Add igraph maintainer spotlight (Szabolcs Horvát, Reykjavik University)

content/academia/igraph-maintainer-spotlight.md

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+---
+name: Szabolcs Horvát
+institution: Reykjavik University
+department: Computer Science
+projectName: igraph
+projectRepo: https://github.com/igraph/igraph/
+projectWebsite: https://igraph.org/
+maintainerProfiles:
+  - github: https://github.com/szhorvat/
+  - orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3100-523X
+badges: ["Academic Maintainer", "Assistant Professor"]
+description: "A free and open-source collection of tools for the analysis of complex networks, with an emphasis on efficiency, portability, and ease of use."
+---
+
+## What is igraph, and what does it help people do?
+
+igraph is a free and open-source collection of tools for the analysis of complex networks, with an emphasis on efficiency, portability, and ease of use. It is used by researchers worldwide in network science, as well as in empirical fields where a network perspective is useful, from sociology through physics to biology. igraph can be used with R, Python, Mathematica, and C/C++.
+
+## What inspired this project?
+
+igraph was created by Gábor Csárdi and Tamás Nepusz around 2005 to support their doctoral research. At that time, there were no easy-to-use, free network analysis libraries available for high-level languages such as R and Python.
+
+Since then, many contributors have helped grow igraph into one of the most widely used tools of its kind. The current igraph team includes around ten people working across its different interfaces.
+
+## How does this project connect to your academic work?
+
+My work involves developing new mathematical and computational methods for analysing complex networks. Some of these methods are implemented in igraph, making them accessible to researchers around the world.
+
+## Who contributes to the project?
+
+The igraph team; students mentored, supervised, or taught by members of the team; and external volunteer contributors.
+
+## How are students involved in the project?
+
+Students contribute code, documentation, and testing, often by using igraph within their own projects.
+
+## How is the project used in teaching or coursework?
+
+igraph is the main computational analysis tool used in the network science course I teach. One possible class project is contributing directly to igraph.
+
+## What impact has this project had on your students?
+
+Several students have been introduced to open-source contributions through igraph.
+
+## What impact has the project had beyond the classroom or research?
+
+igraph is widely adopted. The original publication has received over 16,000 citations, and more than a thousand other software libraries depend on it.
+
+## What does it take to maintain the project?
+
+The project is maintained by the igraph team, with members based in multiple countries. Development is primarily managed through GitHub, which we use for issue tracking, pull requests, and releases.
+
+igraph is open source, and its development is fully transparent. The governance structure is documented publicly on GitHub.
+
+## What have been the biggest challenges in maintaining the project, especially in an academic setting?
+
+Securing funding and resources has been the biggest challenge, followed by balancing teaching and research responsibilities with development work.
+
+While academia allows us to involve students, mentoring is time-consuming. Retaining contributors, both local students and online contributors, is also difficult. Team members outside academia require funding to be able to dedicate time to the project.
+
+## How do you ensure the project remains sustainable over time?
+
+We apply for grants to support scientific software development and involve local students in ongoing work.
+
+We have also attracted volunteer contributors through GitHub who became regular team members. However, mentoring online contributors can be time-intensive, and many do not continue after their first contribution.
+
+## How do you engage with your community?
+
+We engage through a project forum, the GitHub issue tracker, and by maintaining detailed contribution guides and user documentation.
+
+## Have you taken part in any open source programs or events?
+
+Not yet.
+
+## What would you love to achieve by showcasing your project?
+
+To increase the visibility of igraph, and especially to raise awareness of the challenges faced by open-source scientific projects.
+
+Users often take open-source software for granted. Academic and research institutions typically do not allocate funding to tools that are free to use, even though their long-term sustainability depends on funding in the same way as commercial software.
+
+## Is there anything else you'd like to share about your project or open source journey?
+
+igraph is a team effort. If it is showcased, it should be presented that way, even though I submitted this form as an individual.