With this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Multi User program (CRIF:MU), the Chemistry Department at Northwestern University will acquire a 40 node computer cluster for 28 faculty. It will be utilized in research projects requiring parallel computers including 1) nano-optics, 2) DNA-linked aggregates, 3) dip pen lithography, 4) molecular alignment in EM fields, 5) molecular electric conductance, 6) numerical finite difference computational method, and 7) electromagnetic transport. The computer cluster will also be incorporated in graduate and undergraduate courses on computational chemistry and valence theory.
A cluster of fast, modern computer workstations is vital to serving the computing needs of active research departments. Such a "computer network" also serves as a development environment for new theoretical codes and algorithms, provides state-of-the-art graphics and visualization facilities, and supports research in state-of-the-art applications of parallel processing. These studies will have a significant impact in a wide number of areas, including biochemistry and materials science.
