This was a 30-hour workshop designed to introduce high school students to the investigation of chemical structure and behavior through the application of computational chemistry techniques. Using state-of-the-art research-level software on high-performance scientific workstations and desktop computers, students created molecules, performed a variety of calculations and manipulations of those molecules, and learned to communicate their observations and findings to both lay and professional audiences. The fundamental computational techniques used included ab initio and semiempirical methods, two chemistry techniques that allow chemists to investigate the behaviors of molecules up to several hundred atoms in size.
The workshop involved formal lectures, structured hands-on labs and activities, and the opportunity to work collaboratively with other students on a small research project.