Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange, Facilitator of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry in Pre-Internet History

摘要

The Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange (QCPE) was a service conceived in 1962 and that started operating in 1963. Its purpose was to provide an inexpensive mechanism for theoretical chemists and other scientists to exchange software. Most of the computer programs were distributed as source code, so scientists, if they wanted to, could learn from or improve upon the inner workings of the algorithms. QCPE reached its zenith in the 1980s when computational chemistry was growing rapidly and becoming widely recognized by the scientific community. The service was convenient and much used by experts, students, and experimentalists who wanted to perform research calculations in the study of molecules. QCPE also played an educational role by conducting workshops and providing on-call help to countless beginners. QCPE was based at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and serviced a worldwide clientele. Introduction of the Internet in the 1990s diminished the role of QCPE.