Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

NYU offers select software products, applications, and services for eligible NYU community members. Under this section of the LibGuide, we highlight several software that might be helpful for those studying Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

You can find a list of software available to NYU community members on NYU IT's Software Resources. Be sure to refer to your role to see if you have access.

Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) is a worldwide repository of small molecule crystal structures hosted by Cambridge Crystallographic Data Center (CCDC). NYU has a site license to access CSD.

• You may access the database via WebCSD (the online portal to the CSD)
• Alternatively, contact Margaret Smith for information on installing the Cambridge Structural Database System (CSDS) on your computer.

ChemDraw lets you locate properties information for structures and create publication-quality structural diagrams and models. Signals ELN is an online lab notebook where you can capture, organize, manage, and share your scientific data.

• Current NYU faculty, staff, and students who need access to ChemDraw and/or Signals ELN should submit this request form. You'll receive a response within 1-2 days with details on how to create a ChemDraw and/or a Signals ELN account(s).
• For Signals ELN:
  • After you've been added to the NYU site license and created your account, you can access Signals ELN by logging in to NYU's Signals ChemDraw portal.
  • Under Apps, click "Signals" to launch.
• For ChemDraw:
  • After you've been added to the NYU site license and created your account, open a new "private" or "incognito" window of your browser and go to NYU's Signals ChemDraw portal. Log in using your NYU email address and the password you chose when you created your new account. 
  • Scroll down to the “Installers” section, and click on “ChemDraw Installers."
  • Begin to download and install the ChemDraw Desktop software.
    • The first time you run the ChemDraw software, you'll be prompted to choose a licensing option. Select "Signals account" and click Continue.
    • When prompted for the Signals URL, enter this: https://newyorku.signalsresearch2.revvitycloud.com/
    • Then log in again using your NYU email and the password for your ChemDraw account, and finish the downloading process.
    • Optional: if you're on a Windows computer, and you need to use Chem3D, ChemDraw for Excel, ChemFinder, ChemFinder for Office, or Chemscript, follow the steps above to download ChemDraw Desktop and make sure you're able to open and use the software. Then, repeat steps 2-3 above, and download and install "ChemDraw applications for Windows" (located at the very bottom of the "ChemDraw Installers" page). 

Gaussian lets you model electron structures. This software is capable of handling proteins and large molecules using semi-empirical, ab initio molecular orbital (MO), density functional, and molecular mechanics calculations. GaussView is a graphical user interface for Gaussian. A desktop license for GaussView is available upon request.

• Gaussian and GaussView are distributed by the High Performance Computing group. Email hpc@nyu.edu for distribution information.

MATLAB is a technical computing environment that integrates numerical analysis, matrix computation, signal processing, and graphics in an easy to use environment.

• MATLAB is available for NYU faculty, staff, and students through the MATLAB Portal.
• Create a MathWorks account using your NYU email. Log into the account you created, click "Get Started". Click "Open MATLAB Online" for the online platform or click "Install MATLAB" to download software to your device.
  • MATLAB license expires annually on June 30.

Citation management tools enable you to important citations, organize citations, attach files and images to your citations, annotate your citations, and output auto-formatted bibliographies and in-text citations. 

You have access to several citation management tools:

• EndNote (Windows and Macintosh download, NYU only)
  • NYU has a campus-wide license to this software, which you download (at no cost to you) to your laptop or desktop computer. The software includes a less developed web-based component called EndNoteWeb, which can be used to sync across multiple personal computers.
• RefWorks (Web-based access, NYU only)
  • NYU purchases a campus-wide subscription to this web-based service that covers all members of the NYU community. Because RefWorks is web-based, you can use it from any Internet-connected computer/device on campus or off.
• Zotero (Web-based download, free)
  • A free download that works with your web browser. There are two options: Zotero for Firefox is a Firefox-specific extension that offers the full range of functionality. Zotero Standalone -- a separate browser-independent application that can be used with Chrome, Safari, or Opera -- offers slightly less functionality than the Firefox extension.

Decide which software is best for you! You can compare features of EndNote, RefWorks, and Zotero on NYU Libraries' Citation Management Tools LibGuide or check out Comparison of Reference Management Software, a Wikipedia article with summary information twenty different citation management tools, including cost, license, import/export formats, citation and reference list formats, word processor integration, and ability to connect to external databases.