Darwin, Dartmouth, and undergrad science journals

My Darwin talk at Dartmouth on Thursday went well, and while there I had the privilege of meeting with editors of the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, or DUJS -- which is, at 11 years, the oldest extant undergrad journal in the U.S., as far as its editors can tell.

I knew from writing about scientific research that more universities are (wisely) involving undergraduates in serious research. But I hadn't known of any serious undergrad science journals publishing and commenting on research until the DUJS staff invited me over to Dartmouth to talk about Darwin and coral reefs. The journal, published fall, winter and spring, is roughly modeled on Science, with a front-of-the-book section offering news and commentary on recent findings and trends in the scientific world both in and outside Darmouth, followed by a section of papers presenting original research by Dartmouth undergraduates. The most recent tissue includes, for example, a book review, a review article on neurogenesis in adult human brains, the autistic brain, and an article on the Tuskegee syphilis study. And the website is well done, especially for a journal being done on the side by a crew new to the trade.

It's a nice thing to see.