Featured Science / Technology News

Supercomputer Rises to Sixth Nationally

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.

Ruvkun and Ambrose Receive Massry Prize

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.

Hydrogen Peroxide’s Link to Living Cells

If a circadian rhythm is like an orchestra - the united expression of the rhythms of millions of cells - a common chemical may serve as the conductor, or at least as the baton.

Once More, With Robotic Feeling

Emily Mower, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, is making robots more friendly.

Prep Student Excels in University Lab

Be on the lookout for possibly USC College’s youngest researcher.

Science Is Never Geek to Him

You’ve seen him in the blogosphere, you’ve seen him on TV. He’s no reality star or guitar god, but he plays with both stars and strings.

Brinton Research Earns Wide Support

Roberta Diaz Brinton recently won the 2009 North American Menopause Society/Wyeth Pharmaceuticals SERM Award.

The Other Oppenheimer

People know all about Robert Oppenheimer, the Promethean figure who gave us the atomic bomb.

USC Neuroscientists to Map Gene Expression

Two USC neuroscientists have been awarded nearly $9 million to map how genes are expressed in different regions of the human brain throughout development.

Jordan Receives $1.6 Million Stimulus Grant

Thomas Jordan was awarded a $1.6 million federal stimulus grant to continue developing the PetaShake Project, an advanced computational research platform.

Fossils Fuel Their Imagination

David Bottjer and Luis Chiappe have established the College’s Center for Chinese Fossil Discoveries.

Lake Research That Isn’t All Wet

The federal government may not have been able to save California from massive budget cuts, but at least a stimulus research grant will help scientists understand the biology of western lakes.

USC Researchers Win Two ‘Big Idea’ Awards

The first group of winners of a prestigious award from the National Institutes of Health includes two USC scientists working independently to mine the proteome - the universe of proteins and protein-like molecules - for important new compounds.

Sergey Nuzhdin Awarded Stimulus Grant

Sergey Nuzhdin, professor of molecular biology at USC College, has been awarded a $563,000 stimulus grant to purchase an Illumina/Solexa Genome Sequencer.

Carroll, Nikias and Garrett Visit ICT

USC football coach Pete Carroll took a break from real world football training to explore the world of virtual training during a recent visit to the USC Institute for Creative Technologies on the Marina del Rey campus.

Bucks Stop Here for Building Blocks

Computational biochemist Frank Alber compares determining the architecture of a macromolecular machine to solving a jigsaw puzzle.

USC Engineer to Lead Study on CO2 Storage

Stanford’s Global Climate and Energy Project has initiated an international collaboration to address fundamental issues associated with large-scale sequestration of carbon dioxide in China’s saline aquifers.

USC Gets $2.9M in Stem Cell Funding

Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers have been awarded $2.9 million in grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to support research into stem cell discoveries that lay the foundation for future therapies.

The WiSE Women of Science

For the past decade, USC’s Women in Science and Engineering program has been working to make academic research and scholarship more hospitable to women scientists. The reason is simple: In today’s global economic competition, American research universities need all the brainpower they can get.

Grants Boost New Pharmacy Developments

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has awarded five grants supplementing support for current research at the USC School of Pharmacy.

Life Is Looking Up

The federal stimulus package came too late to help Morgan Hawkins - his own strength of character had already set him back on his feet - but a stimulus-funded research job will let him take the next step.

USC Program Offers STAR Power

The USC Science Technology and Research (STAR) Program provides an opportunity for seniors at the Bravo Medical Magnet High School to work as an integral part of a USC research team.

Rizzo Honored for Virtual Reality Innovations

Institute for Creative Technologies research scientist Albert “Skip” Rizzo was selected as the first winner of the Intellectual Leadership Award established by the Los Angeles chapter of Mensa to recognize, honor and celebrate the region’s leaders in research and innovation.

Grant to Fund Look at Tongue Development

Though the intricate movements of the human tongue are so vital to everyday activities such as speaking and eating, the process by which the tongue forms during development largely remains a mystery.

ICT Director Wins Major AI Award

William Swartout, director of technology at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), received international recognition for his pioneering work, including efforts toward creating virtual humans that look and behave just like real people.

DNA Repair Is a Quirky Process

The “sloppier copier” discovered by USC biologists is also the best sixth man in the DNA repair game, an article in the journal Nature shows.

Complex Concepts That Really Add Up

An annual outreach program run by USC’s Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations is helping shape the future of computational science.

USC Researchers Support Genetics Study

An international research consortium that includes researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC has discovered that many common genetic variants contribute to a person’s risk of schizophrenia and explain at least a third of the risk of inheriting the disease.

Key Mutation in Lymphoma Identified

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a key mechanism that causes chromosomes within blood cells to break — an occurrence that marks the first step in the development of human lymphoma.

The Artifacts of Life

USC’s first pilgrims to a temple of high-energy physics will be seeking answers to worldly questions about ancient commerce.

Family Time Decreases With Internet Use

More and more of America’s Internet-connected households report erosion of face-to-face family time, increased feelings of being ignored by family members using the Web and growing concerns that children are spending too much time online.

Biologist Brings Hands-on Science to Kids

According to the National Science Foundation, 80 percent of jobs in the future will require some math and science skills. “Math and science are the new foundational literacy for everyone,” said Tom Luce, chief executive officer of the Math and Science Initiative.

Teaching With Technology Grant Winners Announced

USC faculty members Steven Anderson, Glenn Clark and Mark Redekopp were awarded the provost’s Teaching With Technology grants on May 26.

The Chatter of Neurons

USC College neurobiologist Tansu Celikel and his fellow researchers examine how the brain processes sensory data.

The Case for Fish and Oyster Farming

Super corn and soybeans are so 20th century. With the world's population nearing 7 billion on its way to 9 billion by 2050, marine scientists are looking for reliable new food sources through a Blue Revolution -- the intelligent use of aquaculture to supplement depleted wild fish stocks with farm-raised oysters and other valuable ocean "crops."

Mara Mather Wins Award for Career Development

Mara Mather, associate professor of gerontology and psychology, has received a K02 award from the National Institutes of Health.

Teaching With Technology Prize Winners Announced

USC faculty members Steven Anderson and Virginia Kuhn were awarded the Provost’s Prize for Teaching With Technology at a conference held at the Radisson Hotel.

Energy Research Center Coming to USC

The U.S. Department of Energy has designated USC as the site of an Energy Frontier Research Center. P. Daniel Dapkus of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering will direct the center for Emerging Materials for Solar Energy Conversion and Solid State Lighting.

Tyler Prize Laureates on Global Warming

Scientists estimating ice-sheet shrinkage and subsequent sea-level rising would occur in the next century believe the phenomenon is happening now, glaciologist Richard Alley said during a lecture at USC.

Nobler Instincts Take Time

Emotions linked to our moral sense awaken slowly in the mind, according to a new study from a neuroscience group led by corresponding author Antonio Damasio, director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC College.

New Opportunity for Energy Research Awaits

The $787 billion federal economic stimulus package provides more than $43 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, opening a major door for new university research initiatives, according to Donald L. Paul, executive director of the USC Energy Institute.

A Flying Fountain of Youth

Fruit flies may be small enough to squish with your finger when they invade your kitchen, but these tiny creatures may soon play an important role in answering a question: Why does one person live longer than another?

Fresh Thinking and Startling Ideas at USC

The university plays host to an experimental conference that embraces the unexamined.

The Machine That Goes Ping

USC’s top-of-the-line gene sequencer on Catalina Island is literally shedding light on the secrets of life.

Science Event Gets ‘Bigger and Better’

The Edison Challenge, an annual competition overseen by the USC Wrigley Institute, marks its third anniversary with an awards ceremony at the California Science Center.

National Engineering Summit Reaches Heights

Fifty deans, policymakers and students from across the country take part in the two-day event co-sponsored by USC Viterbi.

$10M Contract Goes to USC Institute

Interactive technology will help soldiers recognize and react to improvised explosive devices, the leading cause of casualties in Iraq.

Engineers Use MRI for Linguistic Studies

Imaging the soft tissues of the vocal tract in real time could explain some mysteries of human speech production.

MySpace Exec to Teach at USC This Fall

Chief technology officer Aber Whitcomb will work with teams of students to develop a social application.

Tiny Brain Region Better Part of Valor

Piece of hypothalamus is key to animals’ fear of territorial rivals and predators, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Computer Exercises Improve Memory

Nearly 500 adults over 65 participate in a controlled trial. Half of them use a fitness program intended to ‘retrain the brain’ over the course of eight weeks.

Another Dimension in Technology Awaits

Starting next month, a Home 3-D Experience Lab at USC will explore the promise of new innovations for the consumer.

Alum to Say Yea or Nea for Satellite Launch

Engineer Ralph Basilio also manages the mission designed to measure concentrations of natural and human-induced carbon dioxide around the world.

Iron From the Deep May Feed Oceans

Katrina Edwards' study published in Nature Geoscience reveals a new way for iron from the sea floor to reach life at the surface.

Olah, Scholtz Named to National Academy

The USC Viterbi School is one of only six schools in the nation with two or more elected members in the National Academy of Engineering.

Anti-aging Strategy May be Pointless

Eating less only benefits obese mice, according to a study by professor Raj Sohal in the Journal of Nutrition.

USC Gets Grant for Biomedical Research

The five-year, $22.5 million grant will support the computerized analysis of biological data at the university.

Predictions for New Technologies Released

Susan Metros of Information Technology Services helps to identify emerging trends that may change both teaching and learning on campuses across the country.

A Tradeoff for Educators and Students

USC Viterbi engineers train to teach aspiring young scientists. In return, they learn about keys to communication.