USC Media and Public Relations

Featured Stories

Los Angeles Times reported that USC students Matt Barkley, T.J. McDonald, Scott Starr and Josh Shaw and fellow USC football team members will travel to Haiti to build houses and transport supplies. Barkley's father traveled there to do humanitarian work in the wake of the 2010 earthquake, and his son was inspired to follow in his footsteps. "It's going to bring our team even closer together," Matt Barkley said. "Serving together brings you together."

Los Angeles Times reported that the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission is preparing to sign a new lease with USC. The story noted that USC would maintain the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum property and make about $70 million in renovations to the venue, plus install a new sound system and video board. "Our goal is to make the Coliseum a proud landmark and gathering place for all Angelenos," said USC Senior Vice President for University Relations Thomas Sayles.

Los Angeles Times highlighted the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, which found that 82 percent of California voters were very or somewhat concerned about Internet and smart phone companies collecting their information. It also found that voters didn't trust well known companies like Apple, Google and Facebook.

Forbes featured the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at USC and its role as an accelerator for medical technology, helping inventors develop their ideas from conception to prototype and beyond. "We want to bridge the gap between the idea and the marketplace," said Jonathan Lasch, executive director of the institute. The institute helps inventors navigate the U.S. patent and FDA approval processes, as well as intellectual property issues, regulatory issues, testing, scaling, product design, marketing, sales and distribution. The story highlighted several current projects, including a technology that treats skin lesions through high-energy pulses; an adhesive that falls off when a cold compress is applied, for use on burn victims or those with hypersensitive skin; and new types of stent coatings that reduce the narrowing of blood vessels and blood clots.

TechCrunch highlighted the online graduate programs at the USC Rossier School and USC School of Social Work, developed in collaboration with tech company 2tor. The New York Observer noted that the Rossier School's online graduate program increased online enrollment significantly in just two years, and that the school jumped from No. 38 to No. 15 in education school rankings.

Forbes featured research by Nathanael Fast of the USC Marshall School and USC doctoral student Yeri Cho finding that saying "thank you" can ease tensions between employees and managers. Insecure managers who were prone to denigrating their employees were found to be especially receptive to expressions of gratitude. Cosmopolitan also featured the research.

LAist featured the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC, noting that the event is expected to draw more than 150,000 visitors. The festival will feature authors including T.C. Boyle and Carol Muske-Dukes of the USC Dornsife College, as well as public figures like Michael Ian Black, John Cusack and Rodney King.

Yahoo! News featured research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School and colleagues, finding that fasting may lead to shorter periods of recovery in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Longo theorizes that fasting slows down the metabolism of the body's cells; cancer cells have difficulty adapting and become weak, allowing chemotherapy to have a better chance at eliminating them.

Mashable highlighted research by Berokh Khoshnevis of the USC Viterbi School on the use of contour crafting to construct simple concrete structures. The computer-aided construction can build a square foot of wall in less than 20 seconds. "We can make the cost of construction so low that we can put money into the materials," Khoshnevis said. "The buildings of the future will be stronger."

The Huffington Post ran a column by Sherman Jackson of the USC Dornsife College about the Trayvon Martin shooting case and the complexity of racial identification. Jackson wrote about the Florida "Stand Your Ground" law, which empowers citizens to use deadly force if they fear that they're under physical threat. "This is simply an ill-conceived, dangerous and irresponsible law that threatens all Americans far more than it protects them," Jackson wrote.