50 years ago, USC’s Information Sciences Institute was tapped to design and run the internet
From a three-person shop in 1972 to an institute of more than 400 today, ISI continues to lead the way in computing research.
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Traditional incentives don’t offset COVID vaccine hesitancy
New study finds financial incentives and other behavioral nudges made little difference among certain groups.
USC’s Warrior Scholar Project puts service members on the front line in the classroom
The college preparatory program helps prepare veterans and transitioning service members to succeed in higher education.
In memoriam: Irving Biederman, 83, explored the brain’s role in vision, shape and face recognition
The longtime USC Dornsife professor was a voracious seeker of knowledge and a beloved mentor to countless students and postdoctoral researchers.
Newly discovered protein connected to Alzheimer’s Disease risk
A mutation in a microprotein is connected to a significant increase in the risk for Alzheimer’s and highlights a possible target for treatment, a USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology study finds.
U.S. News & World Report
Candidates look to bypass debates amid pivot from substance to spectacle
Voters were turned off by the tenor of the 2020 debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, says USC Annenberg’s Tom Hollihan — who also notes that debates still matter.
Los Angeles Times
Student information remains at risk after massive cyberattack on Los Angeles Unified
LAUSD is an attractive target for cybercriminals because of the large number of people affected when district systems become unavailable, USC Viterbi’s Clifford Neuman says. “This makes the impacted organization potentially more willing to pay a ransom to recover their systems,” he says, “and encourages criminals to seek larger payments.”
Los Angeles Times
Like a breath of fresh air on a hot day, USC football feels like USC football again
“On a scorching Saturday afternoon at a Coliseum rollicking with a rebirth, with players bouncing on the sideline and fans pumping fists through the sweat, an old friend returned with a roar,” writes columnist Bill Plaschke. “USC football feels like USC football again.”
U.S. News & World Report
How USC helped This Is Us put Alzheimer’s care in the spotlight
When the wildly popular TV show wrapped up its final season this year, it did so with a storyline that showed one of the lead characters dealing with Alzheimer’s as her adult children disagreed over the type of care she should receive. The storyline was developed in close collaboration with the Hollywood, Health & Society program at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center.
The Conversation
Extreme heat plus air pollution can be deadly, with the health risk together worse than either alone
High heat and air pollution are each problematic for human health, particularly for vulnerable populations such as older adults. But when they hit at the same time, death rates spike, USC researchers found.
The Associated Press
At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt
As prison populations ballooned, policymakers questioned how to pay for incarceration costs, says USC Dornsife’s Brittany Friedman: “So, instead of raising taxes, the solution was to shift the cost burden from the state and the taxpayers onto the incarcerated.”
ZME Science
How friendships between rich and poor kids could lift people out of poverty
USC sociologist Ann Owens notes that income segregation is growing: Rich families have become richer and more isolated from middle-class and low-income families.
WebMD
Using a blood pressure smartphone app doesn’t beat traditional home monitoring, study finds
The study is noteworthy for several reasons: its large size, the level of comfort with technology reported by participants, and representation of Black and Hispanic people, says USC internal medicine specialist Matthew Jung.
Los Angeles Times
Hate crimes in L.A. this year could again set records
An analysis by Crosstown, USC’s nonprofit data-driven news outlet, found that hate crimes against Black, transgender and LGBTQ Angelenos this year were all up significantly compared with the first six months of 2021.
HuffPost
1 in 2 Black teens experience racism online: What parents should know
In one study, USC Rossier’s Brendesha Tynes found that Black youths experienced more than five discriminatory experiences per day — mostly online racial discrimination.
The Hill
Bad news: COVID-19 numbers are pretty meaningless
Among the problems: With the widespread availability of self-testing, the real number of cases greatly exceeds the number of reported cases, notes Jeffrey Klausner of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Axios
Fake online reviews lead shoppers to overpay, new study says
Shoppers who use Amazon more frequently were more likely to be affected by phony ratings, USC Dornsife’s Robert Metcalfe says. You’d expect that more sophisticated participants would be less likely to be duped, but frequent Amazon users shop the platform faster and tend to trust it more, he says.
In memoriam: Bob Hooks, 92, USC all-conference end in 1952
Hooks, a 16th round pick in the 1952 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams as a junior, also was a javelin thrower on the 1951 USC track team.
The voice of the Gilded Age: Why we can’t get enough of Henry James
The works of the acclaimed 19th-century writer — considered one of the greatest novelists ever — have become staples in TV and movies. What explains their continuing appeal?
Q&A: New incentives could electrify the car market, but old roadblocks remain
California approved regulations banning the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and trucks by 2035, an action aimed at addressing climate change that could speed the nation’s transition to electric vehicles. How will incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act affect the hot electric vehicle market? USC Assistant Professor Hovig Tchalian weighs in.
What makes a healthy city?
Around the world, people are using a USC Price professor’s research to make their cities healthier and more sustainable.
Trojans’ business venture aims to make NFTs more accessible and sustainable
Many people don’t even know what an NFT is (it’s a “non-fungible token”) or how to buy one. This Trojan startup aims to take care of that.
USC Thornton School to offer music teachers a master’s degree in teaching popular music
The new degree is designed for musicians wanting to transition into teaching as well as current K-12 teachers who want to immerse themselves in popular music pedagogy.
USC receives $1.3 million NIH training grant to enhance diversity in addiction science
New Rising STARS program will train and diversify the next generation of scientists to confront the addiction epidemic with “cell to society” perspective.
In memoriam: Bryce Nelson, 84, former director of USC Annenberg School of Journalism
After two decades as a reporter at major news organizations, Nelson devoted the final 30 years of his career to training and mentoring future journalists while tirelessly serving the USC community.
Kids’ return to classrooms brings unique challenges for school social workers
Their work is markedly different from that of counselors or psychologists — and more important than ever, experts at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work note.
What older adults do while they sit affects dementia risk, study indicates
Researchers at USC explored the link between sedentary behavior and risk of dementia, finds that type of activity matters when it comes to brain aging.
Barriers to voting have huge impact on turnout, but Americans overlook their effect
Practical difficulties such as child care requirements and limited polling place hours can curb voter turnout, but USC researchers find most Americans think voting is a matter of belief.
Studying in the surf: PE course teaches the art of hanging ten and more
On the syllabus: wind dynamics, the history and culture of the sport — and resiliency.
Everything you need to know for the USC football 2022 tailgate season
Game day at USC starts well before kickoff. Be sure you know what to expect before the Sept. 3 season opener.
New ‘student commitment’ introduces Trojans to university’s deeply held values
The commitment, presented at Thursday’s convocation ceremony, encourages students to display integrity, accountability, fairness and communication, and to value diversity.
Convocation welcomes newest members of the Trojan Family
President Carol L. Folt joins in celebrating the new students as they begin their USC academic journey.
Ganek Family Foundation donates immersive storytelling studio to USC film school
The USC School of Cinematic Arts is launching the Ganek Immersive Studio, an interdisciplinary center for developing and producing a wide range of immersive media content.
Emotions and pride overflow as new USC students transition from family homes to on-campus life
Meet some of the new Trojans who are making themselves at home at USC this week.
Alum lends a hand to preserve one of California’s critically endangered languages
Lewis Lawyer wrote the first published book on the grammar of Patwin, spoken by Indigenous people for hundreds of years and now undergoing a revitalization effort.
To break unhealthy habits, stop obsessing over willpower — why routines matter more than conscious choices
Understanding and changing the environment in which habits form is a critical step when it comes to breaking unwanted behaviors and forming healthy ones.
Gift from insurance executive Peter Arkley to transform USC Marshall risk management program
The Arkley Institute for Risk Management will expand education, training, mentorship and internship opportunities for USC students.
Student effort helps address homeless people’s health care needs
USC Viterbi students gain funding for products that support portable medicine storage.
Move-in week sees campuses spring back to life
Students, parents, friends, a dog or two, even some horses who aren’t Traveler — you never know what you might see as Trojans settle in.
Brothers credit shared values and their grandfather for success in academics, community involvement
Incoming freshman Carter Kawaguchi is following in his brother Justin’s footsteps — to USC.
USC Gould Professor Franita Tolson elected to American Law Institute
Her election brings to 13 the number of USC Gould School of Law professors who are institute members.