CompuServe Messages

I think you are very right, I find myself making these same arguments. Rather than focus on "friction" and "control" issues however (try to discuss these issues in strategy meetings with both ends of the argument present!) I tend to emphasize that there are substantial benefits to be had by moving the modeling tools to the lowest common denominator in order to place the tools in the hands of the bench chemist. This is not without problems, a lot of people don't understand the nature of the minimization process and searching for global minima (just one example of the type of complexity that can be involved) is far from trivial. Too many people still believe "if it's the result of a calculation then it must be right". Really a training issue. I view modeling as just another tool in the arsenal. Don't expect it to answer all your questions, but if it can prioritize or eliminate some experimentation for you then it's all worth it. Even if the packages are only used as visualization tools (electronic Dreiding models, the build module in Hyperchem is really interesting in this regard) if they work for you, then they are justified. There's another fallout, I think that the demand upon the modeling service group will increase as the tools promulgate throughout the organization (can only help their job security) and they'll be asked more intelligent and more appropriate questions. Can't overemphasize the size of the training problem though.