This special issue of the International Journal of Quantum Chemistry features 12 articles by 16 faculty who are part of the Molecular Education and Research Consortium in Undergraduate computational chemistRY (MERCURY). This collection features six research articles, two reviews, a tutorial review, and three perspectives. The MERCURY faculty run undergraduate research programs, and most MERCURY faculty work at predominately undergraduate institutions (PUIs). Life at a PUI involves a heavy teaching load and no PhD graduate students. Thus, the MERCURY faculty must learn to use their time wisely and usually devote 10 weeks in the summer where their students can be full-time researchers without distractions. The MERCURY consortium, established in 2000, has contributed greatly to the scientific development of faculty and undergraduates. The MERCURY faculty peer review publication rate from 2001 to 2019 of 1.7 papers/faculty/year is 3.4 times the rate of physical science faculty at PUIs. We have worked with over 1000 students on research projects since 2001, and 75% of our undergraduate research students have been underrepresented in chemistry, either female or students of color. Approximately half of our alumni attend graduate school for the purpose of obtaining advanced degrees in STEM fields, and two-thirds are female and/or students of color. We have had more than 1600 attendees at the 18 MERCURY conferences, including 111 invited speakers, 61 of whom have been female and/or faculty of color. In this paper, the research accomplishments, transformational outcomes, and scientific productivity of the MERCURY faculty are highlighted. The outstanding science of the 38 faculty in the consortium as of January 2020 are highlighted. [1]