Bob Turner

Research Software Engineer

Bob was a senior research software engineer who started his career in software and databases after completing a degree in Applied Physics at the University of Durham. After four years in the private sector, he did a PhD in Biophysics at the University of Leeds, before working as a postdoc researcher at the University of Sheffield in several departments, including Physics and Astronomy, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Mechanical, Engineering and the Dental School, reflecting an unusually broad range of research interests spanning microscopy, microbiology, engineering and healthcare.
Bob left the RSE Sheffield team in 2023 to take up a Research Software Engineering position at the University of Oxford.

An accomplished researcher with some important publications, as a software engineer Bob collaborates with researchers to develop and improve software. This of course involved writing code, but also lots of liaison, discussion, leadership and, most importantly, listening!

Bob’s role included contributing to the management of the RSE team, under Paul Richmond’s leadership. His work included:

  • Advising and helping researchers to implement good software engineering practises (e.g. testing, version control, documentation, reproducible execution, packaging, licensing)
  • Writing research software (e.g. in Python, MATLAB, R)
  • Training
  • Line management of five team members
  • Establishing new externally-funded collaborations
  • Advocating and acting to improve the standards of research software (e.g. running or delivering talks, communication via social media, engagement with university committees)

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