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 Welcome
 *******
 
-Cantera is a suite of object-oriented software tools for problems involving
-chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and/or transport processes.
+Cantera is an open-source suite of object-oriented software tools for problems
+involving chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and/or transport processes. The
+software automates the chemical kinetic, thermodynamic, and transport
+calculations so that the users can efficiently incorporate detailed chemical
+thermo-kinetics and transport models into their calculations.
 
-Cantera provides types (or classes) of objects representing phases of
-matter, interfaces between these phases, reaction managers, time-dependent
-reactor networks, and steady one-dimensional reacting flows. Cantera is
-currently used for applications including combustion, detonations,
+The code utilizes object-oriented concepts for robust yet flexible phase models,
+and algorithms are generalized so that users can explore different phase models
+with minimal changes to their overall code. Currently, Cantera can be used from
+Python and Matlab, or in applications written in C++ and Fortran 90.  Cantera
+also provides a limited number of solvers for time-dependent reactor networks
+and steady one-dimensional reacting flows.
+
+Cantera is currently used for applications including combustion, detonations,
 electrochemical energy conversion and storage, fuel cells, batteries, aqueous
 electrolyte solutions, plasmas, and thin film deposition.
 
-Cantera can be used from Python and Matlab, or in applications written
-in C++ and Fortran 90.
-
 Documentation
 =============
 .. toctree::