Reflections On ChemDraw

I got my PhD in Natural Products Chemistry from Ga Tech in 1973. You can be assured that my fluency with organic drawing templates was profound, given the number of redraws! In 1973 I started a Postdoc with Michael Rossmann at Purdue and was assigned to the structure determination team for LDH. In 1974 Drs. Holbrook, Liljas and Rossmann were asked to produce an article in Dr. Boyer’s series “The Enzyme”. I was asked to participate and was assigned the figures and tables. The final article contained 34 figures and 24 tables. Dr. Holbrook provided many of the biochemical reactions and tables from his work while we centered on the crystallographic results. We did not have ChemDraw or many of today’s computer tools I view with envy. Much of my work was done on a CDC6400 mainframe using custom software developed by Dr. Rossmann’s team and others in the crystallography community. Graphics, some meant to be used with 3D glasses, were produced on a vector plotter and were sometimes 2-3 feet in length. Structural diagrams and many figures were done in collaboration with a skilled draftswoman, Connie Braun, and prepared for print by our photographer William Boyle. Producing even more complex graphics in today’s world seems to be both easier and harder. The ability to do the graphics is easier but is offset by their increasing complexity. In a way I’m glad I moved into the world of Clinical Chemistry and Healthcare Policy for much of my career.

would you provide trial version please?