Joint Open Source Summer Cohort
A collaborative summer cohort across OREL, DevoWorm, and JOPRO — open-source contribution, instruction, and professional development, anchored by Google Summer of Code.
The Joint Open Source Summer Cohort (JOSSC) brings open-source contribution, hands-on instruction, and professional development together into a single summer program. It pairs the formal structure of Google Summer of Code (GSoC) with a broader cohort of open-source contributors, and has been running since 2017 under the direction of Dr. Bradly Alicea — bringing nearly 30 GSoC scholars through the program, alongside many more cohort participants.
How it fits together
JOSSC is a collaborative effort across several organizations, each playing a distinct role:
- Google Summer of Code — the anchoring program and ultimate sponsor, providing stipends and structure for formal contributors.
- INCF and the OpenWorm Foundation — the umbrella organizations through which GSoC participation is sponsored and coordinated.
- OREL (Orthogonal Research and Education Laboratory) and DevoWorm — the host labs, led by Dr. Bradly Alicea, providing the research projects and technical mentorship.
- JOPRO — a deep partner to OREL and DevoWorm, contributing the program’s joint layer: additional mentoring, open-source instruction, and professional development. Data x Direction summer internshps are also involved in joint programming.
Cohort streams
Participants — contributors and interns — come from three streams that convene together through the cohort’s open-source meetings:
- GSoC Contributors — stipended contributors hosted by OREL and DevoWorm under INCF and OpenWorm Foundation sponsorship.
- OREL Open Source Dev Scholars — non-GSoC contributors developing within OREL’s open-source projects.
- Data x Direction — a JOPRO-hosted cohort that participates in the joint open-source meetings. Data x Direction is not affiliated with OREL, DevoWorm, or GSoC directly; it overlaps through the shared cohort.
Featured initiatives include the Open-source Sustainability initiative, which has drawn extensively from GSoC scholar work since 2022, and DevoLearn and DevoGraph from within the DevoWorm group.
For the full history, applicant information, and the complete year-by-year list of contributors and projects, see the dedicated archive at jopro.org/gsoc.
Projects
D-GNNs: DevoGraph for Computational Developmental Biology
Graph neural networks for modeling developmental biological processes
D-GNNs: developing DevoGraph for computational developmental biology
LLAMOSC: LLM Agent-Based Modeling for Open Source Communities
A framework that pairs Large Language Models with agent-based modeling to simulate and sustain open-source communities.
BraGenBrain
Braitenberg Vehicles Genetic Algorithms Simulation of Neural Development
Modeling Neural Development with Braitenberg Vehicles
Evolving embodied neural networks in Braitenberg vehicles to study brain development and connectome motifs
DevoTG: Dynamic Graph Neural Networks for Modeling C. elegans Development
Dynamic graph neural networks for modeling the temporal development of the C. elegans embryo.
NDP-HNN: Modelling Neural Developmental Programs of C. elegans Using Growing Hypergraph Neural Networks
Growing hypergraph neural networks for modeling the neural developmental programs of C. elegans.
SustainHub: Adaptive Agent-Based Model for Open-Source Community Sustainability
An adaptive agent-based model for studying and supporting the sustainability of open-source communities.
Exploring Open Source Sustainability via Agent-based Modeling
Agent-based modeling approaches to understanding the long-term sustainability of open-source communities.
Virtual Reality for Distributed Research
Virtual reality tools and environments to support distributed, collaborative research.
Agent-based Collective Cognition for Open Source Communities
Agent-based models of collective cognition applied to open-source community dynamics.
Digital Microsphere
Building the Digital Microsphere for modeling early embryonic development.
Ethical Regulators for Open Source Communities
Applying the ethical regulator theorem to the governance of open-source communities.
GNNs as Developmental Networks
Treating graph neural networks as models of biological developmental networks.
Modeling Axolotl Embryos
Computational modeling of axolotl embryo development within the Digital Microsphere effort.
Reinforcement Learning and Collective Cognition for Open Source Communities
Reinforcement learning approaches to collective cognition in open-source communities.
Sustainability Auditing Tool (SAT)
A web-based auditing platform for evaluating the long-term sustainability and community health of open-source projects.
Improving DevoLearn
Extending and improving the DevoLearn library for computational developmental biology.
OpenDevoCell Integration
Integrating and extending the OpenDevoCell platform for cell-level developmental analysis.
Pre-trained Models for Developmental Neuroscience
Developing pre-trained machine learning models for developmental neuroscience tasks.
Semantic Segmentation of the Embryogenetic Process
Semantic segmentation of microscopy data capturing the embryogenetic process.
Contextual Geometric Structures
Modeling contextual geometric structures for representing information and cognition.
Developmental Networks and XML Frameworks for the C. elegans Embryo
Developmental network models and XML data frameworks for the C. elegans embryo.
Image Processing with ImageJ (Segmentation of High-Resolution Images)
ImageJ-based processing and segmentation of high-resolution developmental microscopy images.
Publications
Developmental Neurosimulation as a Route to Embodied Morphogenetic-inspired Intelligence
Embodied Intelligence 2024 (Self-Organized Systems track)
Continual Developmental Neurosimulation Using Embodied Computational Agents
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 1321, 012013
Open-source Community Sustainability using Agent-based Models
Braitenberg Vehicles as Developmental Neurosimulation
Artificial Life, 28(3), 1–27