Science has always been a public endeavor. From backyard astronomers to garage inventors to the quiet hum of home computers running simulations through the night — progress has never belonged solely to the lab. Open Science is the modern version of that tradition: research done in the open, powered by volunteers, and shared for the good of all.
I believe that every tool, every byte, and every idle cycle can do a little good. During the day, my work in bioinformatics is about finding truth in the details. At home, that same instinct guides how I use technology — to fold proteins, search for new prime numbers, listen for signals from distant stars, and record wildlife on my land.
Projects like Folding@Home, PrimeGrid, and Einstein@Home take the extra computing power sitting in homes around the world and turn it into something meaningful. Meanwhile, citizen science projects like eBird and Zooniverse let people like me contribute to conservation and data-driven ecology — blending science, stewardship, and a love for the outdoors.
You don’t need a supercomputer or a lab coat — just curiosity and a little spare processing power. Here are a few of the projects I support and recommend:
| Project | Focus Area | My Team | My Profile | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folding@Home | Protein folding & biomedical research — simulations that help fight diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. | Team Sancta Molecula | View My Profile | foldingathome.org |
| PrimeGrid | Advanced mathematics — searching for record-setting prime numbers and testing deep computational theorems. | Sam Houston State University (SHSU), Texas | View My Profile | primegrid.com |
| Einstein@Home | Astrophysics — detecting pulsars and gravitational waves from LIGO and radio-telescope data. | - | View My Host | einsteinathome.org |
| eBird | Conservation and ornithology — record bird observations to aid migration and population research. | — | View My Profile | ebird.org |
| Asteroids@Home | Astronomy — modeling asteroid shapes and rotations using real photometric data to better understand near-Earth objects and the evolution of our solar system. | - | Profile | asteroidsathome.net |
| Zooniverse | Citizen science platform — from wildlife camera data to space images, people help classify real research data. | — | View My Profile | zooniverse.org |
| BOINC Platform | Framework connecting volunteers with distributed-science projects worldwide. | — | - | boinc.berkeley.edu |
The world doesn’t just need faster machines — it needs more people who care about what they’re running. Open Science is a quiet rebellion against waste, apathy, and isolation. It’s a reminder that even from a small farm or a home office, we can take part in something vast, human, and enduring.