If you have ever wanted to get into the heads of the Open Source Software Institutes’s top people, this could be your chance! Take a look at this recent interview with their executive director done for Newsforge.

John Weathersby is head of the Mississippi-based Open Source Software Institute (OSSI), which earlier this year signed its second Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Navy. This is the lightly-edited transcript of an IM conversation we had with Weathersby last month.

Roblimo: How long has OSSI been working directly with the Navy?

Weathersby: OSSI has been directly engaged with the Navy since Sept 2001.

We signed the first Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) in Oct of 2001…and completed it in Oct 2004

Roblimo: How does this second CRADA contract differ from the first one?

Weathersby: The first CRADA was a foundational building exercise for both sides… the Navy knew they were using some open source within their systems, and the CRADA was a way for them to identify where and how it was being used (within the defined sections)… and it also helped identify the economic benefits of their usage of open source. [Read the rest]