Iowa State University Alumni Association| online edition | fall 2006
Mark Gordon

 


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MARK GORDON, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR IN LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES, FRANCES M. CRAIG PROFESSOR
GAMESS PEOPLE PLAY

The GAMESS used at Iowa State Univer-sity aren’t those childhood favorites of “Monopoly,” “Battleship,” or “Life.” At least not in Mark Gordon’s lab.

But GAMESS is all about life, says Gordon, distinguished professor and director of the Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences division of Ames Lab. GAMESS – or General Atomic and Molecular Electronic Structure System – provides a sophisticated program for studying the chemical reactions that go on around us.

For example, the U.S. Air Force has contracted with Gordon to study the development of highly efficient rocket fuels. Currently, most rocket fuels are based on the use of solid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. But research conducted by Gordon and others suggests that adding molecules with high nitrogen content or ionic liquids could be viable alternatives.

GAMESS also has been used by researchers in entomology to study the effectiveness of various insect repellents.

“We can use GAMESS to study the effect of insect sprays on receptor sites,” Gordon said. “This could lead to the development of more potent, environmentally friendly products for repelling or controlling insect populations.”

Researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine use GAMESS to study the potential for disease patterns in cattle – or how a specific “bug” might impact the state’s livestock industry.

Gordon said the computer program – which is free to academics and others who agree to certain licensing agreements – has more than a half million lines of code and more than 20,000 registered user groups.

“I would estimate the total number of people using GAMESS is more than 100,000,” Gordon said. “GAMESS is constantly being adapted to fine-tune its potential to solve new and evolving research from around the world.”

GAMESS garnered Gordon a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for chemical software development and a combined grant of just under $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and IBM for hardware and related research.

In 2004, Gordon was elected to the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. In 2003, he received a Fulbright Scholar opportunity to work at the Australian National University, Canberra. In 1997 and 2005, he earned the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) Excellence in Research Award. For 2005-06, he also was honored as an LAS Master Teacher.

When not working on GAMESS at Iowa State, Gordon – who grew up in the South Bronx – enjoys another type of game: a good, old-fashioned New York Yankees baseball outing.

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About the Writer | Kevin Brown is a freelance writer from Pleasant Hill, Iowa.