Connected Data Products Hackdays
Applications are open for the 2026 Connected Data Products Hackdays!
Applications will reviewed on a rolling basis starting March 9th.
The last day to apply is March 20th.
Travel support is available for all non-local participants.
Overview
The Building Open Connected Scientific Data Products for the Cryosphere hackdays will take place April 13–15, 2026 in Berkeley, CA. The workshop is hosted by Englacial and Berkeley Institute for Data Science, with support from Astera.
We invite you to participate in figuring out the right patterns for creating connected scientific data products as software. We want to see prototypes of derived data products that are created with the tools of open-source software and built in ways that make it possible to re-mix, replicate, and update them.
This workshop brings together scientists, data providers, open source engineers, and other experts to collaboratively explore how to build open and connected scientific data products. We’ll explore new tools and publishing alternatives for today’s changing science landscape, while we design and co-create for a future where results are available faster and reproducing and building on the work of others is easier. We welcome scientists and engineers with an interest in the cryosphere to come exchange ideas and tools for building dynamic links between data and models through open source software. Travel support will be provided to non-local participants.
What to expect
The workshop will provide time and space for attendees to form small groups and work on building prototypes of connected data products. The first day will feature some brief invited demos and some structured team-finding exercises. Most of days 2 and 3 will be unstructured time to work with your new teams. Day 3 will conclude with time for teams to briefly present their projects and non-traditional artifacts for sharing science.
Goals
- Bring together observationalists, modellers, and engineers to exchange ideas and tools for building dynamic links between data and models through open-source software
- Foster conversations around how to scale, share, and publish open science in a post-journals world
- Promote awareness of existing open-source tools for data access, analysis, and sharing
Invited demos
Instead of traditional talks, we’ll feature invited demos – interactive demonstrations by leaders in open science showcasing tools and data products they have built. We’re still confirming a few demos, but demo-ers will include:
Prachee Avasthi
Alternatives to journal publications
Shane Grigsby
Programmatic, cloud-native access to OPR and ISMIP data
Joeseph Kennedy
Processing NISAR data into the ITS_LIVE data product
Mickey MacKie
Geostatistical interpolation with GStatSim
Fernando Perez
Publishing connected data product documentation with MyST
Jessica Scheick
Accessing ICESat-2 data with icepyx
Tasha Snow
Enabling living data: open source tooling and infrastructure for the next generation of science
Tentative schedule
| Monday, April 13 | Tuesday, April 14 | Wednesday, April 15 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location: | Astera offices in Emeryville | Berkeley AI Futures Lab | Berkeley AI Futures Lab |
| 9:00 AM – 9:45 AM | Welcome & orientation | Daily Showcase | Daily Showcase |
| 9:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Invited demos | Hacking time | Hacking time |
| 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
| 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Invited demos Team forming exercises Start hacking! |
Hacking time | Hacking time Demos and wrap-up |
The Daily Showcase is an informal opportunity to present about a connected data product you’ve been working on, share thoughts from what your team is working on, or ask for help with something you’re stuck on.
Logistics
- Dates: April 13–15, 2026 (Monday–Wednesday)
- Location: Emeryville, CA (April 13) and Berkeley, CA (April 14–15)
- Capacity: ~30 participants
- Travel support: We will provide travel support to non-local participants.
Please wait to book travel until you hear from us. We will give specific instructions about how to book your travel.
For planning purposes, we will recommend that all participats stay in downtown Berkeley.
Questions
Any questions about the hackdays should be sent to shane.grigsby@astera.org.