s research can be translated for direct impact on a local and global scale.”
The full list of featured participants in the film includes:
- Sayeed Choudhury, director of Open Source Programs Office
- Steve Guenther, assistant vice president for facilities management
- Paulina Jamarillo, professor, engineering and public policy
- Destenie Nock, assistant professor, civil and environmental engineering
- Albert Presto, research professor, mechanical engineering
- Randy Sargent, visualization director, CREATE Lab
- Keith Webster, Helen and Henry Posner, Jr. Dean of the University Libraries