ABSTRACT
The interaction among university, industry, and government is the key to innovation and growth in a knowledge-based economy. In ancient Mesopotamia, a triple helix water screw, invented to raise water from one level to another, was the basis of a hydraulic system of agricultural innovation that irrigated ordinary farms as well as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.1 The triple helix as a physical device is succeeded by university-industry-government interactions that have led to the venture capital fi rm, the incubator, and the science park. These social inventions are hybrid organizations that embody elements of the triple helix in their DNA.
