The Statistical Computing and Visualisation section of the Statistical Society of Australia proudly presents a members only webinar on Where Do R Packages Live.
Date: Wednesday 20 May
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM (AEST)
Online via Zoom: details provided upon registration
Abstract:
Where R Packages Live brings together key stewards of the R ecosystem for a behind-the-scenes chat about where R packages are built, reviewed, distributed, and sustained.
Featuring representatives from R foundation, Bioconductor, R-universe (rOpenSci), and Posit, this panel will unpack the distinct roles each platform plays — and how they collectively interact with our work
Whether you’re a developer, researcher, or data scientist, this discussion will demystify the infrastructure underpinning R’s package ecosystem and offer practical guidance on choosing the right home for your work.
Key Learnings from attending webinar
- Understand the roles and differences between R foundation, Bioconductor, R-universe, and Posit in the R ecosystem
- Learn the submission, review, and maintenance expectations across platforms
- Identify which repository or distribution pathway best suits different use cases of R packages
- Gain insight into long-term sustainability, discoverability, and governance of packages
Speaker Bios
Di Cook (she/her), R Foundation - Melbourne
Di Cook is Professor of Statistics in Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University, Melbourne. She is a member of the R Foundation Board and a past editor of the R Journal. She is a co-author of 37 R packages and the maintainer of 6 packages on CRAN. Her representation on the panel brings experience in successfully sharing with CRAN and publishing papers on the software.
Stevie Pederson (they/them), Kids Institute, Bioconductor - Adelaide
Having run the Bioinformatics Hub at the University of Adelaide from 2014-2020, Dr Stevie Pederson is now based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, leading the analysis of the transcriptomics layer for a large cohort, multiomics study addressing the high Type 2 Diabetes rates within the Australian Aboriginal community. Since commencing in 2015, their 3-day training course "RAdelaide" has become one of the largest & longest running R training events in Australia.
They are also an enthusiastic member of the Bioconductor developer community, as the maintainer of 5 Bioconductor packages and 1 CRAN package, and currently serve as Co-Chair of the Bioconductor Community Advisory Board.
Jeroen Ooms (he/him), rOpenSci, R universe - Amsterdam
Jeroen Ooms is a research software engineer focused on the R programming language and open-source tools. He currently divides his time between developing R-universe, funded via the R Consortium, and working with the Tidyverse team at Posit, where he maintains key R packages and contributes to projects including the R WebAssembly port. He earned his PhD in Statistics from UCLA in 2014 and has also worked with rOpenSci and UC Berkeley.
Jeroen is widely known for his contributions to the R ecosystem and for building infrastructure that supports reproducible, accessible, and community-driven software development.
Valerie Bucur (she/her), Posit PBC - Amsterdam
Valerie Bucur is a software engineer at Posit PBC working on the Package Manager team. She’s been with the team 3.5 years and in the software engineering industry for over 15 years. Her area of focus is package security and auditing. She also has previous experience with administration, DevOps, and infrastructure management.
@StatSocAus
