More about MathMol

MathMol was orginially developed in part at the New York University /ACF Scientific Visualization Center.

The objectives of MathMol are:

1) to provide students, teachers, researchers and the general public with information about the rapidly growing fields of molecular modeling and related areas;

2)to provide K-12 students and teachers with basic concepts in mathematics and their connection to molecular modeling;

3) to provide a working model of a hypermedia textbook and ancillary multimedia activities that makes full use of Internet resources; and

4) to provide a forum for discussion among scientists, teachers and students dealing with topics found within theses pages.

Why MathMol?

By the time many of todays K-12 students enter the workforce, career opportunities will have radically changed. Most if not all of the genes in the Human Genome will have been sequenced and many of their structures determined. With this information will come the ability to design new and more potent drugs against diseases such as cancer, AIDS, and arthritis. We have already begun to see development of new drugs designed with the assistance of molecular modeling techniques. In addition to drugs, molecular modeling has the potential to bring a vast array of new materials to the market. For example, the discovery of fullerenes, superconducting cuprates and other complex inorganic compounds are expected to produce new materials in the optics, ceramics, semiconductor and biomaterials markets. In addition, recent structural determination of vital photosynthetic proteins will provide scientists with valuable information which can lead to artificial photosynthesis. All of the above advances will provide a vast number of career opportunties for students who are properly prepared.

Project MathMol will provide the information and tools to present the fields of molecular modeling and 3-D visualization in ways that are highly informative yet more conducive to learning.

Components of MathMol

Quick Tour-- An overview of molecular modeling and its relationship to mathematics. In addition the Quick Tour demonstrates many of the multimedia components that MathMol uses.

Public Domain Software- Contains information on public domain software that can be used on PC, Mac or Unix workstations.

3 D Library of Molecular Images--- Contains numerous 3D images found in many introductory biology and chemistry textbooks.

3 D Library of Geometric Structures--- Contains numerous 3D images found in many intermediate school textbooks. this requires a .wrl reader.

Water Module--- An introductory module on water with links to more advanced pages on water structure.

K-12 Educational Activities-- A major component of MathMol is to provide information and activities for the K-12 community:

• MathMol Tutorials-- . These tutorials can be used in K-12 math or science classrooms.
• Concepts and Challenges-- On-line activities for K-12 students.
• Water Module for K-12 Students--Experiments on water that can be performed on-line and in school classrooms.
• Hypermedia Textbook --A model for future hypermedia textbooks that make full use of the Internets multimedia capabilities including 2-D and 3-D images, movies and interactive on-line software (e.g.,RasMol, MAGE and WebSpace).
• More on K-12 EducationA guide to other interesting K-12 Sites

Molecular Modeling Knowledge--This is a direct link to the NIH Molecular Modeling Knowledge Page

MathMol Home Page