Cornell undergraduate Kevin Hwang '07 was named to the All-USA College Academic Team by USA Today in its Feb. 15 issue. Among other accomplishments, Hwang was noted for founding The Triple Helix: The National Journal of Science, Society, and Law, a nonprofit journal run by more than 500 undergraduate volunteers in 16 student chapters at participating universities.

Hwang, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences who is pursuing a double major in economics and molecular and cell biology, was one of 20 students chosen by a panel of 12 judges from various academic organizations for the honor. Judging criteria included grades, academic rigor, leadership, activities and an essay on the most demanding intellectual endeavor undertaken by the applicant.

For Hwang, the essay was another opportunity to promote the journal he founded: Its goal is to "promote the understanding of the impact of science and technology on society and their interaction with the law."

Said Hwang, "In The Triple Helix, students can publish on their own issues and participate in a global forum.." The most recent issue included student contributions from University of California-Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania and Cornell. The organization has plans to include overseas campuses, such as the Indian Institute of Technology and National University of Singapore, in the near future.

"The experience taught me how to manage people, how to make things work and how to handle costs," said Hwang, "A lot of mistakes we made [in managing The Triple Helix] tied in to what we learned later in classes." Aspiring to become a social entrepreneur, Hwang believes the experience will help him start his own organization in the future.

Coming out of high school, Hwang had a different idea on his career. "When I started out, I wasn't so ambitious. I was a great debater, so I thought I would go into law," said Hwang, who wanted to study intellectual property law. For two summers, he worked as an intern in the patents and licensing group at Intel Corp. But his experience at Cornell changed his outlook.

"Now when people ask me about what I want to do, it may sound corny, but I would say I want to change the world," Hwang said.

He now works as a research assistant in the microbiology laboratory of Professor John D. Helmann, where he studies how genetics helps soil bacteria adapt to complex environments that contain various metal ions.

Hwang is a Meinig Family National Scholar and a Pauline and Irving Tanner Dean's Scholar. He is also vice president and newsletter editor of the Undergraduate Society for Intellectual Property, a biology student adviser, treasurer and executive board member of the Pi Delta Psi Asian cultural fraternity and an elected member of the Academic Integrity Hearing Board.

Alex Kwan is a writer intern with the Cornell News Service.