The Philadelphia Area Java Users’ Group was founded in March 2000 by Dave Fecak and Dr. John Lewis (formerly of Villanova University). Dr. Lewis relocated in 2006 and left JUG, but his contributions are still felt today. In November 2013, Dr. Lewis had a brush with web fame and was dubbed ‘the nicest man on Twitter‘ when his handle was mistaken for a department store in the UK. Dave Fecak served as JUGmaster from 2000 until February 2015, when Michael Geiser took over leadership. Michael resigned in February 2016, and Dave returned as interim JUGmaster.
The group exists solely as a vehicle for sharing information about Java and Java-related technologies among our members.
The Philly JUG membership list is over 1,200 professionals and students representing many local companies and universities. Our members primarily come from eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. In the Summer of 2003, the Philly JUG was named one of the TOP 25 JUGs in the world by Sun Microsystems at their JavaOne conference. In 2005, Sun expanded the program to the top 50 JUGs, and we were named to the TOP 50 list as well. Philly JUG was profiled in Oracle’s Java Magazine in 2013.
We generally meet once a month with fluctuating meeting dates to accommodate the needs of our speakers. Our speakers address a broad range of topics, with the common thread being that all presentations touch on an aspect of Java technology and the overwhelming majority of presentations get to the ‘code level’. In 2012, the group decided to focus on the entire JVM ecosystem and not just the Java language. The group currently does not allow pure product demonstrations or any commercial activity. There are usually free door prizes, raffles, (books, t-shirts, hats, pens, etc.) and always lots of good food. Meeting attendance can range from about 100 to 150.
We are always looking for quality speakers for our meetings, as well as organizations to sponsor the meetings (spring for the food). If you would like to volunteer, suggest someone, or if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.
