USC Media and Public Relations

The Washington Post featured research by Dana Goldman of the USC Price School and the USC School of Pharmacy and colleagues, finding that President Obama’s Affordable Care Act could actually raise insurance premiums despite insurers competing with one another. “Virginia had one of the most competitive markets in 2001, with its two largest insurers controlling only 25 percent of the market, yet premiums in the state increased nearly 140 percent over the period,” Goldman and colleagues wrote.

Indian Express (India) featured the first reunion of USC alumni in Mumbai, India. “Previously, we used to have events like a football match attended only by about 30-40 people, even though there are about 400 USC alumni in Mumbai alone,” said USC alumnus Ranjit Nair, president of the USC Alumni Club, India. “We realized there are more alumni we are not able to reach out to.” The event included comedy, a video message from USC Viterbi School Dean Yannis Yortsos, and lots of cardinal and gold. “USC students in India hold huge prospects as a network that would help the alumni and faculty alike,” said USC alumnus Amar Agrawal, owner of the Comedy Store, where the reunion was held. “The event is the first step towards building a formalized network for students,” said Kamaldeep Chadha, director of USC’s Mumbai office. “The Indian students are such an integral part of USC, and this sort of an event was waiting to happen; it means quite a lot for both the students and faculty,” said Sudha Kumar, director of the USC Viterbi School’s office in Bangalore.

CNN featured research by Albert “Skip” Rizzo of USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies which uses virtual reality technology to treat soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Virtual reality may also be used on soldiers about to be deployed, to help prepare them for the trauma they may experience. The work was also featured by Minnesota Public Radio.

Indo-Asian News Service (India) featured research by Cleopatra Abdou of the USC Davis School finding that the value an expectant mother places on her family can determine the health of her baby three years later. “We know that social support has profound health implications. Yet in this case, this is more a story of beliefs than of actual family support,” Abdou said.

CBC News (Canada) featured research by Maja Mataric of the USC Viterbi School on the use of robots to help autistic children. The story stated that autistic kids seem to respond more naturally to machines than to people, which aids the learning process; the robots are also helpful because effective treatment can be time-consuming. Mataric and her team hope to design a robot that costs no more than $1,000 and is able to help autistic children in their homes.

Curbed L.A. featured the new USC University Club, which is housed in King Stoops Hall, a former Los Angeles public library and a USC library for decades. The former central library area has been opened up to the cathedral ceiling and windows. The new location is “at the heart of a campus that is expanding northward,” the story stated.

Slate reviewed “10 Print,” a book by Mark Marino of the USC Dornsife College and colleagues. The book takes a single line of BASIC code and uses it as a jumping-off point for considering creative computing in music and other areas. The book was also featured by Wired and Boing Boing.

The New York Times quoted Edward Kleinbard of the USC Gould School about the impact of successful tax reform on the U.S. economy.

Los Angeles Times quoted Carl Voigt of the USC Marshall School about a strike affecting the ports of L.A. and Long Beach.

PBS News Wilmington, Del., affiliate WHYY-TV interviewed USC Dornsife College Dean Steve Kay about a study on fat cell “clocks” that may lead to obesity.

The Press-Enterprise quoted H. Chad Lane of USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies about the use of video games in education.

The Orange County Register quoted Mark Bolas of the USC School of Cinematic Arts about virtual reality.

Los Angeles Times covered the swearing in of Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey, a USC Gould School alumna, at USC’s Galen Center. La Opinion noted that Lacey is the first female and first African-American district attorney in Los Angeles. KPCC-FM covered the transition, noting that outgoing District Attorney Steve Cooley is also a USC Gould School alumnus. The story was also covered by NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV.

Los Angeles Times mentioned that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger founded the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy earlier this year.

National Review cited the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll finding that 38 percent of California voters think the state is headed in the right direction. The poll was also covered by The Huffington Post and The Christian Science Monitor.

Times-Herald covered research by Michael Goran of the Keck School of USC finding a link between high-fructose corn syrup consumption and diabetes.

L.A. Weekly covered USC Dornsife College student Samuel Krueger and his award-winning thesis, “Delimiting the Postmodern Urban Center: An Analysis of Urban Amenity Clusters in Los Angeles.”