USC kicks off Black History Month with powerful messages
Hybrid event at Tommy’s Place draws more than 200 people to watch livestreamed program and dine on Ethiopian food.
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How hip-hop artists are shaping emerging technologies
USC Annenberg’s Taj Frazier examines this intersection of music, art and technology.
ChatGPT is great — you’re just using it incorrectly
ChatGPT doesn’t try to write sentences that are true — but it does try to write sentences that are plausible, USC computer scientist Jonathan May says.
Study links adoption of electric vehicles with less air pollution, improved health
Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC conducted one of the first-ever studies showing that electric cars are associated with real-world reductions in both air pollution and respiratory problems.
Racing from law school into careers in sports
Trojans Amanda Oliver, Casey Schwab and John Slusher took their law degrees and landed influential positions in a range of sports endeavors.
Gizmodo
If websites were liable for what users post, would the internet even work?
USC’s Robert Kozinets and a colleague describe how to bring transparency and accountability to social media.
The New York Times
The heartache of being sidelined from your favorite sport
One challenge: the absence of uplifting hormones. “There are a lot of endorphins and chemical changes that happen in our body when we exercise,” says Jared Vagy, USC assistant professor of physical therapy. “If that’s the only method that some people have to release those chemicals, then you’ve just lost a large part of what makes you complete as a human or satisfied.”
Los Angeles Times
A community garden in Watts provides solace, fresh produce for immigrants
Most community gardens in L.A. are “hobby gardens” for more affluent demographics, says USC Dornsife’s Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo. But this one, she says, is a “healing spot, homeland and economic generator” for a diverse group of immigrants — Indigenous, mestizo and Central American.
NBC News
Rapid tests for COVID, RSV and the flu are available in Europe; why not in the U.S.?
Tests for multiple viruses are “the way of the future” and would help more people get treatment, says Susan Butler-Wu of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. But the United States has historically fallen behind Europe in terms of authorizing new diagnostics, she says: “It takes time to go through the process and get approval.”
The New York Times
The heartache of being sidelined from your favorite sport
One challenge: the absence of uplifting hormones. “There are a lot of endorphins and chemical changes that happen in our body when we exercise,” says Jared Vagy, USC assistant professor of physical therapy. “If that’s the only method that some people have to release those chemicals, then you’ve just lost a large part of what makes you complete as a human or satisfied.” (The New York Times; may require subscription)
Shape
The power of a fitness community can change everything
A USC study found participants felt happier and enjoyed physical activity more when they worked out alongside a friend or partner rather than solo.
Forbes
Twitter shrinks team that monitors child sexual abuse
Why it matters: “Criminals have become savvier about ways to avoid detection through the internet,” warns Mellissa Withers of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “It is much easier to exploit children today than even 20 years ago.”
Los Angeles Times
In memoriam: Susan Heitman, 79, longtime editor and publisher of USC Trojan Family Magazine
A graduate of Occidental College, Heitman worked at Brown University and University of California, Irvine, before joining USC in 1982.
KQED
‘Health and safety are at risk’: Only 1 California safety inspector is bilingual in Chinese or Vietnamese
The problem: An analysis by the USC Equity Research Institute shows the state’s most prevalent languages after English and Spanish are Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese, which are spoken by roughly 600,000 workers who speak little or no English.
Newsweek
As teen loneliness soars, schools may be making it worse, scientists say
Factors including an emphasis on learning through memorization, helicopter parenting and social media are stifling teenagers, USC Rossier’s Mary Helen Immordino-Yang says.
Los Angeles Times
USC historian is reframing how we think about race
Telling the history of underdocumented communities is at the heart of Natalia Molina’s work, which earned her a MacArthur Fellowship in 2020.
The Conversation
Veterans have fought in wars — and fought against them
USC Dornsife’s Michael Messner notes that World War I and subsequent wars incubated generations of veterans committed to preventing such future horrors for their children.
Mathematician leads monumental effort to better understand our 4D universe
USC Dornsife’s Aaron Lauda earns an $8 million grant from the Simons Foundation in a project that could turn science fiction dreams into reality.
USC student’s plastic waste capture device attracts attention
Thiloshon Nagarajah has developed a device that stops plastic debris from flowing through neighborhood drainage systems and polluting the oceans.
Trojan merges his PR studies with work as an Annenberg Ambassador
Charlie Siegel is one of two dozen USC Annenberg students who help prospective, newly admitted and current students navigate the school and the university.
Skateboard diplomacy: MBA student brings global mindset to Cuban youths
Miles Jackson is the driving force behind Cuba Skate, a nonprofit organization that brings a humanitarian mission to Cuban youth via skateboards, tools, cooperative skills and entrepreneurial opportunities.
USC’s 2023 football schedule announced
The Trojans will play seven home games against league opponents Stanford, Arizona, Utah, Washington and UCLA and non-conference foes San José State and Nevada.
4 USC researchers named AAAS fellows
Carolyn C. Meltzer, Massoud Pedram, Remo Rohs and Richard M. Watanabe join more than 40 USC faculty as fellows of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science.
‘What color is 3?’ For some people, the senses overlap
Felicia Tabing, a USC Dornsife lecturer in mathematics, sees numbers as a particular color. Neuroscientists don’t know what causes the condition, called synesthesia.
Black History Month at USC offers opportunities to celebrate and educate
This year’s theme is “Reclamation Through Resistance, Rebirth Through Reconciliation.”
Allison Brightman uses her USC law degree at CBS Studios
“I love strategizing,” says CBS Studios’ executive VP and co-head of business affairs.
How California can better adapt to extreme weather
Some solutions such as remaking flood maps are relatively inexpensive. But larger efforts such as buying out homes in floodplains are far more complicated and expensive.
The truth of the Holocaust is under attack — here is what we can do about it
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, USC Shoah Foundation’s Robert Williams discusses the co-opting of historic events and how we — and social media companies — have a part in stopping the spread of lies about the atrocities.
New USC/Children’s Hospital Los Angeles lab to accelerate next-gen cell therapy
The joint laboratory on the USC Health Sciences Campus is designed to advance early-stage research into lifesaving, commercially viable therapies.
Americans don’t know what’s a healthy blood pressure — and that’s a problem
People say they know what their blood pressure is — but two-thirds of adults don’t know the upper thresholds for normal or healthy blood pressure, according to a new USC study.
New pedestrian safety campaign encourages Trojans to look out for one another
Student-driven campaign is part of the university’s ONE USC Safety Vision, which aims to create a safe and inclusive environment for all members of the USC community.
USC Gould program offers real-life exposure to entertainment law
The Media, Entertainment and Technology (MET) Law program lets students explore a range of topics including sports, music, traditional entertainment and even video games.
Brand New Theatre puts original student productions on the stage
The independent student production company, which connects Trojans from different majors and schools, has been producing original works since 1996.
Mandatory business closures drove the economic decline during COVID-19 pandemic
USC study finds that personal voluntary behaviors to avoid infection also played a role in the downturn.
Kevin Feige, producer and president of Marvel Studios, named USC’s 2023 commencement speaker
The USC alumnus — the creative force behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe — earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination in 2019 for producing Black Panther, the first superhero film nominated in that category.
Social work researchers examine the health impacts of U.S. immigration policy
Deporting immigrants to countries where they never lived is causing mental and physical health disparities for individuals and families.
Jason King named dean of USC Thornton School of Music
The multihyphenate musician and scholar comes to USC from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
USC trailblazer Tracy Poon Tambascia is no stranger to being a ‘first’
TITLE IX: The USC Rossier professor — the first woman of color to lead the university’s Academic Senate — mulls the impact of the groundbreaking legislation that prohibited sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding.
President Folt’s message to the Trojan Family about the Monterey Park shootings
“As the news unfolded over the weekend, our community of Trojans – here and across the world – united in grief and shock over the shootings in Monterey Park.”
USC student curators and designer bring ‘MLK in Los Angeles’ exhibit to life
The exhibit at the USC Fisher Museum of Art spotlights civil rights leader’s words, while historic images, audio and video recordings chronicle his visits to L.A. and USC.
After screening of ‘MLK/FBI,’ filmmaker and audience consider how surveillance of King affected his legacy
“They found stuff they thought would help to destroy his career,” says the film’s director, Sam Pollard, during USC visit. “But it didn’t.”