Newsmakers
September 14, 2009 3:10 PM
LIGHT FANTASTIC The new issue of Illumin, the online USC Viterbi School magazine that illustrates the many ways engineering benefits our everyday lives, can be viewed at http://illumin.usc.edu/. The latest edition features stories on the history of the modern electrical outlet, microprocessors and night vision goggles. THE COMMISH Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has appointed USC Marshall School of Business professor Adlai Wertman as a commissioner of the Los Angeles Police and Fire Pension Fund, which oversees the $11.9 billion uniformed employee pension portfolio. Wertman is a professor of clinical management and organization at USC Marshall. He is the founding director of the Society and Business Lab, a center that strives to imbue students with a sense of corporate engagement and social responsibility. A renowned leader in social enterprise, Wertman is the former president and CEO of Chrysalis, the only Los Angeles nonprofit devoted solely to helping homeless individuals change their lives through employment. SEEING DOUBLE William Swartout, director of technology at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, received international recognition for his pioneering work, including efforts toward creating virtual humans that look and behave like real people. Swartout, a research professor of computer science at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, received the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Robert S. Engelmore Memorial Lecture Award, one of the AI community’s top honors. He was recognized for his contributions throughout a career devoted to expanding the ways humans and computers communicate with each other and exploring what can be achieved through improved interactions. Swartout is the principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded effort to create life-sized virtual human museum guides who have the ability to express knowledge, thoughts, feelings and even memories. These digital docents will be speaking with visitors at the Museum of Science, Boston late this year. POETRY IN MOTION Karen Holden, senior writer at the USC Marshall School of Business and recent graduate of the Master of Liberal Studies program at USC College, will read poems from her manuscript How Love Comes Home: Los Angeles in Four Voices as part of the Long Beach Mid-City Studio Tour. She will read at 3 p.m. on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4 in the studio of artist Slater Barron at 2299 Oregon Ave., Long Beach. For more information and a map to the studio tour, visit http://www.midcitystudiotour.com/ or call (562) 427-5078. DAY TO KNIGHT Bob Knight, professor of gerontology and clinical psychology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, received an award for the advancement of psychology and aging from the American Psychological Association Committee on Aging. Knight is recognized for developing the Pike’s Peak Model of Professional Geropsychology, which emerged under his leadership as a competency-based model for addressing the mental health needs of older adults. The tribute was presented during the summer at the American Psychological Association’s 117th annual convention in Toronto. IRON MEN Thomas D. Coates, professor of pediatrics and pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and John C. Wood, associate professor of pediatrics at the Keck School, are recipients of the 13th H. Russell Smith Award for Innovation in Pediatric Biomedical Research. Coates and Wood were honored on July 14 for their innovative translational work in the understanding of physiologic and cellular consequences of iron overload in patients. MAKING A CASE In its recent “Five Best Books” feature, Wall Street Journal contributor John Quinn ranked University Professor Geoffrey Cowan’s The People v. Clarence Darrow as the No. 1 book of all time on the topic of trial lawyers. The book recounts the 1910 explosion at the Los Angeles Times, which killed 20 people. High-minded idealist Darrow, who defended the labor activists accused of the crime, was indicted for jury-tampering. The Trial of Jack Ruby, Gerry Spence: Gunning for Justice, Courting Justice and A Civil Action were the other books included in the article.Latest Family Matters stories
- Newsmakers August 30, 2011 8:40 AM
- Newsmakers May 31, 2011 11:32 AM
- Newsmakers May 13, 2011 2:18 PM
-
For Journalists »
-
USC in the News
for 2/10/2012 »-
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
KPCC-FM reported that this fall USC will offer Persian language courses for the first time. A $250,000 grant from the Farhang Foundation helped to establish the program. Bruce Zuckerman of the USC Dornsife College said he has many students interested in the Persian language, culture and region. “The Iranian region is one that has great impact on our lives today and has had great impact going back into ancient times,” he said. The story noted that USC and the Farhang Foundation hope to raise more money to create an Iranian studies minor. Payvand also featured the new courses.
American Songwriter ran a Q&A with Christopher Sampson of the USC Thornton School about the school’s Popular Music program, which Sampson founded. He noted that the program has been available as a major in Songwriting since 2009, and has incorporated a diverse range of musical genres. “We have now established a consistent track record of students having professional success to know that the program gets results,” Sampson said. He also highlighted the achievements of Songwriting faculty members Lamont Dozier, Andrea Stolpe and David Poe of the Thornton School.
The Economist featured research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that short periods of fasting could help cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy, and may even make treatment more effective. The Globe and Mail (Canada) reported that cancerous tumors are essentially energy hogs. “They need to burn lots of energy just to stay alive,” Longo said. The study was also covered by Irish Independent (Ireland), Magyar Tavirati Iroda (Hungary), Anadolu Ajansi (Turkey), Son Haber (Netherlands), Vietnam+ (Vietnam), Turkish Radio and Television (Turkey) and Romania Libera (Romania).
L.A. Weekly featured research by USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, which has developed video games based around physical movement for people recovering from strokes or other injuries. The games develop strength in specific body parts. Traditional video games weren’t right for these patients, said the institute’s Belinda Lange. “Often, the fun parts of the game would only be unlocked after a series of other levels, which our patients often couldn’t achieve,” she said. The games are now being tested with physical therapists in three major clinics.
-
-
Campus News
- Capital Connections
- USC faculty, staff and alumni in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento
- In Print
- New and recent books written or edited by USC faculty and staff
- Family Matters
- Achievements and awards
- Obituaries