Helping Faculty Find Collaborators
Photo/Philip Channing
Presented to the USC community at an All-University Faculty Assembly on April 26, the CER fellows touched on the contrast between the wealth of research talent at USC and the need for tools for helping faculty find potential collaborators.
Rand Wilcox, a CER fellow and professor of psychology specializing in statistics, highlighted the communication gap when he pledged to “help anyone in any discipline who has any interest in analyzing data,” if only they would come forward.
Wilcox said he would use his three-year term to develop collaborations among statisticians at USC by organizing meetings and seminars, developing libraries of statistics software and building a database of USC research projects in statistics.
The other CER fellows announced similar plans:
Richard Cote, professor of pathology and urology in the Keck School of Medicine of USC, said he would promote interdisciplinary research in biomedical nanoscience through workshops and seminars.
Hossein Jadvar, associate professor of radiology at the Keck School with a joint appointment in biomedical engineering, plans to hold workshops and a multimedia presentation on the interdisciplinary potential of biomedical imaging, as well as a seminar on scientific critical thinking.
Peter Mancall, professor of history in USC College, pledged to organize workshops on grant writing skills for the humanities and on getting published by academic presses.
Maja Mataric, professor of computer science and associate dean of research for the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, wants to create workshops bridging science, engineering and clinical research and aimed at aiding recovery, rehabilitation and training of patients with special needs.
Carol Prescott, professor of psychology in USC College, plans to hold workshops on incorporating genetic information in research studies across the social sciences.
CER also will encourage undergraduate participation in research projects, said Gene Bickers, professor of physics and associate vice provost for undergraduate programs.
In light of the rapid rise in quality of the undergraduate student body, faculty who do not invite younger students into their research programs ignore a vast pool of talent, Bickers warned.
“If you’ve not taught undergraduates in the last few years, you’ve missed something,” he said.
USC currently supports undergraduate research with more than $1 million of funding annually, Bickers added.
The CER’s initiatives all converge on the same goal: to encourage peer mentoring and “significantly enhance the research climate at USC,” said Vice Provost for Research Advancement Randolph Hall, who established CER in January as a follow-up to the successful Center for Excellence in Teaching.
For more information on CER, visit http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/13277.html
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USC in the News
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included 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.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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