Dartmouth dedicates new chemistry building Role of computers in or the chemistry department at safety features of the new building. Studrug discovery analyzed An informal group of computational chemists has begun to compare experiences on how best to integrate computer-aided techniques into the drug discovery process. The group was formed in June, when 16 directors of computational chemistry and of medicinal chemistry at eight pharmaceutical companies convened at a workshop on Mackinac Island, Mich. "The basic thrust of the workshop was to analyze the impact of computer-aided methods on drug discovery and how it could be improved," says Gerald M. Maggiora of Upjohn Laboratories, who organized the meeting with Peter Gund of .Merck Research Laboratories and James P. Snyder of G. D. Searle & Co. Participants from each of the eight companies were able to cite cases showing the effectiveness of computational methods in the discovery and refinement of 'lead" compounds for potential new drugs. The group expanded at the recent American Chemical Society meeting, in Washington, D.C., where about 300 researchers attended a symposium and panel discussion on medicinal chemistry and computer-aided drug design. To continue the dialogue, the organizers of these two meetings are now thinking of organizing a larger workshop in about a year that would involve more people and more points of view. The group believes, says Maggiora, that "if s important to begin to address issues about how computational methods influence the process of drug discovery. If s the way these techniques are integrated into the process that gives them their p o w e r not the techniques in themselves. You can have the best molecular dynamics and huge computers, and it can have no impact on dnig discovery." The group believes the future of computer-aided drug discovery will see a greater integration between the different types of computer-based information—including chemical and biological informatics, biological simulations, molecular modeling, database searching, and chemometrics. "We feel it's important to keep this kind of dialogue going," says Maggiora, "because it benefits all the companies. We all learn from each other." Stu Borman
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Dartmouth College, in Hanover, dents can work at the desks without N.H., the move must have seemed long needing to wear safety equipment, while overdue. But the department is now set- at the same time they can monitor expertling into its new quarters in Burke Lab- iments through glass windows. The oratory, following dedication ceremo- building is also very ventilation intensive. For example, most of the 138 hoods nies held late last month. The department had been feeling the in the building are individually vented. The department has also received constraints of overcrowding and obsolescent facilities. Most of its programs grants that enabled it to put together a had been housed at Steele Hall, which computer package based on an IBM had been constructed in 1922 and was RISC 6000 system, with workstations to be located in teaching labs as well as in last renovated more than 30 years ago. "Burke Laboratory ensures Dart- research labs. The building is named for Walter mouth's future as a nationally recognized center for chemistry teaching and re- Burke, a 1944 graduate of Dartmouth who search," says chemistay department chair- for more than 30 years served as president man Russell P. Hughes. 'It represents a and treasurer of Sherman Fairchild Fountremendous commitment on Dartmouth's dation, a philanthropic organization that part to the future of science education at has supported projects at Dartmouth as the undergraduate and graduate levels." well as other colleges and organizations. Hughes expresses delight that the Burke also served as a trustee of Dartbuilding is named Burke Laboratory rath- mouth for more than a decade. James Krieger er than Burke Hall. It says that science is performed in the building, he explains. Among the features in the $26.5 million building are an open design to encourage faculty and student interaction, safety details, and a $250,000 computer system. The Dartmouth chemistry department includes 15 full-time-equivalent faculty, eight to 10 postdoctoral research associates, and 35 graduate students. The faculty members teach all of the undergraduate courses, with graduate students and undergraduate teaching assistants helping only in the laboratory. Except for one introductory chemistry class for nonmajors, every chemistry course has a lab component. About half of the chemistry majors conduct undergraduate research. The open design aspect of Burke Laboratory complements Dartmouth's collaborative-atmosphere approach, where undergraduates, graduates, and faculty members work side by side in the laboratory. This approach, the school believes, provides undergraduates with an understanding of the rewards of chemistry research. A physical separation of students' .desks from In Burke Laboratory (entrance, top photo), Hughes (nght) lab benches is one of the and Owen Curnow check equipment at a lab station OCTOBER 5,1992 C&EN 59
