A Computational Chemistry Laboratory will be established for undergraduate chemistry students at Hope College. Students will use this facility across the chemistry curriculum and in undergraduate research. The facility will introduce students to the rapidly evolving and enormously important area of computational chemistry. Instruction in the organic, physical, and advanced chemistry courses will be substantially enhanced through molecular mechanics calculations, molecular orbital calculations, electron density maps, 3-D visualization of steric and/or orbital overlap, reaction pathway calculations, infrared and UV/VIS spectra calculations, and more. Wherever possible, calculations from the Computational Chemistry Laboratory will be used to address questions arising from measurements made in the experimental laboratories. Students participating in Hope College's active undergraduate research program in chemistry will use these powerful computational techniques to understand and interpret their research results.
