The Triple Helix

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The Triple Helix, Inc. is a completely student-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with over 800 student staff from across the world. The organization operates on a chapter-based system with 28 total chapters around the world, including 19 chapters in the United States and 9 more at universities in Europe, Asia, and Australia. Chapter universities are selected and currently include the entire Ivy League and its peer universities across the globe. The organization publishes both a print and electronic publication, featuring articles on interdisciplinary topics involving political, legal, social, and ethical issues in science. In addition, the organization has a high school division, which gives high school students an opportunity to publish their own journal entitled The Copernicum.

Contents

[edit] History

See also: Chapters of The Triple Helix

Officially founded in October 2004 at Cornell University by Kevin Hwang (Cornell '07), The Triple Helix was (and still remains) the first and only international undergraduate print journal of its kind in the world. It rapidly expanded to include chapters at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Dartmouth College, and University of California, Berkeley, with chapters subsequently being built by students at MIT, Columbia University, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon University, Brown University, University of Chicago, Yale University, and more. Initially a campus journal at Cornell, The Triple Helix evolved into a national, student-run, interdisciplinary publication examining legal, social, and political issues in science.

Early March 2005 saw the release of 1000 copies of The Triple Helix to students and faculty at Cornell University for the first time ever. The positive response was overwhelming as comments and recognition poured in all over campus. At the same time, chapters at University of California, Berkeley and University of Pennsylvania were successfully forming.

By May 2005, work on the first national issue was well underway. Students at MIT, Brown University, Georgetown University, and Columbia University became interested in starting their own chapters to engage their student bodies in a growing national dialogue. In late May, Chapter presidents from various universities, and the Board of Directors met in the Silicon Valley (Palo Alto, California) area to discuss the future direction of the national organization.

By February 2006, domestic expansion within the United States was essentially halted despite the interest nationwide. Instead, the focus was on international expansion. The first two international chapters of The Triple Helix, at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Oxford University, were set up and then soon followed by Cambridge University, the National University of Singapore, the University of Hong Kong and The University of Melbourne. These pioneering chapters became the framework for future expansion of the organization, and a restructuring of the organization was put into effect during Summer 2006. For adminsitrative purposes this organised chapters into four roughly geographic clusters (though the emphasis remains on global participation and exchange):

  • North America
  • Europe
  • Australia
  • Asia

Chapters in a region are coordinated by a Regional Management Team; this is a subsidiary of the International Executive Management Team, which centrally runs the Literary (Editorial, Print Publishing and e-Publishing), Business, and Information Technology divisions of The Triple Helix.

In October 2006, The Triple Helix launched a High School offshoot of its main publication, entitled "The Copernicum". This initiative, designed to enagage 15-18 year olds in the discussion of societal aspects of scientific progress, is currently trialling in North America.

[edit] Main Publication

The Triple Helix, Inc. publishes both online and in print form. Each chapter publishes its own print "edition" of The Triple Helix. One half of an "edition" usually consists of national/international features, which are the best articles published around the world. The other half of an "edition" consists of articles written by the chapter and only published at the chapter. Writers undergo multiple rounds of editing, often including a faculty review process. Issues are printed on a biannual basis. The electronic publication division publishes an electronic journal on a biweekly basis. Staff writers consist of students from both non-chapter and chapter universities, and they publish articles which are featured on the front page of our national website. The articles undergo an editorial process and include short news briefs, longer features, op-eds, and letters to the editor.

[edit] Stated mission

  1. To educate students at every level about the dynamic relationship between science, society, business, ethics, and law in order to bridge the archaic divide between these various fields of study
  2. To instill academic interest in a broad range of topics, inspire scientific curiosity and discovery, and encourage undergraduates to explore interdisciplinary careers that span across traditional boundaries
  3. To provide opportunities for students to learn and practice writing, editing, reviewing, communicating, researching, layout and design, marketing, web design, and management and leadership in a real world enterprise with both peer and professional guidance.
  4. To encourage critical analysis of the most legally and socially important issues in science through the free exchange of ideas within a diverse national community
  5. To build a lasting social network of some of the nation’s most capable undergraduate leaders as a positively reinforcing resource
  6. To inspire entrepreneurship and innovation through participation in an organization that continuously builds upon and reinforces those ideals

[edit] External links


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