# Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange

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The **Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange** (QCPE) was an organization located at [Indiana University Bloomington](/source/Indiana_University_Bloomington) from 1963 to 2007. It was devoted to the distribution of [computational chemistry](/source/Computational_chemistry) software before electronic file transfer on the internet became a widely available method of software distribution.[1] The QCPE was founded by Prof. Harrison Shull[2] and was managed by Richard Counts for most of its existence. Financial support for the QCPE was originally provided by the [Air Force Office of Scientific Research](/source/Air_Force_Office_of_Scientific_Research) until 1969. Funding continued under an interim grant from the [National Science Foundation](/source/National_Science_Foundation) in 1971, until it became financially self-sustaining in 1973.[1]

The QCPE maintained a catalog of software that expanded through regular contributions from chemistry software developers.[3] New software contributions were announced through a quarterly QCPE Newsletter[4] that were eventually formalized into a QCPE Bulletin[5] in 1981, which allowed for software citations to numbered software entries in the Bulletin that announced their release. QCPE members paid for subscriptions to the Newsletter/Bulletin and additionally paid a processing and delivery fee to receive software from the QCPE catalog. The software distribution options expanded alongside technological development, starting from [punched cards](/source/Punched_card_input/output) and [magnetic tape drives](/source/Magnetic-tape_data_storage) delivered by [mail](/source/Mail), before adopting [floppy disks](/source/Floppy_disks) and [CD-ROMs](/source/CD-ROMs), and eventually electronic delivery by [FTP](/source/FTP). The QCPE grew rapidly in its early days, with about 400 members and a catalog of nearly 100 programs after its first 3 years of operation.[6] In the 1980s and early 1990s, the QCPE also organized annual summer workshops to train scientists in the use of its more popular software. At its peak in the mid-1980s, the QCPE had over 2000 members, over 400 programs available, and an annual income of nearly $400,000.[1]

The most visible legacy of the QCPE is the thousands of software citations to the QCPE Bulletin in scientific publications over four decades, with a peak of over 1000 per year in the early 1990's.[1] The most popular software in the early days of the QCPE was [GAUSSIAN](/source/Gaussian_(software)) (QCPE #236, #368, #406)[7] before it was removed from the QCPE catalog to become commercial software, and the most popular software in its later years was [MOPAC](/source/MOPAC) (QCPE #455, #688, #689).[1] Other popular software distributed by the QCPE included [POLYATOM](/source/Gaussian_orbital#The_POLYATOM_System) (QCPE #47, #199), [CNDO/2](/source/CNDO/2) (QCPE #91), [AMPAC](/source/AMPAC) (QCPE #506), [CRYSTAL](/source/CRYSTAL_(software)) (QCPE #577), [Molden](/source/Molden) (QCPE #619), and [MM2 / MM3](/source/Force_field_(chemistry)#Force_fields_available_in_literature) (QCPE #690-#698).[8]

## References

1. Boyd, Donald B. (2013). "Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange, Facilitator of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry in Pre-Internet History". *ACS Symposium Series*. **1122**: 221–273. [doi:10.1021/bk-2013-1122.ch008](https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2013-1122.ch008). ISBN 978-0-8412-2716-3.

1. ["The Harrison Shull Lectureship in Chemistry"](https://www.chem.indiana.edu/news-events/distinguished-lecture-series/the-harrison-shull-lectureship-in-chemistry/). *Indiana University Bloomington, Department of Chemistry*. Retrieved 6 February 2024.

1. ["QCPE Catalog"](http://www.qcpe.indiana.edu/catalog.html). *QCPE website (archived)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070711160656/http://www.qcpe.indiana.edu/catalog.html) 2007-07-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 February 2024.

1. ["Newsletter of the Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange"](https://search.worldcat.org/title/6569624). *WorldCat*. Retrieved 7 February 2024.

1. ["QCPE bulletin"](https://search.worldcat.org/title/7963600). *WorldCat*. Retrieved 7 February 2024.

1. Prosser, Franklin & Shull, Harrison (1966). "Quantum Chemistry". *Annual Review of Physical Chemistry*. **17**: 37–58. [Bibcode:1966ARPC...17...37P](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1966ARPC...17...37P). [doi:10.1146/annurev.pc.17.100166.000345](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.pc.17.100166.000345)

1. National Research Council (1976). [*Needs and Opportunities for the National Resource for Computation in Chemistry (NRCC): Report of a Workshop.*](https://doi.org/10.17226/19954). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. pp. 151–153. [doi:10.17226/19954](https://doi.org/10.17226/19954). ISBN 978-0-309-33466-2.

1. ["QCPE Catalog Selections"](http://www.qcpe.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/view_catalog.pl?printall=Y). *QCPE website (archived)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070711161206/http://www.qcpe.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/view_catalog.pl?printall=Y) 2007-07-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 February 2024.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Chemistry_Program_Exchange) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Chemistry_Program_Exchange?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.