This grant is funding the purchase of one Silicon Graphics Indigo2 and four Indys plus complementary software for the improvement of the chemistry undergraduate curriculum to include course and laboratory work in computational chemistry and molecular graphics. The courses that are affected most directly are the biochemistry laboratory courses and NMR Methods. Biochemistry is being expanded to include areas of structural biology, enabling students to analyze protein and nucleic acid structures and perform energy calculations. In NMR Methods, students learn modern techniques for problem-solving and structure elucidation. New experiments are being added to the physical, organic, and inorganic chemistry courses. The graphics display is being used as a lecture aid in the lower- division classes. The SGI workstations offer outstanding 3D graphical and calculational capabilities and are ubiquitous in teaching and research.
