Science curriculums must include exposure to the current techniques and tools of the discipline, as well as to accepted principles and theories. "Molecular modeling" - using computational power to dynamically model or simulate complex chemical systems - is rapidly establishing itself in both academic and industrial settings as one of the most powerful and exciting tools for probing chemical phenomena. This project has brought the technique into the undergraduate organic chemistry, so that the curriculum properly reflects how organic chemistry is practiced and what chemists actually do; provides the student with an exciting and powerful tool for exploration and testing of many fundamental principles of organic chemistry - principles not easily illustrated in either the lecture or the laboratory; facilitates a deeper understanding of fundamental principles of molecular structure and molecular energetics; and attracts more majors by making the curriculum exciting and by allowing students more creativity in their study. To implement the program, the department acquired computational hardware and software to integrate molecular modeling into the second-year chemistry course as a basic tool for exploring molecular structure, molecular energetics, and chemical reactivity. The goal of the project is to introduce students to the use of the computer for modeling complex systems. This curricular development has substantially enriched the educational experience for students in a core-course which is central to the training of chemists, biologists, and students going into health related careers. The three Claremont colleges, Pitzer, Claremont McKenna, and Scripps contributed to the project in an amount equal to the NSF funds.
