Viterbi Faculty Named to Endowed Chairs
Professor D’Argenio of the department of biomedical engineering will become the first holder of the Chonette Chair in Biomedical Technology; professor Sahimi of the department of chemical engineering will become holder of the NIOC Chair in Petroleum Engineering; and assistant professor Elaine Chew of the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering will become the first holder of the Viterbi Early Career Chair in Engineering.
“David, Muhammad and Elaine have demonstrated exceptional distinction in their fields and shown unparalleled promise for breaking new ground in the future,” said Yannis Yortsos, dean of the USC Viterbi School, in announcing the new appointments.
D’Årgenio joined the USC faculty in 1979. From 1993 to 1995, he was associate dean for academic affairs in the Viterbi School of Engineering and, from 1996 to 2003, he was chair of the department of biomedical engineering. He also was interim director of the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering from 1998 to 1999.
D’Argenio is co-director of the Biomedical Simulations Resource. His research focuses on the development of advanced modeling and in silico methods for studying the absorption, distribution and elimination of therapeutic drugs, and for understanding how drugs produce their effects.
Drug development researchers in pharmaceutical companies throughout the world use his methods.
He is a member of the FDA Clinical Pharmacology Subcommittee and is on the board of directors of the House Ear Institute.
Sahimi was chair of the department of chemical engineering from 1999 until the department was merged with the department of materials science earlier this year.
He is known worldwide for his contributions to the understanding of the properties of heterogeneous materials, fluid flow in porous media with applications to oil and gas recovery, and the development of techniques for large-scale scientific computations and atomistic simulations.
He has also made major contributions to the engineering of reaction and diffusion systems, separation processes and the dynamics of biological systems.
Sahimi earned his bachelor of science degree from the University of Tehran in 1977 and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1984, both in chemical engineering. In 1984, he joined USC.
He has published more than 210 papers in peer-reviewed journals, written four books and authored several invited reviews and book chapters. He is also the recipient of a Humboldt Research Fellowship Award and the Khwarizmi International Award for Distinguished Scientific Achievements, sponsored by UNESCO.
Chew is an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering and research area director of human performance engineering at the Integrated Media Systems Center, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center.
She earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. degree in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a bachelor of arts and sciences degree with honors in music and mathematical and computational sciences from Stanford University, and diplomas in piano performance from Trinity College, London.
Chew’s research focuses on applications and mathematical models for music computation and cognition.
She is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and this year’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers “in recognition of her research on performer-centered approaches to computer-assisted music making, and for her efforts to integrate research and education at the intersection of music and engineering.”
She has also been a recipient of the Josephine de Karman dissertation award, MIT’s Weisner Award for contributions to the arts and an Office of Naval Research Graduate Fellowship.
Chew serves on the editorial boards of ACM Computers in Entertainment, the Journal of Mathematics and Music and the Journal of Music and Meaning.
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The Wall Street Journal highlighted the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
KPCC-FM reported that this fall USC will offer Persian language courses for the first time. A $250,000 grant from the Farhang Foundation helped to establish the program. Bruce Zuckerman of the USC Dornsife College said he has many students interested in the Persian language, culture and region. “The Iranian region is one that has great impact on our lives today and has had great impact going back into ancient times,” he said. The story noted that USC and the Farhang Foundation hope to raise more money to create an Iranian studies minor. Payvand also featured the new courses.
American Songwriter ran a Q&A with Christopher Sampson of the USC Thornton School about the school’s Popular Music program, which Sampson founded. He noted that the program has been available as a major in Songwriting since 2009, and has incorporated a diverse range of musical genres. “We have now established a consistent track record of students having professional success to know that the program gets results,” Sampson said. He also highlighted the achievements of Songwriting faculty members Lamont Dozier, Andrea Stolpe and David Poe of the Thornton School.
The Economist featured research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that short periods of fasting could help cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy, and may even make treatment more effective. The Globe and Mail (Canada) reported that cancerous tumors are essentially energy hogs. “They need to burn lots of energy just to stay alive,” Longo said. The study was also covered by Irish Independent (Ireland), Magyar Tavirati Iroda (Hungary), Anadolu Ajansi (Turkey), Son Haber (Netherlands), Vietnam+ (Vietnam), Turkish Radio and Television (Turkey) and Romania Libera (Romania).
L.A. Weekly featured research by USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, which has developed video games based around physical movement for people recovering from strokes or other injuries. The games develop strength in specific body parts. Traditional video games weren’t right for these patients, said the institute’s Belinda Lange. “Often, the fun parts of the game would only be unlocked after a series of other levels, which our patients often couldn’t achieve,” she said. The games are now being tested with physical therapists in three major clinics.
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