Achievement

Experimentalists are increasingly incorporating the results of molecular modeling into their investigations, either to explain phenomena observed in the laboratory or to narrow the parameter space for experimental investigations. Unfortunately, graduate students who focus on experimental studies rarely have the skills necessary to perform their own calculations. To address this shortfall, Prof. Paulette Clancy offered a four week, hands-on module entitled "Molecular Simulation for Experimentalists" which introduced three different techniques: ab-initio calculations, molecular dynamics, and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. The module was taught in a computer lab so that students could immediately try each technique on an illustrative problem. Demand for the module was very high, and the module was heavily oversubscribed.