The Show Must Grow On

If you’ve ever written anything longer than a tweet, chances are that at some point, some teacher, professor, editor or critic has hit you with this well-worn aphorism: “Show, don’t tell.”

That same directive applies to great research universities such as USC. Yes, the cutting-edge scholarship of the university’s students and faculty — whether artistic, scientific, or technological — is impressive by its sheer quality. But any of these Trojans will tell you that the true measure of their effort’s success is the impact on the real world and on real people. They don’t just tell us the work is excellent by the academic standards of their respective disciplines, they show us the very tangible ways their scholarship is improving people’s lives all over the world.

The Spring 2023 cover story of USC Trojan Family Magazine by Marc Ballon offers just such an example of how the dedication of USC’s scholars is creating positive outcomes for people — in this case, the people of Ethiopia. The story details how Yolanda Gil, a professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, developed an artificial intelligence platform to recommend ways for Ethiopian policymakers to increase food production and reduce the risk of famine in the country. By marrying a very new technology (AI) with a very old one (agriculture), USC has been able to not only help one nation address its food issues, but also build a model for predicting and mitigating other potential crises.

Real-world impact is also the common thread running the other feature stories in the current issue. From a technique for turning plastic garbage from the ocean into pharmaceuticals, to AI that helps surgeons improve their suturing skills, to software that offers U.S. diplomats quick translations of new stories in multiple languages, to a gender-affirming care program that helps trans people be who they are, Trojans are deploying their unique talents to leave the world better than they found it.

OK, that’s enough telling. Keep turning these pages and let us show you how they’ve done it.

The magazine of the University of Southern California

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Ted B. Kissell

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Jane Frey

MANAGING EDITOR

Lilledeshan Bose

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Chinyere Amobi

COPY EDITOR

Cord Brooks

VISUALS EDITOR

Damon Casarez

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Mary Modina

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Gus Ruelas

INTERACTIVE CONTENT MANAGER

Ed Sotelo

INTERACTIVE MARKETING MANAGER

Anna Clark

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Pentagram

CONTRIBUTORS

Chloe Barker

Nina Damavandi

Greg Hernandez

Laurie McLaughlin

Judith Lipsett

David Medzerian

Grayson Schmidt

USC Trojan Family Magazine 3434 S. Grand Ave., CAL 140 Los Angeles, CA 90089-2818 magazines@usc.edu

USC Trojan Family Magazine (ISSN 8750-7927) is published in March and October by USC University Communications.

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Ted B. Kissell Editor-in-Chief USC Trojan Family Magazine

CLARIFICATION: A scholarship established by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and Paramount that was featured in the Winter 2022 issue of USC Trojan Family Magazine is open to any students who are interested in advancing Latinx diversity in newsrooms.

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USC researchers are turning plastic waste into materials we can use as medicine in the future. (More on page 30.)

Seeds of Change

AI can help farmers use data and models to gain more bountiful harvests in Ethiopia. By Marc Ballon 24

Found in Translation

By reading foreign news sources in English, AI is fostering cross-cultural understanding. By Greg Hardesty

26 Care Without Bias

Keck Medicine of USC created an innovative gender-affirming care program by collaborating with trans communities. By Chinyere Amobi

30 A Cure for Plastic Waste

USC researchers are finding ways to transform plastic waste into pharmaceuticals. By Paul McQuiston

32

The Perfect Stitch

Computer scientists and clinicians are designing AI solutions to improve surgical training. By Caitlin Dawson