Trojan brings a reformer’s zeal to government service
As director of the Dream Keeper Initiative, Saidah Leatutufu-Burch is leading efforts to promote prosperity in San Francisco’s Black communities.
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Joel Curran appointed USC’s senior vice president and chief communications officer
The public relations and higher education innovator looks forward to leading communications that support the university’s world-class research.
Advancing computer vision one pixel at a time
What happens when a rabbit jumps in front of a self-driving car? Perhaps nothing bad, thanks to research from USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute and the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Happy birthday, Tommy! Trojan Shrine was unveiled 93 years ago
The icon, modeled after a number of USC football players, represents the five qualities of a Trojan: faithful, scholarly, skillful, courageous and ambitious.
Musical numbers: The deep relationship between music and math
USC experts explain how math and music intertwine in creative expression — from Coltrane’s Circle of Tones to the shared skills required for both.
U.S. News & World Report
Legal pot: More potent than ever, largely unregulated
Some states cap the number of ounces or grams consumers are allowed to buy — but even a little cannabis can amount to a lot of THC, said Rosalie Liccardo Pacula of the USC Price School of Public Policy.
Today.com
Are makeup wipes doing more harm than good?
With makeup wipes, “you’re wiping things on the skin to get the oil, makeup and dirt off,” says dermatologist Nada Elbuluk of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “But you’re leaving some of the residue from the wipes on the skin. And that’s something that needs to be cleansed off as well.”
SciTechDaily
Why some people feel lonely, even in a crowded room
A study led by USC Dornsife’s Elisa Baek found that lonely individuals process the world around them differently than other people.
The New York Times
Want to make a change? Consider your ‘possible selves’
If you’re dreaming of a different career, enroll in a course, shadow someone, take up a hobby or a side job. Making the transition “requires you to say now, today, this week, these are the steps I can actually take” to attain that goal, says USC Dornsife’s Daphna Oyserman.
Los Angeles Times
On eve of Festival of Books at USC, L.A. Times Book Prizes presented in ceremony at Bovard Auditorium
Among the winners were widely known historians and journalists, including biography winner Beverly Gage, for G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, and Dahlia Lithwick, whose Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America, won the current interest prize.
U.S. News and World Report
How to teach young people about antisemitism
Teachers and parents can look for age-appropriate resources — such as the that USC Shoah Foundation — The Institute for Visual History and Education prepared in partnership with Nickelodeon.
Los Angeles Times
‘Against their will’: Proposed law would make it easier to detain people with mental illness
A section of the bill cites the inability to attend “to necessary personal or medical care” and “to self-protection or personal safety” as evidence of grave disability. But Elyn Saks of the USC Gould School of Law asks, “What constitutes personal care? And how do we distinguish mental illness from eccentricity or neurodiversity? Who makes that determination?”
The New York Times
What is the ideal retirement age for your health?
Some people can’t continue to do manual labor at age 65, says Dean Pinchas Cohen of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. But for workers in knowledge-based fields such as management, business and finance, education and health care — some 45% of us — a retirement age under 65 “makes no sense.”
The New York Times
Geothermal power, cheap and clean, could help run Japan — so why doesn’t it?
“It’s domestic, it’s renewable — it’s all the things Japan needs,” USC Dornsife’s Jacques Hymans says. But across the nation, local governments have introduced new restrictions.
Los Angeles Times
How I helped TV’s ‘Perry Mason’ find the real Latinx L.A.
USC Dornsife’s Natalia Molina describes her work as a historical consultant on the HBO series, which is set in 1930s Los Angeles.
USA Today
Is there an alternative to statins for high cholesterol?
Some people can’t take statins because of side effects. “If they go home and don’t take it, it’s not doing any benefit,” said cardiologist Eugene DePasquale of the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “It’s really important to have an alternative.”
(USA Today)
NPR
Hollywood gets wildfires all wrong — to the frustration of firefighters
A study from the climate change storytelling consultancy Good Energy and USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center found less than 3% of the more than 37,000 analyzed movie and TV scripts written between 2016 and 2020 made any reference to climate change. But scenes featuring discussions about climate change or fire control methods, such as raking leaves off a lawn, don’t exactly make for scintillating screen time.
Unlocking the ocean’s secret: Natural carbon capture
Ocean-inspired methods for carbon capture hold promise for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing sustainability efforts. Experts from USC and Caltech join us for a Q&A from the docks at the Port of Los Angeles.
In memoriam: Christopher Smith, 55, founder of USC Annenberg’s Media, Economics & Entrepreneurship program
The clinical professor of communication was a scholar, teacher and mentor at the school for more than 20 years.
Keck School of Medicine of USC Dean Carolyn Meltzer beats impostor syndrome
TITLE IX: Leader seeks to create environments that ensure that people of all identities feel included and valued.
Biosimilar drugs underused due to commercial insurance restrictions
A USC Schaeffer Center study — the first to examine biosimilar drivers — finds commercial insurers limit use in almost 20% of cases. Restrictions are greatest for pediatric patients.
Annenberg Inclusion Initiative unveils The Inclusion List
The list, a partnership with the Adobe Foundation, provides the titles of the 100 most inclusive theatrically released films from 2019 to 2022.
Nursing graduate seeks to improve rural access to health care
COMMENCEMENT: Raelene Zamora knows first-hand how daunting access to medical care can be in small, rural communities.
‘Rhetoric’ doesn’t need to be such an ugly word
A USC lecturer shares what rhetoric can teach echo-chambered America: Learning how to search for truth thoughtfully can help constructive debates.
Trojans spring forward: President Carol L. Folt reviews an eventful semester
Read the president’s message as well as the incredible stories of Trojans everywhere who are making their mark.
Countdown to G7: Economic uncertainty, war, climate change raise tensions ahead of summit
USC experts examine the issues on the table, including disruptions in agricultural growth, food insecurity, energy, trade, the U.S.-China clash over technology and the Russian war on Ukraine.
Air pollution particles trigger cellular defense mechanisms
Research from the Keck School of Medicine of USC shows that air pollution particles activate a cellular defense mechanism that may reduce the ability of cells to fight off other harms.
AI helps place drones in remote areas for faster emergency response
USC researchers harness the ability of AI-powered decision-making as part of a broader effort to use scarce data more effectively.
Trailblazer Elyn Saks sees ‘gender-inspired mental health activism happening all the time now’
TITLE IX: The USC Gould School of Law professor is the founder and faculty director of the Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy and Ethics.
USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative marks more than 1,500 graduating scholars since 1997
Strong representation in STEM majors and continued support for transfer students are hallmarks of the USC Leslie and William McMorrow Neighborhood Academic Initiative.
Urban planning master’s graduate provides equitable disaster relief
COMMENCEMENT: “I saw that there are so many communities that didn’t have the skill sets to understand and navigate how to recover from disaster,” Chrishelle Palay says.
How public service helped a high school dropout become head of the San Francisco
COMMENCEMENT: Mary Daly, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, delivered the keynote address at the USC Price School of Public Policy commencement.
USC Dornsife’s Percival Everett elected to American Academy of Arts and Letters
The Distinguished Professor of English is the fourth USC faculty member elected to the academy.
Structural biologist Helen Berman elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The USC Dornsife professor (research) of quantitative and computational biology is recognized for “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”
USC center seeks to ‘illuminate, disrupt and dismantle’ racism
The USC Race and Equity Center, led by Shaun Harper, is teaching business leaders, educators and administrators how to better serve their communities with evidence-based strategies to advance equity.
In memoriam: Willie Deckard, two-time NCAA relay champion
He became known as “Mr. Anchor” as he ran the final leg for USC’s two-time NCAA champion 4×110 yard relay team that won the title in 1971 and 1972.
From first-gen student to master’s and doctoral degrees — and graduate student leadership
COMMENCEMENT: Samuel Garza also worked as a graduate research assistant while serving as president of USC’s Graduate Student Government.
USC bestows degrees upon more than 4,000 first-generation students
COMMENCEMENT: New Trojans provide proud day for parents who didn’t have the same opportunities. Read their moving stories.
Keynote speaker Kevin Feige: ‘Enjoy every step on your hero’s journey’
COMMENCEMENT: The Marvel Studios chief tells how his USC degree helped him achieve his filmmaking dreams, and how perseverance pays off (he got into USC’s film school on his sixth try).
Valedictorian Isha Sanghvi: ‘College is all about falling in love with your friends, and … with ourselves.’
COMMENCEMENT: The student standout shares stories of friendship, challenges and success — and some auditions that seemed to go nowhere.
USC President Carol L. Folt: ‘The last four years have been anything but normal’
COMMENCEMENT: She shares words of inspiration with the new graduates, many of whom arrived at USC in 2019 at the same time she did.