The computer acquired through this project was a Silicon Graphics 4D/25G graphics workstation with 12 MB of memory and two 380 MB hard disk drives. The graphics and calculational capabilities of the computer are being used to support two biochemistry courses, a course in computational chemistry, and the senior thesis program. The workstation filled a gap that existed between what the chemistry undergraduates were taught and modern chemical research. The rapid growth of information regarding molecular structure in biochemistry has given rise to the need for a more effective method of representing large molecules in three dimensions than was available at the institution. The graphics workstation provided such a method. Using available software packages, students are introduced to the intricacies of macromolecular structure throughout the one year biochemistry course. An additional need arose from the lack of instruction that undergraduates received in computational chemistry. The acquisition of the workstation permitted the development of a course designed to teach the theory and practice of molecular calculations. To teach such a course effectively, the Chemistry Department required a more powerful computer than was available. The Silicon Graphics workstation provided not only the necessary processing power, but also the advantage of graphics capabilities to assist in the presentation and interpretation of results from sample calculations. The senior thesis program also made extensive use of the graphics workstation. Student projects that were affected included site- directed mutagenesis studies, enzyme inhibitor design and mathematical modelling of the relationship between structure and mutagenicity. The institution contributed in an amount slightly in excessof the NSF funds.
