Each year, USC programs and faculty research are highlighted in print, broadcast and online stories throughout the world. Highlights of recent news coverage are compiled by USC Media Relations.
USC in the News 6/14/2012
Featured Stories
Los Angeles Business Journal reported that USC alumnus Thomas J. Barrack Jr., founder, chairman and CEO of private equity firm Colony Capital LLC, has been elected to the USC Board of Trustees. "A true Trojan, Tom brings the unique perspective of an extraordinarily creative and successful entrepreneur to our board," said USC President C. L. Max Nikias. "His spirit of adventure, leadership, and wealth of experience in finance and real estate development will be invaluable as we secure USC's place among the ranks of the world's truly elite universities." Barrack is also a member of the USC Marshall School's Board of Leaders.
NPR's "All Things Considered" featured a study by Travis Longcore of the USC Dornsife College, finding that North American communications towers are responsible for an estimated 6.8 million bird deaths each year. Steady red lights used to guide pilots are thought to distract the birds and cause a kind of vertigo. Longcore said that the Federal Aviation Administration has determined it would be safe to replace the steady lights with blinking ones, which would reduce bird deaths. Birds have an important ecological role to play, he added. "They keep insect populations in check, keep our forests healthy, and many species that die at towers are also of conservation concern and declining for various other reasons in addition to tower mortality," Longcore said.
The Economist highlighted research by Richard Easterlin of the USC Dornsife College on the reported happiness of urban Chinese citizens between 1990 and 2010. Easterlin found that the population showed no evidence of a marked increase in life satisfaction, despite China's booming economic prosperity during that period.
The Guardian (U.K.) ran a column by science writer Margaret Wertheim, a USC Libraries Discovery Fellow. The fellowship is constructing the Mosely Snowflake Sponge, a new fractal invented by engineer Jeannine Mosley and made from 49,000 specially designed business cards. "I see this as a dialogue between mathematics, engineering and community art practice — hundreds of USC students are folding component cubes," Wertheim wrote.
Experts Quoted
MSN quoted Carmen Puliafito, dean of the Keck School of USC, about a study on drugs for macular degeneration.
Los Angeles Times quoted Joseph Touch of the USC Viterbi School's Information Sciences Institute about ICANN's acceptance of thousands of applications for new domain names.
Los Angeles Times quoted Elyn Saks of the USC Gould School about proving insanity in criminal cases.
The Telegraph (U.K.) quoted Warren Bennis of the USC Marshall School about why top leaders get derailed.
Bloomberg Businessweek quoted Lee Epstein of the USC Gould School about Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's voting record.
News at a Glance
The New York Times mentioned that the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is administered by USC.
Los Angeles Times cited the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, which found that 83 percent of California voters approved of Controller John Chiang docking legislators' pay during budget disputes last year.
Los Angeles Times mentioned that Jerome Hoffman of the Keck School of USC co-wrote an op-ed with a University of California, Davis professor on prostate cancer screenings.
Los Angeles Times mentioned that redistricting moved USC out of Councilmember Bernard Parks' district and into Councilmember Jan Perry's. KPCC-FM and Contra Costa Times also reported the story.
Los Angeles Times mentioned that Egyptian presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi is a USC alumnus.
Scientific American ran a column by USC students Mallory Pirogovsky and Abigail Joyce about scientific research diving at the USC Dornsife College.