Happy Lunar New Year 2018

February 15, 2018

From Dean Yannis C. Yortsos and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering

KPCC: How can we keep traffic flowing during emergencies like wildfires?

February 11, 2018

During a a radio interview, Jim Moore suggested reverse 911 calls as a strategy to prevent traffic jams in an emergency

KPCC: Are California’s smooth roads worth the extra cost?

February 11, 2018

Jim Moore comments on whether it is important to invest in smoother roads as California’s infrastructure ages

LA Times: California bullet train cost surges by $2.8 billion

February 11, 2018

Jim Moore was quoted on how large public infrastructure projects are communicated to the public

Freakonomics: Are We Running Out of Ideas?

February 4, 2018

The Freaknomics podcast cited Behrokh Khoshnevis “contour crafting” which can 3D print a house in 24 hours

LA Times: Costs soar and cracks revealed in Oroville Dam spillway

February 4, 2018

Amy Rechenmacher was quoted about the strength of the Oroville Dam spillway despite existing cracks

Reuters: U.S. regulator raises concerns about weights on energy pipelines

February 4, 2018

Najmedin Meshkati was quoted about the possible damage weights may cause on the TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone pipeline

International Business Times: You Might Be Breathing Cancer-Causing Toxic Metals During Your Commute

February 4, 2018

Research by Constantinos Sioutas colleagues that found the level of air pollution in the tunnels for the Los Angeles Red Line train were 10 times higher than the threshold set by the World Health Organization and Environmental Protection Agency was featured

Associated Press: Amtrak didn’t wait for system that could’ve prevented wreck

February 4, 2018

Najmedin Meshkati was quoted about how installing and testing a positive train control system might have prevented the fatal Amtrak crash near Seattle.

KPCC: The science of tsunamis and SoCal

February 4, 2018

Costas Synolakis of theTsunami Research Center was interviewed about the vulnerability of Southern California to tsunami warnings all around the Pacific Ocean

Human Resource Executive: Tech Jobs Forge Forward

January 31, 2018

Nenad Medvidovic was quoted regarding the future job prospects for software developers

Fresno Bee: Teenager Develops App to Protect Farmworkers from Heat-Related Illness

January 30, 2018

A collaboration between USC Viterbi students and local high school student Faith Florez to develop a mobile app that alerts farmworkers to heat warnings was featured

NBC News: Surprising Ways Augmented Reality Will Revolutionize Your Life

January 30, 2018

Hao Li was quoted about how augmented reality games might evolve

Discover: ‘Predator’ Vision Drones Get AI to Spot Poachers

January 30, 2018

Research by the USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society to help track poachers using artificial intelligence was featured

Daily Mail: How to Choose the Best Password to Stay Safe Online

January 30, 2018

Research by Marjan Ghazvininejad and Kevin Knight on parameters for more secure passwords was cited.

CNET: Robot Companions Are Just What the Doctor Ordered

January 30, 2018

Work by Maja Mataric and Margaret Trost of the Keck School of Medicine to develop robot-assisted therapies and socially assistive robots was featured

New Scientist: Google’s Quantum Computing Plans Threatened by IBM Curveball

January 29, 2018

Itay Hen was interviewed about the quantum computing race

Nature: Quantum Machine Goes in Search of the Higgs Boson

January 29, 2018

Research by Daniel Lidar applying quantum computing to a physics problem for the first time was featured.

Nature: Turbulence Control: Peace in the pipeline

January 26, 2018

Professor Mitul Luhar on a solution for friction caused by turbulence in pipe flows.

April 19-20: REACH Preview Program

January 17, 2018

Selective visitation preview program targeted to traditionally underrepresented minority students interested in pursuing graduate studies in an engineering or related field. Applications due February 15.