A supercomputer on campus is helping fuel the potential for big changes in the way crude oil is refined. It has helped a U of R research team, led by Dr. Allan East, Professor of Theoretical Chemistry, to solve a vexing mystery in petroleum refining chemistry - and that is how molecules rearrange in the middle of the entire process of oil refining. “It’s hard to improve something if you don’t know how it works. Once you know how it works you have a much better shot at improving it. We believe we’ve accomplished that on the theory side. We’ve figured out how it works,” explains East.