Open Source software development projects have provided a reliable foundation for research. Scientists, in their quest for less expensive computing, have migrated from specialized workstations to Open Source operating systems running on mass market computing platforms. Open Source operating systems tend to include a bounty of Open Source software packages pre-built and properly installed, which saves administrative time. The Internet networking capability of these Open Source operating systems is first rate, thus enabling the full Internet connectivity scientists have come to expect from their computing environment.

Scientists are also beginning to follow the Open Source paradigm in their own software development efforts, by publishing their source code on the Internet. Making use of specialized software developed by others in similar fields allows more time to be spent on other research activities. Distributing software in this way also provides scientists with another means of sharing ideas about the data analysis and other aspects of their work.

At this point in time, the Open Source software development paradigm is gaining major recognition in the private domain. Because of the recent swell in awareness of Open Source software by the general public, it was deemed that the time was ripe to hold a conference which dealt directly with the issue of Open Source and science. Many common threads drive advances in these two fields. It is also worth noting that Open Source and science can experience similar friction when market forces begin to affect the development cycle.

The Open Source/Open Science conference will expose the benefits and drawbacks of the Open Source development model and the software which it has produced and is capable of producing in the future. It will explore the extent to which Open Source software helps scientists advance in their research, and the potential for returning such advances to the community which has brought the Open Source code base to its current mature level.