Trojan Family Magazine Summer 2016 by University of Southern California

F OR

A LU M N I

A N D

F R I E N D S

T H E

U N I V ER SI T Y

S OU T H ER N

CA L I F OR N I A SUM M E R 2 0 1 6

$ 4. 9 5

F A M I L Y

THINK BIG The impact of philosophy shows the humanities are stronger than ever at USC.

USC_TFM_Su16_Cover_R1.indd 1

6/13/16 3:47 PM

USC_TFM_Su16_Cover_R1.indd 2

6/14/16 12:41 PM

scene

PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS

They represent all 50 U.S. states and 112 nations across the world, and today they have a new title to boast: USC graduate. Nearly 17,000 degrees were granted in May at commencement, which celebrated the Trojan Family’s academic achievements. Main commencement speaker Larry Ellison, founder and chairman of Oracle Corp., urged graduates to challenge the status quo and find their passion. Said Ellison: “Each of you has a chance to discover who you are rather than who you should be—a chance to live your dreams, not the dreams of others.”

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R2.indd 1

usc trojan family

6/15/16 6:32 PM

Some moments are worth remembering

...others are unforgettable

WWW.HALEKULANIMOMENT.COM

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 2

| 800.367.2343

| HALEKULANI PAST, PRESENT, FOREVER...

6/4/16 11:33 AM

Editor’s Note Building on pain, injustice and love, these educators found their calling.

President’s Page USC continues its long history of improving the lives of veterans.

Seen and Heard Your take on USC stories from our magazine and the social web.

News A star volleyball player goes pro, chemists create renewable energy and a WWII vet graduates at age 96.

Life on His Own Terms By Diane Krieger When this occupational therapist talks to his patients, his words take on extra meaning.

inside

20 The Primary Cause By Marc Ballon A media and policy expert explains why primary elections matter in America’s democratic process.

Philosophy’s focus on critical thinking is as relevant today as in Plato’s time.

24 Leadership Legacy The Trojan Family honors USC President Emeritus Steven B. Sample.

Guiding Light By Linda Childers Keck Medicine of USC physicians use tiny tubes and cameras to treat the body from the inside out.

As USC Dornsife’s philosophy department climbs to the top of the rankings, its graduates blaze career paths in law, biotech and beyond. By Greg Hardesty

COVER PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS

Food for Thought Designing Women Call it strength in diversity. USC Viterbi is one of the most female-friendly engineering schools in the nation, and it’s no accident. By Amber Dance

Alumni News USC trustee fights on for vets, Trojans transform downtown LA and alumni mark 20 years of a cappella.

Safe at Home—and Away USC researchers help prepare the Pacific Rim for major threats like earthquakes, tsunamis and cybercrime. By Susan Bell

65 Class Notes Who’s doing what and where?

76 Now and Again Bovard Administration Building has been a nexus for USC’s University Park Campus since 1921. tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 3

Do What Matters Four distinguished USC professors draw strength, motivation and passion for their life’s work from experiences deep in their past. By Diane Krieger usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:33 PM

e d i t o r’ s n o t e

The quarterly magazine of the University of Southern California

Memories That Shape Us “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Ask a child that question and you’re likely to get stock answers. A firefighter. A police officer. A veterinarian, or maybe a zookeeper. Research analyst or professor? Probably not. But as we mature, new career paths open to us that we’d never considered. Motivations and interests grow more complex as we accumulate years and memories. Sometimes the professional paths we ultimately choose reflect the pain and injustice we endure and the love and joy we experience along the way to adulthood. In this issue of USC Trojan Family Magazine, you’ll meet members of the Trojan Family who are driven by personal events deep in their own past. They’re scientists searching for cures to deadly diseases. They’re advocates for foster children. They’re scholars of the law and defenders of innocence. And all of them advance the quest for knowledge through the university. If you find Diane Krieger’s feature story on inspiring faculty as compelling as I did, please share it online with your friends. You’ll find her story, and other articles and photos from the magazine (including images from our photo shoots, like below), on our newly redesigned website. Watch videos ranging from students’ award-winning video games to sneak peeks into the big USC Village residential-retail project rising on campus. You’ll also see stories for alumni, parents and other members of the Trojan Family that are available only on the site. You can also now subscribe to have magazine stories emailed directly to your inbox. It’s all at tfm.usc.edu.

E DI TO R-I N- CHI EF

Alicia Di Rado M ANAGI NG E DI TOR

Elisa Huang SE NI O R E DI TO R

Diane Krieger PRO DUCT I O N M ANAG ER

Mary Modina

ART DI RE CTO R

Sheharazad P. Fleming DE SI GN AND PRO DUCTION

Pentagram Design, Austin

CO NT RI BUTO RS

Laurie Bellman Nicole DeRuiter James Feigert Patricia Lapadula Judith Lipsett

Susanica Tam Russ Ono Julie Tilsner Jennifer Town Claude Zachary

PUBLI SHE R

Alicia Di Rado Editor-In-Chief, USC Trojan Family Magazine

Minne Ho M ARKE T I NG M ANAG ER

Rod Yabut ADVE RT I SI NG I NQ UIRIES

Kristy Day | kday@lamag.com

USC Trojan Family Magazine 3434 S. Grand Ave., CAL 140 Los Angeles, CA 90089-2818 magazines@usc.edu | (213) 740-2684 USC Trojan Family Magazine (ISSN 8750-7927) is published in March, June, October and December by USC University Communications. PHOTO BY MARY MODINA

MOVING? Submit your updated mailing address at tfm.usc.edu/subscribe

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 4

summer 2016

6/13/16 3:34 PM

p r e s i d e n t’ s p a g e

The New Greatest Generation

PHOTO BY STEVE COHN

b y c. l. m a x n i k i a s

The USC community has a rich and distinguished history of supporting our nation’s armed forces, dating back to World War I, when we trained Army officers. During World War II, our university continued this support, hosting training programs for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. And in the years immediately following the war, we welcomed thousands of veterans to our campuses. To give you a sense of the scope: Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, USC’s total student enrollment stood at 6,000; in 1947, it quadrupled to 24,000, the vast majority of whom were former servicemen, all eager to take advantage of the GI Bill. This educational support was exactly what the Greatest Generation had earned. USC is now showing this same dedication to the New Greatest Generation—those brave Americans who have returned to civilian life since our nation was attacked on 9/11. This is no small group. By 2017, our nation’s post-9/11 veterans will exceed 3 million people. But those Trojans who are stepping forward to support our veterans are also large in number, and to this esteemed community, USC recently welcomed philanthropists Steve and Alexandra Cohen. Their exceptionally generous gift to our university—which totals nearly $16 million—establishes the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at USC, a dynamic collaboration between the USC School of Social Work and the Keck School of Medicine of USC. The clinic, which will provide free or lowcost outpatient mental health services to veterans and their family members, will be located right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. For those who cannot come to the clinic, we will have a mobile unit and provide in-home visits, as well as offering the USC telehealth platform. The services will be individually tailored, focusing primarily on post-9/11 veterans. This visionary gift from the Cohens builds on a number of programs that are already thriving at USC. The university currently enrolls nearly 1,000 veterans and active duty service members, and among the top 25 private research universities, we stand at the fore in providing full scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Our USC Veterans Resource Center creates a home on campus for our student-veterans; here, they can receive a range of services, from academic advising tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R2.indd 5

to veteran-led discussion groups. Our School of Social Work, meanwhile, has earned national recognition for its pioneering master’s degree in military social work—the only program of its kind offered by a civilian research university. The program enrolls more than 500 veterans. The school is also home to the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, where research teams conducted the first comprehensive study of veterans in Los Angeles County. Their results are helping to create more effective services for veterans. At our USC Marshall School of Business, more than 100 students have enrolled in the specialized master of business for veterans program, which focuses on developing leadership skills. And last August, USC welcomed the national Warrior-Scholar Project, a weeklong academic “boot camp” that prepares veterans for their return to an academic environment. About the program, one participant said: “I tell people—even though it sounds cheesy—it changed my life. It really did.” This is our goal at USC. To change—and better— the lives of those brave service members who protected our nation, and who deserve our enduring gratitude and support.

C. L. Max Nikias, John Mork, Michael S. Groen and Edward P. Roski Jr. at USC’s annual dinner for veterans and members of USC’s Reserve Officer Training Corps

usc trojan family

6/17/16 12:56 PM

seen and heard Musings about Trojan life and USC Trojan Family Magazine from mail, email and the online world.

Top Notch USC made its latest mark on downtown Los Angeles when a helicopter lifted the university’s name and shield to the top of a landmark tower at 12th and Olive streets. Trojans tuned in on Periscope to USC’s live broadcast of the December event and shared pictures on social media of the change in LA’s skyline. The 32-story building, now called USC Center, houses offices and the broadcast studios of Classical KUSC. It significantly expands the university’s profile in downtown Los Angeles.

Love on the Sidelines

STAY

TOUCH

Like us University of Southern California

Tweet us @TrojanFamilyMag

Email us magazines@usc.edu

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 6

Write us 3434 S. Grand Ave. CAL 140 L.A., CA 90089-2818

Quiz Whiz Sam Deutsch’s winning “Final Jeopardy” question: Answer: During his Senate service, which lasted from 1973 to January 2009, this man cast 12,810 votes. Question: Who is Joe Biden?

ERRATUM: The Spring 2016 issue story “Trojan Tech Talk,” p. 45, misstated a quote from Elizabeth Armani, USC adjunct professor. It should have read: “Now Keck School of Medicine of USC is working with us to put together a better program, then have a clinical trial.”

Sam Deutsch, a student at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, took the national title on the Jeopardy! College Championship. He’s the first Trojan to earn the coveted trophy and $100,000 in winnings. The USC Presidential Scholar majors in political economy—a hybrid of international relations and economics—with minors in consumer behavior and business law. After his victory, Deutsch hosted an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit and received congratulations from all over the world, including from U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who played a key role in Deutsch’s win. The senior—who plans to put his winnings toward law school tuition—returns for the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions in November.

What started as a simple class project may change how you play chess. Chris Cantwell, who is pursuing a master’s degree in computer science at USC Viterbi and a PhD in physics at USC Dornsife, invented “quantum chess,” which incorporates principles of quantum mechanics into gameplay. Quantum chess thrust Cantwell into the spotlight thanks to a Caltech video starring actor Paul Rudd facing off with physicist Stephen Hawking, which amassed more than 1.7 million views. Cantwell hopes to develop quantum chess for the public by 2017. Learn more at bit.ly/QuantumChessUSC.

SAM DEUTSCH PHOTO COURTESY OF JEOPARDY PRODUCTIONS INC.; USC CENTER PHOTO BY DAVID SPRAGUE

In the Spring 2016 issue, we asked readers to share their favorite memories of the Coliseum (“Home-Field Advantage,” p. 72). Many wrote to us about witnessing legendary sports moments. For Dan Snyder MBA ’83, it was the 1974 USC-Notre Dame game: “I have never heard—before or since—the Coliseum crowd as loud as it was for the second half of that game…I get goose bumps just typing this paragraph even though it’s been more than 40 years!” USC won 55-24. But who knew it’s also the perfect spot for Trojans in love? Alumni couples like Ada Del Ross ’11 and Corbin Johnson ’11 took their engagement photos at the Coliseum. Darcy Garcia ’12 shared her fiancé’s “perfect proposal”—popping the question at the 50-yard line while their families watched from up top. Meanwhile, Arturo Salazar ’80 treasures a sweet 40-year-old memory: “In September 2015, as part of our 35th wedding anniversary celebration, my wife, Margaret, and I attended the season opener at the Coliseum, some 39 years after our first date there!” He still has a ticket stub from that date, the 1976 USC-Oregon State game (a 56-0 homecoming victory for USC). Read the full stories and see more Trojan Coliseum memories at bit.ly/TFMColiseumMemories.

summer 2016

6/14/16 1:11 PM

LONG DAYS

LONGBOARDS

At Terranea, even the simplest moments can become the biggest adventures. Where the waves are your invitation to connect. All within reach, waiting for your arrival. R E SO RT | S PA | GO LF | D I N I N G Call 866.990.7254 or visit Terranea.com.

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 7

6/4/16 11:34 AM

Investment Management & Consulting Trust Services Family Office Philanthropy Real Estate & Energy

The needs of the affluent are incredibly diverse. The truth is, building wealth can look easy when compared to the challenges of perpetuating it. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why our range of services are backed by the expertise to not only manage and build your wealth today, but the savvy and experience to sustain it for generations to come. At Whittier, when your great grandkids thank us, we consider our job well done.

REMARKABLY, SO ARE THE RANGE OF SERVICES WE OFFER.

There is a tangible difference that the oldest and largest multi-family office headquartered in the West can mean to your legacy. Experience it. Talk to Tim McCarthy at 800.971.3660.

Another Perspective: View Whittier Trust from our clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; point of view by visiting WhittierTrust.com/clientperspective

$10 million marketable securities and/or liquid assets required.

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 8

6/4/16 11:34 AM

TROJAN

PHOTO BY © DAVID LEES/CORBIS

IN SUPPORT OF STYLE In 1920s Hollywood, Salvatore Ferragamo was known as the “Shoemaker to the Stars.” Faced with the challenge of creating shoes that were as comfortable as they were beautiful, Ferragamo turned to USC, where he studied human anatomy. Ferragamo died in 1960, but his legacy continues today through his family business.

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 9

usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:34 AM

trojan news

Worth the Wait A 96-year-old WWII vet returns to finish a USC degree he started six decades ago.

Born in 1920, Gonzales grew up in Hermosa Beach and joined the Navy in 1942. Two years later he transferred to the Marine Corps, where he received field medicine training, and he treated wounded on the battlefield as part of World War II’s largest amphibious assault in the Pacific. Discharged in November 1945, Gonzales returned to California. He was the first in his family to attend college and majored in zoology at USC in hopes of applying to medical school. But his career goals changed and he started Compo-Loam, a company that offered a proprietary planting soil mix. He worked at his family business until retiring at age 88. Finishing his degree with the course

in guided autobiography not only provided Gonzales with more insight about how to share his story with others, but also gave him even more happy memories, he says. “I enjoyed coming to USC, and I enjoyed the atmosphere of knowledge,” he says. “Knowledge is intrinsic, and that can never be taken away from you.” Gonzales is the eldest member of a family with five living generations and his intelligence and determination inspire his family members, says Gonzales’ grandniece Dorinda Geddes. “My uncle has always been a very remarkable and special man,” she says. “He is a role model for all of us.” BETH NEWCOMB

PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS

One Trojan has taken the adage “better late than never” to a whole new level. For more than six decades, Alfonso Gonzales thought that he had graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in zoology. But when his family members approached the university about getting a copy of his diploma, they were met with surprising news: He was one unit short. Gonzales wasn’t about to let technicalities—his age of 96 and the fact that the zoology major no longer exists at USC— stop him from getting the degree he had worked so hard for in the 1940s. To help, USC administrators created a one-unit course that was as substantive as any other USC class but was tailored to Gonzales’ life experiences and needs as an older student. They also reopened the zoology major for him. Aaron Hagedorn, an instructional assistant professor in the USC Davis School of Gerontology, met with Gonzales weekly to study autobiographies, give reading and video assignments and arrange visits to other gerontology classes. Hagedorn found his diligent student always prepared and enthusiastic for class. “Teaching Alfonso was a great demonstration of the principles of andragogy, also known as adult learning theory, in creating a learning environment that was based on his life experiences,” Hagedorn says. Gonzales passed the class and attended commencement in May.

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 10

6/14/16 1:14 PM

W E L C O M I N G H O M E G E N E R AT I O N A F T E R G E N E R AT I O N

Free nights and breakfast buffets at TimelessMaunaKea.com | 866.977.4589

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 11

6/4/16 11:34 AM

trojan news

Build for the Future

Mind Your Mouth The next time you lose a tooth, could your dentist just grow you a new one? Not yet, but research at USC brings dentists a step closer. Here are a few ways Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC scientists could revolutionize dental care.

ENAMEL RESTORATION Janet Moradian-Oldak of the Ostrow School and her USC team may have found a secret to regrowing tooth enamel, the hardest substance in the human body. Her research showed that the enzyme MMP-20, found in teeth, plays a key part in helping enamel grow correctly. That fits perfectly with the work of Qichao Ruan, a postdoctoral research associate at USC’s Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology. Ruan developed a water-based gel that creates an enamel-like layer and repairs early tooth decay when placed on teeth. Its recipe includes a special protein known to interact with MMP-20, as well as a substance that comes from shellfish like shrimp and crab. The gel could be more effective in restoring the tooth than traditional crowns, whose adhesion weakens over time, Ruan says. Don’t look for clinical trials yet, but Moradian-Oldak hopes one day their work will result in a gel-filled mouthguard worn overnight that could strengthen teeth and reduce their sensitivity. TOOTH REGENERATION Rats and mice use their incisors—their two pairs of front teeth—to gnaw. The teeth

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 12

would probably wear out if it weren’t for a peculiar fact: They never stop growing. That gives USC researchers some insight into regenerating teeth in humans. A research team led by Yang Chai, associate dean of research at the Ostrow School and director of the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, compared two kinds of stem cells in mice: stem cells that eventually lead to the growth of incisors and those that develop into molars, which stop developing in mice just as they do in humans. Learning how the stem cells differ may help scientists determine how to manipulate cells’ development to reactivate tooth growth. The work means that, one day, a dentist might reach for a living tooth regenerated in a lab to replace a broken tooth, Chai says. SAFEGUARDING GUMS After a tooth extraction, the gum surrounding the tooth’s root can be vulnerable to collapse. To prevent that, Neema Bakhshalian MS ’14, a periodontist and researcher at USC’s Laboratory for Immunoregulation and Tissue Engineering, worked with a team at the Ostrow School to develop an innovative rigid cage shaped like a tooth’s root. Called Socket-KAGE, it’s made of a unique resorbable material and can be immediately placed in the space left after a tooth is removed, helping to protect jawbones.

ELISA HUANG

HELVEY PHOTO BY BRIAN MORRI/211 PHOTOGRAPHY

Future students at the USC Leventhal School of Accounting will take courses in a modernized, state-ofthe-art center, thanks in part to Harlan A. Helvey ’64, MBA ’71. Helvey recently provided a generous $15 million gift that will help support the renovation of USC’s historic accounting building, upgrading and customizing the 1920s-era structure to support today’s and tomorrow’s technology. The building will be named Harlan A. Helvey Hall in his honor. “Over the years USC Leventhal has provided an exceptionally strong accounting education to generations of students,” said William W. Holder, dean of USC Leventhal. “This magnificent gift enables us to develop a technologically advanced and sustainable physical facility, thereby allowing Leventhal to provide a truly elite educational experience.” Helvey, a dean’s list student during his time at USC, earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1964 and went on to become a Certified Public Accountant and real estate investor. A member of the Alpha Gamma Sigma and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies, Helvey earned an MBA with an emphasis in accounting from the USC Marshall School of Business in 1971. “I have been fortunate to be able to give back to the USC accounting school something of value,” Helvey said, “hopefully comparable to the value the accounting school gave to me.”

summer spring 2016 2015

6/13/16 2:58 PM

RESTAURANTS I EVENTS CALENDAR I NIGHTLIFE I MAPS

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 13

6/4/16 11:34 AM

P R O F I L E

Life On His Own Terms A Trojan inspires patients through occupational therapy. John Lien Margetis ’11, MA ’12, OTD ’13 was born without hands and only partial feet, but sometimes having “limb differences” is an asset. As a Los Angeles occupational therapist who helps people hospitalized after stroke and other serious brain and spinal cord injuries, Margetis, 27, embodies resilience for his patients. Margetis doesn’t need arm prostheses to move around the intensive care unit—or anywhere else. He enjoys skydiving, snowboarding and cycling. He types on his keyboard and dabbles in art photography. Yet his life could have

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 14

J O H N M A R G E T I S ’1 1,

turned out much differently. Margetis’ story begins in an orphanage in Taiwan, where his birth parents reluctantly placed him because they couldn’t give him the tools he’d need to lead a full life. Enter Monique Margetis of Pasadena, California, who saw his baby photo in an adoption newsletter and fell in love. “He was sitting in an infant seat with a huge smile on his face and his hair standing up about 6 inches on his head,” she remembers. An assistant professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and pediatric pulmonologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), Monique Margetis already had an 11-year-old biological son and a 4-year-old adopted daughter from Brazil. But the single mom comes from a large family and already knew a lot about prostheses from her father, who developed artificial limbs for combat veterans.

M A

’1 2,

O T D

In her mind, there was nothing her son couldn’t accomplish with the help of artificial limbs. She was half right. In what he laughingly describes as “a burst of preadolescent rebellion,” John Margetis rejected his prostheses in 8th grade. As a teen he was mostly interested in using computers, skateboarding and biking, and occupational therapists had taught him to do these and hundreds of other tasks with and without artificial limbs. He has managed without the prostheses ever since. He competed in soccer and track in high school, and at USC he earned two bachelor’s degrees before completing master’s and doctoral programs in occupational therapy—all without special accommodations. As a master’s student, he did an elective rotation at CHLA’s hand clinic. The surgeons were so impressed they tapped

’1 3

him to speak at their annual family day for children with hand deficiencies. Today, he works as a rehab specialist in the neuroscience ICU at Keck Medical Center of USC and as clinical assistant professor in the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Patients recovering from stroke who are learning to regain the use of their paralyzed limbs often stare when they first meet Margetis, dumbfounded by his obvious physical differences. “There will be times when you feel confused,” he tells patients, “but your OT is going to be that lighthouse cutting through the fog.” Many patients later confide that hearing that message from a therapist with no hands feels “incredibly motivating.” It turns out that heart, not hands, makes all the difference.

PHOTO BY PAMELA JOHNSON

FA C U LT Y

DIANE KRIEGER

summer 2016

6/13/16 2:59 PM

NORDSTROM • BARNEYS NEW YORK • TOPSHOP TOPM AN • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG • APPLE VINCE • J.CREW • J.CREW MENS SHOP • MICHAEL KORS • M·A·C COSMETICS • PAIGE • NIKE THE GROVE SEPHORA • HONEST BEAUT Y • BARNES & NOBLE • BLUE RIBBON SUSHI BAR & GRILL • PACIFIC THEATRES COMING SUMMER 2016: SHINOL A • ELIZABETH AND JAMES

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 15

6/4/16 11:34 AM

trojan news

“I want to reach out to smaller towns, rural communities, mid-sized towns—places that usually don’t get the kind of cultural programming that the metropolitan centers do.” DANA GIO I A , Judge Widney Professor of Poetry and Public Culture at USC, who recently was appointed California Poet Laureate

Known for his masterful storytelling in movies like Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List and Lincoln, Steven Spielberg has also gained recognition for preserving the stories of others. As founder of USC Shoah Foundation—The Institute for Visual History and Education, Spielberg, a USC trustee, has helped preserve more than 53,000 video testimonies from survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides. In recognition of Spielberg’s contributions, President Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Spielberg was one of only 17 recipients in 2015. “Steven’s films are marked most importantly by a faith in our common humanity, the same faith in humanity that led him to create the Shoah Foundation, and lend a voice to the survivors of genocide around the world,” Obama said during the presentation ceremony at the White House. Founded in 1994, USC Shoah Foundation is known for its Visual History Archive, one of the largest digital collections of its kind. More than 112,000 hours of interviews provide an invaluable tool for researchers, educators and students to understand genocide through the accounts of those who experienced it.

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R2.indd 16

Creating fuel out of thin air might sound impossible, but not for researchers at the USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute. They’ve created methanol from carbon dioxide. It’s the first time anyone has done that at temperatures low enough that the process could be powered by renewable energy sources. G.K. Surya Prakash and Nobel laureate George Olah of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences see their work as part of efforts to counter global warming. By transforming the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into its combustible cousin methanol, scientists would be able to attack global warming from two directions: stabilizing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while producing clean-burning fuel. “We need to learn to manage carbon. That is the future,” says Prakash, professor of chemistry and director of the USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute. The new conversion process was recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and the team hopes to refine the process for industrial use—though that may be five to 10 years away. “Of course it won’t compete with oil today, at around $30 per barrel,” Prakash says. “But right now we burn fossilized sunshine. We will run out of oil and gas, but the sun will be there for another 5 billion years. So we need to be better at taking advantage of it as a resource.” Methanol, a fuel for internal combustion engines and fuel cells, can also be used as raw material to produce petrochemical products like formaldehyde. ROBERT PERKINS

PHOTO BY STEVE COHN

A Storied Life

Carbon Conversion

summer 2016

6/15/16 6:35 PM

HE ALTH FI LES The locus coeruleus—the part of the brain that releases the hormone neuroepinephrine—appears to be important in staving off effects of Alzheimer’s disease, say USC researchers. Neuroepinephrine is released when your mind grapples with a problem. That suggests mental challenges might help preserve brainpower. You might think high-deductible health plans would make Americans comparison-shop for medical care, but not so far, according to a USC study. High-deductible plan enrollees are just as unlikely as others to switch doctors or compare care costs, probably because it’s tough to find data about quality and prices.

BRICIO PHOTO BY JOHN MCGILLEN

The old-fashioned house call could cut costs for seniors with multiple health problems. By regularly visiting high-risk elderly patients, medical caregivers helped them avoid emergency room and hospital visits, a USC analysis showed. Nearsightedness has more than doubled among U.S. children in the last 50 years, say USC vision experts. The suspected cause: too much screen time and not enough sunlight.

KE E PING SC OR E

The Ace Two months from now, Samantha Bricio ’16 will execute her killer hybrid jump float serve in an arena ringing with the cheers of avid volleyball fans. Nothing unusual in that—except they’ll be cheering in Italian. After playing four years of varsity volleyball at USC, she may feel a twinge of déjà vu. But this time, Bricio, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, will be ready for the culture shock. When she was first recruited to USC from Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2012, Bricio admits she had no idea what she was getting herself into. “I thought it was going to be easy going to another country by myself,” she chuckles. Thanks to a steady diet of American television, she already knew some English. “But once I got here, it hit me that it was going to be really hard.” Famously unemotional on the volleyball court, Bricio kept her cool even as the Galen Center crowd went wild over her aces. “I was really shy,” she explains. In time, that changed, and Bricio closed out her last season as team captain. As the accolades piled up, fans saw her laughing and fist-pumping. “I would celebrate not just because my team did really well, but because the team chemistry was amazing.” Now a poised young woman of 21, Bricio has her future mapped out. She’ll play pro volleyball in Europe for a couple of years, then return to USC for a master’s degree in criminal psychology en route to her ultimate career goal: becoming an FBI profiler. Asked if she’s excited about graduating college, Bricio hesitates. “USC has been such a great experience that I don’t want to leave,” she confesses. She hates saying goodbye to all her teammates. “I don’t think I’ll find friendships like that anywhere else.” She hopes to see them again soon on the pro circuit, Alicia Ogoms ’16 in particular. The Canadian middle blocker, who also plans to go pro, was Bricio’s roommate for all four years at USC—the last two in a themed women’s volleyball house on 29th Street. “It’s really fun when you see a friend on the other side of the court,” Bricio says. “You smile. You want to play harder. You just want to show her that you’re better.”

Samantha Bricio ’16 Bricio holds the Pac-12 record for service aces, as well as USC career records in kills, attacks, service aces and points. A few of her recognitions: • American Volleyball Coaches Association 2015 National Player of the Year • Finalist for Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2016 Honda Cup, to be presented June 27 • Named National Player of the Year by espnW, Volleyball Magazine, PrepVolleyball.com and HERO Sports

DIANE KRIEGER

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 17

6/13/16 2:59 PM

trojan news Through Be Well USC, students find tools to stay healthy even when they’re cramming for finals. Recipes, exercise classes, campus safety tips and mental health support—they’re all available. A typical week of wellness events:

TUE

Kundalini yoga class WED

“Positive Thinking, Positive Action” discussion THU

“How to Tackle Test Anxiety” workshop FRI

“Pause for Paws” therapy dog visit

H E A LT H Y

G L O W

Fluorescent paint gives a new meaning to a “light” workout at USC, where students flex their muscles in group classes like Glow Yoga. The Be Well USC initiative helps students balance healthy habits with their schoolwork and social life. During the program’s health and wellness week, staff share tips for sleeping better, debunk diet myths and offer free nutritious treats at a farmers market on McCarthy Quad.

Visit bewell.usc.edu for a sampling of offerings tailored to students.

Spotlight on Storytelling Spotlight@SDA at the USC School of Dramatic Arts brings some of the entertainment industry’s most influential artists to the University Park Campus. Actors and writers share their perspectives with students through informal Q&A sessions, workshops and master classes. Here are just a few of the notable guests who have stopped by.

DANNY STRONG ’96 A School of Dramatic Arts graduate, the co-creator of Empire has earned awards for producing, writing and acting.

BRYAN CRANSTON The Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle actor was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Trumbo.

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 18

TONY SHALHOUB The Monk actor and producer boasts Emmys and a Golden Globe for his work in film, theater and TV.

ALEXANDRA BILLINGS Star of the awardwinning series Transparent, the actress has advocated for transgender rights for more than 40 years.

DAKIN MATTHEWS The True Grit actor is also a director, playwright and theatrical scholar.

VINCE GILLIGAN After his big break on The X-Files, the writer went on to create Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

YOGA PHOTO BY MICHAEL BAKER; SPOTLIGHT@SDA PHOTOS:DANNY STRONG BY GUS RUELAS; BRYAN CRANSTON BY MICHAEL RUETER/CAPTURE IMAGING;TONY SHALOUB BY NANCY METTE; ALEXANDRA BILLINGS AND DAKIN MATTHEWS BY NICK GINGOLD/CAPTURE IMAGING; VINCE GILLIGAN BY RYAN MILLER/CAPTURE IMAGING

MON

“Stress Management: Just Breathe” workshop

summer 2016

6/13/16 3:08 PM

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

STORE HOURS 7AM TO 10PM 788 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90017

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 19

6/4/16 11:34 AM

The Primary Cause A preeminent political scholar traces how primary elections shaped modern American politics. ABC News once called Geoffrey Cowan primaries? He opposed primaries before “the man who did more to change Dem- he embraced them, but he was such a charocratic conventions than anyone since ismatic figure that once he became their Andrew Jackson first started them.” That’s champion, the number of states holding because he helped convince the Demo- them more than doubled to 13. Although cratic Party to curb the influence of it can certainly be improved, the presidenparty bosses and reform its presidential tial primary process has served Americans candidate selection process after Hubert well in the past and will continue to do so Humphrey gained the party’s 1968 nomi- in the future. nation without winning a single primary. Inspired by his own experiences and Presi- You argue that John F. Kennedy, Ronald dent Theodore Roosevelt’s belief in direct Reagan and Barack Obama probably democracy, Cowan penned his latest book, wouldn’t have been nominated in the abLet The People Rule: Theodore Roosevelt sence of presidential primaries. Primaries and the Birth of the Presidential Primary. have sometimes proved that candidates Cowan, a University Professor who holds can get popular support, even if there are the Annenberg Family Chair in Com- substantial doubts about their viability. By munication Leadership, recently spoke to winning West Virginia, a Protestant state, USC senior writer Marc Ballon about the Kennedy proved that a Catholic could win. presidential election process. That forced the hand of party leaders, including Catholic bosses who had doubted How did Theodore Roosevelt’s passion to that JFK could be elected. In Reagan’s case, “let the people rule” change presidential many argued that he was too old to serve as

A media and public policy expert, Geoffrey Cowan holds a joint appointment at USC Annenberg and USC Gould.

president. Then he ran an extremely vigorous primary campaign that made his age less of an issue. There are a lot of analogies between John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Barack Obama in 2008. Even many AfricanAmericans didn’t think Obama could win and didn’t rally to him until he won the caucuses in Iowa, a heavily white state. What are drawbacks to the current primary and caucus system? Some people criticize the practice of starting with Iowa and New Hampshire, two small, homogeneous and largely rural states. Others note that by allowing states to hold closed primaries where independents can’t vote, primaries exclude 40 percent of the electorate and lead candidates to play to the often-ideological base. And caucuses don’t allow for a secret ballot and only allow participation by voters who can attend during the hours when they are held. Why not replace them with national same-day primary elections? National primaries would be so expensive that it could be almost impossible for fresh and sometimes little-known candidates to emerge. Additionally, the current primary system, with its emphasis on retail politics, forces candidates to mix with the people and learn their true concerns. I think that’s a plus. But there might be a virtue in regional primaries as has been proposed by the Association of Secretaries of State. After losing the Republican nomination, Theodore Roosevelt created the Bull Moose Party, which quickly faded. Why the difficulty in creating third parties in American politics? There are some structural impediments that make it difficult to create third parties, and to some extent, primaries now provide a way for parties to change themselves. In the past century, third parties have quickly disappeared. Think of George Wallace’s American Independent Party in 1968, John Anderson in 1980, Ross Perot in 1992 and Ralph Nader in 2000. In general, those efforts were based on candidates or a momentary cause and not on a national movement.

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 20

PHOTO BY BENJAMIN DUNN

trojan news

summer 2016

6/13/16 3:00 PM

The Wallis 2016/2017 Season is Here!

PHOTO BY STEVE TANNER

946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips

VISIT THEWALLIS.ORG TO JOIN OUR EXCITING SEASON OF THEATER, MUSIC, DANCE AND MORE! CONNECT WITH US:

310.746.4000 | TheWallis.org/Subscribe tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 21

usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:34 AM

trojan news Dedication to Education

Q U OTAT I O N

“Jazz music is the ultimate example of democracy. If one person decides, I’m going to go my own way today, it’s not going to work.” Ron McCurdy, USC Thornton School of Music professor and trumpeter, during a USC Price Executive Master of Leadership course

Helping schools and students reach their potential is something of a trademark for Shelly Nemirovsky ’85. The philanthropist was recently elected to the USC Board of Trustees, adding to her track record of service to education. Nemirovsky, a member of the USC President’s Leadership Council, is an active supporter of the Buckingham Browne & Nichols K-12 day school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which her children attend. She chaired the school’s recent fundraising campaign, which exceeded its $62 million goal. In 2012, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District 1 recognized Nemirovsky with its Distinguished Friend of Education Award. Nemirovsky and her husband, Ofer, support several other educational, arts and environmental nonprofits as well, including the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, her hometown.

Reality Check for Health Care As Medicare passes its half-century mark, growing numbers of Americans will depend on it for health care—reaching as many as 80 million people by 2035. But how will the U.S. afford to provide care under the program for the mounting burden of chronic diseases? At the same time, policymakers are looking for ways to improve the Affordable Care Act so that it expands coverage cost-effectively, while keeping the nation healthy. They must also grapple with how to curb rising health care costs while encouraging medical innovation. These pressing health care issues require policy research—the kind advanced through a $4 million gift from Leonard D. Schaeffer, USC trustee and the Judge Robert Maclay Widney Chair and professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy. This latest gift from Schaeffer establishes

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 22

the Leonard D. Schaeffer Initiative for Innovation in Health Policy, a partnership between the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and the Center for Health Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. By integrating the collaborative strengths of USC and Brookings, the initiative aims to inform the health care debate with evidence-based analysis leading to practical recommendations to improve population health. In addition to Medicare, the initiative will focus on shaping the Affordable Care Act to improve outcomes and on maximizing the value of innovation in drugs and medical devices. “Health care spending has soared to $3 trillion a year and massive disruptions are underway in America’s health care system,” Schaeffer says. Responsible for the turnaround of

Blue Cross of California as its CEO, Schaeffer went on to become founding chairman and CEO of WellPoint, one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies. In the public sector, Schaeffer oversaw the reorganization of the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), which integrated Medicare and Medicaid in the 1970s. Paul Ginsburg, a health economics and policy expert, directs the joint work of the new Schaeffer Initiative. Ginsburg, a professor at USC Price School, holds the Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies at Brookings, where he also directs the Center for Health Policy. The USC Schaeffer Center is a partnership between the USC Price School and the USC School of Pharmacy. LY N N L I P I N S K I

NEMIROVSKYS PHOTO BY STEVE COHN

The Schaeffer Center teams up with the Brookings Institution to advance better U.S. health care policies.

summer 2016

6/13/16 3:34 PM

Preparing for the

Biotech Decade A Bilingual Community Education Event for the Families of East Los Angeles Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 | East Los Angeles Community College (ELAC) Featuring

The University of Southern California, in partnership with Los Angeles Community Colleges, is presenting a half-day educational and workforce development event to encourage the residents of East Los Angeles (Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Lincoln Heights and neighboring communities in the San Gabriel Valley) to prepare for opportunities related to STEM disciplines.

Carlos I. Noriega Lieutenant Colonel, USMC, Ret., former NASA Astronaut

FAST FACT

Diana Ramos, MD, MPH

Free Workshops and Outdoor Resource Fair for:

Medical Director for Reproductive Health, LA Public Health Dept.

DID YOU KNOW? Employment in Los Angeles County’s bioscience industry sectors rose from 37,759 jobs in 2001 to 42,211 jobs in 2010, an increase of 4,452 jobs, or 11.8 percent.

A recent study found that for every biotech job created, four additional jobs are created in non-technical areas such as sales, marketing, administration and clerical.

• Families with K-12 age children • Educators • Community college students • Undergraduates/graduate students interested in life science careers and research • Individuals interested biotech job training Learn More For information about sponsoring/participating in this event, please email biotech@usc.edu.

media sponsor

education partner

Biotech.usc.edu/biotechdecade

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 23

6/4/16 11:34 AM

trojan tribute

A B O UT STE V E N B. SA M P L E ACADEMIC LIFE Life trustee and 10th president of USC 12th president of State University of New York at Buffalo BS, MS and PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign ACHIEVEMENTS Honorary doctorates from nine universities including Notre Dame and Purdue Invented and patented several devices, including digital controls used in appliances around the world Member, National Academy of Engineers and American Academy of Arts and Sciences FAMILY Survived by his wife, Kathryn Brunkow Sample, daughters Michelle Sample Smith and Elizabeth Sample, sonin-law Kirk Smith, and grandchildren Kathryn and Andrew Smith

Leadership Legacy USC looks back at the contributions and influence of President Emeritus Steven B. Sample. by lynn lipinski and sue vogl

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 24

summer 2016

6/4/16 11:34 AM

PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Steven Browning Sample refused to settle for the status quo. As USC’s 10th president, he dared to believe he could transform the university from the moment he was inaugurated in 1991. By the time he stepped down in 2010, the university had risen through the ranks of the nation’s best academic institutions. USC became a highly selective undergraduate university, recruited nationally prominent faculty, created a global presence and built partnerships in the communities surrounding USC’s campuses. Under Sample, the university became the first in the U.S. to receive five gifts of $100 million or more, and it completed what was then the largest fundraising campaign in higher education, raising $2.85 billion. When he died March 29 at age 75, he left behind a legacy that forever transformed both the reality and popular perception of the University of Southern California. “Generations from now, those studying the history of our university will quickly find themselves learning the remarkable story of Steven Sample,” says USC President C. L. Max Nikias. “So many of USC’s successes and so much of our university’s current stature can be traced back to Dr. Sample’s dynamic leadership, keen foresight and extraordinary prudence. Dr. Sample stood over our university—and led our Trojan Family—as it began its singular transformation, and for this we should all be grateful.” John Mork, chair of the USC Board of Trustees, praised Sample’s grasp of USC’s unique assets. “From the very start, he understood the entrepreneurial zeal of USC and fueled our desire to be excellent. If there were a tag line for his leadership style, it would be ‘Never let up.’ And the results were nothing short of spectacular.” Sample liked to start speeches with the rousing statement, “Isn’t it a great day to be a Trojan!” followed by his signature opening joke and news hand-picked for his audience—a research discovery, a transformative gift, a decisive sports victory. From his first day as president in 1991, it was, seemingly, always a great day to be at USC. Fellow longtime supporter and USC Trustee Steven Spielberg credited Sample for helping make the university home to USC Shoah Foundation—The Institute tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 25

for Visual History and Education, which documents testimonies from survivors and witnesses to genocide, and for supporting the growth of the USC School of Cinematic Arts into “the greatest cinema school in the world.” “While he left behind very big footprints, he gleefully encouraged others to fill them as President Nikias has done and will continue to do,” Spielberg says. “I’ll miss Steve, but just walking around campus, you can feel him everywhere.”

A UNIVERSITY ON THE RISE Sample made improving undergraduate education the university’s highest priority, overseeing the revision of the curriculum and creating new majors and minors to provide “breadth with depth.” During his tenure, USC rose dramatically in the college rankings, the number of freshman applicants more than tripled and the student body grew increasingly diverse. Faculty members saw endowed chairs and professorships rise from 152 to 403. George Olah, an organic chemistry professor, won USC’s first-ever Nobel Prize in 1994, and Elyn Saks, a law professor, won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2009. USC’s international outreach grew exponentially during the Sample years, particularly in the Pacific Rim, and USC became a leading destination for international students. Sample’s global vision was lauded by educational leaders such as Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education: “Steve Sample had the idea and was a major leader among all

“I consider Dr. Sample to have been one of my most significant and formative role models.” — C. L. Max Nikias

of the presidents in American higher education to recognize the growing importance of the Pacific Rim. He led the effort to create linkages between American universities along the West Coast of our country to institutions and universities in Japan and China and Taiwan and Hong Kong and Australia. It was a remarkable achievement.”

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY TIES A cornerstone of Sample’s administration was building alliances and transforming USC’s neighboring communities. He launched the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, asking faculty and staff to contribute funds to community programs such as the USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative, which prepares low-income students from the surrounding areas for admission to USC and other universities. Students also embraced Sample’s passion for community service during “Friends and Neighbors Days” held throughout the year. In honor of his civic achievements, he received the Distinguished Business Leader Award from the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Heart of the City Award from the Central City Association of Los Angeles. Recognizing USC’s ambitious community partnership programs, the Time/Princeton Review College Guide named USC “College of the Year” in 2000. At Sample’s retirement, he and his wife, Kathryn, gave USC a bronze statue of USC’s mascot, Traveler, which overlooks Hahn Plaza. Steven and Kathryn Sample Hall is named in their honor, as is a special Renaissance Scholar endowment. He stayed a part of the university in other ways too, serving on the USC Board of Trustees and co-teaching the popular undergraduate course “The Art and Adventure of Leadership” with late management expert Warren Bennis. “For Kathryn and me, the presidency of USC has been far more than just a job,” Sample said in 2009. “It has been a calling, an all-consuming passion to move this university ahead farther and faster than any another university in the United States.” usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:35 PM

trojan news

Your scholarship support helps students attend USC. Learn more at campaign.usc.edu.

Pioneering Architect Remembered

ELISA HUANG

Scholarships With a View Stanley Gold JD ’67 may be the CEO of a major investment firm, but he remembers his roots. Scholarships and part-time jobs helped the South Los Angeles native become the first in his family to attend college, then law school. Now the USC trustee and his wife, Ilene, are giving future USC law students a huge boost. They pledged $2.5 million to create scholarships and special programs for top students at the USC Gould School of Law. But he isn’t the only Trojan to pay it forward: Here are a few of the unique ways alumni, parents and friends support the Trojan Family’s next generations. SCHOEN FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR VETERANS ENDOWMENT • USC Trustee and former U.S. Marine William Schoen ’60, MBA ’63 and his wife, Sharon, first funded the program in 1986. • About 175 veterans have received scholarships to support their education at the USC Marshall School of Business or USC Viterbi School of Engineering. PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED ATHLETES SCHOLARSHIP FUND • Friends and teammates of USC All-American swimmer Mike Nyeholt ’78, staged a fundraiser for him after a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed in 1981. • The “Swim With Mike” effort now reaches nationwide. More than $16 million has been raised for physically challenged students at 90 universities. RED AND SHERI CAVANEY ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP FOR NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP • In 2015, Red Cavaney ’64 and his wife, Sheri, started the first scholarship for the USC Price School of Public Policy’s master of nonprofit leadership and management program. • The merit-based partial scholarship is awarded based on academics, professional performance and nonprofit leadership potential. LY N N L I P I N S K I

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 26

WILLIAMS PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN HUDSON

Paul Revere Williams ’19, California’s first licensed African-American architect, helped define the look and feel of Los Angeles with more than 3,000 buildings across the city. Many of the buildings he designed during his five-decade career are instantly recognizable to Angelenos today, from landmarks like the Beverly Hills Hotel and LAX’s spaceship-like Theme Building to the grand residences of stars like Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra. A longtime resident of LA’s West Adams neighborhood, Williams enrolled in USC’s architectural engineering program in 1916 after the young architect was advised that he needed to learn the math and physics behind his creative visions. Soon, Williams was combining practical construction with a mastery of styles ranging from Colonial to Spanish. He rose to a prolific career in LA’s burgeoning design scene before retiring in 1973. Last fall, South Central Los Angeles Regional Center, a communitybased nonprofit, unveiled a memorial to the iconic architect in the plaza of one of his structures, the Golden State Mutual Building in West Adams. The bronze relief created by local artist Georgia Hanna Toliver highlights 23 of Williams’ famed buildings. Created 35 years after his death, the sculpture is an enduring tribute to a trailblazer who persisted through the racism of his time to shape the city of his birth.

summer 2016

6/4/16 11:34 AM

THE KECK EFFECT: MORE HAPPY TIMES

Keck Medicine of USC attracts the world’s top researchers and physicians. As a result, patients get greater access to more experts, more treatment options and more innovative surgical therapies. That’s The Keck Effect — doing everything possible to help our patients get more out of life. With locations throughout Southern California, exceptional care is close to you. See how we’re redefining medicine.

KeckMedicine.org (800) USC-CARE

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 27

usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:34 AM

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 28

summer 2016

6/4/16 11:34 AM

trojan health

Guiding Light Interventional cardiologists and radiologists treat more diseases than ever by healing the body from within. by linda childers il lust rat ions by c hr is gash

Even into his late 80s, Angelo La Bruna Sr. regularly drove the 22 miles to USC’s Dedeaux Field from his Hacienda Heights home to watch his grandson Angelo La Bruna ’15 play baseball. Anyone would expect that he might feel a little tired making the trip. But when the active octogenarian started having chest pain and couldn’t catch his breath walking to the bleachers, he headed to the doctor. Turns out it wasn’t fatigue. Just before his grandson graduated and was drafted by the Washington Nationals, the senior La Bruna learned that his heart’s aortic valve was narrowing. His physician, Ray Matthews, an interventional cardiologist and chief of cardiovascular medicine at Keck Medical Center of USC, diagnosed him with aortic stenosis, one of the tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 29

most common, and most serious, heart valve problems people can face. When found, it usually requires surgical valve replacement. Daunted by the prospect of the increased risk with an open-heart operation and an extended recovery, La Bruna was delighted to hear there was another option. He was a good candidate for a treatment that might have once seemed like science fiction. Matthews and Vaughn Starnes, a heart surgeon and chair of the Department of Surgery, inserted a new valve into La Bruna’s heart while it continued to beat—without ever opening his chest. Physicians call the procedure a transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and it’s one of the many ways they can now treat patients from the inside out. usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:34 AM

trojan health Learn more about Keck Medicine of USC physicians at keckmedicine.org.

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 30

FROM TOP: Ray Matthews and Edward Grant

Physician Ray Matthews, left, makes sure Angelo La Bruna Sr. keeps his heart in top shape.

Interventional cardiology’s next big leap could bring similar repairs for patients with mitral valve stenosis or leakage. Physicians are already evaluating several transcatheter mitral valve repair devices in patients through clinical trials. “With cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death in the United States,” Matthews says, “I see interventional strategies being used not just to treat cardiac conditions but also to see how best to prevent them.” Interventional medicine reaches beyond the heart. It benefits cancer patients too. Physicians use their interventional techniques to steer cancer treatment exactly where it’s needed. Jerry Chong, 72, can testify to that. He was treated 18 years ago at Keck Medical Center for liver cancer through a catheter procedure called a transarterial chemoembolization. That treatment began with an angiogram, an X-ray that physicians use to see blood vessels in action. The test identified the vessels that were nourishing his liver tumor. As Chong lay still, his interventional radiologist followed live X-ray images on a monitor to guide a catheter from his groin to the liver. Doctors injected a combination of chemotherapy drugs through the catheter into the blood vessels feeding his tumor, followed by an injection of tiny particles called microspheres. The microspheres created an embolism: They plugged the blood vessels, blocking oxygen-rich blood flow to the tumor and bathing the tumor in chemotherapy drugs. “Doctors told me that I had a tumor the size of a fist,” says Chong, of Encino, California. “I was lucky it didn’t metastasize and they were able to shrink it successfully.” He still returns every six months for follow-up visits, with no cancer recurrence. Edward Grant, chair of USC’s radiology department, notes that interventional radiologists use their techniques in the treatment

PHOTO COURTESY OF RAY V. MATTHEWS

Keck Medicine of USC specialists are part of the growing field called interventional medicine. Interventional cardiologists, interventional radiologists and vascular surgeons can insert tiny tools and devices through small slits into the body and maneuver them to where they’re needed by using humans’ natural freeway system: blood vessels. Many patients in these procedures need only local anesthesia and can go home more quickly—in some cases the same day—with the opening in their skin covered by a Band-Aid. The technique also offers treatment options for patients too sick for major surgery. In La Bruna’s case, Matthews and Starnes inserted a flexible catheter through a tiny incision in the groin and guided it into the femoral artery, then threaded it up to La Bruna’s heart. They then painstakingly installed a new valve through the tubing. Interventional cardiologists like Matthews work with primary cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons to see, evaluate and treat narrowed arteries and weakened heart valves. As part of a multidisciplinary team, interventional cardiologists aim to formulate the best treatment plan for each patient. Then they use imaging guidance and a variety of instruments, many as small as a few millimeters wide, to do their healing work. While the specialty of interventional cardiology isn’t new, Matthews says its techniques have expanded and improved since the first transcatheter valve was approved for use in 2011. In the past, physicians treated valve problems exclusively through thoracic surgery, but today, many patients are candidates for the transcatheter approach, called TAVR for short. “We are one of three medical centers in Southern California that began performing TAVR more than four years ago as an option for elderly patients who might be too frail to withstand open heart surgery,” Matthews says. “We’ve had great success with the procedure.” And through a randomized clinical trial, Keck Medicine doctors recently started offering TAVR to lower-risk patients who have stenosis in the aortic valve that’s severe enough to cause symptoms.

summer 2016

6/13/16 3:00 PM

of various cancers, and their mastery of imaging tools like X-rays, ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging helps them see and target tumors. Through interventional radiology, physicians can use embolization to shut off blood flow to kidney tumors, for example, and reduce the risk of bleeding during surgery to remove these tumors. Physicians may also “burn” cancers from within by using radio waves or microwaves delivered directly to a tumor—a process called radioablation. Or they can “freeze” a tumor by super-cooling it, called cryoblation. Grant says emerging technology may offer even more new tools to physicians in the interventional world. Through 3-D printing, interventional radiologists may be able to fabricate catheters and implantable devices in sizes and shapes customized to each patient. These include stents, coil-like sleeves that pop into place inside artery walls to keep vessels open and keep blood flowing. But for many patients, like Angelo La Bruna, the interventional advances available today already have made a huge difference. Since undergoing his procedure, La Bruna regained the energy to keep up with his large family: his wife, four sons and 12 grandchildren. His only complaint is one about his diet, which he not-sosubtly broached with Matthews. He arrived at his annual follow-up appointment wearing a T-shirt proclaiming “Needs salt.” “I just wanted to tease Dr. Matthews,” La Bruna says with a laugh. “I actually feel fantastic.” tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 31

Physicians can insert tiny tools and devices through the skin and maneuver them through blood vessels to treat a wide variety of diseases and conditions.

From the Inside Physicians can now use minimally invasive interventional techniques to treat a variety of health issues. Here are just a few. Fibroids Non-cancerous fibroid tumors in the uterus can now be shrunk, instead of being removed, through uterine fibroid embolization. Doctors use what’s called fluoroscope imaging to guide a catheter to the arteries feeding the tumor. They inject small particles that cause embolisms, or blockages, in the arteries. Starved of blood, the fibroids shrink. The Keck Medicine of USC team was the first academic group in Southern California to offer this treatment for uterine fibroids. Varicose Veins These abnormally large veins, often seen in the legs, can cause aching, swelling and inflammation. Traditional surgery strips out the veins, but that may leave scars. Instead, physicians can cauterize and collapse the veins from within by directing radio waves or laser energy at them through optical fibers. Heart Problems Instead of going through the femoral artery in the groin, physicians can perform many interventional procedures by inserting a catheter through the radial artery, in the wrist. This is more comfortable for patients and often offers a shorter recovery. Physicians can use transradial access for interventional diagnosis and treatment of myocardial infarctions, or heart attacks.

usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:35 PM

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 32

spring 2016

6/4/16 11:34 AM

FOOD FOR THOUGHT BY GREG HARDESTY PHOTOS BY GUS RUELAS

USC has grown its philosophy department into a global powerhouse. Now, more than ever, critical thinking matters.

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 33

usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:34 AM

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 34

spring 2016

6/13/16 3:01 PM

cover

Supreme Court Justice Steven Breyer gazed at the sea of college students gathered before him for commencement. The graduates would ask many questions after they left school, he predicted: “The science graduate will ask, ‘Why does that work?’ “The engineering graduate, ‘How does it work?’ “The economics graduate, ‘What does it cost?’ “And the liberal arts graduate, ‘Do you want French fries with that hamburger?’” Breyer’s joke at the 1997 Stanford University ceremony underscores a perception in popular culture that humanities majors face tough career prospects, especially compared to those with what are perceived to be more marketable skills, like engineers and scientists. And philosophy majors in particular? They’re destined to ponder the meaning of life while searching for a way to make a living—or so the stereotype goes. In reality, college graduates who major in philosophy can do quite well. They report earnings that rank highest among humanities majors, and many excel in fields including law, business, medicine and politics, as well as academia. Just ask Justice Breyer—who studied philosophy before going to law school. Trained to use logic and reasoning to analyze questions big and small, challenge assumptions and

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 35

examine problems in broad strokes and great detail, philosophy majors acquire intellectual tools that are as relevant in today’s digital age as they were at the time of Plato and Aristotle. This timelessness explains why top administrators and professors at USC continue to view philosophy as an essential discipline that sharpens the minds of all students—whatever careers they decide to pursue. CORE OF THE HUMANITIES The repute of the philosophy department at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences has steadily grown during the last decade. It’s ranked as the 8th-best philosophy program in the U.S. and 9th best in the world, according to The Philosophical Gourmet Report, a biennial publication that bases its 2014–15 rankings on the reputation of faculty members (New York University is ranked No. 1 in the world). Since 2004, USC has shot up 38 places in the closely monitored rankings, fueled by a focus on attracting seasoned scholars and promising rising stars. It has also developed innovative programs such as an interdisciplinary major in philosophy, politics and law, the first of its kind in the U.S. when USC launched it in 2010. “I think philosophy is really at the core of everything we do in the humanities,” USC Provost Michael usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:34 AM

“With this appointment, I’d say USC is in the very top cluster of programs in the world.”

Undergrad philosophy majors do quite well for themselves after college. While pay is only one of many factors for professional satisfaction, here’s how their post-college salaries compare. PHIL OSOPHY Early career $42,200 Mid-career $85,000 BIO CHEMISTRY Early career $43,400 Mid-career $84,500 MATHEMATICS Early career $52,400 Mid-career $95,300 MARKETING Early career $44,300 Mid-career $81,400 Source: Payscale.com 2015-16 College Salary Report

Quick says. “It hits all the right buttons, such as who or why we are, and what kind of people we want to be.” Quick praised the leadership of Scott Soames, an expert in the philosophy of language, philosophy of law, and the history of analytic philosophy. Soames was recruited from Princeton University in 2004 and has been director of USC’s philosophy department since 2007. “Scott has provided us a vision for how one builds a great department, as well as an ability to find and recruit great faculty,” says Quick, a neuroscientist. From his office in Mudd Hall, home of the School of Philosophy, Soames can barely contain his enthusiasm when he talks about the advances made by the program, which has about 200 undergraduate majors and 40 graduate students. “Come back in five years, and we’ll be No. 1,” Soames says. It isn’t bluster. Ask Brian Leiter, who manages The Philosophical Gourmet Report. Leitner notes USC’s recent appointment of David Wallace, a philosopher of physics known for his novel interpretation of quantum mechanics. Wallace arrives on campus from the University of Oxford this summer. “With this appointment, I’d say USC is in the very top cluster of programs in the world, including Princeton, Michigan, Yale and Harvard, and ahead of Stanford,” says Leiter, who is also director of the Center for Law, Philosophy and Human Values at the University of Chicago. “If the department builds up in the history of philosophy, it will be giving NYU a run for its money,” Leiter adds. Wallace will be joining an impressive faculty that includes Ralph Wedgwood. The specialist in ethics and epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, came to USC from Oxford in 2012. “It’s a wonderful department,” Wedgwood says. “It’s just great in a classic kind of way. It’s got excellent philosophers who work hard and who are devoted to excelling in teaching and research, and it’s got great leadership.” The department includes John Hawthorne, recognized as a leading contributor to the fields of metaphysics and epistemology; Jonathan Quong, an expert in moral and political philosophy who selected

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 36

USC over Oxford; and Gabriel Uzquiano Cruz, a specialist in philosophical logic, the philosophy of mathematics, metaphysics and the philosophy of language. Soames also notes that equally important to USC’s growing reputation as a destination for the world’s brightest philosophers are its emerging young thinkers on the faculty. “We have the best set of young assistant professors in the world,” Soames says. “Andrew Bacon is a coming superstar, Jeff Russell is a coming star, Shieva Kleinschmidt will be one of the best minds in metaphysics, and Jeremy Goodman, who is set to join us in the fall, is one of the best I’ve ever seen.” TOOLS FOR THE REAL WORLD The public believes—rightly—that philosophers study big-issue questions. Does God exist? What actions are right or wrong? What can we know about the world around us? But Kleinschmidt says that philosophy encompasses much more. The methodology that contemporary philosophers apply to analytic philosophy is closely tied to mathematics. “We translate claims into their logical form, and then use groups of these claims to write proofs,” Kleinschmidt explains. “The proofs are formally valid: If the premises of the arguments are true, it follows as a matter of logic that the conclusions must be true as well.” This matters, Kleinschmidt says, because “validity helps us see which claims can be true at the same time, and which can’t, which helps us build a consistent and extensive theory of the world.” Kleinschmidt and other USC professors believe philosophy courses should be a part of every student’s college experience. “These classes teach students how to reason well, how to draw appropriate conclusions from their data, how to formulate general principles when they apply, and how to counterexample general principles when they don’t,” Kleinschmidt says. “Critical thinking skills are crucial tools for almost every area of life,” she adds, “and are certainly helpful in other college classes.” Mark Andrew Schroeder, who works in epistemology, ethics and philosophy of language, says philosophy particularly matters in the 21st century, a summer 2016

6/13/16 3:35 PM

THE THINKERS (Clockwise from top left)

Shieva Kleinschmidt, who focuses on metaphysics and the philosophy of religion, teaches courses on topics from time and time travel to the physical world and our place in it. Scott Soames, director of the philosophy department, specializes in the philosophy of law, the history of analytic philosophy, and the philosophy of language. He recently argued in a New York Times opinion piece for the importance of philosophy

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R2.indd 37

in the modern university, underscoring philosophersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; significant collaborations with academics from other fields. Mark Schroeder writes about aspects of meta-ethics, touching on areas like philosophy of language and epistemologyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;how we think. Ralph Wedgwood joined USC from Oxford University in 2012 and explores questions related to ethics and epistemology. He also has a famous greatgreat-great-great uncle: Charles Darwin.

usc trojan family

6/15/16 6:35 PM

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 38

summer 2016

6/4/16 11:34 AM

“The only skill that can’t become obsolete is the ability to think critically. Philosophy, more than any other field, teaches students to think critically.”

time when computing technology means that everyone has access to knowledge at their fingertips. Technical skills quickly become obsolete with each advance toward automation. “The only skill that can’t become obsolete,” Schroeder says, “is the ability to think critically. Philosophy, more than any other field, teaches students to think critically.” Philosophy, Soames says, is key to advancing the relatively young fields of cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, decision theory and computer science. USC provides students with numerous ways of connecting philosophy with business, law and even neuroscience. Recent graduates like Marissa Roy ’14, MS ’14 say the interdisciplinary study at USC proved invaluable. Roy majored in philosophy, politics and law and earned a master’s degree in public diplomacy. She is set to graduate from Yale Law School in 2017. Little did she know how useful a course in philosophy would be when she took one her freshman year at the suggestion of a professor. “It taught me how to think about the law—what the law can or should be,” says Roy, who went on to specialize in the ethics of law research. Just recently, her background in philosophy helped her detect a “gaping assumption” in what appeared, at first, to be a “damning” law brief, she says. Stacy Greiner Chambliss ’07 is chief of administration and scientific review for Valencia Technologies Corp., which designed, developed, manufactured and tested an investigational pacemaker-like device called eCoin. The nickel-sized neurostimulator aims to stimulate nerves to manage chronic conditions like high blood pressure, as well as neurological problems like Parkinson’s disease. Chambliss, a double major in finance and philosophy, took her first philosophy class as a sophomore. She got a C+ but loved it. Determined to do better, Chambliss declared philosophy as her second major to help her in law school. “I credit philosophy with making me a much stronger thinker and writer,” she says. Chambliss’ abilities came in handy at the medical technology firm her father founded in 2010. After studying electroacupuncture, she questioned the medical industry’s assumption that neuromodulation—treating conditions through stimulation of nerves—required tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 39

constant exposure to electrical currents. After unpacking the problem from all angles, Chambliss recommended that the firm’s engineers create an eCoin device that could be radically smaller than other devices on the market because it only needs to give off intermittent electrical currents. “Philosophy helped me cultivate grit, the passion and perseverance needed for this non-scientist to enter and contribute to the most wonderful field of medical technology,” Chambliss says. “I learned to think inside, outside, and about what is the box from philosophy. For that, I am grateful and I am better.”

What can you do with a philosophy degree? Law. Finance. Medicine. Politics. Business. Public service. And, of course, academia. The skills that philosophy majors develop—critically analyzing issues from a variety of angles, questioning assumptions and crafting alternatives and writing clearly and persuasively—open up a wide array of career directions. These skills and the depth of intellectual practice of a philosophy degree are critical for many fields, says Carl Martellino, executive director of USC’s Career Center. “A philosophy degree involves the rigor of analysis, trained logical thinking and myriad strategic approaches to engage and see things from different viewpoints,” Martellino says. “Societies—and organizations—need people who can provide robust analytical frameworks to important issues.” It’s true that compared to, say, computer science, a philosophy degree might not provide a direct linear path to a specific career, Martellino says. But he cites recent studies that show students who acquire the philosophy-based logical reasoning skills do well in their careers. At the bachelor’s degree level, philosophy majors are projected to earn the most of all humanities majors in the Class of 2016, according to a salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Philosophy students earn the highest salary of all humanities majors and are in the top 25 percent of all majors by mid-career, according to PayScale.com.

usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:36 PM

Budding engineers like Ruyan Chen â&#x20AC;&#x2122;16, left, benefit from the support of engineering professors like Maja MatariÄ&#x2021;, center, and Leana Golubchik.

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 40

6/4/16 11:34 AM

BY AMBER DANCE

Designing Women USC Viterbi is one of the most female-friendly engineering schools in the country—and the diversity of its voices makes engineering better for all.

Two.

PHOTO BY CODY PICKENS

That’s how many female professors populated the tenure track at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering when Maja Matarić joined the faculty in 1997. How things have changed nearly two decades later. Today, the number of women on the USC Viterbi faculty has jumped nine-fold. It’s impossible to fill the ranks of professors with women without first bringing women into the educational ranks, though. USC Viterbi has done that too. Women accounted for 38 percent of incoming USC freshmen majoring in engineering in 2015— twice the national average—and they made up 29 percent of the school’s graduate students. It’s no wonder US News & World Report ranked USC Viterbi No. 1 among graduate engineering schools for the number of women enrolled. “That does not just happen,” points out robotics expert Matarić, the Chan Soon-Shiong Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience and Pediatrics and USC Viterbi’s vice dean for research. “That takes an incredible amount of incredibly proactive work.” The quest to democratize engineering has become a hallmark of USC Viterbi. It stretches from the school’s dean through its faculty and staff and, in turn, out to its students. They’ve tackled this quest not as a challenge they’d like to meet, but as a mission they’re bound to achieve. WHY DIVERSITY MATTERS Diversity is fundamental when considering matters of equity, fairness and access. It’s also critical to bring more women (and minorities) into the field to ensure that the nation has enough engineers to build its future. But diversity is important for other reasons as well. “We strongly believe that excellence and diversity go hand in hand,” says Timothy Pinkston, USC Viterbi’s vice dean for faculty affairs. Of the 10 USC professors to make the MIT Technology Review’s prestigious “Innovators Under 35” list in the past six

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 41

years, six were women. Two of the last three USC Viterbi professors to receive the competitive Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers were women, too. Then there’s the problem-solving process, which is essential to engineering. Walter Wulf, former longtime president of the National Academy of Engineering, once explained that diversity is crucial to the future of engineering because of its link to creative ideas. Creativity, according to Wulf, “is the result of making unexpected connections between things we already know. Hence, creativity depends on our life experiences. Without diversity, the life experiences we bring to an engineering problem are limited. As a consequence, we may not find the best engineering solution.” The presence of female engineers also improves group projects, according to Wanda Austin PhD ’88, a USC trustee and president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, California. Women tend to support novel approaches, Austin says. “When there are more women in the room…there’s more open debate, there’s more questioning of the status quo, and people are open to considering different ideas.” Despite women’s strides, Austin points out that gender parity is still a ways off, and the field still needs sustained efforts to support women. THE TROJAN WOMEN Such efforts have long been underway at USC Viterbi, where women started making inroads decades ago. The university’s undergraduate chapter of the global Society of Women Engineers celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. But progress toward greater gender diversity accelerated in 2000, when an anonymous donor gave the university $20 million to support women in science and engineering. This spawned the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) program, an effort to increase the number of women in faculty positions and build a supportive research environment usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:34 AM

at USC. WiSE provides supplemental funding—a way to offset subtle barriers and career interruptions such as parental leave support and caring for young children that have been shown to hinder the advancement of female faculty—as well as a sense of community with other women in science and engineering. At the same time, the school’s leadership began to reshape the makeup of its faculty. When current USC President C. L. Max Nikias became dean of the engineering school in 2001, he quickly invited Matarić to lunch to discuss how USC Viterbi could recruit more women. “It really made me feel valued,” she says. The quest to recruit engineers from a broad array of backgrounds continues under Nikias’ successor as dean, Yannis C. Yortsos. If a department has a position to fill, Yortsos expects that outstanding engineers who are women or underrepresented minorities will make up at least a third of the list of candidates. When female faculty candidates visit the campus, they meet with Leana Golubchik, WiSE’s director and a professor of computer science and electrical engineering, or another WiSE representative to hear about what USC offers and to ask questions. One particular concern is that because women in academia often have partners who are also academics, recruits must find two professor positions in the same town. WiSE can help reach out to other USC departments to see if there are opportunities for a candidate’s spouse or partner. And if USC Viterbi wants to hire a woman, WiSE helps make the offer very competitive, making sure the candidate’s requirements for resources like lab equipment and staff are met. Since 2005, 28 percent of USC Viterbi’s new hires have been women. WiSE supports faculty with programs including networking events, travel funding and subsidies for child care. WiSE has been so successful, say both Golubchik and Matarić, because it’s run by the female faculty. “We know what we need,” Matarić says.

Funny Stuff An artificial intelligence engineer arrives at an exclusive nightclub with a self-driving car, confounding the club’s valet. A rising biomedical engineering star makes a secret trip to Miami with her “squad,” hinting on Twitter that she’s onto a big breakthrough to preserve memories in people with Alzheimer’s. And a computer-security expert promises paparazzi, “I’ve been hitting the research facility day and night to release my next intelligent throttling system”—before pausing for a selfie with an adoring fan. That’s what might happen in the universe imagined in a video co-produced by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and comedy website Funny or Die, aiming to attract more middle and high school kids to engineering. “What if E! Network existed for engineering? A network 24/7 devoted to breathless coverage of engineers,” says Adam Smith, director of content at USC Viterbi. In answer, the video (at www.funnyordie.com/ uscviterbi) depicts a fictional network called E-Net Studios. The projects featured in the video come from real-life USC Viterbi engineers— Terry Benzel, a cybersecurity researcher; Theodore Berger, who has designed implants to help restore long-term memory; and Jeffrey Miller, an expert in driverless cars. Viewers loved the concept. The video was viewed more than 300,000 times, and Google, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and NASA all shared it with their followers. “Wouldn’t it be great,” asks Smith, “if there actually was a network like this?”

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 42

Those female faculty, leading research teams and teaching courses, in turn inspire the next generation of engineers. Having female mentors makes a difference, says Justine Cocchi ’16, who served as president of USC’s Society of Women Engineers chapter. “Seeing that there were women professors here, too, was definitely inspiring,” says Cocchi, who begins work at Microsoft’s Marina Del Rey office this summer. PRIMING THE STUDENT PIPELINE One of the greatest barriers to increasing diversity in engineering is getting kids excited about the field at a young age. Yortsos says part of the way to recruit diverse students is to highlight the societal impact of the issues engineers can address. In 2008, the National Academy of Engineering announced 14 “grand challenges” for the field of engineering—such as making solar energy affordable and helping people access clean water. “When you tell people that these are the challenges engineers solve, and show the important societal impact they have, they look at engineering in a different way,” Yortsos says. “This is a message that resonates very well with traditionally underrepresented groups in engineering, particularly women.” Adds Yortsos: “You also have to make sure that kids from the elementary school level on can see themselves contributing to our world as engineers or scientists.” To do so, USC Viterbi and student organizations sponsor events that invite girls (and boys) to the University Park Campus to build racecars, eat ice cream made with dry ice, experiment with 3-D printing, or compete in robot contests. The school also runs a coding camp, free for students in need, that enrolls two girls for every boy. Student engineering groups reach out too, bringing middle-school girls to labs and lunch at USC. “Introduce A Girl to Engineering Day,” held annually during National Engineers Week in February, is also designed for girls in middle school. Then comes high school and the college application race. To encourage talented young women to apply to the engineering school, USC Viterbi’s admissions office highlights successful female professors, alumnae and students through blogs, online chats and podcasts. And their recruiting materials use a tagline that underscores their message: “Women and engineering, we just go together.” At the graduate level, USC Viterbi invites underrepresented students, including women and minorities, for guided previews of what the school has to offer. Recruits tour the labs and meet graduate students and staff in the engineering school, including some of the female faculty who could be their future mentors. “That definitely makes them feel like they could see themselves here at USC, because women here are accomplishing great things,” says Kelly Goulis, senior associate dean for graduate and professional programs. WiSE also steps in to support top admitted students with extra stipends. The outreach efforts extend nationwide to try to counter perceptions of engineering as a male-dominated discipline. In 2015, USC partnered with the National Academy of Engineering and the MacGyver Foundation (remember the 1980’s TV hero who could escape any sticky situation with engineering know-how?) to promote female engineers through entertainment. The Next summer 2016

6/4/16 11:34 AM

Yannis C. Yortsos, left, and Louise Yates have seen female engineers become a force at USC.

PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS

MacGyver Competition invited pitches for television shows that would star tech-minded women as heroines. Winning pitches—including a high school dramedy and a World War II drama—drew prizes and mentoring from successful producers to develop the ideas. RETENTION By 2005, women comprised a quarter of the engineering majors at USC Viterbi, and numbers were growing. But “to keep them in engineering, you have to provide resources,” says Louise Yates, the school’s senior associate dean for admissions and student affairs. So the school launched the Women In Engineering (WIE) program, an umbrella for activities to recruit and support female engineers. WIE partners with academic advisors and student organizations to support engagement and retention of female students. A decade later, the efforts are paying off. Of the undergraduate women who enroll at USC Viterbi, 73 percent graduate with an engineering degree, much higher than the national figure of 61 percent, according to a pilot study by the American Society for Engineering Education. And today, 70 percent of the leaders within USC Viterbi student organizations are women. “Our female students are quite frankly a force within the student body,” Yates says. To help retain female students, WIE staff advise student organizations, and also act as a support structure for women. One of the most important things USC women derive from these organizations is a sense of belonging. It can be tough to be the only woman on an engineering project or in a group, points out Ruyan Chen ’16, who served on the board of USC’s Association for Computing Machinery and will start a position at Google in September. When she was the first woman to arrive in an electrical engineering lab class, “I felt really alone for a moment,” she remembers. In addition to mentoring and professional development events such as meet-and-greets with industry professionals, WIE programs promote networking through events like coffee socials for grad students. And student organizations sponsor alumnae events, ice cream socials, hikes and other get-togethers to help engineering students connect and make the sustaining friendships they need. Sometimes you just need a friend to lend a sympathetic ear when you’re struggling through a problem, says Farzana Ansari ’09. “I learned what a good mentor was at USC; I learned what having a good community means at USC,” says Ansari, who held various positions in USC’s Society of Women Engineers chapter. Armed with that experience, she sought out similar support in her graduate program at UC Berkeley. Now she’s a technical consultant at Exponent in Menlo Park, California. tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 43

Watch USC Viterbi engineers getting the celebrity treatment at funnyordie.com/uscviterbi.

Of course, women aren’t the only underrepresented group in engineering. The Society of Women Engineers chapter, part of WIE, works with USC Viterbi’s Center for Engineering Diversity, which includes organizations devoted to African Americans, Latinos, minority graduate students and LGBTQ engineers. The center offers students a place to work or relax, build a community, and find career advice for life after graduation. Working alongside students of different backgrounds helped her understand people better, Ansari says. Over time, not only have the faces of engineering students become more diverse, but the environment has also changed, Yates says. A decade ago, she would hear complaints from female students who felt like their comments were ignored in classroom discussions, but that doesn’t come up much anymore, she says. Chen, who graduated in May, says classmates always listened to her when they were working on class projects. “They respect you for the work you do, not how loud you talk,” she says. Women in engineering at USC now go out into the world not only in greater numbers, but also with great experience. Students in organizations like Women in Computing and Girls in Tech give Trojans the opportunity to flex their leadership muscles, and that exercise comes in handy, says Amy Lin ’08, MS ’09, a former president of USC’s Society of Women Engineers chapter. “It’s almost like being a little entrepreneur, without realizing you’re doing it, as a student,” says Lin, who started and sold her own education technology company, Blendspace, since graduating. “Having that practice as a college student set a tremendous strong foundation for me in my professional life.” That self-confidence and experience matters. Nationally, one in five of every engineering school graduates is a woman, yet only about one in 10 ever go on to work in engineering. Many of these women report that they avoided working within the discipline because they believe it’s inflexible or its culture is unsupportive of women, according to a National Science Foundation-University of Wisconsin Milwaukee report. But the more women enter the ranks of professional engineering, the more they can support each other, contribute, see their place in the culture and transform it. With all this support for women engineers at USC, are men left out? “The most common question I get from guys is, ‘Can I join?’” says senior Sydney Forsyth, president of the USC Society of Women Engineers. “My answer is always, ‘Yes, of course you can join, we’re not exclusive. As long as you believe in the ideas of the Society of Women Engineers that you’re empowering women and you’re encouraging women to go into this field, then you’re absolutely welcome to join.’ We love the spirit.” usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:01 PM

Safe at Home â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and Away Earthquakes. Tsunamis. Cybercrime. USC researchers seek out threats to public safety in the Pacific Rim and share their answers with the world. B Y

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 44

S U S A N

B E L L

summer 2016

6/13/16 3:01 PM

Faults Earthquakes > 3.0 1991–2002 Earthquakes > 3.0 2002–2007 Earthquakes > 3.0 2007–2012 Earthquakes > 3.0 2012–2016

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 45

6/4/16 11:35 AM

TRACKING TREMORS In 2015, more than 43 million people worldwide—and more than 10 million in California alone—registered for the ShakeOut to improve their earthquake preparedness. The Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills, coordinated globally by SCEC, prepare people for future earthquakes through community-based rehearsals of survival tactics. Not surprisingly, many Pacific Rim nations are signing up to participate. After all, this 25,000-mile-long horseshoeshaped zone isn’t dubbed the “Ring of Fire” for nothing. About 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur in this region, which is also home to 452 volcanoes. A nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs and belts and tectonic plate movements make it geologically volatile. “As a major research university located on the Pacific Rim’s eastern edge, USC is ideally placed to lead efforts to help the region prepare for inevitable disasters,” says SCEC Director Thomas Jordan, University Professor, holder of the William M. Keck Foundation Chair in Geological Sciences and professor of earth sciences. Led by USC, SCEC is a collaboration of more than 60 institutions, including Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 46

Technology, Columbia, Stanford and Caltech. But their efforts go beyond drills. They also hunt for seismology’s holy grail: more accurate earthquake prediction. “SCEC is piloting the development of earthquake forecasting, not only in California, but around the world,” Jordan says. Through the Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake Predictability, launched by SCEC in 2006 with support from the W. M. Keck Foundation, geoscientists are using carefully designed experiments to test earthquake forecasting models in different types of fault systems. Until now, the study of earthquake prediction has been hampered by the lack of an adequate experimental infrastructure. To remedy that, SCEC is working with its international partners to develop a distributed virtual laboratory that can support global research. Using software developed at SCEC, more than 400 models are now being tested worldwide, enabling scientists to compare earthquakes in different fault zones and tectonic environments. Jordan’s team also is trying to understand aftershocks—why some earthquakes produce swarms of them and some not as many—by examining aftershock sequences in California, Japan and New Zealand. That has real-world import: After the 2011 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand, an aftershock wreaked more damage than the original quake. In the case of earthquakes, information means power. That’s what’s behind SCEC’s partnership with the University of Tokyo’s Earthquake Research Institute and the Disaster Prevention Institute at the University of Kyoto. Through their Virtual Institute for the Study of Earthquake Systems, they look for areas in Japan and the United States at high risk for quake damage. Los Angeles and Tokyo share a lot in common. “Like Tokyo, Los Angeles is situated in a vast sedimentary basin, which shakes like a bowl of Jell-O during earthquakes,” Jordan says. “When earthquake ruptures occur, they feed energy into those basins, causing destructive ground motion.” SCEC scientists model these seismic

waves and factor them into their hazard calculations, which they’re sharing with their Japanese colleagues. This is especially important to public safety in Tokyo and the Kanto Basin, home to nearly a third of Japan’s people. Says Jordan: “SCEC is unique in its ability to bring people together around the Pacific Rim to focus on how to best predict earthquakes and protect populations against the destruction they cause.” FLOOD INSURANCE Earthquakes are bad enough, but the tsunamis they can trigger have potential to cause even wider devastation, as demonstrated by the 2011 quake in Japan. Civil engineer Costas Synolakis of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering wasn’t surprised at the damage wrought by that quake’s resulting tsunami. Synolakis leads a team at USC’s Tsunami Research Center that developed computer models used operationally by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to forecast tsunamis in the Pacific from warning stations in Alaska, Hawaii and Australia. “We can expect a tsunami in the Pacific every two years, sometimes once a year,” Synolakis says. “Ten years ago there were no real-time forecasts of where or when a tsunami would strike. Now, thanks to improved forecasting tools developed here at USC, more targeted evacuations are possible.” Since 1992, Synolakis has led 20 post-tsunami reconnaissance surveys in the Pacific Rim, visiting Nicaragua, the Solomon Islands, Peru, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Japan, Thailand, Samoa, Chile and the Easter Islands. The investigators go far beyond forecasting: They also educate. “We visit communities, study what happened and teach locals simple steps to protect themselves,” he says. These lessons save lives. When a 7.3 earthquake hit the South Pacific island of Vanuatu in 1999, residents remembered what they had learned from a 45-minute documentary on tsunamis based largely on USC’s research work and filmed on campus. “Everyone self-evacuated, because after seeing our documentary they knew if they felt the earth shake, they had to run to

PHOTO BY THE ASAHI SHIMBUN/GETTY IMAGES; PREVIOUS PAGE: MAP COURTESY OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE CENTER

Not far from Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, an alarm pierces the air. At a nearby elementary school, hundreds of Japanese children drop to the floor, scramble beneath their desks and hold on for dear life. It’s March 9, 2012, two days before the first anniversary of the disastrous 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in which more than 15,000 people died. Thankfully, this time the “drop, cover and hold” response is just a drill—with more than 158,000 participants taking part in the first Japanese ShakeOut. Developed by the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) housed at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the ShakeOut program is one of many ways USC is working to keep the people of the Pacific Rim safe, whether from natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis or man-made threats such as cybercrime.

summer 2016

6/4/16 11:35 AM

USC researchers are on a mission to help Pacific Rim nations prepare for natural disasters like the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which killed more than 15,00 people.

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 47

usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:35 AM

Faults in Our Midst James Dolan charts Southland geology so Angelenos can prepare for the next big quake. Beneath Los Angeles rise peaks of staggering height—an unnamed mountain range standing nearly 2 miles tall. Though they rival the San Gabriels in stature, you can’t see them: They’re entombed beneath sand and gravel deposited over millennia by countless floods. But James Dolan knows where they are. Dolan is a professor of Earth sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He describes himself as an earthquake geologist. But he’s perhaps best

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 48

understood as a sort of geologic detective. Below this metropolis of some 18 million people, two pieces of the earth’s crust grind past each other. A kink in the boundary between those two plates, an S-shaped curve in the San Andreas Fault, compresses and fractures the rocks beneath Southern California. One such fracture heaved up the San Gabriel Mountains. Another slices through the city in an almost unbroken line from Malibu to Pasadena. Yet another lurks deep below the San Fernando Valley, unknown to geologists until it suddenly announced itself on Jan. 17, 1994, through the deadly Northridge earthquake. The Southland is shifting in ways we’re only beginning to understand. “At the end of my career, I want to look back and say that I had a leading role in generating the data that allows us to create a time-space movie of how all the faults on the plate boundary are moving relative to one another,” Dolan says. “We’re right at the cusp of being able to see patterns emerge.”

NATHAN MASTERS

PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS

More Online James Dolan was part of the team that identified what may be LA’s gravest seismic threat: the Puente Hills blind thrust fault. Read about that fault and Dolan’s other takes on quakes, all exclusively online at tfm.usc.edu.

Angelenos have long heard warnings about “The Big One.” But in 1995, a paper on which Dolan was the senior author raised major concerns about earthquakes along little-known urban faults under Los Angeles. Since then, much of his work has focused on finding those faults and measuring their potential impact. It’s extremely difficult, Dolan says. “They’ve got a city plopped on top of them.” Ideally, Dolan studies a fault by digging a trench in the ground. He looks for discontinuities in layers of soil, sand and stone. By measuring that offset, he can determine how often the fault slips and by how much. Researchers at the Southern California Earthquake Center, which is headquartered at USC, use the information to help estimate quake risk. But property owners don’t usually invite geologists to poke around their yards. “Most faults in urbanized areas require that you dig up streets or wait until a building is torn down to look at the foundation excavations,” Dolan says. “Permitting takes forever.” Even without digging, Dolan sees subtle clues in the land. “Many parts of the city that these faults traverse were developed quite early in the teens and ’20s before the advent of mechanized grading equipment. So rather than just flattening the landscape to build, we draped the city over the existing landscape.” From his office, where maps cover nearly every wall and table, Dolan looks for clues in aerial photos, U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps and even Google Earth. In his early fault-mapping years, Dolan, an avid cyclist, resorted to geologic reconnaissance on two wheels. He rode his bicycle to help map the Santa Monica and Hollywood faults. “It’s amazing how that can attune your perception of very fine changes in grade— quarter-of-percent changes,” Dolan says. “It’s an effective means of seeing these subtle upwarps [elevated areas of the earth’s surface] that can be related to active faulting.” A gentle grade could signal that he was climbing an alluvial fan—a collection of sand, gravel and other sediments that spilled out of the Santa Monica Mountains. A more pronounced slope might indicate a fault scarp—a vertical, cliff-like feature where past earthquakes heaved up land on one side of the fault. But some faults are visible to the untrained eye, too. Take the Santa Monica Fault. For a mile or so, the fault reveals itself as an obvious south-facing scarp—a sudden 7- to 12-meter rise—along the north side of Santa Monica Boulevard. The fault scarp determined the path of the boulevard, he says. Dolan was among the first to map both the Santa Monica and Hollywood faults, and the findings are of more than strictly academic interest. Since 1972, California law has banned construction of new buildings directly atop an active fault’s surface trace, and for good reason. If a strip-strike fault like the Santa Monica or Hollywood were to rupture in an earthquake, the ground would be torn in two, with the two sides rushing past each other at speeds of several thousand miles per hour. Anything built on the fault would be cut in half. Based on Dolan’s studies, the California Geological Survey has been developing official, definitive charts of the Hollywood and Santa Monica fault zones—maps that will save lives and property by steering development away from active fault traces.

summer 2016

6/13/16 3:02 PM

PHOTO BY STEPHEN MORTON/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

high ground,” Synolakis says. “So although the tsunami struck at night, wiping out a village that was home to 300 people, all but two residents survived.” The same scenario played out when a tsunami triggered by the 2010 Chilean earthquake hit Juan Fernandez, also known as Robinson Crusoe Island. Residents knew to self-evacuate, largely after an outreach campaign led by USC a decade earlier. Synolakis’ goal is to reduce local warning time on tsunamis to less than 10 minutes following a quake, and to produce location-specific warnings. “It’s one thing to put all of Southern California on tsunami alert, and wait and wait and then cancel, and it’s another to broadcast an announcement in ample time, at specific locales, saying, ‘A 40-foot tsunami is coming, evacuate now!’ That’s what we’re working toward—targeted warnings with real-time flooding maps.” But sometimes the most damaging part of a tsunami comes later than you’d think. Following a 1960 Chilean earthquake, the resulting tsunami that hit Hilo, Hawaii, produced its biggest wave an hour after the first. By that time, officials had allowed evacuated residents to return home, and 61 people perished in the confusion. Today, with knowledge from computer modeling, authorities may be able to make more informed decisions about public safety. HOW TO FOIL CYBERCRIME In the months after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami rocked Japan, residents faced another insidious threat: cybercrime. Emails pummeled inboxes with viruses and search engines funneled computer-users to infected websites. It’s the kind of attack USC’s Terry Benzel has come to expect. At USC’s DETERLab, Benzel leads efforts to advance the science of cybersecurity, including developing sophisticated tools and methodologies for researchers. As the Pacific Rim expands its com-

munications infrastructure, hackers and spammers are looking for vulnerabilities, says Benzel, deputy director of the Internet and Networked Systems division at the USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI). “The DETERLab can model and analyze new systems and technology to protect against cybercrime and validate new solutions to ensure maximum data protection and internet security even in the event of natural disasters, like earthquakes.” It’s especially critical in Japan, where police in 2014 launched a national cybercrime task force. Hacking there is such a

problem that simply creating a computer virus can land a person three years in jail. Cybersecurity is a key area where Japan and the U.S. are deepening their military partnership. In new security guidelines released last year, the U.S. will extend its cyber defense umbrella over Japan, helping its Pacific Rim ally cope with the growing threat of online attacks against military bases and infrastructure such as power grids. Japan’s cybersecurity chief admitted the nation lags behind the U.S. in combatting the problem, but partnerships like the one with DETERLab could help. The Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the Nara Institute of Science and Technology and the University of Tokyo collaborate with the DETERLab to advance cybersecurity in the Pacific Rim. They created and can share a large-scale

testbed facility where they can test security. “For a 2012–2013 National Science Foundation-funded project, we connected the DETERLab with Japan’s StarBED testbed,” Benzel says. “We run distributed experiments, bringing leading-edge tools and experimental methodologies to researchers in both countries.” Benzel’s collaborators in Japan are working hard to keep the internet functioning in the face of natural disasters or cyberattacks. “If a tsunami knocks out a large chunk of the internet, they want to be able to continue to use the net to support rescue operations. Similarly, if a botnet disables key sites, the rest of the internet should continue to be useful to people,” she says. Working with USC, Japanese researchers have studied two major problems: how to keep website names correct (DNS security) and how to rapidly re-route connections between browsers and sites when physical connections are failing (internet routing). DNS security is important because it ensures that you can find websites and services on the internet, and that they can’t be “spoofed”—used as seemingly innocent disguises for malicious purposes. All of this work is aimed at creating a resilient internet. “To solve [these potential problems] you need to consider how large numbers of computers will react when bad things happen,” Benzel says. “Testbeds let us watch hundreds of thousands of computers at once and make bad things happen to them under careful control.” Using DETERLab and the StarBED testbeds together “lets us study solutions to these problems in a much bigger world and with more interesting complications than either of us could do alone,” Benzel says. “The Japanese have key insights from their recent physical disasters and USC/ISI has experience creating the large worlds and connecting facilities. “Together we are able to attack these key problems in ways no one else can.”

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 49

6/4/16 11:35 AM

Meet four USC educators and researchers whose pasts motivate them to make a difference for others.

Do What Matters BY D I AN E K R IE G E R P H O T O GR AP HY BY CODY P IC K E NS

Police kicked down the door to Jody Armourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family home in Akron, Ohio, late one night in 1967. As an 8-year-old boy, he watched blearyeyed as they wrestled his father to the ground and shackled him. He would not see his dad freed from prison until he was a teenager. That dark night not only traumatized the Armour family; it also gave young Jody a mission in life. He would grow up to become a pioneer in spotlighting racial disparities in the criminal justice system; a vocal ally of the Black Lives Matter movement; a national thought-leader on law, language and philosophy; and a consensus-builder on diversity issues at USC. Today, Armour (right) is the Roy P. Crocker Professor at the USC Gould School of Law. Each day, the students in his criminal law class bear witness to his inspirational journey. There are others like Armour at USC. Professors who can directly trace their lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work back to a moment of passionate clarity. Often, though not always, the moment is painful or unjust. But armed with imagination and intellect, they draw strength from personal experiences to make a difference in the world. These are four of their stories.

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 50

summer 2016

6/4/16 11:35 AM

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 51

usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:35 AM

Journey to Justice

“Through wordwork alone, [my father] was able to find the key to his jail cell. That stuck with me.” JODY ARMOUR

As the police searched his family’s apartment for drugs, young Jody Armour felt certain his dad would have the last laugh. A proud World War II vet who had fought at Iwo Jima, and the owner-manager of several family-run apartment buildings, Fred Armour was an upstanding citizen. In late 1960s Akron, the barrel-chested, 6-foot-8-inches tall man stood out. For some, he also stood out in a way that they didn’t like: He was a black man married to a vibrant, red-haired white Irish Catholic woman. “This was very transgressive of the social norms of the day, and upsetting to people,” Jody Armour says. The mixed-race family—his mother, Rose Anne, had three white children from a previous marriage, as well as five children with Fred Armour—attracted stares and sneers on Main Street. “‘Nigga lover,’ that’s what I heard them call my mom so much,” he says. The ugly racial slur would become the initial working title for his forthcoming book, the culmination of 15 years of scholarship on race, language, law and ethics. Fred Armour had no prior criminal record, but during that 3 a.m. raid, police purportedly “found” a 5-pound bag of marijuana in the kitchen cupboard. Based on this material evidence, the testimony of two drug users facing possession charges, and false statements from the prosecutor, Fred Armour was sentenced to 22 to 55 years in prison. Determined to prove his innocence, he taught himself criminal law and procedure from books in the warden’s library. He became a skilled jailhouse lawyer and in his defense he crafted a novel legal theory— one upheld by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court in Armour v. Salisbury—barring prosecutors from deliberately misleading a jury. After six years behind bars, Fred Armour won his freedom—and helped a dozen other inmates gain their own release as well. In his absence, the family unraveled and plunged into poverty. But young Jody caught a break: He qualified for a national scholarship program for disadvantaged youths that sent him to a first-rate boarding school in Philadelphia, where he thrived. He went on to study philosophy and sociology at Harvard, then law at UC Berkeley.

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 52

His dad’s ordeal had left Jody Armour embittered but it also instilled in him the power of words. “All he had, between him and rotting in a jail cell for life, was this typewriter—which I still have—and these words,” he says of his father. “Through word-work alone, he was able to find the key to his jail cell. “That stuck with me.” Today, Jody Armour teaches his father’s case in his criminal law course. He also publishes extensively and is a leading media expert on racial injustice in the criminal justice system. His 1997 book Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism anticipated many of the Black Lives Matter movement’s arguments. Now his forthcoming book takes those ideas to the next level, drawing on a USC Gould course he teaches on law, language and ethics. Last fall, as diversity and free speech issues swept across the nation and college campuses including USC, Armour brought his expertise to bear on USC’s newly formed Provost’s Diversity Task Force. The 10-member working group—made up of students, faculty and administrators—has gathered twice weekly since last November, single-mindedly focused on improving USC’s culture of inclusivity. Armour volunteered to serve in the group and has been praised for bringing unity and openness to the effort. “This is a moment unlike any I have seen in the 20-plus years I have been in academia and around cultural and racial issues,” Armour says. “USC has benefited from having students who are dialed into the zeitgeist with calls for more diversity, inclusion and social and racial justice. But we also have a convergence of those student sentiments with equally strong sentiments by the university leadership. I am skeptical by nature, but what I’ve seen this year is a real basis for optimism going forward.” The injustice of Fred Armour’s years in an Ohio penitentiary can’t be undone. But his legacy—marshaling words in the quest for racial justice—wins new victories every day through his son.

summer 2016

6/13/16 3:40 PM

Coming Home Nicole Esparza never knew her grandparents. They kicked their pregnant 16-year-old daughter out of the house before Esparza was born. But she knows homelessness: She bounced between rescue missions and emergency shelters in Oakland, California, as a child. She also knows the foster care system. Esparza’s mother, pressed to choose between her boyfriend and the child he didn’t want to raise, handed the girl over to the county social services agency when she was 5. Esparza spent six frightening months in an institution for homeless youths. Four kids to a room. Bullying and fights. No privacy. Then something amazing happened: On the very first try, she was placed with the perfect foster family. She finally knew love. Trish and Will Esparza desperately wanted children but couldn’t have any of their own. They came to adore their foster kids and adopted all three. “My story is a happy one,” says Esparza, an assistant professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy, where she directs the graduate program in nonprofit leadership and management. “It’s easy to say the system isn’t working and sometimes hard to see when it does work. I can honestly say it worked for me.” Everyday routines that other kids took for granted were precious to Esparza: flute lessons, playing on the basketball team, just being part of a family. “What I loved most about my childhood is that we would always eat dinner together and then watch TV. ” Money was tight and her dad worked two shifts and lots of overtime cleaning planes for United Airlines. Her mom juggled parenting with part-time clerk jobs. Once Esparza was old enough to work at the mall, she pitched in to help pay the mortgage. They came close to defaulting several times, but they never moved, Esparza says proudly. “No matter what, we were always able to somehow keep our house.” For someone born into homelessness, that was huge. There were other struggles, though. Their Oakland neighborhood was plagued with gang violence, and her brother spent time in juvenile lockup. Esparza, a top student, was the only one in the family to earn a high school diploma and go on to college. One of Esparza’s first classes at UC Berkeley focused on homelessness. The course required an internship, so she made a brave choice. She returned to the transitional youth center she’d been assigned to after her birth mother relinquished her. Counseling teens, Esparza was struck by their resilience. “I can’t imagine myself being that strong,” she says, “but I must have been.” Esparza volunteered at the center throughout college and remained as a paid staff member for five more years until she headed to graduate school in sociology at Princeton. She later had a two-year stint as a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar at Harvard. Now Esparza is on a mission to discover what works in social services, and why. Inside the plans and tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 53

year-end reports of rescue missions, homeless and domestic violence shelters and food banks, she believes, lies the key to social progress. “The reason I’m interested in organizational structure,” she says, “is because it can work, and I want to see what is it that makes it work. How can we tinker to make it work better?” In her latest journal article, she argues for finding “The reason I’m permanent homes for the homeless. “We put money interested in into temporary housing, emergency shelters and tran- organizational sitional places, but it doesn’t solve anything,” she says. structure is “Now we’re realizing the homeless would do a lot better if they didn’t have to come back day after day.” because it can She stays connected with foster-care trends as a work, and you much-requested graduate advisor at USC Price and want to see the USC School of Social Work, where she serves on what is it that 10 dissertation committees. “This is why I really like working at USC,” she says. “I’m a bridge between makes it work.” people who do housing and people who do policy.” Today, Esparza lives near Los Angeles’ Skid Row N I C O L E with her 8-year-old daughter. “Frances is the only E S P A R Z A person in my life who I’m actually blood-related to. My daughter acts exactly like me, thinks exactly like me.” There’s one big difference. Though her daughter has learned all about homelessness, she’s never had to experience it firsthand. usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:35 AM

Hope for Healing

“Almost every day, when I wake up, this is the question I ask: What can I do today to find a cure for this devastating disease?” JÁNOS PETIPETERDI

Some people are born to be doctors, but János Peti-Peterdi’s destiny was much more specific. “My fate—to perform kidney research—was determined before I was born,” says the renowned kidney disease expert and renal physiologist. From childhood, he was driven to find a cure for chronic kidney disease—the life-threatening condition that afflicted his mother, Erzsébet Vármos. Their story begins in the family home in Csurgó, Hungary, where his mother caught strep throat as a teenager. Unfortunately the complications went undetected and untreated, leading to severe kidney damage. “It’s a miracle she survived,” says Peti-Peterdi, a professor of physiology and biophysics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “Even my birth was a miracle.” Newly married and expecting her first child, his mother was admitted to the regional hospital with acute kidney disease. Doctors terminated her pregnancy and offered bleak hope for recovery. “They were actually running human experiments on her in the basement,” says her son, his voice rising with indignation. Dialysis hadn’t reached Hungary yet in the early 1960s, and there were no known therapies for kidney failure. But the thought of physicians expos-

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 54

ing her to random drugs still enrages Peti-Peterdi. Luckily his mother was—and still is—a fighter. Late one night, she disconnected her tubes and escaped by train to a more enlightened nephrology clinic in Budapest, where months of superior care stabilized her. She would go on to have two healthy pregnancies, and both of her children ultimately became physicians. There would be more relapses and hospital stays—lasting months, sometimes a year. At home, she suffered from debilitating fatigue. But her husband and children adored her. “My mother was always the center, the strength, the engine of our family,” he says. As a young boy, Peti-Peterdi made rounds on the farm collecting blood samples from frogs, chickens and rabbits. He would examine them under a microscope, dreaming of someday curing his mother’s disease. Today, his lab still uses microscopes, but they’ve advanced since his childhood. His high-tech scopes enable him to see living kidney tissue from mice— healthy and diseased—in great detail and in three dimensions. Observation is key, because the healthy kidney has the ability to repair itself. “We would like to better understand how that intrinsic repair happens, and see if we can augment that, maybe even cause a regression of kidney disease. That’s our concept,” he explains. A third of all patients with diabetes develop kidney disease, he says, as do many people with metabolic disorders, immune and inflammatory diseases or hypertension. Two National Institutes of Health grants worth about $5 million support his work. In 2015, he received the Young Investigator Award of the American Society of Nephrology and the Council on the Kidney of the American Heart Association. As for his mother’s journey, it still isn’t over. After enduring every complication from chronic kidney disease, she reached the end stage as her son was finishing medical school. “She’s a survivor,” Peti-Peterdi says. “That’s the bottom line. Every single one of these complications is life-threatening. People usually die.” His mother was approved for a kidney transplant in 1995, when her son was already working as a nurse at the Budapest clinic where she would receive her donor organ. With the new kidney, everything changed. “She became a normal, healthy person. The kidney works perfectly after 21 years,” he says. But five years ago, she abruptly sank into dementia, believed to be a result of the many kidney-related complications she endured. At age 73, she no longer recognizes her family. But Peti-Peterdi soldiers on. Though the once-precarious condition of his mother’s kidneys no longer keeps Peti-Peterdi up at night, his mission hasn’t changed. His team is developing a new concept and therapeutic approach that he believes will lead to a breakthrough. “Almost every day, when I wake up, this is the question I ask: What can I do today to find a cure for this devastating disease?” summer 2016

6/4/16 11:35 AM

A Call for Compassion Though she was born in London and spent her teens and early 20s in Canada, Ruth C. White speaks with a lilting accent that is unmistakably Jamaican. So it was little wonder she felt drawn to the young Jamaican man named Everton who was her coworker at a trendy Ottawa clothing store. They became close friends. “I was the keeper of his secrets,” says White, a clinical associate professor at the USC School of Social Work. Few others in their Afro-Caribbean expat community knew Everton was gay, and today, she doesn’t disclose his last name out of a wish for privacy. When Everton fell sick in the 1980s, there was no name yet for his disease, but White had read about the illness devastating so many gay men. Within a few months, Everton had died. At the funeral their mutual friends grilled White for information. She kept her silence. “Jamaicans have a history of vehement anti-gay sentiment,” she says. “I felt if he didn’t tell them in life, I shouldn’t tell them in death.” Later she heard that his family had burned Everton’s belongings. White’s crusade for the health and dignity of Jamaican homosexuals began that day. She returned to college and became a social worker in Toronto’s juvenile prison system. Wanting to make a difference on a policy level, she pursued a PhD in social welfare and a master’s in global public health at the University of California, Berkeley. The ravages of HIV/AIDS were in plain view where she lived in San Francisco during the 1990s, but White’s dissertation took her back to Kingston, Jamaica, where gays still lived in closeted obscurity. Hardly any public health data existed on the island’s LGBT community, so she set about gathering dozens of case studies in focus groups and one-on-one interviews. As White listened to their stories, she realized she was looking at a “whole bunch of Evertons. I felt like literally I was working for Everton.” Marginalized in Jamaican society, some LGBT people endured abysmal living conditions, she says, even dwelling in caves. White’s findings attracted international attention. HIV-prevention research grants and consulting jobs took her around the world. Pro-bono legal defense teams from American law schools solicited her expert testimony for gay Jamaicans seeking asylum. Success led her to a tenure-track job at Seattle University. All the while, White was wrestling with a serious health problem of her own. Having long ignored the encroaching signs of bipolar disorder, after her daughter was born in 1997 White fell into deep postpartum depression. “I was in a dark hole for about a year,” she says. She waited five years before furtively trying talk therapy and then starting medication. It wasn’t enough. Fearful she might harm herself or her daughter, White voluntarily admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital. There, she came to realize that with mental illness, as with HIV infection, hiding and silence are actually tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 55

high-risk public health behaviors. So she told her own story. “There was a whole body of literature about coming out in the classroom as gay, but there was nothing about mental illness,” she says. White bravely penned a chapter in a scholarly text detailing the struggles of mental health practitioners who suffer from mental illness. She went on to write two popular books on bipolar disorder from a firstperson perspective. She blogs on culture and mental “I had to put health for Psychology Today. myself out In her forthcoming book, White takes on the there and be mantle of “health coach” and lays out her holistic system honest about for managing chronic mental illness using “an immunization model” geared toward prevention rather than [my mental treatment. She manages her own symptoms with illness], which medication, talk therapy and her holistic approach. was challengA member of USC’s faculty since 2013, White ing for me.” lives in Oakland, California and teaches remotely for the School of Social Work’s online program. Her work lets her reach students all over the country without the R U T H W H I T E travel-related stress that can trigger her disease. Looking back, White sees a thread connecting her first inspiration—championing Everton and other gay Jamaicans—and her public battle with bipolar disorder. Her life’s work boils down to a simple imperative: Break the silence. usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:03 PM

2016 USC Football Weekenders That’s all you need to know to join us on the road this fall for the 2016 USC Football Weekenders. Our three official Weekenders will take place in Arlington, Texas (University of Alabama), the Bay Area (Stanford University), and Seattle (University of Washington)—with local USC alumni clubs hosting activities in Salt Lake City and Tucson. Make your Weekender plans today at weekenders.usc.edu

ALABAMA 9.3.16

STANFORD 9.17.16

ARIZONA 10.15.16

UTAH 9.23.16

WASHINGTON 11.12.16

ALUMNI.USC.EDU | ALUMNI@USC.EDU | TEL: 213 740 2300

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 56

6/4/16 11:35 AM

FA M I LY

PHOTO BY JAMES SCHNEPF

MR. MIDCENTURY MODERN If you’ve been to Palm Springs, you've likely seen the creations of William Krisel ’49, whose elegant brand of California 50s and 60s homes brought cool into the heat of the desert. Modernism devotees paid tribute to the prolific architect at the USC Architectural Guild’s Annual Dinner in May benefiting the USC School of Architecture.

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 57

usc trojan family

6/14/16 1:15 PM

family news

The Honor of Service The USC Alumni Association recognizes USC Trustee and Marine Corps veteran William Schoen. by lynn lipinski Veterans who pursue a college degree after deployment often face much different challenges than the typical undergrad. USC Trustee William J. Schoen ’60, MBA ’63 understands that firsthand. The former Marine platoon sergeant worked full time to support a young family while studying at the USC Marshall School of Business. Since then, Schoen and his wife, Sharon, continue to demonstrate their unwavering commitment to veterans and others through several family-oriented programs. The Schoen Family Scholarship Program for Veterans Endowment at USC William Heeres PharmD ’63 Alumni Service Award; USC School of Pharmacy Board of Councilors Scott A. Stone ’79 Alumni Merit Award; award-winning television producer

USC Trustee William Schoen ’60, MBA ’63 was honored with the Asa V. Call Alumni Achievement Award at the 83rd Annual USC Alumni Awards, which also feted six other outstanding USC graduates.

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 58

6/13/16 3:54 PM

PHOTOS BY STEVE COHN

is just one of the many initiatives funded by their charitable organization. It helps veterans pursuing undergraduate degrees at USC Marshall or the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, as well as students in USC Marshall’s full-time MBA program. “I want to make it easier for those who come after me, out of gratitude for what USC gave me,” says Schoen of the scholarship program. He traces his love for the university back to his Southern California childhood in East Los Angeles and Arcadia. Born during the Depression, he dropped out of high school as a sophomore so he could work to support his family. He changed his birth certificate to join the Marine Corps at 17, serving a combined total of eight years of active and reserve duty. A partial scholarship and full-time jobs helped him pay for his undergraduate and graduate degrees at USC while supporting his wife and their children. In recognition for his leadership and philanthropy, the USC Alumni Association named Schoen as the recipient of this year’s Asa V. Call Alumni Achievement Award,

President C. L. Max Nikias, right, with America Ferrera ’13 (Emmy Award-winning actress and activist) who was awarded the Young Alumni Merit Award Suzanne DworakPeck ’65, MSW ’67 Alumni Merit Award; social work pioneer

its highest honor for alumni. He was recognized at the 83rd Annual USC Alumni Awards on April 16 in Los Angeles, which recognized a variety of stellar Trojans. The honor surprised Schoen, whose unassuming attitude about his own success is summed up by the maxim “the harder I work, the luckier I get.” It’s a way of thinking that he’s passed on to his children as well as to the graduate students in the leadership class he teaches at Florida Gulf Coast University. He recalls receiving the phone call from USC President C. L. Max Nikias notifying him of the award. The humble entrepreneur scanned the list of past recipients such as Neil Armstrong ’70 and Marilyn Horne ’53 and felt overwhelmed. “All these famous people have done so much for their country and their industry. I questioned why I would receive it, because I was just doing what I normally would do with my life,” he says. Two decades after graduating from USC, Schoen joined the board of directors of Health Management Associates. He

went on to become CEO and chairman of the board in 1986. The Florida-based corporation owned, leased and managed a network of 73 acute care and psychiatric hospitals and became a Fortune 500 company. The Schoens’ charitable foundation has provided financial support to more than 200 veterans. “Bill Schoen stands among USC’s most dedicated supporters and is a tremendous friend to our community,” Nikias says. “He and Sharon have taken a special interest in our veteran students through their generous funding of scholarships for veterans. Their philanthropy benefits so many of the brave servicemen and women who have served our nation, and will have an enduring impact for generations to come.” Giving back is fundamental to his philosophy, Schoen says. “I feel very strongly that everything I have worked for or earned is basically leased to me,” he says. “I don’t own them. They’re leased to me by the next generation, and my proposition in life has been to assist other people who are not as fortunate.”

John Lytle DDS ’58, MD ’65 Alumni Service Award; supporter, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC and Keck School of Medicine of USC

USC Trustee Joseph M. Boskovich Sr. ’75, MBA ’77 Alumni Merit Award; chairman and founder of Old West Investment Management

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 59

6/13/16 3:55 PM

family news

Trojans and the City by rachel ng The helicopter gently rises toward the roof of the office tower in downtown Los Angeles, its rotors emitting a steady takataka-taka-taka. Beneath it, a 500-pound white letter “U” dangles and sways in the wind. It rises ever higher as the pilot carefully guides the letter—taller than an elephant—next to the “SC” already installed on the building’s front. With the new signage, it’s official: USC is now the majority tenant in a landmark, 32-story building on the northeast corner of Olive and 12th streets. The move is just the latest, and maybe most visible, sign of USC’s longstanding influence in the rapidly developing area of South Park.

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 60

“USC’s presence is definitely felt— it’s a part of downtown and a critical part in ensuring downtown’s viability,” says Jessica Lall ’06, executive director at South Park Business Improvement District, which promotes the neighborhood and facilitates streetscape projects and community programs. Lall has been involved in downtown LA development for six years and was a featured speaker at a USC Alumni Real Estate Network panel on Los Angeles growth last fall. She is one of the many Trojans working through Pacific Rim-based development companies to transform downtown LA. When Sonnet Hui ’00 arrived in Los Angeles from Hong Kong as an interna-

USC Center signage is perhaps the most visible sign of USC’s role in the transformation of South Park.

tional student in the 90s, she moved from a vibrant metropolis to what she describes as a ghost town, she says. “LA was different: The city was a sprawling suburbia from a newcomer’s point of view, disjointed with no heart or real center,” says Hui, an executive project director at Hazens Group USA, a Chinese development company. Since then, Staples Center, LA Live and the Ritz-Carlton have sprouted in the South Park neighborhood. A supermarket and a Los Angeles Unified School District charter elementary school soon followed. Today, more than a dozen developments are in the works—many of them helmed by USC alumni—as South Park’s landscape transforms. “South Park is a community within a community. We have the California Hospital Medical Center, Eisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center and the Mayan and Belasco theaters. We also have the fastest-growing residential population in downtown,” Lall says. More than 6,800 people live in the neighborhood, but Lall estimates that number will triple by 2018. One of the new developments is the Hazens LA Center on Figueroa Street, a mixed-use project headed by Hui that will feature a 30-story hotel, two condo towers and 80,000 square feet of retail space. “In three to five years, South Park will be a very different place, and it has the potential of becoming LA’s new city center,” Hui says. On South Park’s northern edge rises the Wilshire Grand Center. The building is owned by Korean Air (whose CEO and

PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS

USC alumni are behind some of the highprofile developments fueling the renaissance of downtown Los Angeles.

summer 2016

6/4/16 11:35 AM

Check out photos from recent USC alumni events at flickr.com/usc_alumni.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF USC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

D AY chairman is USC Trustee Y.H. Cho MBA ’79), and at 1,100 feet, it will be LA’s tallest building when it’s completed next year. The architectural firm behind it, AC Martin, already created many of downtown’s iconic buildings, including the art deco-inspired City Hall and the Spanish Baroque Revival-style Million Dollar Theatre. “AC Martin’s architectural legacy in downtown LA extends beyond a century of time,” says Tammy Jow ’95, project director at AC Martin. “The challenge with the Wilshire Grand was to create a building of our time—a contemporary contrast to a generation of flat-top buildings composed of granite and inset windows.” Developers are also mindful about the impact on the local community. “As Los Angeles grows, there is a greater necessity to design connections to each other and develop opportunity in a way that engages communities to decide what they want to become,” Hui says. Along those lines, the South Park Business Improvement District oversees a curated public art program and has repaired more than 800 sidewalks. It also launched its pilot Green Alley Project to transform unused alleys into public gathering spaces. In April, work began on The Spot @ Hope Street, a 33-foot-wide park that spans half a block in the middle of Hope Street. “Downtown LA is quickly becoming the urban center that it was always meant to be,” says Ryan Aubry MRED ’07, development manager at Greenland USA. Two years ago, Greenland USA invested more than $1 billion to convert a 6-acre South Park plot into a residential and retail space named Metropolis. Metropolis includes Avenue of Angels, a four-block pedestrian stretch that will link the financial district to the sports and entertainment district and the convention center. “As the revitalization continues, the links between downtown and neighboring communities will only get stronger,” Aubry says. “This is very apparent when it comes to USC’s University Park Campus to the south, and the Health Sciences Campus to the northeast. In the past, students and faculty on these campuses may have dismissed the thought of living in downtown; now it has become one of the best options.” tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 61

O F

S C E R V I C E The Day of SCervice has quickly become one of the USC Alumni Association’s most popular events. Here are a few of the many Trojans who volunteered in places from Australia to Ghana in March (and see more at dayofscervice. usc.edu).

#1, 6 GETTING REAL Members of the USC Real Estate Network, accompanied by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, planted trees at Loren Miller Elementary School in South Los Angeles. #2 UPLIFTING Town and Gown and Trojan Guild of Los Angeles created bracelets for patients at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

#3 WE CARE The USC Alumni Club of LA organized clothing for homeless clients at My Friend’s Place in Hollywood. #4 WARM WELCOME Trojans in Germany introduced refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and other wartorn nations to local Bavarian culture.

#5 GAME DAY The Asian Pacific Alumni Association visited and played board games and bingo with elderly residents of the Keiro Retirement Home in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo neighborhood.

usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:36 AM

family news

Sing Their Praises USC’s SoCal VoCals are a harmonic powerhouse thanks in part to alumni behind the scenes. by diane krieger

When the SoCal VoCals turned 20 in February, USC’s oldest a cappella group also happened to be coming off a string of high notes. The 12 members just returned from a gig in Washington, D.C., entertaining the president and first lady at a White House holiday party. Only six months earlier, they had been crowned a cappella world champions. Again. For those who haven’t seen Pitch Perfect, the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) is a voice competition on a national stage, an epic battle of song where the world’s best college groups throw down harmonies. And the SoCal VoCals pretty much own it, according to Newsweek and The New Yorker. The team has won the Super Bowl of a cappella every time it has entered. Its unprecedented four titles came in consecutive attempts in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2015. (Preparation is so grueling that the team usually takes a breather in alternating years.) The VoCals’ story begins in 1995, when founding member Brock Harris ’97 posted flyers inviting Trojans to form an a cappella group. He didn’t expect much. This was long before American Idol, Glee and The Sing-Off became pop culture fixtures. “Contemporary a cappella was this strange, nerdy niche thing,” recalls Harris, then a junior from Victoria, British Columbia, majoring in filmic writing. Yet Harris’ phone started ringing the day he tacked up his flyers on kiosks and bulletin boards. More than 60 people came out to audition. On February 11, 1996—the date

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 62

of the group’s first rehearsal, held in a classroom in the Von KleinSmid Center—its 18 inaugural members blended their voices for the first time. Within a month they made their debut at Tommy Trojan’s feet, with original arrangements of Blondie’s “The Tide Is High” and “Come On, Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners. From the beginning, Harris had a vision: Unlike Yale’s crisp-tuxedoed Whiffenpoofs, the USC group would spearhead pop-and-rock-driven a cappella. They were an instant hit. Within a year, the VoCals were playing one or two paid gigs a week and had recorded their first album, This Ain’t No Choir, Babe. More a cappella groups began popping up at USC. “I started the wave,” Harris says. “I was very proud of that.” Harris is the first to admit that the caliber of VoCal singers has greatly improved over the last 20 years. “I would not get in the current group,” he says. “None of the original members would.” Yet SoCal VoCal alumni—all 120 of them—are the bedrock that anchors the group. Tradition-bearers, sponsors, mentors and die-hard fans, they follow the team from concert to concert. They trouble-shoot thorny new arrangements, set current members up with jobs and internships, subsidize travel and recording expenses, coach members on vocals and host students on tour. Three times a year, SoCal VoCals past and present unite to sing and mingle at weekend retreats and special “alumni rehearsals.” Harris credits the group’s staying pow-

er to these tight intergenerational bonds. “Very few student organizations persist decade after decade,” he says. “You look at old yearbooks, and they’re full of pictures of clubs that no longer exist. This group was meant to be a long-term thing.” Lucy Jackson ’08 was one of about 50 SoCal VoCal alumni who traveled to New York City to root for the team at the 2015 ICCA finals. “They were so incredible this last time,” she says exuberantly. Rehearsing a 12-minute song set over 275 hours, the typical prep time for the competition, will forge an unbreakable bond. She knows that. After all, Jackson was a VoCal when the team captured its first ICCA championship. “It was so intense—the connections we had at a musical level, but also at an emotional and storytelling level,” she remembers. Today, she moonlights as the producer of ICCA’s Northwest and Southwest regions while working fulltime as a marketing professional in Los Angeles. Many VoCal alumni work in entertainment, and some are bona fide stars: songwriter Ross Golan ’01, who penned No. 1 hits for Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban; Grammywinning Pentatonix vocalist Scott Hoying and music arranger Ben Bram ’10; and actress-singer Kelley Jakle ’11, who was one of Pitch Perfect’s Barden Bellas. Founder Harris, now a Southern California-based independent Realtor, remains intimately involved with the group—as its landlord. In 2005, he purchased a nine-bedroom Victorian a few blocks from campus on 27th Street. It’s now known as the SoCal VoCal House. “I think we’re the only college a cappella group with a home base like that,” he says. The hub of VoCal life, it hosts rehearsals Wednesdays from 10 p.m. to midnight and Sundays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Four ICCA trophies greet visitors in the entry hall, and framed posters and memorabilia line the walls. Harris takes no profit from rent and says he’ll never sell the house. That’s the remarkable thing about VoCal alumni, notes junior Jonathan von Mering, the VoCals’ current president. “When they achieve success, they aren’t more distant. These are people we see around all the time.”

BROCK HARRIS AND JONATHAN VON MERING PHOTO BY GUS RUELAS; OTHER PHOTOS BY SUSANICA TAM

Watch the group’s latest music videos and performances at bit.ly/SoCalVoCals.

summer 2016

6/4/16 11:36 AM

#1 Mementos pack the SoCal VoCals’ Victorian house on 27th Street in Los Angeles. #2, 3 VoCal alumni often return for special get-togethers, including a 20-year reunion held in February. #4 Brock Harris ’97, right, the group’s founder, owns the nine-bedroom house that serves as the hub of activity for current VoCals like Jonathan von Mering, left. #5 Awards from competitions, such as the Varsity Vocals competition in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, take prized spots in the SoCal VoCals House.

High Notes

It took a while for the founding SoCal VoCals to choose a name. Some of the rejects were Trojan Hoarse and US-C Notes. In a dramatic upset, UCLA’s Scattertones beat the SoCal VoCals at the 2012 ICCA semifinals. But the Trojans drew the wildcard and advanced to the finals anyway, where they made history as the first wildcard team to win the championship. The SoCal VoCals finished their ninth album, VoCabulary, just in time for the group’s 20th reunion.

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 63

6/13/16 3:04 PM

Scholarships change lives. Every gift counts. giveto.usc.edu “Being a music student can be a huge financial burden—taking lessons, going to music activities. A lot of students like me can only go to USC because of scholarships. They really make a big difference.” Ashley Hoe USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association Distinguished Scholar Award Piano performance major, Class of 2015

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 64

spring 2016

6/4/16 11:36 AM

Do you have news to share? Send it along with your name, school and class year to classnotes@ usc.edu and it may appear in a future issue.

1 9 4 0 s

Selma Moidel Smith JD ’41 (LAW) was awarded the American Bar Foundation’s inaugural Life Fellows Achievement Award in February in San Diego.

family class notes

Henry D. Gradstein JD ’79 (LAW), Richard B. Kendall JD ’79 (LAW) and Howard Weitzman JD ’65 (LAW) were named on the Daily Journal’s list of top entertainment lawyers in California for 2015.

Ranked No. 19 on Fortune’s “100 Best Workplaces For Women” list and in the Inc. 5000 for the sixth straight year, ACT was named a “Best Place to Work” by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Joseph Morris ’79 (LAS) retired in June 2015 after serving 31 years on active duty in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.

Peter Musurlian ’83 (LAS), an Emmy Award-winning journalist, won a Radio and Television News Association Golden Mike Award for editing for his genocide documentary The 100-Year-Old Survivor.

1 9 6 0 s 1 9 8 0 s Harry Hirschensohn ’64 (ENG) retired in 1998 from the South Coast Air Quality Management District after 31 years. Since then, he has been an income tax preparer. George Lucas ’66 (SCA) received a prestigious 2015 Kennedy Center Honor in recognition of his lasting contributions to American entertainment and culture.

1 9 7 0 s

Christopher Jacobs PhD ’71 (ENG) developed Genteel, a lancing device that enables painless blood draws from anywhere on the body. Patrick Fuscoe ’72 (ENG), founder and CEO of Fuscoe Engineering Inc., serves on the board of directors of the Ocean Institute. His honors include Orange County Business Journal’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award and various Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Maurice Caskey MS ’73 (ENG) was installed as the moderator of the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii of the San Diego First Presbyterian Church. Martin S. McDermut ’73 (LAS) was named vice president and chief financial officer of Applied Micro Circuits Corporation. Thomas Rounsavell PhD ’75 (ENG) retired from a successful career in technology development management. He and his wife live in Poway, California, where he is involved with several community projects.

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 65

Suzanne Barnes MS ’80 (ENG) retired after working for the Department of the Army in various locations for 17 years and for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon for six years. Shelley Reid JD ’80 (LAW) was promoted from senior vice president to executive vice president of television business and legal affairs at MGM Studios. She was previously senior vice president of business and legal affairs at Fox Television Studios, vice president of legal affairs at Scripps Network, senior vice president of business and legal affairs at Hearst Entertainment and counsel for Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. Jerome “Jerry” Schaefer MBA ’80 (BUS) retired after 35 years with Hewlett-Packard Company. Charles Ray MS ’81 (ENG) retired in 2012 after 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service. A lecturer at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Johns Hopkins University, he has published more than 60 books. Liza (Ursich) Weissler ’81, MS ’84 (LAS) retired after 31 years with the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Software Engineering Center, as well as 14 years with RAND Corporation in California. She and her husband, Robert Weissler ’80, MS ’84 (ENG), live in Arizona. Walter H. Singer ’82 (ENG) founded ACT Environmental Services, which recently received the Business Achievement Award from the Environmental Business Journal.

Diane Wittry ’83, MM ’85 (MUS) and David Srebnik ’03 (MUS) were featured in Musical America as part of its “Top 30 Professionals of the Year.” Gerry Broker MS ’85 (ENG) is an Airbus A330 pilot for Delta Airlines. Frank Ferrante ’85 (DRA) starred in his one-man show, An Evening with Groucho, at The Pasadena Playhouse. Todd Ogar ’85 (ENG) is a principal systems engineer working on military systems. Stephen Hubler ’86, MA ’86 (LAS), a senior coordinator for the Office of Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Affairs at the United States Embassy in Iraq, oversees humanitarian assistance support for displaced Iraqis and refugee-resettlement operations for Iraqi and Syrian refugees. Robert G. McSwain MPA ’86 (SPP), a member of the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California, was promoted to acting director for the Indian Health Service (IHS). Bill Alves MM ’87, DMA ’90 (MUS) recently released his new album Guitars & Gamelan on MicroFest Records. Kathleen McManus ’88, MAcc ’89 (ACC) is leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s Southern California Private Company Services practice. John (Nick) Skimas II ’88 (ENG), a senior manager of IT infrastructure for GeorgiaPacific’s northern region, oversees the IT infrastructure at eight pulp and paper mills.

usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:36 AM

A LU M N I

P R O F I L E

M O N I C A

R A M I R E Z

B A S C O ’ 7 7,

M A ’8 4, P h D ’8 7

Psychology on Her Mind When psychologist Monica Ramirez Basco ’77, MA ’84, PhD ’87 graduated from USC after a decade as a USC student, she made a vow to never write another paper in her life. The author of nine psychology books, including The Procrastinator’s Guide to Getting

Things Done, happily admits that her resolution didn’t last a month. In the years since leaving USC, she has grown into an accomplished scholar of the human mind. Basco’s career path took her from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, where she was on the

psychiatry faculty, to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she oversaw the review of grant applications for its division overseeing AIDS, behavioral and population sciences. Then the White House called. She served a stint in the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, focusing on the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative. BRAIN digs into how the brain

works, looking for answers to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, depression, traumatic brain injury and more. “I don’t think I’ll ever have another job as cool as that,” she says. She still works with the group on important health efforts like suicide prevention. Her strategy starts with collaboration among science and technology, mental health and advocacy groups. She also spearheads an NIH effort exploring racial disparity in its own grant awards, looking for ways racial bias presents itself and how to rectify it. Basco runs NIH’s Early Reviewer Program with the goal of strengthening diversity in the scientific workforce. And to think her career began amid indecision about her major at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Basco found inspiration at USC when Gayla Margolin, USC Dornsife professor of psychology and pediatrics, offered her a post in the USC Family Studies Project, which conducts research on risk and resilience in adolescents and young adults. “That sold me on the fascinating work of science, especially clinical research and its practical elements that can be used for the service of others,” Basco says. USC is also where her own family got its start. She attended the university with her high school sweetheart, Michael Basco ’82, and they went on to raise three sons (middle son Matthew ’06, MBA ’11 is a Trojan). Today she may call Washington, D.C. her home, but she visits Los Angeles every autumn for one of her big passions: Trojan football games. Her secret to juggling it all? Follow your heart—but it also doesn’t hurt when you know how to fight off the urge to procrastinate.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDRA COMPAIN-TISSIER

A USC Dornsife alumna takes down our hurdles to better mental health.

BEKAH WRIGHT

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R2.indd 66

summer 2016

6/21/16 5:08 PM

Do you have news to share? Send it along with your name, school and class year to classnotes@ usc.edu and it may appear in a future issue.

Terrence R. Allen ’89 (SCJ), ’89 (BUS), JD ’93 (LAW) joined Pepper Hamilton LLP as partner and will lead plans to expand transactional practice on the West Coast. Randall D. Martinez ’89 (BUS), executive vice president and chief operating officer of Cordoba Corporation, has been appointed boardmember of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

family class notes

Michael Regnier PhD ’91 (LAS) was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s College of Fellows. He is the Washington Research Foundation Endowed Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington. Belynda Reck JD ’92 (LAW) joined Reed Smith in 2015 as a partner in the firm’s commercial litigation group.

Mike Saxton ’89 (ENG) is the chief commercial officer for Orange EV, which introduced the first commercially available electric terminal truck.

Erika Seemann Daniels ’94, MS ‘96 (EDU) was named director of the Alliance to Accelerate Excellence in Education at California State University, San Marcos.

1 9 9 0 s

Anthony Sparks ’94 (DRA), PhD ’12 (LAS) is writer and supervising producer for the 2016 television drama Queen Sugar.

Mark Motonaga ’91 (ARC) was promoted to principal at Rios Clementi Hale Studios, which has been honored as one of the top 100 firms by Architectural Digest.

Kevin Mambo ’95 (DRA) performed off Broadway in the Classic Stage Company’s Mother Courage and Her Children.

Elizabeth Saunders ’95 (MUS) is performing “Charles Ives: Songs in the Key of Z!” around the country. She co-starred in Bravo’s Odd Mom Out and Peninsula at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre. Mark A. H. Young JD ’95 (LAW) was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Peter Boyer GCRT ’96 (MUS) had his music performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in 2015. He also contributed orchestrations to Jurassic World, Inside Out and Minions. Todd G. Friedland JD/MA ’96 (LAW), PhD ’96 (SCJ) was sworn in as the 2016 Orange County Bar Association president in January. Vanessa J. Noon ’96 (DRA) managed production for the 88th Academy Awards.

DINEFIG california pizza kitchen · city tavern five guys · gentaro soba george’s greek grill · indus by saffron loteria grill · the melt mendocino farms · morton’s the steakhouse new moon café · oleego by parks bbq pazzo gelato · the pizza studio salata · sprinkles cupcakes · starbucks torta company · twist & grill

ONE STOP SHOPPING + DINING IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN L.A.

SHOPFIG bath & body works · bespoke cycling studio gold’s gym · h&m · lenscrafters · l’occitane mac cosmetics · pink by victoria’s secret sunglass hut · target · t mobile yolanda aguilar beauty insitute & spa victoria’s secret · zara

@figat7th · figat7th.com 735 S. Figueroa Street · Downtown Los Angeles Across from the 7th Street/Metro Center Station $5 Parking Mon-Fri after 4pm, All Day Sat & Sun

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 67

usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:40 PM

THE TROJAN STORY IS YOUR STORY. Discover the all-new USC Trojan Family Magazine website. Save stories. Share them with your friends. Subscribe to get articles right in your email inbox. Watch videos and see photos that take you deeper into the special people and places of USC.

ONLY AT TFM.USC.EDU

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 68

6/4/16 11:36 AM

Do you have news to share? Send it along with your name, school and class year to classnotes@ usc.edu and it may appear in a future issue.

Roberto Larios ’97 (LAS) was named chief operating officer for the City Employees Club of Los Angeles. Tony Yeh ’98 (ARC) joined Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, as a senior project manager. Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman MM ’99, DMA ’04 (MUS) received three Grammy nominations for her album Woman at the New Piano.

2 0 0 0 s

A.W. Marshall MFA ’00 (DRA) published a collection of short stories, Simple Pleasures, and a play, Pan, in 2015. Katherine Goodman MPW ’02 (LAS) completed her PhD at the University of Colorado, Boulder and joined Inworks, a new rapid prototyping lab, at the University of Colorado, Denver as an assistant professor. Andrew Norman ’02, MM ’04 (MUS) had the world premiere of his piece “Split” performed by the New York Philharmonic with USC Thornton faculty member Jeffrey Kahane as the piano soloist. Patrick J. Adams ’04 (DRA) and Troian Bellisario ’09 (DRA) starred in The Last Match at The Old Globe in San Diego. Bich Ngoc Cao ’04 (LAS/SCJ) was elected president of the Board of Library Commissioners for Los Angeles. Vander J. Dale MSW ’04 (SSW), a DUI program facilitator at Southern California Alcohol and Drug Programs Inc., is licensed as an advanced alcohol and drug counselor. Lori Lacewell Lochtefeld ’04 (BUS) is co-owner of the Golden State Theatre in Monterey, California, and the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, California. Cenk Temizel MS ’05 (ENG) and his team won second place at the Global R&D Competition of the Society of Petroleum tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 69

class notes family

Engineers. He works as a reservoir engineer at Shell-ExxonMobil JV.

Peter Vack ’09 (DRA) plays Alex in the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle.

Adrienne Cadena ’06 (SCJ), vice president of Havas Street, is one of PRWeek’s “40 Under 40.” She serves on the board of advisors at USC’s Center for Public Relations.

2 0 1 0 s

Emmanuel Caudillo ’06 (LAS) was named one of Leadership Arlington’s 2015 “40 Under 40” honorees. Michael Paranal MBT ’06 (BUS), a CPA with Lathan & Watkins in London, was awarded a Robert Bosch Fellowship for 2015–2016 and will work as counsel at the European Central Bank in Germany. Charles Ralston ’06 (ENG), MBA ’13 (BUS) founded the online travel startup TripStreak, a flight search app that lets users rank and save their travel priorities. Greg Schulz EdD ’06 (EDU) was named president of Fullerton College.

Alison King ’10 (MUS) was a winner in the Upper Midwest region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council’s auditions and advanced to the national semifinals on the Metropolitan Opera stage. Christopher Goodpasture ’11 (MUS) was a gold medalist in the 2015 Seattle International Piano Festival & Competition and won several awards within the collegiate division. Ashley Hoe ’15 (MUS) took home the silver medal in the same division. Dieuwertje Kast ’11 (LAS), MS ’11 (LAS), MAT ’14 (EDU) was selected for the 2016 Forbes “30 Under 30” list for science, honoring her STEM education career at the USC Joint Educational Project.

Brissa Sotelo-Vargas, MPP ’06 (SPP), was sworn in as planning commissioner for the City of Montebello.

Jennifer Reyes MSW ’11 (SSW) is a clinical social worker at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for the blood and marrow transplantation program.

Beck Bennett ’07 (DRA), a cast member of Saturday Night Live, appeared in Zoolander 2 and is featured in the animated film Sing.

Natalie (K.N.) Granger ’12 (LAS) published an article on The Mary Sue, an online magazine for geek culture.

Tee Suntharo ’08 (BUS) is an investment associate affiliated with Hawaii-based impact investment group Ulupono Initiative.

Matt Howard ’12 (MUS) will take a percussion position with the New World Symphony of Miami.

Ryan Ozonian ’09 (SCJ), in partnership with entrepreneur Mark Cuban, released an app called Cyber Dust. The app’s success earned him a place in Forbes’ 2016 “30 Under 30” list for consumer technology.

Youngjae Kim ’12, MS ’13 (ENG) works at MemorialCare Health System in Fountain Valley, California, as a data consultant, working to improve business segments of the company’s operations. He is pursuing a degree in pastoral and general ministries at Biola University.

Erich Kai Stephan ’09 (ENG), one of Forbes’ 2016 “30 Under 30,” is the founder and CEO of Pegasus Solar, which engineers and manufactures solar rooftop installation systems. The company currently has a patent pending to simplify residential solar installations.

Steve Prater MSW ’12 (SSW) is outreach coordinator for the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs and an adjunct instructor for social work at Indiana University. A combat veteran and retired military officer, he engages in public speaking and training on trauma and veterans’ issues.

usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:41 PM

P R O F I L E

Fielding Dreams A one-time Trojan walkon creates his own playbook for success. Statistically speaking, the career of Randy Flores ’97, MEd ’14 shouldn’t have happened. He was no star athlete, but the left-handed pitcher earned a walk-on spot for the Trojan baseball team that went to the 1995 College World Series. He still holds USC’s career pitching record with 42 all-time wins. After college, he dropped to the ninth round of the Major League Baseball draft, where the New York Yankees organization took a chance on him. A few bounces around the majors took him to the St. Louis Cardinals—where he won a World Series in 2006. Later, with no experience

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 70

R A N DY

F L O R E S ’9 7, M E D ’ 1 4

in the tech world, he founded a digital startup that counts 11 MLB clubs among its clients. And though he had never worked in a professional team’s front office, last summer Flores landed in the Cardinals’ executive suite as scouting director —a job that can launch future general managers. “My life’s a dream,” says Flores, who counts among his blessings “two amazing little girls [Sloane, 6, and Rowan, 4] and Lindsey, the best wife in the world.” Credit his success to determination, resilience and a fierce work ethic. It’s no coincidence that they’re the same qualities he tells his 25 scouts to look for as they scour for new talent. Growing up in Pico Rivera, California, Flores was a serious student. He turned away recruiters from the Air Force Academy and Princeton for a chance to walk on for the Trojans. By his junior year, the finance major

was crowned one of the Pac-10’s pitchers of the year. “I’ve always worked hard at whatever I was doing,” Flores says. Take, for example, his early years in minor league ball. Each spring, he’d hit training camp, then each fall, he’d hit the classroom as a long-term substitute teacher. “Minor league players don’t make much money,” he says ruefully. Flores would go on to the majors, playing for the Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies and Cardinals. When his days in pro ball ended in 2012, he returned for a master’s degree at the USC Rossier School of Education, aiming to get into college sports administration. Analyzing games for ESPN and Pac-12 Networks and assistant coaching at USC kept him connected to baseball. But it was USC Athletics administrator Mark Jackson, now athletics director at Villanova,

who dared Flores to “think outside the uniform” and take advantage of USC’s entrepreneurial ethos. Noticing that amateur ballplayers and coaches didn’t use technologies common in pro sports to assess athletes, Flores launched OnDeck Digital in 2014. The company generates in-game video for use by college recruiters and major league scouts in their never-ending search for talent. Now his mastery of baseball and big data are coming together in his role as director of scouting for the Cardinals. It’s a new world, but history shows he learns quickly. “You put five equally talented ballplayers on the field, and one seems to rise to the top because for some reason he’s able to break through, hang tough or bounce back,” Flores says. All qualities he knows a thing or two about.

PHOTO BY RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES

A LU M N I

DIANE KRIEGER

summer 2016

6/14/16 1:12 PM

Put Yourself on the Map

The USC Fight Online app enables USC-degreed alumni to: • Locate and network with fellow Trojans in real time • Connect to USC’s career services • Find nearby Trojan-owned businesses and alumni gatherings Now available for iPhone® and Android™. Go to alumni.usc.edu/app to download USC Fight Online today.

ALUMNI.USC.EDU | ALUMNI@USC.EDU | TEL: 213 740 2300

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 71

usc trojan family

6/4/16 11:36 AM

P R O F I L E

Art of Disruption Collaborators from the animal kingdom help an artist explore chaos and control. His studio has all the hallmarks of an artist’s space. High ceilings. Exposed pipes. Paint-splattered cement floor. And a slithering, shimmering white California kingsnake. The serpent is a creative partner of sorts for John Knuth MFA ’05, living alongside the artist’s canvases, paints and brushes. It belongs to a species native to Southern California, but you’re unlikely to find a pure-white one like this on your next hiking trip. “The albinos are bred for pure aesthetics,” says the Los Angeles-based artist. “I love the idea of an animal that exists outside of nature.”

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 72

J O H N

K N U T H

M F A ’0 5

This tension between nature and civilization inspires much of Knuth’s art, which is known for capturing the raw, uncertain moments when the natural order is disrupted. A similar white snake took center stage in a recent installation (and collaboration with fellow artist Andy Featherston) that Knuth exhibited through LAXART, a West Hollywood arts nonprofit. In the video, which appeared on a digital billboard towering above the busy Sunset Strip, the snake undulates languidly against a black background, silently defusing the surrounding sensory chaos of the city. “It’s about slowing it down,” he explains, “disrupting the pace of such a hectic, media-heavy spot.” Then there are his other creative partners from the animal kingdom. Knuth’s “Fly Series” involves a painting technique he developed as a graduate student at the USC Roski School

of Art and Design. Yes, he uses flies—hundreds of thousands of them—nurturing many generations from maggot to pupa to buzzing adult. He traps them inside a mesh tent attached to a canvas and feeds them a mixture of sugar, water and paint pigments. Over six weeks, generations of flies regurgitate on a canvas, resulting in millions of specks of color. Viewed from a distance, the tiny dots meld into richly textured, vibrant paintings. As unconventional as the technique sounds, the Fly Series is in keeping with Knuth’s need to push the lines between control and chaos. As with his genetically tweaked snake, the flies—which are non-social insects—enter an existence that would never happen in nature. The series is about “manipulating the physical properties of the fly to create something outside of its existence,” he says. And while Knuth stresses

the intentional thought and planning behind each composition, ultimately he relinquishes control to the flies. As Knuth continues to develop his techniques, he plans to experiment with different colors, densities and complexities. “You can see within all my work that it’s an ongoing process,” he says. “You see where an idea starts and becomes more complicated, and how it leads to another idea.” “It’s fun to get weird out there,” he adds. “When you do unusual things in a place that’s not designed for it, it turns people on.” LILI WEIGERT

PHOTO BY DUSTIN SNIPES

A LU M N I

See more on Knuth’s “Fly Series” at bit.ly/ArtofDisruption.

summer 2016

6/14/16 1:22 PM

class notes family

Do you have news to share? Send it along with your name, school and class year to classnotes@ usc.edu and it may appear in a future issue.

Carolina Sheinfield MPD ’12 (SCJ) was chair and represented the Refugee Forum of Los Angeles on a panel hosted by the White House Office of New Americans. Morgan Smith EdD ’12 (EDU) was named principal of Fountain Valley High School in Fountain Valley, California. Carrie St. Louis ’12 (MUS) starred as Glinda in the Broadway production of Wicked. Tyler Stell MM ’12, GCRT ’14 (MUS) won the position of principal timpani for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

PORTERFIELD PHOTO BY ROBERT GALLAGHER; SWEARINGEN PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Nathaniel (Nate) Howard ’13 (SCJ) was named to NBC’s #NBCBLK28, a list of the nation’s most talented black innovators and game changers. He is a poet, educator, entrepreneur and founder of Movement BE.

Gillian E. Antell ’10 (LAS) and Paul J. Balanoff. Amethyst Hecker-Johnson MS ’14 (ENG) and Derrick Webb.

B I R T H S

Douglas Solorzano ’92 (BUS) and Julianne Solorzano, a daughter, Sophia Victoria. She joins brother Donovan and sister Aubrianna. Mary Elizabeth Smith ’96 (LAS) and Jeff Giron, a daughter, Emma Grace. Chie Christine Hayashi ’97 (LAS), ’00 JD (LAW) and John Mueller, a daughter, Tsuyako Grace Mueller.

Jay Porterfield ’13, MS ’15 (ENG) is a project coordinator for the USC Center for Body Computing. He combines his background in athletics and engineering to conceptualize and execute creative studies that integrate noninvasive biomedical sensors into athletic training to improve performance.

Katherine Desilets Weston ’99 (LAS) and Gary Weston ’99 (LAS), a son, Henry Thomas. He joins brother Benjamin Kirby.

James Morosini ’14 (DRA) played the role of Ralph Berger in Awake and Sing! at Los Angeles’ Odyssey Theatre.

A L U M N I

Boqing Gong PhD ’15 (ENG) is an assistant professor in the computer science department and the Center for Research in Computer Vision at the University of Central Florida.

M A R R I A G E S

Marisa Kathryn Margaretich ’05 (ENG) and Terry Gordon Tychon ’98 (SCA). Nathan Stadler ’08 (BUS) and Lauren Follett ’08 (BUS/SCJ), JD ’11 (LAW).

tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 73

Juleon Rabbani ’08 (MED) and Nicole Wilson Rabbani ’10 (OST), a daughter, Lana Phare.

I N

M E M O R I A M

Robert D. Ryan ’39 (LAS) of Santa Rosa, California; Sept. 19, 2015, at the age of 98.

Rodger Swearingen, 92 Rodger Swearingen ’46, MA ’48 (LAS) of Newport Beach, California, died Aug. 27, 2015. He was a captain in the U.S. Army from 1943-46, having left college after two years to enlist in the Intelligence Corps. He became one of General Douglas MacArthur’s top aides, and was with MacArthur on the USS Missouri when Japan surrendered in September 1945. He remained in Japan during the occupation and upon his discharge in August 1946, was awarded the Army of Occupation Medal ( Japan), Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal.

In 1946, he finished his undergraduate degree at USC, where he played lead trombone in the Trojan Marching Band. After receiving his master’s degree in international relations, he attended Harvard University, where he had a fellowship at the Russian Research Center. He earned his PhD at Harvard in 1950, becoming friends with another graduate student, Henry Kissinger. He returned to USC’s School of International Relations in 1954 as an assistant professor, focusing on Soviet policy and world communism. During the 1960s, he created and directed the USC Research Institute on Communist Strategy and Propaganda. As professor emeritus, he continued to teach courses and seminars at USC until retiring in 1993. He is survived by his wife, Darlene. Patches Quaintance Willcox ’47 (LAS) of Pasadena, California; on Dec. 14, 2015, at the age of 90. John Henry William Weber ’48 (BUS) of Oxnard, California; Oct. 4, 2015, at the age of 91. Charles Deainza ’49 (ENG) of Houston; Feb. 26, at the age of 91. Sheldon Disrud ’51 (MUS) of Fullerton, California; Dec. 13, at the age of 91. Calvin Melville Mauck ’51 (LAS) of Hayden, Utah; July 24, 2015, at the age of 89. Jack Colton ’52 (BUS) of Long Beach, California; June 13, 2015, at the age of 89. Richards D. Barger LLB ’53 (LAW) of San Marino, California; Jan. 17, at the age of 87. usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:41 PM

Reunion Weekend... One Great Moment after Another! If you earned an undergraduate degree in 1966, 1976, 1986, 1991, 1996 or 2006, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your year to come back to campus on November 4-5 to see old friends, experience exciting changes on campus and relive your USC memories!

PHOTO COURTESY OF USC ATHLETICS

For details, registration and reunion class giving information, visit reunions.usc.edu or call (213) 740-2300.

ALUMNI.USC.EDU | ALUMNI@USC.EDU | TEL: 213 740 2300

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body.indd 74

summer 2016

6/4/16 11:36 AM

Obituaries of members of the Trojan Family appear online at tfm.usc.edu/ trojantributes.

Keith Nelson ’54, MM ’60 (MUS) of Irvine, California; Dec. 23, at the age of 92.

Leslie Louise Danelian ’81 (LAS) of Santa Monica, California; Sept.18, 2015, at the age of 56.

He joined the Army Air Corps during World War II, later earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCLA. In 1956, he started his first business, Spectrolab, providing the U.S. Army with guidance equipment for anti-tank missile systems and, later, the solar cell power arrays for spacecraft. He served on the USC Board of Trustees since 1998, and was a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He was awarded honorary doctorates from USC, Johns Hopkins University, Western University of Health Sciences and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. He is survived by his wife, Claude, and children Brian, Howard, Richard, Carla, Alfred Jr., Kevin and Cassandra.

Ken Loesch MRED ’87 (SPP), of Cordova, Tennessee; Oct. 23, 2015, at the age of 64.

L E G E N D

FA C U LT Y A N D F R I E N D S

LAS

Rudy Bukich of Del Mar, California; March 2, 2016 at the age of 85.

ACC ARC BUS SCA SCJ

Richard C. Rountree ’60, MS ’63, PhD ’72 (ENG) of Harbor City, California; Dec. 7, 2014, at the age of 81. Mark Bruce Pascoo ’73 (ENG) of Huntington Beach, California; Jan. 5, 2015, at the age of 63. Carl Froehlich ’74, MS ’78 (ENG) of San Jose, California; July 6, 2015, at the age of 63.

Donnie Hickman of Glendale, Arizona; June 27, 2015, at the age of 60.

GARRETT PHOTO BY CHRIS SHINN; MANN PHOTO BY STEVE COHN

George W. Bush in 2005. From 2009 to 2013, she was a commissioner on the California Fair Practice Political Commission, a political oversight agency. She was the first female provost at USC, serving from 2010 to 2014. She left USC to become president of Cornell University. During her eight months at Cornell, she was involved in university life, working to improve housing for graduate students and support freedom of speech. She is survived by her husband, Andrei Marmor, parents Robert and Jane Garrett and sister Laura Gruntmeir.

Elizabeth Garrett, 52 Former USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett of Manhattan, New York, died on March 6. Born on June 30, 1963, in Oklahoma City, she earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Oklahoma and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1988. After graduating, she was a clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court and served as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. She was appointed to a tax reform panel by former President tfm.usc.edu

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 75

Alfred Mann, 90 USC Life Trustee Alfred E. Mann was a world-renowned humanitarian and entrepreneur who founded 17 companies in the aerospace and biomedical technology industries. He died Feb. 25 at age 90. Throughout his distinguished career, his companies produced and marketed products such as pacemakers, cochlear implants and retinal implants that revolutionized health care. Most recently, he was chairman and CEO of MannKind Corp., a biopharmaceutical company that pioneers therapies and drug delivery for the treatment of diabetes, metabolic disease and cancer. In all, he donated more than $174 million to USC to advance its contributions to human health. His support established the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering, which invests funds to accelerate the commercialization of bioengineering or medical inventions. The institute has been instrumental in developing medical products such as an artificial retina. Other medical devices he developed include insulin pumps, glucose sensors, devices to restore movement to paralyzed limbs and high-energy density batteries.

DNC DEN DRA EDU ENG ART GRN LAW MED MUS OST PHM BPT SPP SSW

USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences USC Leventhal School of Accounting USC School of Architecture USC Marshall School of Business USC School of Cinematic Arts USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism USC Kaufman School of Dance Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC USC School of Dramatic Arts USC Rossier School of Education USC Viterbi School of Engineering USC Roski School of Art and Design USC Davis School of Gerontology USC Gould School of Law Keck School of Medicine of USC USC Thornton School of Music USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy USC School of Pharmacy Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy USC Price School of Public Policy USC School of Social Work

Carrie Banasky, Matt DeGrushe, James Feigert, Harmony Frederick, Wendy Gragg, Katherine Griffiths, Deanne Grimes, Elizabeth Hedrick, Leticia Lozoya, Maya Meinert, Mike McNulty, James Morse, Jane Ong, Kristi Patton and Stacey Wang Rizzo contributed to this section. usc trojan family

6/13/16 3:07 PM

now and again

Have a photo to share? Send it to 3434 S. Grand Ave., CAL 140, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-2818 or magazines@usc.edu.

Campus Cornerstone

usc trojan family

USC_TFM_Su16_Body_R1.indd 76

housed administration officers, classrooms and an auditorium and was capped with a clock tower—as yet unfinished in this photograph from the early 1920s. Its designer was a prolific Los Angeles architect: England-born John Parkinson, who was also the mastermind behind the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles City Hall and the city’s Union Station. Architectural details include a tower with eight stone figures designed by artist Casper Gruenfeld that represent the progress of civilization. Today, Bovard Administration Building

houses USC’s president, provost and other top administrators who focus on the university’s future, but the structure remains recognized for its important past. The Los Angeles City Council granted the building historic status in 2014.

PHOTO BY DUSTIN SNIPES

Only months after the George Finley Bovard Administration Building was dedicated at USC in June 1921, President Warren G. Harding signed a Congressional resolution officially ending the U.S. war against Germany, Austria and Hungary. With World War I in the past, the nation’s economy and culture would burst to life in the Roaring Twenties. Bovard’s construction was surely a sign of the growth to come on the University Park Campus. Created at a cost of $620,000 (the equivalent of more than $7.5 million today), the Italian Romanesque Revival structure

ALICIA DI RADO

summer 2016

6/13/16 3:07 PM

THE KECK EFFECT: MORE GROUNDBREAKING TREATMENTS FOR PROSTATE CANCER Keck Medicine of USC is the first academic medical center in the nation to treat prostate cancer with High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). This highly effective outpatient procedure precisely targets and can destroy localized prostate cancer while preserving potency and continence. Because HIFU is a non-surgical treatment option, patients recover quickly with no blood loss or radiation exposure. Schedule an appointment to learn if the HIFU treatment is right for you.

urology.KeckMedicine.org/hifu (800) USC-CARE

USC_TFM_Su16_Cover.indd 3

6/4/16 11:25 AM

USC Trojan Family Magazine University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90089-2818 Change Service Requested

N ON -PROFIT ORGAN IZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID UN IVERSIT Y OF SOUTHERN CALIFORN IA

USC_TFM_Su16_Cover.indd 4

6/4/16 11:25 AM