This project addresses the problem of preparing students to deal with a variety of equipment and uses in a one-semester course. The project permitted the institution to acquire computer hardware, software, and interfacing equipment. The course is divided into two pedagogical segments, one involving computer hardware, the other data manipulation and modeling. The connection between the two parts is important. The first part gives the students the opportunity to learn to determine hardware requirements necessary to solve a particular problem. The interfacing segment provides a significant component of hands-on hardware experience at the chip and board level. The purpose of the modeling part of the course is to teach the students a)how computer technologies can be applied in modern chemistry, and b)the various common hardware and software that are available to the chemist today. The students who successfully complete this course have attained some expertise in molecular modeling and are sufficiently familiar with a range of approaches to a broad spectrum of problems so that they have the perspective necessary to configure a system for a particular application or adapt an existing system to a new application. The institution contributed to this project in an amount equal to the NSF funds.
