USC Media and Public Relations

The New York Times featured the Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation, a nonprofit co-founded Josh Kun of the USC Annenberg School. The society, devoted to preserving Jewish music, recently released “’Twas the Night Before Hanukkah,” an album detailing the history of Hanukkah in the United States, as well as the influence of Jewish songwriters in American Christmas music. “If you are an immigrant Jew, what are the ways to fast-track yourself into American-ness?” Kun said. “There’s Hollywood, there’s Tin Pan Alley, and there are Christmas songs, and they all work together.”

Inside Higher Ed featured Daniel Lidar of the USC Viterbi School, who spoke about his research on quantum computers, which could run calculations many times faster than ordinary computers. Lidar and colleagues built a quantum computer prototype in a diamond, which reduces decoherence, a common problem that prevents quantum computers from functioning properly. “Our design is advantageous because it can work at room temperature, whereas other solid state design require temperatures that are even colder than in outer space,” Lidar said. Inside Higher Ed ran a second story.

Boing Boing featured the Mosley Snowflake Sponge, a three-dimensional fractal built by USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim as well as USC students, faculty and staff. The fractal was constructed out of 49,000 folded business cards. “Like a fantastic book, it opens your eyes to linkages to disciplines that are often kept far apart,” Wertheim said. The project is part of the USC Libraries Discovery Fellowship, established by USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan to showcase art, science, math and the library’s collections.

Reuters ran an op-ed by Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School about the future of the American electorate, and how it relates to the current California electorate. “Whatever happens in the Golden State is likely to be a precursor of the next trend in American politics,” Jeffe wrote. “For better or worse, America has become California.”

The Sacramento Bee quoted David Carter of the USC Marshall School about resentment among Sacramento Kings fans toward the team’s owners.

KPCC-FM interviewed Courtney Brunious of the USC Marshall School about the value of a championship to a sports team.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that USC doctoral student Jacob Peters was a panelist at the American Studies Association’s Annual Meeting.

The Washington Post ran an article supported by the Knight Grant for Reporting on Religion and American Public Life, a program of the USC Annenberg School’s Knight Program in Media and Religion.

The Huffington Post ran a column co-written by Nake Kamrany of the USC Dornsife College on avoiding depressions by reducing unemployment.