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These pages contain information for prospective students on the Degree Courses in Computational Chemistry and Computational Physics (CAO number TR074) taught by the Departments of Chemistry and Physics at Trinity College Dublin. Further detailed information on course syllabi for the Computational Chemistry and Computational Physics degree courses is available on the web pages of either Department. What is Computational
Chemistry?
What is Computational Chemistry? The use of computers has become a crucial element within chemistry and in all modern scientific disciplines. Recent advances in computational chemistry have led to an explosive growth in a range of applications which span from the modelling of how electrons are arranged in atoms to the structure and properties of molecules and materials such as drug-proteins interactions or catalysts. Underpinning all of this is a fundamental understanding of the simulation approaches and their numerical basis. This degree is primarily a chemistry degree but is intended for students who are also interested in learning how computers can be used within modern chemistry.
Illustration showing some examples of modelling atoms and electrons. From left to right, the electron distribution in SnO, a DNA base pair, interaction of a drug with its target enzyme, structure of a high temperature superconductor and a multi-crystalline thin film for catalysis. Careers in Computational Chemistry The Computational Chemistry degree is still fundamentally chemistry based and so most of the opportunities available to regular chemistry graduates remain open. In addition the specially developed computational chemistry skills make graduates an attractive prospect for employers or research in computational chemistry. Examples of industries where people are employed in computational chemistry include pharmaceutical (e.g. computational drug design) and chemical (e.g. developing catalysts, smart materials) industries.In addition opportunities not normally open to chemists where computational skills are valuable such as financial (modelling stockmarket fluctuations), meteorology (weather forecasting) or the computer industry (e.g. software development, sales). Computing has made enormous changes to many aspects of our lives. Many of these changes have been subtle and we are hardly aware of them but some have revolutionised the way we do things. Take the web for example... The world wide web was invented by Tim Berners Lee at CERN (the European Laboratory for High Energy Physics) in order to allow research physicists to share the results of their research more quickly. Now it has changed the way we do things, from booking airline tickets to finding out what the weather is likely to be tomorrow. Computing has also made major changes to the way physicists carry out their research. Quite often physicists think of themselves as experimentalists, theorists or computational physicists. Computers are used by physicists to simulate many physics experiments and solve complex equations that arise in theoretrical physics. In weather forecasting, for example, weather conditions must be measured over a wide area by satellite or at weather stations; the way in the weather will change is determined by fluid flow equations, but these equations can only be solved using numerical methods on large computers. Thus, in weather forecasting, something that we may take for granted, there are roles for experimental, computational and theoretical physics.
Wiebke Drenckham
© 2000
back to What is a Computational Physicist? Careers in Computational Physics
Computing has found a home in most areas of physics now (astrophysics, solid state physics, high energy physics, materials physics, etc) and computational physicists with computational and mathematical skills, as well as the usual knowledge of physics, are needed in these areas. Of course, graduates with skills in both physics and computing are also employed in many industries where physicists with a conventional training find jobs. Indeed, the additional skills of the computational physicist may be an advantage. The first students of the computational physics and computational chemistry courses graduated in 2001. Several of these students have continued to work in Computational Chemistry or Physics by studying for a PhD, either in Trinity College or elsewhere. Other students have found jobs in software companies. What recent graduates have to say ... Barry Fitzgerald obtained his degree in Computational Physics at Trinity College in 2002 and continued by taking a Diploma in Modelling and Numerical Computing in the Applied Mathematics Department at NUI Cork.
Patrice Burke obtained her degree in Computational Physics in 2003 and joined SchlumbergerSema as a Systems Integration Specialist after completing her degree.
Peter Stuart obtained his degree in Computational Physics at Trinity College in 2002 and continued by taking a European Masters Course in Renewable Energy studying at Loughborough University, England and the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. In October 2003 Peter is starting a full time position as a Wind Flow Analyst at a UK based wind farm developer.
What will I learn in Computational Chemistry/Computational Physics (TR074)? Course material
covered in the Computational Chemistry/Computational Physics degree
syllabi (besides the core chemistry and physics syllabi) is a
combination of numerical methods, computer languages and programming
and applications such as: molecular modelling - predicting the
behavior of proteins or In the first two years of the course you will study Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics and are introduced to Scientific Computing through a series of tutorials. At the end of the second year you select either Computational Chemistry or Computational Physics as your degree subject. In the last two years of the course you will study either core Chemistry topics as well as Computational Chemistry or core Physics topics as well as Computational Physics. The syllabi for the Computational Chemistry and Computational Physics courses are available. What are the entry requirements for Computational Chemistry/Computational Physics (TR074)? The entry requirements are listed on the Trinity College Admissions Office webpages. How can I apply to enrol in the course? The application procedure is listed on the Trinity College Admissions Office webpages. |
Physics Department,
Trinity College Dublin,
Dublin 2,
Ireland
Tel: ++ 353 608 1675
Fax: ++ 353 6711759
E-mail: physics@tcd.ie
