University of Southern California USC Logo

USC News logo

More Headlines »

  • Dental Hygiene Students Screen for Oral Cancer 11/23/09

    Members of the USC School of Dentistry’s Dental Hygiene Class of 2010 provided oral health screenings and tobacco cessation advice for USC students, staff members and visitors during the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout.

  • Tang Elected Fellow of Leading Academy 11/23/09

    USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor Shui Yan Tang was named a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

  • Contested Sites Disclosed on West Bank 11/23/09

    A team of American, Israeli and Palestinian experts has developed the first map detailing 40 years of Israeli archaeological activity in the West Bank and Jerusalem - much of it never publicly disclosed.

  • Supercomputer Rises to Sixth Nationally 11/23/09

    USC’s Center for High-Performance Computing and Communications houses the nation’s sixth fastest supercomputer in an academic setting, according to TOP500 Supercomputer Sites, which ranks the 500 most powerful computer systems in the world.

  • Indian Playwright’s Work Staged at USC 11/20/09

    Imagine setting out to be Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw and Tom Stoppard all rolled into one. Immodest as it sounds, that’s the goal Girish Karnad has set himself.

USC in the News for 11/21 to 11/23/2009 »

  • The New York Times quoted Muhammad Sahimi of the USC Viterbi School about Iranian Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who has been outspoken about Iran’s religious and political leadership. “He was not willing to sell his soul to stay in power,” said Sahimi, referring to an incident in 1988 when Montazeri objected to a wave of executions of political prisoners.

    The New York Times quoted Larry Livingston of the USC Thornton School in an article about new Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel. “Ultimately the measure is going to be: Can he do Brahms 10 years from now?” Livingston said. Dudamel is a breath of fresh air, Livingston added.

    The Wall Street Journal cited Andrew Lih of the USC Annenberg School in an article about how Wikipedia is losing volunteer contributors. Lih, who is a regular Wikipedia contributor, said that the site’s membership began to get more aggressive in 2005 about patrolling for vandals and blocking suspicious edits after a journalist was incorrectly accused of murder on his Wikipedia page.

    Los Angeles Times featured Henry Jenkins of the USC Annenberg School and his research in “transmedia” storytelling, in which a story spans multiple media in a coordinated way. “I spent the first 20 years of my academic life at MIT in the midst of the digital revolution, and I thought it would be fascinating to spend the second 20 years in Hollywood, observing the other side of the equation,” said Jenkins, who studies how audiences engage with media through the Internet, fan fiction and video games. The article mentioned Jenkins’ books “Textual Poachers” and “Convergence Culture,” noting that he is working on a new book on social and viral media. The article also quoted Larry Gross of the Annenberg School, who said that media studies scholars often have “a kind of contempt for the audience,” but that Jenkins “is someone who views the audience as active participants and creative participants, who don’t simply accept what is happening to them.”

    Los Angeles Times featured linguist Paul Frommer of the USC Marshall School, who developed the fictional language for James Cameron’s upcoming movie, “Avatar.” Frommer spent four years creating the language of the film’s Na’vi tribe, and he plans to keep expanding the language, the story reported. “I’m still working and I hope that the language will have a life of its own,” Frommer said. “For one thing, I’m hoping there will be prequels and sequels to the film, which means more language will be needed. I spent three weeks in May, too, working on the video game for Ubisoft.” Frommer came up with more than 1,000 words for the Na’vi language, as well as the rules and structure of the language itself. “If you allow everything and the kitchen sink, you get a mishmash, it sounds like gibberish,” Frommer said. “In language, sometimes things are defined by the absences.”

USC in the News archive

More news »

  • Sheltering Homeless Saves Money, Study Says 11/19/09

    Placing four chronically homeless people into permanent supportive housing in Los Angeles resulted in more than $80,000 per year in savings to taxpayers and improved quality of life for the individuals.

  • Peter Guber Leads the Way as Storyteller 11/19/09

    “Leaders are great storytellers,” said entertainment industry stalwart Peter Guber in a lecture hosted by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.

  • Wolf Pack Gathers for 50-Year Celebration 11/19/09

    While many things have changed at USC over the last 50 years, professor Walter Wolf has remained a consistent force at the School of Pharmacy.

  • USC Faculty to Help Paramount School District 11/19/09

    A multidisciplinary collaboration aims to transform middle school science and math education in the Paramount Unified School District by harnessing the expertise of USC faculty.

  • Former USC Intern Fights for Cleaner Air 11/19/09

    Otana Jakpor’s essay on how she spent her time with USC would include leading demonstrations on how to map demographic data and conducting research on diesel emissions from locomotives and other rail yard equipment.

  • D. Brent Polk to Lead Pediatrics Programs 11/18/09

    D. Brent Polk has been named chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and chair of pediatrics and vice president of academic affairs at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, effective April 1, 2010.

  • Dinner Salute to the Samples, Marilyn Horne 11/18/09

    The USC Thornton School of Music’s 23rd Annual Charles Dickens Dinner, to be held on Dec. 11 at The Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, will herald two turning points in the university’s history.

  • Improving End-of-Life Care for African Americans 11/18/09

    Since hospice care became a Medicare benefit nearly 25 years ago, terminally ill minorities have encountered numerous barriers in accessing its services.

  • Ruvkun and Ambrose Receive Massry Prize 11/17/09

    Gary Ruvkun has come a long way from living in his van after being denied medical school admission by USC and UCLA in the early 1970s.

  • Analysts: Media Must Dig Deeper Into Afghanistan 11/17/09

    Policymakers and analysts are calling on the press to dig much deeper into the strife that engulfs Afghanistan and to provide better analysis on the policy options now before President Obama as he weighs whether to send thousands more American troops.