This project will prepare software and associated written material to introduce computational chemistry into the first two years of the chemistry curriculum. Computational technology is one way to illustrate chemistry as it is practiced today. It gives students hands-on experience with the models that we use at the molecular level in a way previously unavailable. The software will enable students to carry out atomic and molecular electronic structure calculations on simple atoms and molecules that are discussed in introductory courses. IBM PC and Macintosh computers will operate the software. The software and written materials will be disseminated widely via organizations such as Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange and Project Seraphim. Work will also be submitted for publication in JCE:Software and the Journal of Chemical Education, and to software firms that market molecular modeling (molecular mechanics) software. This inexpensive technology could be used by any two-year community college or four-year undergraduate institution.
