by jsendak | Apr 16, 2025 | DS Articles
[This article was first published on
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Hello pharmaverse community!
I’m thrilled to announce that Ashley Tarasiewicz will be taking over the Atorus seat from me on the Pharmaverse council.
Ashley has been a contributor to the pharmaverse since the early days of its inception, contributing to packages such as GitHub – atorus-research/Tplyr {Tplyr} , {pharmaRTF}, and A Centralized Metadata Object Focus on Clinical Trial Data Programming Workflows • metacore {metacore} . One of Ashley’s biggest strengths is being a voice of the user, calling on her history working through clinical reporting and submissions. In the time since Ashley joined Atorus, she built Atorus Academy to help with the up-skilling of SAS programmers to learn R. Ashley has now transitioned to the product owner OpenVal, a validated R distribution.
It was a no-brainer for me to have Ashley take over my council seat. For me personally, Ashley is an individual that I’ve leaned on since the very beginning of my career. As a sounding board and trusted confidant, having her at Atorus has been critical to our success. As such, I’m confident that her voice in the pharmaverse council will continue to help steer the community and drive progress for the industry overall.
Welcome, Ashley!
Last updated
2025-04-16 09:37:20.846914
Citation
BibTeX citation:
@online{stackhouse2025,
author = {Stackhouse, Mike},
title = {Welcome, {Ashley} {Tarasiewicz}},
date = {2025-04-16},
url = {https://pharmaverse.github.io/blog/posts/2025-04-16_welcome,__a.../welcome,__ashley__tarasiewicz.html},
langid = {en}
}
For attribution, please cite this work as:
Continue reading: Welcome, Ashley Tarasiewicz
Introduction
In recent developments, Ashley Tarasiewicz has been recruited by Atorus to head the company’s seat at the pharmaverse council. This comes after several years of significant contributions to the pharmaverse by Ashley, through her innovations such as Tplyr, PharmaRTF and metacore. As Ashley takes up a new role as a product owner of OpenVal, there is much to anticipate regarding the direction of the company under her stewardship. This article aims to evaluate the potential implications and future developments that may arise from this new introduction.
Implications and Future Developments
Enhancements in Clinical Reporting and Submission
Given Ashley’s background in clinical reporting and submissions, one of the potential long-term implications is that Atorus may now streamline its reporting, analysis and submission process. This would lead to efficient data management and potentially faster drug delivery to the market.
Professional Development Opportunities
With the establishment of Atorus Academy by Ashley, a platform for the up-skilling of SAS programmers has been created. In the long run, this could lead to the up-skilling of industry professionals to learn R, consequently pushing the boundaries of industry knowledge and technical ability.
Product Expansion
Ashley’s new role as the product owner of OpenVal might be a sign of potential new innovative products or improvements to the existing ones. OpenVal, as a validated R distribution, may be further developed under Ashley’s influence to include more comprehensive statistical and graphical techniques for improved data analyses.
Actionable Recommendations
- Professional Growth: With the opportunity provided by Atorus Academy to learn R, industry professionals are encouraged to take this opportunity to enhance their skills. This will not only provide an individual advantage but also elevate the standard of the industry.
- Market Watch: Potential competitors and investors should monitor the developments at Atorus under Ashley’s watch. With her track record, innovatively new products can be expected.
- Industry Collaboration: Considering Ashley’s voice in the pharmaverse council, there should be more engagement with her views by other council members and the industry. This would involve keen tracking of her propositions and developing suitable policies and responses.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ashley Tarasiewicz’s assumption of Atorus’ pharmaverse council seat is a significant development that holds potential for positive change in the pharmaceutical programming landscape. Professionals, competitors, investors and market watchers should brace themselves for industry forwarding initiatives.
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by jsendak | Apr 10, 2025 | Science
As technology continues to evolve and our dependence on digital infrastructure grows, data centres have become a critical component of our modern society. However, the massive amounts of electricity required to power and cool these facilities have raised concerns about their environmental impact. According to a recent report, data centres accounted for approximately 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2024 (Nature). This staggering statistic highlights the urgent need for the industry to explore more sustainable practices and embrace future trends that can help mitigate their carbon footprint.
The Rise of Renewable Energy
One clear trend that we can expect to see in the future is the increased adoption of renewable energy sources to power data centres. As the urgency to combat climate change grows, governments and businesses are recognizing the importance of transitioning to clean energy alternatives. Renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power offer a reliable and sustainable solution for data centres.
In recent years, we have already witnessed prominent tech companies and data centre operators investing in renewable energy projects. For instance, Google has pledged to reach 100% renewable energy for its global operations, including data centres (Google Sustainability). This commitment not only helps reduce their environmental impact but also provides an opportunity for the industry to lead by example and inspire others to follow suit.
Improving Energy Efficiency
Another crucial aspect of future trends for data centres is the continuous pursuit of energy efficiency. With power consumption being a significant contributor to their environmental footprint, data centre operators are investing in innovative solutions to optimize energy usage and reduce waste.
Advanced cooling technologies, such as liquid cooling, are gaining traction as they can significantly improve energy efficiency compared to traditional air-cooling methods. Furthermore, implementing intelligent software systems and artificial intelligence algorithms can help optimize workload distribution and resource utilization, ultimately reducing overall energy consumption.
The Advent of Edge Computing
Edge computing is poised to revolutionize the data centre industry by bringing computation closer to the source of data generation. Instead of transmitting vast amounts of data to centralized data centres, edge computing allows for processing and storage to occur directly on the devices or at the edge of the network, reducing the need for extensive data infrastructure.
This trend has the potential to lower the overall energy requirements of data centres, as fewer resources will be needed for long-distance data transmission. As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand, edge computing can play a vital role in managing and processing the massive volumes of data generated by billions of connected devices.
Recommendations for the Industry
- Invest in renewable energy: Data centre operators should prioritize the adoption of renewable energy sources to power their facilities. Collaborating with energy providers, governments, and clean energy advocates can help accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.
- Implement energy-efficient practices: By investing in advanced cooling technologies and optimizing resource utilization, data centres can significantly improve their energy efficiency. This includes exploring innovative solutions such as liquid cooling and leveraging artificial intelligence for workload management.
- Embrace edge computing: As the industry moves towards edge computing, data centre operators should adapt their infrastructure to support this trend. This involves developing edge data centres and investing in robust network infrastructure at the edge to facilitate efficient data processing and storage.
- Educate and raise awareness: It is crucial for the industry to actively educate the public and stakeholders about the environmental impact of data centres and the steps being taken to mitigate it. Spreading awareness and promoting sustainable practices can inspire change and encourage others to follow suit.
In conclusion, the future trends for data centres revolve around sustainability and efficiency. The adoption of renewable energy, continuous improvements in energy efficiency, and the rise of edge computing are key factors that will shape the industry in the coming years. By embracing these trends and implementing the recommended practices, the data centre industry can pave the way towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future.
References:
Nature, Published online: 10 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01113-z
Google Sustainability. (n.d.). Responsible Operations: Renewable Energy. Retrieved from https://sustainability.google/responsible-operations/renewable-energy/
by jsendak | Jan 25, 2025 | DS Articles
This week we had a wonderful community call, From Novice to Contributor: Making and Supporting First-Time Contributions to FOSS, where Sunny Tseng, Pascal Burkhard, and Yaoxiang Li shared with us their experiences with, and advice for, first time contributors, with the excellent moderation of Hugo Gruson.
This was a perfect start to our special series of activities to support first time contributors to Open Source Software.
Our next two activities, Coworking Mini-Hackathons for First-Time Contributors, will take place February 4th 2025 1-3 UTC and March 4th 2025 13-15 UTC (see below for details), but first, let’s review what we learned from this Community Call.
Community call
Our three panellists each shared different experiences and perspectives on making contributions to open source software.
Sunny and Pascal shared their experiences with getting involved, Pascal and Yaoxiang shared technical tips for git and testing, and all three offered advice for first time contributors.
Sunny focused on her journey making her first R package, bbsTaiwan as part of the rOpenSci Champions Program and Pascal shared his experiences as a first time contributor to the babelquarto package after being a long-time solo user of git.
Then Yaoxiang rounded out our call with advice for first-time contributors on the importance of including tests and how to deal with different testing situations, referring to his experience with medrxivr.
Sunny recommended that you have a plan for your contributions, but remain flexible as things change or don’t proceed as you may have expected.
Both Sunny and Pascal pointed out that they found git to be less scary than they expected once they got started, and that they learned so much while collaborating with others.
Among other technical suggestions, Pascal and Yaoxiang both commented that starting small and using good descriptions can be really helpful, whether for git commit messages or code tests.
Mini-hackathons
Hopefully this community call has inspired you to get involved open source software.
If you’re curious about contributing to Open Source Software, and would like some support to get started, our coworking mini-hackathons are for you!
We’ll be hosting two events, the first on February 4th 2025 1-3 UTC and the second on March 4th 2025 13-15 UTC.
During these session you’ll join others making contributions to R packages while package maintainers and other mentors are available ’live’ to answer questions and give guidance.
We’ll also have a special Slack channel ready as a place for asynchronous questions during the event and in the week following.
These collaborative events are designed to help first-time contributors get started with open-source projects.
Whether you’re improving documentation, reviewing translations, fixing bugs, or adding new features, our mentors will guide you every step of the way.
No prior experience required. Non-first time contributors are very welcome too—just bring your curiosity and enthusiasm!
Note that this event requires registration.
Please fill out this short form to sign up.
We’ll send out reminders, some information to get you started, and a Zoom link closer to the date.
Resources
Continue reading: Coworking Mini-Hackathon for First-Time Contributors
The Future of Open Source Contributions: Insights from the FOSS Community Call
In a recent webinar themed “From Novice to Contributor: Making and Supporting First-Time Contributions to FOSS,” industry experts Sunny Tseng, Pascal Burkhard, and Yaoxiang Li shared their first-hand experiences and advice for novice contributors. The session, moderated by Hugo Gruson, served as the opening of a series of activities to support first-time contributors to Open Source Software and offers valuable insights on the future of open source contributions.
Key Takeaways and Future Implications
During the call, the panellists each shared unique experiences and perspectives, extending valuable advice to newcomers in the field. The first-time contributors offered their candid insights that could essentially drive the future development of the open-source ecosystem.
Focus on Improving Skills
Sunny discussed the importance of planning while also staying versatile as things may not always go as expected. She reiterated the need for new contributors to develop their skills, something she learned while creating her first R package, which fosters a culture of continuous learning in the open source industry.
Collaboration and User-friendly Tools
Pascal’s experiences underlined the importance of collaboration in open source projects, suggesting that the future of open source contributions could involve more collaborative efforts. He stressed the benefit of user-friendly tools like git, which he found to be less intimidating than anticipated and incredibly helpful for collaborations.
Technical Expertise and Descriptive Communication
Yaoxiang advocated the importance of including tests and dealing in diverse testing situations, using his experiences with medrxivr as an example. His advice hints at the importance of technical prowess in successful open source contributions. Both Pascal and Yaoxiang also emphasized the value of detailed and descriptive communication, whether for commit messages or code tests. This could influence the culture of open communication and diligence in open source contributions.
Long-Term Implications and Future Developments
The trends mentioned above suggest that the open-source community continues to evolve towards inclusivity, collaboration, technical mastery, and transparent communication. The field will likely become more welcoming for first-time contributors, continuously facilitate skill growth, encourage collaboration, and promote diligent, descriptive communication.
Actionable Advice for Future Contributors
- Plan your contributions but remain adaptable as situations may change
- Take advantage of user-friendly tools like git for collaboration.
- Utilize descriptive communication in your contributions, whether for commit messages or code tests.
- Do not overlook the significance of technical skills, especially for conducting tests.
Looking Forward: Coworking Mini-Hackathons for First-Time Contributors
rOpenSci is hosting Coworking Mini-Hackathons for First-Time Contributors in February and March of 2025. These events are a great opportunity for novice contributors to learn and explore the world of open source. They can get hands-on experience, benefit from live mentors, and connect with a supportive community. The move towards such inclusive events further highlights the future development of the open-source world – that of embracing first-time contributors and providing them with the necessary support.
Final Thoughts
The open-source community is heading towards a more inclusive and collaborative future. The insights shared by Sunny, Pascal, and Yaoxiang are not only inspiring for novices but also indicate the direction in which open-source contributions are moving. By offering ample support to first-time contributors, we can foster a richer and more diverse community, driving innovation and technological advancements.
Read the original article
by jsendak | Jan 20, 2025 | DS Articles
How to join this free online event with Yi-Chin Sunny Tseng, Pascal Burkhard, Yaoxiang Li and Hugo Gruson.
Contributing to open source can be very rewarding, but also incredibly intimidating.
When we asked about first time contributions on the rOpenSci Slack,
people recalled the challenges and mistakes they made,
but mostly how much they learned from and enjoyed that experience.
In this community call moderated by Hugo Gruson, our speaker,
Yaoxiang Li will discus the importance of tests with respect to first-time contributions, and share best practices and advanced techniques for supercharging
R package quality with testthat, Pascal Burkhard will discuss is the basic git
skills that can help to make a first contribution, and Sunny Tseng will share
practical advice for making first contributions, common challenges and how to
overcome them.
This event is supported by NumFOCUS Small Development Grants.
See below for speaker bios and resources.
Speakers
Yi-Chin Sunny Tseng
Sunny Tseng is a Vancouver-based data scientist and PhD candidate specializing in avian acoustics. She enjoys the welcoming community that open-source science brings to her career. Sunny is also a scientific infographic designer, blending art with conservation research. As a 2023-2024 rOpenSci Champion, she recently released her first R package, bbsTaiwan, linking her passion for open science with her Taiwanese roots—and featuring her bird art as the logo.
Pascal Burkhard
Pascal is a geography and computer science teacher in a Swiss high school, and has been using R for about 15 years now. Pascal mostly does visualizations for lessons (graphs and maps), but is also a big fan of Quarto to create documents, presentations and books that can all be organized into clean websites to use as a teaching platform.
Yaoxiang Li
Yaoxiang Li is a Senior Bioinformatician at Georgetown University. He has extensive experience in developing R packages, focusing on making complex bioinformatics data accessible. He is passionate about improving open-source software quality, supporting new contributors, and promoting reproducibility in computational biology. Yaoxiang is deeply interested in both statistical theory and the application of machine learning in biomedical research. He has made significant contributions to the R ecosystem, including co-authoring several rOpenSci packages and contributing to R-core through bug fixes.
Hugo Gruson
Hugo Gruson is an evolutionary biologist who fell in love with R and R package development during his PhD. He is now working full-time as an R package developer, with a current focus on making the ecosystem of R packages for epidemiology more robust.
Join Us!
Continue reading: From Novice to Contributor: Making and Supporting First-Time Contributions to FOSS
Analysis of the Key Points: Open Source Contributions and its Importance
Contributing to open source projects can present a significant learning opportunity and it is becoming increasingly popular among various groups, including data scientists and even educators. According to the discussed event, it also opens a platform for diverse and unique backgrounds, from avian acoustics to evolutionary biology, united by a common love for R package development and open-source community collaboration.
Possible Future Developments
If more experienced developers and experts, like Yaoxiang Li, Pascal Burkhard, Yi-Chin Sunny Tseng, and Hugo Gruson, can provide guidance and best practices to newcomers, it will expedite the learning process and create a smoother transition for first-time contributors. With public figures from diverse fields showing their support and involvement in the R community, it can influence people from various disciplines to participate, enriching the open source community with a wide array of expertise.
Long-term implications
This increased involvement and guidance can democratize and decentralize innovation in the field of data science, genomic research, geographic data visualization, to name a few. By fostering a community spirit and focusing on contributors’ experience, rOpenSci is promoting inclusivity. In the long run, it could lead to more significant innovations and advancements due to the multifaceted team contributing to the same project. Furthermore, it will help leverage a diverse talent pool and combat the monoculture generally found in tech.
Actionable Advice and Insights
- Keep Learning and Sharing: New and experienced open-source contributors alike should continuously seek out ways to improve their skills and also disseminate this knowledge. This will help accelerate the growth and development of the R community.
- Promote Diversity: Encourage experts from varied fields to contribute. This could stimulate innovation and bring forth unique perspectives to the open-source project. It is also crucial for leaders to create an environment where a diverse range of voices are heard and valued.
- Key Onboarding Best Practices: Key best practices such as giving a brief introduction to newcomers, assigning them a mentor, and encouraging their active engagement can help assimilate them into the community. This would enable them to contribute meaningfully and learn from the experience effectively.
- Organize Contributor-friendly Events: Events like the one discussed invite everyone, irrespective of their experience level, which normalizes the process of getting involved and offers a platform for learning and networking.
Open-source contributions have the potential to significantly shape fields of study and the future of science and technology. By fostering a contributor-friendly environment, there is significant potential for growth and innovation.
Read the original article
by jsendak | Dec 27, 2024 | DS Articles
Introduction
In this comprehensive analysis, we’ll explore the critical investment questions generated by DoTadda’s Knowledge platform based on NVIDIA’s recent earnings calls. This analysis provides investment professionals with a structured framework for evaluating NVIDIA’s market position and future prospects.
DoTadda’s Key Metrics Analysis Table
DoTadda’s Key Metrics Analysis Table
| Latest Q Revenue |
$35.1B |
Up 94% Y/Y |
| Data Center Revenue |
$30.8B |
Up 112% Y/Y |
| Gaming Revenue |
$3.3B |
Up 15% Y/Y |
| Gross Margin |
74.6% |
Trending Down |
| Data Center % Rev |
~ 88% |
Increasing |
| China DC Revenue |
Mid-Single |
Declined significantly |
Critical Investment Questions Framework
1. AI Market Leadership Sustainability
Why It Matters: Data Center/AI represents ~88% of revenue with 112% Y/Y growth
Key Questions:
- How sustainable is NVIDIA’s technological lead in AI chips?
- Can they maintain their pricing power and margins?
- What is the true size of the AI infrastructure opportunity?
Supporting Evidence:
“Generative AI is not just a new software capability, but a new industry with AI factories manufacturing digital intelligence, a new industrial revolution that can create a multi trillion dollar AI industry.” – Jensen Huang, Q3 2025
2. Supply Chain Execution
Why It Matters: Demand consistently exceeds supply, making execution critical
Key Questions:
- Can they scale production to meet demand?
- How are they managing component sourcing?
- What are the risks in their supply chain?
Supporting Evidence:
“While demand greatly exceeds supply, we are on track to exceed our previous Blackwell revenue estimate of several billion as our visibility into supply continues to increase.” – Colette Kress, Q3 2025
3. Competition and Moat Analysis
Why It Matters: Cloud providers and others are developing their own chips
Key Questions:
- How defensible is their software/ecosystem advantage?
- What is the risk from cloud providers’ internal chip programs?
- How sustainable is their pricing power?
Supporting Evidence:
“For every $1 spent on NVIDIA AI infrastructure, cloud providers have an opportunity to earn $5 in GPU instant hosting revenue over 4 years.” – Colette Kress, Q1 2025
4. China Exposure and Regulatory Risk
Why It Matters: China restrictions have significantly impacted revenue
Key Questions:
- How will evolving export controls affect their business?
- Can they develop competitive China-specific products?
- What is the long-term China strategy?
Supporting Evidence:
“Our Data Center revenue in China is down significantly from the level prior to the imposition of the new export control restrictions… We expect the market in China to remain very competitive going forward.” – Colette Kress, Q1 2025
5. Financial Sustainability
Why It Matters: Current growth rates and margins are exceptional
Key Questions:
- Are current margins sustainable?
- How cyclical is the business?
- What is the long-term growth trajectory?
Supporting Evidence:
“GAAP gross margins were 74.6%… down sequentially, primarily driven by a mix shift of the H100 systems to more complex and higher cost systems within data center.” – Colette Kress, Q3 2025
6. Product Transition Risk
Why It Matters: Success depends on smooth transitions to new architectures
Key Questions:
- How will the transition to Blackwell impact financials?
- What is the product roadmap beyond Blackwell?
- How are they managing product transitions?
Supporting Evidence:
“Blackwell production is in full steam… we will deliver this quarter more Blackwells than we had previously estimated.” – Jensen Huang, Q3 2025
Your Turn!
Apply DoTadda’s framework to analyze NVIDIA’s competitive position:
Problem:
Using the provided earnings call data, evaluate: 1. NVIDIA’s competitive moat 2. Growth sustainability 3. Key risk factors
Solution Template:
1. Competitive Moat Analysis
- Software/ecosystem advantages
- Manufacturing capabilities
- R&D leadership
2. Growth Sustainability
- Market opportunity size
- Product roadmap
- Customer concentration
3. Risk Assessment
- Regulatory environment
- Competition
- Supply chain constraints
Bonus
Take the questions from above and ask DoTadda! Share the insights you get!
Quick Takeaways
- AI/Data Center dominates revenue (~88%)
- Demand significantly exceeds supply
- China exposure remains a key risk
- Margins trending down with product mix
- Blackwell transition critical for growth
Continue reading: Strategic Investment Analysis: Key Questions Generated by DoTadda’s Knowledge Platform
Long-term Implications Of The Investment Analysis
The comprehensive analysis of DoTadda’s Knowledge platform of NVIDIA’s recent earnings calls reveals potential indicators and strategic ISight into NVIDIA’s future market positioning and sustainability. Here we consider the long-term implications and future developments.
AI Market Leadership Sustainability
With Data Centers/AI representing ~88% of NVIDIA’s revenue with 112% Y/Y growth, the sustainability of NVIDIA’s market leadership in the AI domain becomes a crucial point. If NVIDIA could maintain its technological lead in AI chips, continue to hold their pricing power and margins, and properly grasp the AI infrastructure opportunity’s size, it will solidify its leadership position in the AI market and result in substantial increases in revenue. However, the emergence of an equally competitive player might impact NVIDIA’s solid positioning, making market diversification a key strategic necessity.
Supply Chain Execution and Risks
Given the demand consistently exceeding the supply, successful supply chain execution becomes vital. If NVIDIA is able to scale up production to meet up with the demand and manage component sourcing effectively without hiccups, they will maintain their market position. However, disruptions in the supply chain and inability to meet demand might lead to loss of market share.
Competition and Moat Analysis
While NVIDIA has currently established a clear competitive advantage in the AI sector, the dynamic tech industry, which allows for rapid developments and launches by competitors, remains a risk. If NVIDIA fails to guard its software/ecosystem advantage and fails to maintain its pricing power, it might lose its competitive edge.
Chinese Market Exposure And Regulatory Risk
With China’s restrictions significantly impacting NVIDIA’s revenue, there is an apparent need for a focused and competitive China-specific strategy. Without it, NVIDIA might continue to suffer significant revenue losses in the Chinese market. Understandably, changing geopolitical and trade regulations might affect the implementation of such strategies.
Financial Sustainability And Product Transition Risk
While the current growth rates and margins of the company are exceptional, the sustainability of these aspects depends largely on the cyclicity of the business and long-term growth trajectory. Potential market saturation or declining demand could eventually affect the growth rate. Similarly, successful transitions to new architectures, such as Blackwell, are critical for maintaining growth and competitiveness.
Actionable Advice
- Invest In Diversification: With AI/Data Centers being the major contributor to NVIDIA’s revenue, it will be advantageous to invest in diversifying into other promising areas to shield the business from unexpected fluctuations in AI industry dynamics.
- Enhance Supply Chain: Given the high demand for NVIDIA’s products, substantial investments in expanding manufacturing and supply chains should be considered to meet the demand and guarantee the growth of revenues and overall business growth.
- Strengthen Market Position In China: To mitigate the losses due to restrictions by China, it is imperative for NVIDIA to develop and implement a strong China-specific strategy and develop competitive products for the Chinese market.
- Prepare For Successful Product Transitions: NVIDIA should invest in research and development and customer communication to smooth the transition to new product architectures and maintain its competitive position.
Read the original article
