Founded by Amar Dhand '01, the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science recently published its first issue ever this spring. The journal features scientific articles written by undergraduates with occasional contributions from Dartmouth faculty.
Approximately 800 copies of the first issue of DUJS were distributed campus-wide to all the science libraries, Baker Library, and interested students. In the future, DUJS will be published once every term except summer term.
With financial assistance from the Hewlitt Presidential Venture Fund, Dean of the Faculty, and Associate Dean of the Sciences, Dhand said he started DUJS as "an effort to promote the discussion of scientific thought through the exposition of undergraduate research within the Dartmouth community."
What specifically inspired Dhand was President Wright's comment in his inaugural speech that Dartmouth, though not a university, was still an institute in which academic research could flourish.
"That comment inspired me," Dhand said. "It was then that I decided that there should be a way to expose what's already going on in our labs and to bring the scientific dialogue to the students."
Undergraduates have responded enthusiastically, said Dhand. He attributed the positive feedback to the broad spectrum of scientific interests exhibited in the DUJS.
The journal is primarily run by undergraduates. However, due to the importance of accuracy in scientific articles, Dhand said the student editors often seek help from the faculty advisors who represent a wide range of scientific fields.
Beginning next fall, students can subscribe to the DUJS during registration.
Dhand is currently researching binocular rivalry under Professor Michael S. Gazzaniga at the Cognitive Neuroscience Department at Dartmouth as part of his Presidential Scholars Research Project.
