Trojan Family Magazine Summer 2013

F O R A L U M N I A N D F R I E N D S O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A

F A M I L Y

uscTrojanSummer 2013

A talented USC Roski alumna brings

the prehistoric Mesozoic Era to life.

DINOSAUR

DEPICTER

Be part of their success. Contribute to the legacy.

Join us today in The Campaign for USC.

Where

Trojan Tradition meets

Latino Culture

USC Latino Alumni AssociationGet involved. Call us at (213) [email protected] www.usc.edu/latinoalumni

Gabriela Martinez (B.S. Business Administration ’11) and

Alexandra Ruelas (B.A. Neuroscience ’10, Master of Arts in Teaching ’11)

USC TROJAN FAMILY MAGAZINE tfm.usc.edu 1

09 Campaign for USCGifts provide opportunities for film students and

Latino alumni give back through scholarships.

39 Family TiesNews from the USC Alumni Association

44 Class Notes Who’s doing what and where

[ FEATURES ]

Autism on CampusBy Diane Krieger

Students, faculty and

alumni on the autism

spectrum show they

have a place in college.

Number Crunchers By Marc Ballon

USC researchers are

harnessing Big Data in

innovative ways that will

shape the future.

Scientific SerendipityBy Chris Daley

In the quest for answers

to tough questions, USC’s

Scott Fraser gets people

talking.

Dinosaur DepicterBy Robin Heffler

USC Roski alumna draws

on paleontology and

imagination to create

a vision of ancient life.

03 President’s PageA visionary gift from two music industry giants

creates an academy for artistic entrepreneurs.

04 MailbagPats, pans and other observations and opinions

from readers

06 Trojan BeatFaculty welcomes Gen. David Petraeus, a newly

approved device gives hope for the blind, and

women’s lacrosse starts new era.

inside

12 15 20 24

On the cover: Illustration by Stephanie Abramowicz ’06

28 Designs on Social Change By Alicia Di Rado

USC Marshall teaches undergrads how to combine creativity with business principles to make a better world.

32 Busy SignalsNational Medal of Science laureate Solomon Golomb is as curious at age 80 as he was at 18.

34 Fresh Air By Candace Pearson

Targeted therapies and other advances create new hope for lung cancer patients.

2 USC TROJAN FAMILY MAGAZINE summer 2013

EDITOR

Alicia Di Rado

SENIOR EDITOR

Diane Krieger

MANAGING EDITOR

Mary Modina

ART DIRECTOR

Sheharazad P. Fleming

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Russell Ono, Stacey Torii

Dongyi Wu

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Marc Ballon, Merrill Balassone

Chris Daley, Eliza Gallo

Megan Hazle, Robin He�er

Pamela J. Johnson, Sue Khodarahmi

Timothy O. Knight, Ross M. Levine

Eric Mankin, Annette Moore

Candace Pearson, Robert Perkins

Leslie Ridgeway, Christina Schweighofer

Lauren Walser

PHOTOGRAPHY

Sahar Baghery, John Beckner

Je� Bertig, Stephen Blaha

Armando Brown, Philip Channing

Tony Choi, Steve Cohn

Patricia Essil�e, Luke Fisher, Steven A. Heller

David James, Ann Jerome, Jon Kondrath

Victoria Lanier, Shelley McArdle

Don Milici, Noé Montes

Jon Nalick, Joe Ochoa

Vanessa Preziose, Tom Queally

Tom Rysavy, John Simpson

Julie Stapen, Yesim Tozan

Blessing Waung, Rachel Wu

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Mary Modina | [email protected]

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Vickie Kebler

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USC Trojan Family Magazine (ISSN 8750-

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by USC University Communications.

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§e quarterly magazine of the

University of Southern California

editor's note

THE OLDER YOU GET, THE FASTER TIME speeds by. As if I hadn’t realized that already, along came my niece’s recent college graduation.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was posing on the same �eld for the same pictures with my family after my own commencement? Back then, the only evidence of my niece Sarah was my sister-in-law’s expanding belly. Sarah would grow up to become a lover of literature and a kind, aspiring teacher, but back then she seemed destined for kicking �eld goals. §ings change a lot in 22 years.

At USC, as we welcome members of the Class of ’13 into the family of alumni, the Class of ’17 prepares to arrive. And it’s USC’s most impressive undergraduate group ever. Next fall’s admitted USC students bring an average high school GPA of 3.8 (more than 4.0 if you weigh Advanced Placement courses). §ey represent every U.S. state and 79 other countries, volunteer in their communities and excel in the arts and sports.

Considering the rich quality and experiences of today’s students, my friends and I are often grateful we didn’t have to compete with them for college admission. But that was another time. Now as alumni we can look proudly on the academic prowess of our current college students: §e more our next generations succeed, the better the alma mater becomes. And at USC, when our students shine, USC shines—and that re¯ects on the whole Trojan Family.

Now if they could only �gure out how to slow down time.

A L I C I A D I R A D O

E D I T O R I A L D I R E C T O R

U S C U N I V E R S I T Y C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

The Circle of College Life

WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK.

WRITE TO US AT tfm.usc.edu/mailbag››


On a sunny day in May, USC announced an extraordinarily

generous—and exceptionally visionary—gift from pioneering music

producer Jimmy Iovine and celebrated artist Andre Young, who is

known professionally as Dr. Dre. Their $70 million gift will create the

USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology

and the Business of Innovation.

e excitement on our campuses swelled quickly. is will be a tremendously groundbreaking pro-gram for our undergraduate students, and e�ectively collapse the boundaries between art and industry, artist and entrepreneur. e academy will prepare keenly creative individuals to become savvy business

strategists, while nurturing the artistic sensibilities of talented entrepreneurs. Stu-dents will emerge from this program as inspired inno-vators, amply equipped to assume their place along-side today’s most prescient thinkers.

e academy will enroll its �rst class of 25 stu-dents in fall 2014, and Erica Muhl, dean of the USC Roski School of Fine Arts, will serve as

its inaugural director. Its curriculum will be decidedly interdisciplinary, but will primarily draw from the �elds of audio and visual design, engineering, business and �ne arts. In their fourth year, students will form self-directed teams and advance projects in the “Garage,” a highly experiential setting inspired by the storied Hewlett-Packard garage in Palo Alto, Calif., which is often referred to as the birthplace of Silicon Valley.

Graduates of the academy will become passion-ate leaders among their peers, while drawing on an education that emphasizes creativity, artistry, cultural curation and technological invention. As skilled risk-takers, they will rede�ne the very landscapes of these areas, diligently imagining new art forms, innovative technologies and forward-thinking business mod-els. As they build their careers, as they advance their potential and contribute to society, they will consis-tently innovate, rather than imitate.

In developing its programming, the academy will regularly host luminaries from outside the univer-sity. ese visiting faculty and guest speakers will o�er both instruction and inspiration to our stu-dents, and serve as astute mentors for their projects. ey will also help our students bridge their schol-arly and creative work with the pragmatic demands of the professional world.

USC is the ideal home for such a dynamic academy. Our world-class arts schools routinely collaborate with our professional schools, produc-ing projects that blend music and engineering, busi-ness and �ne arts. e culture of our community has always been rooted in collaboration, in build-ing connections among disciplines, and in bridging �elds as disparate as graphic design and marketing, business strategy and technology. is history—this vibe—will form the academy’s foundation.

Meanwhile, the university’s location will certainly fuel the academy’s growth. O� campus, its stu-dents will �nd themselves in the media and creative capital of the world: Los Angeles. Here, music, �lm and the visual arts remain deeply intertwined, their communities regularly partnering to produce new works and fresh ideas. Our students will also ben-e�t from USC’s proximity to the city’s burgeoning Silicon Beach, as well as its more established sib-ling, Silicon Valley. ese communities will expose our students to cutting-edge technological advances, allowing them to keep a well-placed �nger on inno-vation’s pulse.

is is a landmark moment for USC. We are tremendously proud to partner with Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young to create this new academy, and together, we will prepare stellar artists to be e�ective entrepreneurs and singular businesspersons to be great artists. In doing so, we will cultivate an elite group of students, building generations of inspired thinkers—all unique among the graduates of top universities today. �

Director Erica Muhl,

left, and music industry

giants Jimmy Iovine and

Dr. Dre (Andre Young) with

USC President C. L. Max Nikias

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president's page

BY C. L. MAX NIKIAS


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person and the people enjoy better health. I would like to see the USC scholars look into a comparison of “a�ordable health” and the systems used in other mature economies.

Jack Finkelstein MS ’59 G A R D E N G R O V E , C A

Editor’s note: Several USC professors spoke at length about single-payer health care during our interviews for this story, but the article addressed the sustainability of the A�ordable Care Act, which does not use a single-payer model. E�orts to create a national single-payer system have garnered insu�cient political support in Con-gress to move forward, although Vermont’s single-payer system may become a test case. As to the larger question of whether universal health care would make us healthier, the answer is com-plicated: Improving health in the U.S. does not seem to be entirely an issue of access to health care but also of lifestyle, and there are places, includ-ing cancer survival, where higher U.S. spending appears to buy better health.

Healthy DiscourseAs a retired obstetrician-gynecologist, I read the article “Health Ensured” (Spring 2013, p. 18) with great interest. �e authors gen-erally imply that the A�ordable Care Act, after initial spending increases, will work to save health care expenses in this coun-try. I have grave doubts, but nonetheless hope they are correct. I do take exception, however, with their statement “... we know that (Cesarean rates are based on payment) is exactly what happens.” My own rule for any therapeutic decision was based purely on patient outcome. It’s too bad that the threat of litigation and other considerations were also factors to be considered, but I believe that patient outcome was a primary factor for most of my colleagues as well. I would be pleased if the author or Mr. Goldman can cite a study that forms the basis of this remark.

Alan L. Lasnover MD ’61 E S C O N D I D O , C A

Dana Goldman, director of the USC Schae�er Center, replies: While it is di�cult to identify any particular physician who would change a recommended treatment for a particular patient, the evidence on this point is striking. More than half of the di�erence in rates of cesarean sec-tions between Medicaid and private-insured patients can be explained by fee di�erences (Gruber and Kim, 1999). In addition, regions that experienced the most dramatic declines in fertility rates from 1970 to 1982 saw the largest increases in cesarean sections, even after control-ling for other demographic factors (Gruber and Owings, 1999). �e bottom line is that physi-cians—despite their best intentions—respond to �nancial incentives just like anyone else.

I am surprised that none of the scholars at USC mentioned single-payer health care i.e., socialized medicine. �at is the way all the countries with mature economies, e.g., European Union countries, provide and pay for their health care. �ey spend less per

mailbag


media bytes

FACULTY SOUND BYTES

“Inevitably, our tastes change

as we grow older. Most of the

pop songs that once served

as anthems are now exercises

in nostalgia, calling up happy

ghosts rather than anything

new and urgent.”

TIM PAGE

USC Annenberg School,

Los Angeles Times bit.ly/popnostalgia

“We all know that diet, blood

pressure and other risk

factors play an important role

in developing heart disease,

but these factors can be

modified and influenced by having caring,

loving relationships.”

L UA N DA G R A Z E T T E

Keck School of Medicine of USC,

89.3 KPCC-FM bit.ly/loving_relationship

“The rule of thumb really

should be that if you put

something up on the Web you

lose some kind of control over

it. You almost have to assume

it will stay out there forever.”

JAC K LE R N E R

USC Gould School,

NBC News Los Angeles a�liate

KNBC-TV bit.ly/rule_of_thumb

“…scientists, whether they like

it or not, need to learn how

to brand their work in a way

that those with less scientific

knowledge understand the

great returns that can be generated from

their investments.”

IR A K A LB

USC Marshall School,

Business Insider bit.ly/brand_work

Room for MoreIn the photo of Briahna Hendey’s room on page 29 (“My Room, My USC,” Spring 2013), on a shelf above her desk is a quo-tation from Edwin Land (of the Polaroid Land Cameras) that begins: “An essential aspect of creativity is not being ...” �e end-ing is obscured by a blue dog. I would like to know how Land completes that thought. Although my classes at USC were o� cam-pus (Vandenberg Air Force Base 50 miles on the other side of Santa Barbara), I had previously inhabited something called a dorm. Quite di�erent, in some ways, and the same in other ways, from the lifestyles described in your article.

Howard Cornell MS ’72A R L I N G T O N , T E X A S

Editor’s note: �e end of Edwin Land’s quote is “afraid to fail.”

Love BytesIt was interesting to note in “Faculty Sound Bytes” (Media Bytes, Spring 2013, p. 5) Leslie Saxon’s statement “My vision of the future is that digital medicine will help us live easier, and hopefully it will be harder to die.” I know that she meant well, but, at my age of 90 years, I see friends that already ¥nd it very di�cult to die. No wonder the English language is so hard to understand.

Warren G. Brown DDS ’45C A M A R I L L O , C A

What a great picture of the Tirebiter bronze! I have only visited our campus twice since graduating in 1945 and had not seen it. He was truly unique and is rightly hon-ored. Too many people who missed their pets wanted to pet him, so he became aloof. �e only one who could pet him was the Good Humor man, also very popular. �ere may have been some treats involved in their relationship. Unlike other campus dogs, he would follow you 10 or 15 feet away as you walked across campus. At that time most of the streets were open and tra�c was light. Tirebiter saw it as his job to make a run at every car that passed. Was he protecting us or just showing o�? Who knows what goes through a dog’s head. He never quite bit a tire but was always close. Tirebiter is rightly remembered as part of our history.

Newell Boughton ’45 T A O S , N M

Beat the Rap �e latest issue proposed that there is a “Medical Mystery” (Trojan Beat, Spring 2013, p. 6) as to why Americans die ear-lier than people from other high-income democracies. I disagree with the perspec-tive. Without the bene¥t of knowing which 17 countries were examined in the research, two very likely reasons behind the earlier deaths are surely that Americans, on the whole, walk less and sleep less than the people living in the other countries studied. Walking is not expensive. Sleeping—gen-erally speaking—is not expensive. Wealth and access to medical technology can’t undo the negative e�ects of a sedentary, sleep-deprived lifestyle.

Lynn Balsamo ’88 S A N T A M O N I C A , C A

We believe [Dowell] Myers (“Wanted: California Babies”) missed a huge oppor-tunity by avoiding the mention of what is probably the chief reason this particular slate of states is not producing. �ose states are at the forefront of producing a large crop of dependent, nanny-state-indoctrinated, nonproducing, subpar-citizen drug addicts. No wonder the baby crop is subpar. Who wants to raise a family in such hopeless, government-controlled intellectual poverty? Heck, who wants to even go visit them?

Art MS ’89 and Maureen Charette A L L I S O N , C O

Super DoctorDr. [Inderbir] Gill (“New Ways to Fight Prostate Cancer,” Winter 2012, p. 32) per-formed surgery on my husband in 2006, and it was quite successful. At that time, he was at the Cleveland Clinic. He is a warm, caring, highly talented professional whom we greatly admire. He even wheeled my husband into the operating room, although he proved more adept at surgery than steer-ing. We are so thankful for his surgical skill and so happy that he has moved to USC!

Carol (Hagg) Kemp ’65 B E L L I N G H A M , W A

WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK.

SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO THE

EDITOR AT tfm.usc.edu/mailbag››

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trojan beat

Retired four-star Gen. David Petraeus, architect of the counterinsurgency doctrine that stabilized Iraq and former director of the CIA, joined USC’s faculty July 1 as Judge Widney Professor. Petraeus will teach, attend seminars and panels, participate in working sessions with students and faculty, and mentor student veterans and ROTC members. His presence at USC “will add transformative energy to our teaching and research in international relations, government, economics, management, defense studies and mili-tary science,” says University Professor Kevin Starr. Petraeus’ interests include American leadership in revolutionizing energy, information technology, life sciences and manufacturing. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy and an MPA and a PhD from Princeton University in international relations—a subject he has taught at West Point. Petraeus toured USC in March, visiting with veterans, ROTC members and students from the USC School of Social Work and USC Price School of Public Policy.

Frank J. Fertitta III ’84,

chairman and CEO of Sta-

tion Casinos and Fertitta

Entertainment, a resort

and casino develop-

ment and management

company, joined the USC

Board of Trustees.

Barbara Hedges, who

pioneered the Trojan

women’s athletics

program, returned to

USC as co-chair of the

Heritage Initiative, the

$300 million fundrais-

ing campaign for USC

Athletics.

LACROSSE FEVER

Varsity women’s lacrosse became the 21st NCAA sport at USC in 2012–13, and the team surprised fans by � nishing fourth in its conference in its � rst year. Trojan head coach Lindsey Munday—winner of two NCAA championships as a player and three as a coach, all at lacrosse powerhouse Northwest-ern University—captains the current U.S. women’s national team. She handpicked USC’s 26 players, including Amanda Johansen, who won conference Rookie of the Year honors.

Professor Petraeus

ENGINEERS, START YOUR ENGINES!

USC Viterbi School has teamed with the venture capital � rm Kleiner, Perkins, Cau� eld & Byers and the entertainment management � rm United Talent Agency to help Viterbi students and alumni turn their ideas into successful companies. � e partner-ship—called Viterbi Startup Garage—is an early-stage technology accelerator that provides funding, space, mentoring and strategic resources through a 12-week program based at USC’s Information Sci-ences Institute in Marina del Rey, Calif.

96-year-old Louis Zamperini ’40,

World War II hero and 1936 Trojan

Olympian, received a thunderous

standing ovation

at his Bovard appearance

in March.


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e blind will see. at’s not just part of a biblical passage—it’s medically possible today, thanks to the Argus II retinal pros-thesis system, recently approved by the FDA for use in the United States. USC researcher Mark Humayun was a key member of the team that developed the device, which is now available to quali�ed patients at the Keck Medical Center of USC. e Argus II restores partial vision to people with retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited degenerative retinal disease that a�ects about 100,000 Americans. irty patients received the device in a clinical trial that began in 2007; these patients can now locate the position of objects, and some can recognize large letters. e results have been “beyond our wildest dreams,” says Humayun, who holds the Cornelius J. Pings Chair in Biomedical Sciences and is professor of ophthalmol-ogy, biomedical engineering and cell neu-robiology at USC.

Bionic Eyes

The USC Board of Trustees

welcomed Leonard D.

Schaeffer, founding chair-

man and CEO of WellPoint

and namesake of the USC

Leonard D. Schaeffer Center

for Health Policy and Eco-

nomics.

Renowned choreographer

and former Joffrey Ballet

principal dancer Jodie

Gates is the new vice dean

and director of USC’s Glorya

Kaufman School of Dance.

She was a dance professor

at UC Irvine.

Legal scholar Lee Epstein

was awarded a Guggenheim

Fellowship. She is USC Pro-

vost Professor of Law and

Political Science and holds

the Rader Family Trustee

Chair in Law.

Erica Muhl, a composi-

tion professor in the USC

Thornton School of Music,

is the new dean of the USC

Roski School of Fine Arts.

She had served as interim

dean since 2012.

80new “SNPs”—single nucleotide

polymorphisms—were discovered by Keck School researchers. Having

one or more of these genetic variations may increase a person’s risk for breast,

prostate and ovarian cancer.

PRIVATE EYE

Relatively few of the millions of photos shared online are encrypted, leaving them potentially vulnerable to misuse by strangers. But now there’s P3 (short for “privacy-preserving photo sharing”). P3 removes and encrypts small but crucial bits of image data, permitting cloud �le-sharing services like Facebook and Flickr to access just the unencrypted—and unrecogniz-able—portions. Only the image’s owner can share the encrypted portions. P3 is the brain-child of USC Viterbi School’s Antonio Ortega and Ramesh Govindan, with PhD student Moo-Ryong Ra.

BRAIN REBUILDERS

Imagine if doctors could regenerate brain cells killed by stroke, traumatic brain injury or diseases such as Parkinson’s. at advance may be on the horizon. Researchers led by Berislav Zlokovic, director of USC’s Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, have shown that human neural progenitor cells, which build neurons, can be prompted into action by a genetically engineered variant of a protein found in the body. Mice that received the variant two weeks after a stroke showed remarkable cognitive improvements.

15thLuce Scholar in USC history is film-

maker Tamara Shogaolu, a cinematic arts MFA who will study

social change media in Asia.

Trojan Pride = Doing Your PartThere are a lot of things to be proud of at USC.

Let’s make alumni participation one of them!

More than 190,000 donors have supported the

$6 billion Campaign for USC. You can join them today. It

takes only a few minutes to make a gift and a difference.

There is strength in numbers, so let’s show the world

that USC’s alumni are proud to be Trojans!

https://giveto.usc.edu

the campaignfor the

University of SouthernCalifornia

FA S R E G N A T R O JA E

Please call or make a

gift online:

USC Office of Annual Giving

(213) 740-7500

Toll Free: 877 GIVE USC

https://giveto.usc.edu

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HE’S BEST KNOWN AS THE DIRECTOR

behind the blockbuster X-Men franchise, but

at USC, Bryan Singer ’89 has become a familiar

name for more than his successful film career.

In January, Singer became the namesake of

the USC School of Cinematic Arts division from

which he received his bachelor’s degree. Now

called the Bryan Singer Division of Critical Stud-

ies, the division became the school’s first to be

named for one of its alumni.

Singer’s $5 million naming gift will provide a

lasting source of funding to enable the division

to grow, as well as provide support for students,

faculty and staff.

The division provides a range of courses on

the study of media, from big-budget blockbust-

ers to immersive experiences, and it’s spawned

many influential scholars, authors and cinematic

leaders such as Singer.

“In a way, I began my career in the Division of

Critical Studies at USC,” Singer said. “Watching

great films and learning how to think about film

from the faculty transformed me as an artist and

as a person. I am honored to give back to the

division and the school that gave me so much.”

V A L E R I E T U R P I N

EXPECT TO SEE “Filmed on Redstone 1” or “Filmed on Redstone 2” at the end of student lm credits at lm festivals in years to come. Already, young ga�ers are setting up lights and aspiring directors are super-vising crews on the two soundstages in the Sumner M. Redstone Production Building, which was recently named for the longtime entertainment industry executive.

Redstone’s $10 million naming gift to the USC School for Cinematic Arts sup-ports production space and facilities used by about 1,000 USC students readying for their life’s work in lm, television and news media.

“I’ve always said that content is king. It’s the lord of the realm. It’s the highest value in this industry,” Redstone told a crowd that gathered on Redstone Stage 2 for a dedica-

tion ceremony in February. “USC has been instrumental in celebrating the type of tal-ent that exemplies this, and it’s my sin-cere honor to be associated with this great school and to help to shape the future of this industry.”

�e Redstone Production Building, which is already open, features 2,600 square feet of production space where students col-laborate while learning key skills, such as staging, lighting, directing, producing, and forming and leading a crew.

Redstone is majority owner and chairman of the board of the National Amusements theater chain. �rough National Amuse-ments, Redstone and his family are majority owners of CBS Corp., Viacom, MTV Net-works, BET and Paramount Pictures.

R Y A N G I L M O U R

Students’ First Steps in Film Sumner Redstone’s $10 million gift supports a creative space for budding filmmakers.

Bryan Singer embraces the division where he made his start in film.

[ CAMPAIGN FOR USC ]

From X-Men to an Expansive Cinematic Gift


Support from Latino alumni boosts future generations of Trojans.

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ALTHOUGH JOHN M. SANDOVAL ’12 spoke no English when he arrived in California at age 5, he thrived in his new environment and quickly became a star student. Now he’s graduated magna cum laude from USC—but the path to success wasn’t always an easy one.

His parents, Jose and Sonia Sandoval, were both architects in El Salvador before they emigrated to the U.S. to protect their family from widespread gang violence and kidnappings in their native country. e jobs they found here were nothing like those they’d had—Sonia Sandoval is a babysitter, and her husband works at a gas station—but they sacri�ced to provide their son the best education.

When the couple enrolled him in a private high school, his mother proudly told a coun-selor there that John had been a straight-A student throughout elementary and middle school. e counselor replied that it would be a while before he’d earn A’s in this school.

Despite those low expectations, John never

earned less than an A in high school. And he went on to attend USC—where he did both his parents and his university proud.

He completed a double major in politi-cal science and philosophy in three and a half years. During that time, he also served as president of the USC chapter of the His-panic Scholarship Fund, led a yearlong weekly workshop series to guide high school students through the college application process, and worked as a residential adviser for three years, helping incoming freshmen transition to college life.

Now a paralegal in the law o�ces of Curiel and Parker, he plans to apply to law school.

John received the top student honor at the 39th annual USC Latino Alumni Asso-ciation Scholarship Gala on March 1. In his acceptance speech, he thanked USC for believing in him, and dedicated the honor to his parents.

“is would not have been possible with-out the grant USC o�ered me when my father

was unemployed, or without the scholarship and professional training the USC LAA has provided,” he said.

e LAA is a legacy of the USC Mexi-can American Alumni Association, founded in 1973. e name was changed in 2011 to a�rm the growing diversity of USC’s Latino community and the association’s commitment to serving all Latino students at the university.

With support from an active and loyal cadre of alumni, students and friends, the LAA has awarded $15 million in scholar-ships over the past 40 years. Each year, more than 175 students receive LAA scholarships. Tuition assistance goes to USC undergradu-ates and graduate students who demonstrate �nancial need or merit as well as a com-mitment to the Latino community. Every scholarship recipient, in return, is required to provide volunteer service for the LAA. Most scholars join the association after graduation.

is strategy of linking �nancial support with a culture of giving back has trans-formed the lives of scholarship recipients while advancing the university overall.

“USC has been recognized by the Edu-cation Trust, a research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, for the outstand-ing job we do in graduating Latino students at rates that are at the university average,” said Katharine Harrington, USC vice president of admissions and planning. “We attribute that in part to the very positive in�uence the Latino Alumni Association has on our current students.”

Nationwide, according to a report by Excelencia in Education, Latino students’ university graduation rates trail 14 percent-age points behind those of white students.

If he could ask just one thing of those attending the gala, John said, it would be to support LAA scholarships as a way of mak-ing a real impact on the world—and discov-ering “what true potential looks like when it’s unlocked.”

A N N E T T E M O O R E

Learn more about the LAA and scholarships at latinoalumni.usc.edu

Unlocking True Potential

John Sandoval ’12 is flanked by his parents,

Jose and Sonia Sandoval.


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MAJA MATARIĆ couldn’t help but smile.A boy with autism stood in front of one

of her Interaction Lab’s robots, looked at its mechanical face, and ordered, “Robot, say, ‘Choo-choo!’”

�e robot stayed quiet. “Oh, now I know how my teacher feels,”

the boy said, displaying empathy both humorous and unexpected.

�is is the kind of breakthrough that excites Matarić, USC professor and Chan Soon-Shiong Chair in Computer Science, Neuroscience and Pediatrics. She studies how socially assistive robots can help people, especially those with special needs. Among those who seem to bene�t: children on the autism spectrum.

“No one knows why robots work so well with some children with autism. But we and others have observed repeatedly that when many children with autism interact with socially assistive robots, they show behav-iors they ordinarily wouldn’t express, espe-cially not with other people,” says Matarić, director of the USC Center for Robotics and Embedded Systems and co-director of the USC Robotics Research Lab.

Matarić’s lab conducts research with therapists and clinical researchers at Chil-dren’s Hospital Los Angeles, where she has placed robots to study how children on the

autism spectrum relate to them as peers and playmates.

Matarić and her students are document-ing everything from the essential challenges of autism to the kinds of interactions that children on the autism spectrum enjoy. Because many of these children respond well to repetition and predictability, and respond poorly to human faces and behaviors, robots may make ideal therapeutic play partners, she explains.

A small but growing group of research-ers internationally are studying the use of robots in autism therapy, but Matarić’s work is unique in focusing on peer-like playmates similar in size and form to other children. �e goal is to teach children with autism how to more easily interact with other people. Matarić was among those who created the Roadmap for U.S. Robot-ics, which resulted in the National Robot-ics Initiative, a presidential initiative that provides funding for robotics research. �e National Science Foundation funds her long-term autism research.

“We are interested in how we can use robots to begin to change children’s behav-ior. What would happen if a child with autism had a robot buddy at school and at the playground—would that make other kids more interested in playing, and would

I, Robot

the robot make the child more ready to play with other children?” Matarić says.

�e work is gratifying to Patrick Soon-Shiong, who, with his wife, Michele B. Chan, endowed the chair Matarić holds at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

“We’re honored to be able to support work that could make a di�erence. With so many children diagnosed with autism today, we need tools to help them relate to others and embrace them into society,” Soon-Shiong says.

Certainly, Matarić takes a scienti�c approach to her research on the robots’ ben-e�ts to children with autism. Robots should never replace human therapists, she says. But, as a parent, she’s also enthusiastic and hopeful. If robotics technology improves and clinical trials proceed, she expects robots will be used to help certain children with autism within �ve years.

“For a spectrum disorder like autism, one magic pill isn’t going to happen,” she says. “If use of a robot is a�ordable and not damag-ing, why don’t we try it?”

A L I C I A D I R A D O

Learn more about Matarić’s research at robotics.usc.edu/interaction. Find out how you can advance this and other innovative research at campaign.usc.edu

Children with autism relate to Maja Matarić’s ’bots.


“Universities

need to be

a safe place

where people

with autism

know that

they will

be full

members

of the

academic

community.”


By Diane Krieger

neurodiversity and the universityStudents, alumni and faculty on

the autism spectrum show they

have a place in the university.

Universities are hotbeds for

the study of autism. They are

also increasingly hotbeds

for study among autistic

people. With wider access

to diagnosis and support,

having an autism spectrum

disorder (ASD) need no

longer be a roadblock to

attending college.

ASD is characterized,

in varying degrees, by

difficulties in social

interaction, verbal and

nonverbal communication,

and repetitive behaviors.

One out of 88 children is

on the autism spectrum,

according to the Centers

for Disease Control, though

one new study suggests

the rate may be as high as

one out of 50—an increase

likely attributable to greater

awareness. ►

ROUGHLY 50,000 AUTISTIC YOUTH TURN

18 EVERY YEAR. Only a third of them cur-rently go on to college, but experts believe many more could, given appropriate support. �ere are college handbooks for them, and plenty of online resources.

For university admissions o�ces, the so-called “epidemic” of autism may o�er an opportunity. Recruiters see a promising pool of applicants who bring unexpected ideas and single-minded focus. �en there’s the matter of federal law: Under the Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Reha-bilitation Act, people with autism are guaran-teed reasonable accommodations at college.

But just how welcoming is academe to “neurodiversity,” and are universities pre-pared to help teenagers with autism enter adulthood?

Nationally, some universities do better than others. Many fall short by failing to recognize a common thread among students with ASD: While diverse in their strengths and weaknesses, most are susceptible to sen-sory overload, says USC education and dis-abilities expert Gisele Ragusa. Students with autism could bene�t from services and tech-nologies that are already routinely o�ered to students with other types of sensory chal-lenges such as hearing loss, including lis-tening devices, FM systems and real-time captioning for lectures. In-class note-takers and private exam rooms could also prove bene�cial.

�e crucial thing, says Ragusa, of the USC Rossier School of Education and USC Viterbi School of Engineering, is to extend these services to students with ASD. “And USC does a fabulous job of this,” she says. However, it’s partly up to students to seek assistance.

While elaborate services exist to smooth their way, only �ve students with ASD are currently registered with USC’s O�ce of Disability Services. �e real number is likely far greater; autism often coincides with

attention de�cit disorder, and some autistic students may prefer to register under that disability.

Or they might choose not to register at all. “We have students with all categories of dis-abilities who do not register with the o�ce,” says Eddie Roth, disability program director.

High-functioning autistic people often keep their diagnosis quiet. “None of my classmates or friends knows about it,” says Jack Fletcher, a sophomore communications major who asked that his real name not be used in this article. “I’m anxious that people might look at me di�erently.”

Fletcher, who was diagnosed at age 5 with a form of ASD called Asperger’s syndrome, signed up with USC’s disability o�ce to qualify for accommodations such as extra time on exams. Defying autism behavioral stereotypes, he is gregarious and active in campus activities, from the USC Program Board to the ’SC Homeless Initiative. He shoots hoops for fun and dreams of a career in event planning.

Ragusa believes universities need to do more than quietly provide services. �ey need to wave welcome banners. “Students with mild autism, who function reasonably well academically and socially, are not going to show their stu� when they get to a uni-versity unless they feel it’s welcoming and that they will not be singled out or isolated because of their challenge,” Ragusa says. “Universities need to be a safe place where people with autism know that they will be full members of the academic community.”

While Fletcher isn’t terribly interested in disability issues, Steven Kapp ’09 certainly is. An autism activist who majored in public policy with a communications minor, Kapp started an autism student group while he was at USC and began advocating for qual-ity-of-life considerations a�ecting people with ASD. He also successfully launched an annual Disability Awareness Week that continues today. “USC was more than will-©

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“For many generations, autism was an incredibly misunderstood and hidden dis-ability,” says Ragusa. Now that educators have a better understanding of ASD, many children with autism get the support they need at an early age, so they’re faring bet-ter in school. “�ey tend to be quite bright, so there is no reason they shouldn’t attend college,” she continues. “But college is dif-ferent from high school. �e expectation of independence is greater; the expectation of interacting socially and in groups is greater.”

�e challenge for universities will be to help students with autism negotiate the twists and turns of higher education, on the road to achieving independent, productive and ful�lling lives.

�e goal, Ragusa insists, must be nothing short of full inclusion: “We want to prepare people with ASD to be full members of society and full participants in the nation’s workforce.” �

Read more about Page’s and Perner’s experiences, learn about USC disability services, pick up useful tips and more at tfm.usc.edu/2013-autism

f About 1 in 88 American children

is on the autism spectrum, a 10-fold

increase in prevalence in 40 years,

according to Autism Speaks. Autism is

nearly five times more common among

boys than girls. Within the next decade,

about 500,000 children with autism will

become adults with autism.

ism. “I’m always willing to discuss it. I con-sider it my duty.”

In line with that duty, Page and Perner both appear in an innovative transmedia project, “Interacting with Autism,” produced by the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Set to launch in September, interactingwithautism.com uses video to help people better under-stand the autism experience. (A sample clip is already online at bit.ly/autismclip.)

One of the �lm editors on the project is Dan Gross MFA ’13, a recent graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He was diagnosed at age 2 with full-on classic autism, complete with screaming meltdowns and limited speech. “I used to be terri�ed of everything from �re drills at school to over-head fans going o�,” he says.

Finding himself often isolated and friend-less, those were hard years. But with a caring family and supportive therapists, Gross blos-somed, discovering a talent for �lmmaking in high school. �e response of classmates to his documentary about a �eld trip to Wash-ington, D.C., caught him by surprise. “�ey were really emotionally moved and touched by what I did,” he recalls. “I was fascinated that I was able to provoke that reaction.”

Gross learned his craft at the University of Connecticut in his hometown of Storrs, and continued to burnish it at USC. �is sum-mer, he is moving to New York to begin a career in �lm editing.

Expect to hear more such success stories in the future.

ing to help me when I had bigger advocacy plans,” he says. Kapp continues to focus on autism as a doctoral student in educational psychology at UCLA.

Active or not, students on the spectrum can look to two openly autistic USC faculty members as mentors and adult role models.

USC Marshall School of Business market-ing expert Lars Perner PhD ’98 has Asperg-er’s and sees some academic advantages in his neurological “quirks.” For example, he likes to begin his consumer psychology class by asking the students a seemingly silly ques-tion: Why does Tony the Tiger wear a scarf? It certainly isn’t a ¤uke, he tells them. Kel-logg Co. spent big money developing the iconic Frosted Flakes mascot. “�at’s the kind of question a lot of people would not ask,” Perner says. “But once you ask it, there’s a lot of depth there.”

�e other openly autistic USC faculty member is Tim Page, a professor of journal-ism and music history. For many years he was the Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic of �e Washington Post. In 2007, he went public with his Asperger’s diagnosis in an essay for �e New Yorker. �at eventually led to Parallel Play, which he calls the best of the dozen books he’s written.

�ough Page claims no authority on autism, people looking for answers regularly seek him out. “I’ve met with a lot of students who were suddenly diagnosed and want to talk,” says Page, of the USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journal- ©

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WE’RE LIVING IN THE AGE OF BIG DATA.

From smartphones to social media sites, online shopping to electronic medical records, modern technology is creating mountains of valuable information. When �ltered through powerful computer algorithms, these digital bits shape our world.

�anks to Big Data, online dating sites can better match prospective mates. Companies can understand their customers’ wants and needs as never before. Government agencies can more easily catch tax cheats.

“We are on the cusp of an amazing wave of innovation, productivity and growth … all driven by Big Data,” a 2011 McKinsey & Company study concludes. USC computer sci-entists, electrical engineers and other research-ers are at the vanguard of this technological revolution. Read on to learn about four ways that USC researchers are harnessing Big Data to change the future.

By Marc Ballon

Illustrations by Dongyi Wu

NUMBER CRUNCHERS

Ninety percent

of the world’s

data was

created in

the last two

years. What

we do with it

will change

the future.

3

7

2000

546

2

15

>

%


What makes basketball teams like the Oklahoma City �under so successful? Take great players like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, smart coaching and passionate fans—and add a dash of computer science.

Yes, computer science.“Moneyball”—the use of statistics to guide

decisions in sports—has its believers in today’s NBA. Researchers call it quantitative analyt-ics, and it’s increasingly in�uencing decisions in the front o�ce and on the court. Two USC Viterbi School of Engineering computer sci-entists are major players in the movement.

Rajiv Maheswaran and Yu-Han Chang have spent the past two years analyzing data captured by video cameras mounted high in the rafters of several NBA arenas to unlock the mysteries of what constitutes good o�ense and defense. �eir aptitude at making sense of the rivers of data generated by SportVU, an optical tracking technology originally created for incoming missiles, earned them the top research award at the 2012 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference—a sort of Super Bowl for the sports-data obsessed.

Currently, 15 NBA teams in search of a competitive advantage use the SportVU data-gathering system. Among them is one of the teams that made the 2013 NBA Finals: the San Antonio Spurs.

Maheswaran and Chang can do a lot with the data. Both big sports fans, they looked at more than 70,000 shots, including the position of the shooters and defenders before, during and after £eld goal attempts.

CALCULATED MOVES

Among their £ndings: A typical three-point shot is nearly as good as a close-range two-pointer. �at’s because a typical three-pointer is less contested and worth more. Look at it this way: Data show that a three-point shooter facing a defender 5 feet away hits his shot 54 percent of the time. �at’s about the same percentage for a player shooting a two-point shot only 3 feet from the basket.

Maheswaran and Chang also create in-dividual player pro£les that show o�ensive and defensive tendencies, rebounding stats, and shooting analytics such as shot selection and accuracy under increased pressure. �at’s invaluable information for an NBA team.

“What they can do with the data is far be-yond what we or any NBA team can do with the data,” says Brian Kopp, vice president of strategy and development of Chicago-based STATS, which owns the SportVU technology.

�e computer scientists just launched a new company to create tools to help NBA teams understand and use optical tracking data.

“We can also do this for soccer, football, hockey,” Maheswaran says, “basically any sport that has movement.”

54% Chance of scoring

Quantitative

analytics is

increasingly

influencing

decisions in

the front

office and

on the court.

3-point shot taken 5 feet

from defender

2-point shot taken 2 feet

from defender


What do Lady Gaga, Barack Obama and Justin Bieber have in common? �ey not only make news, but they shape it as never before.

Amid an explosion in social media, journal-ists at some of the nation’s most prestigious publications are increasingly turning to in-�uential Twitter accounts for story leads. A prominent actress’s tweeted naked pictures of herself to a married co-star can easily become tomorrow’s front-page entertainment news.

As Twitter grows in popularity, �e New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times have taken notice. �e service, which now has about 200 million monthly visitors, has also attracted the attention of Big Data scholars, including USC Viterbi computer scientist Yan Liu.

By using statistical modeling and algo-rithms, Liu and her USC research team are

TAMING OF THE NEWS

studying social media’s growing impact on traditional news coverage. Simply put, some of society’s most prominent public �gures can now take their un�ltered messages directly to the people through Twitter, leaving the mainstream media to play catch-up.

“More athletes, movie stars and other high-pro�le people are using Twitter, and the num-bers will continue to grow,” Liu says.

While Twitter democratizes news by en-abling people to report their own news on equal footing—in 140 characters or fewer—some celebrity newsmakers-turned-reporters are more equal than others.

Over 10 weeks in early 2012, Liu and her team reviewed more than 87,000 tweets from the 2,000 most in�uential Twitter accounts. �e researchers combed through Google News and other aggregators that house millions of

articles to track down which tweets later ap-peared in mainstream media.

Of the tweets picked up, Liu said, 50 per-cent came from the entertainment world, 30 percent from sports, 10 percent from politics and 10 percent from other sources. Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, as measured by the number of followers and media hits, were the most in�uential tweeters.

Liu hopes to extend her Twitter research to model “buzz trends” to make predictions about future hot news topics. She sees a bright future for Big Data in making sense of it all.

“Big Data is what’s happening this century,” says Liu, whose research also includes studying climate change and gene regulatory networks. “From business to health care to energy, Big Data is going to have a huge impact.”

Politics

Sports

Other

50%

10%30%

10%

Society’s most

prominent

public figures

can now take

their unfiltered

messages

directly to the

people through

Twitter, leaving

the mainstream

media to play

catch-up. Entertainment


Cyrus Shahabi knew there had to be a bet-ter way.

Day after day, the director of USC’s Inte-grated Media Systems Center (IMSC) and professor of computer science and electrical engineering braved bumper-to-bumper tra�c from his Irvine, Calif., home to USC’s Uni-versity Park Campus and back again. Online tra�c alert services, which often use delayed data, weren’t much help. Tired of wasting hours a week breathing car fumes and �ght-ing freeway fatigue, Shahabi decided to do something about it.

And so he has.Shahabi and IMSC Associate Director Ugur

Demiryurek created a new smartphone app that they say o�ers Los Angeles commuters the fastest possible routes to their destinations. Known as ClearPath, the application uses sophisticated algorithms to crunch massive amounts of data, including historical traf-�c patterns and real-time tra�c information generated from nearly 10,000 sensors installed

HELP FOR TRAFFIC-HATERS

throughout Los Angeles County.�e time is right for ClearPath. Tra�c data

provider INRIX last year named Los Angeles as the nation’s second-worst city for gridlock, with drivers wasting about 56 hours per year in tra�c. Nationally, tra�c represents an annual $121 billion drain on the American economy, according to the Texas Transportation Insti-tute’s 2011 Annual Urban Mobility Report.

ClearPath is so smart it can tune its tra�c reports according to time, date and weather conditions. It could potentially help drivers make split-second decisions that would cut their drives home or shorten their long-haul freight times. To the average driver, this could mean fewer headaches and less road rage. On a national level, shorter commute times might increase productivity and conserve valuable energy resources.

Eager to test the system, Demiryurek and other ClearPath team members drive routes suggested by their app and compare them to those recommended by services such as Google

Maps. �ey �nd the app beats the competition even though it often suggests surface streets to avoid gridlock. Competitors typically try to push drivers onto freeways, even when the freeways are jammed.

�e ClearPath team is trying to raise money from investors to develop apps for such high-tra�c cities as San Francisco, New York and Chicago. Seed money came from the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation.

Shahabi is using ClearPath himself, and he’s seen his commute time drop precipitously. Much to Shahabi’s surprise, ClearPath often suggests he take the 5 Freeway north at about 9:30 a.m. and come home on the 5 Freeway south between 7:10 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., de-pending on the day. Shahabi had previously avoided that freeway at all costs.

“I’m saving 10 minutes each way, 20 minutes a day,” he says. “�at’s huge, and it’s thanks to ClearPath.”

ClearPath

Google Maps

Nationally,

traffic

represents

an annual

$121 billion

drain on the

American

economy.


Parkinson’s disease often starts gently, its tremors and sti� muscles the only sign of illness. �is incurable movement disorder worsens over time, though, and can rob the physical independence of those living with it.

In the future, technology from video games could keep an eye on people with Parkinson’s in their own homes, noticing important physical changes and alerting caregivers about them. �at could protect patients’ health—and self-su�ciency.

�e new system, under development by USC computer scientists, neurologists, kine-siologists and public health experts, is called iHealth Mobility Monitoring.

Here’s how it works. Video game consoles with 3-D sensors, such as Microsoft Kinect, would track a patient’s movements around the house. Smartphone apps and body sen-sors could capture additional information.

MEDICAL MONITOR

Algorithms developed by the iHealth team would analyze the massive amounts of data to uncover signi�cant changes in movement as they happen.

“Our system will allow patients and their caregivers to monitor disease progression and the e�ectiveness of treatments in real time,” says Cesar Blanco, project leader and head of research and development for the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering.

If a patient just loses a little �exibility or range in movement, iHealth might simply alert the patient and his or her caregivers about exercises that could better manage symptoms. With major mobility changes, the system would immediately contact physicians, who could change drug dosages, prescribe new medications or take other action. Currently, doctors have no way to e�ectively monitor patients between o�ce visits other than asking them to check in if symptoms worsen.

�e system might help prevent accidents, as well. Parkinson’s patients are at greater risk for hip fractures because of the disease’s impact on balance, and iHealth’s increased surveillance could decrease the number of such injuries. In the process, it could reduce pain, su�ering and medical costs among the up to 1 million Americans with Parkinson’s—which is more than the combined number of people diag-nosed with muscular dystrophy, Lou Gehrig’s disease and multiple sclerosis, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.

Possible applications extend beyond Parkin-son’s to encompass strokes and other mobility disorders. iHealth could even monitor the posture of weight lifters and factory workers to prevent repetitive motion injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome.

“�ese mobility monitoring technologies could be used by the general public to mini-mize the potential for physical injuries from various activities of daily life, including walk-ing, lifting objects and carrying groceries,” Blanco says. “Our goal is to develop monitoring technologies that empower people.” O

Increased

surveillance

could decrease

the number of

injuries and

reduce pain,

suffering and

medical costs

among the up

to 1 million

Americans with

Parkinson’s

disease.


By Chris Daley

RIGHT BRAIN, THIS IS LEFT BRAIN.

SCOTT FRASER’S HAPPY TO MAKE THE INTRODUCTION.

MEETING

OF THE

MINDS


EHOLD THE ALL-POWERFUL

CAPPUCCINO MACHINE. Drawn from labs and laptops,

the scientists on Scott Fraser’s team follow the aroma of brewing

beans. �ey gather around the co�eemaker for a jolt of ca�eine, but they often �nd inspiration and unexpected solutions as well.

USC recruited Fraser from Caltech to make creative sparks �y among USC aca-demics. He aims to bring together physicists and engineers, computational biologists and visual artists, chemists and mathematicians.

“You could almost hyphenate anything to anything here at USC and come up with some new opportunities,” says Fraser, USC’s new director of science initiatives within the USC O�ce of the Provost. He also holds a joint faculty appointment in the USC Dorn-sife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences’ biology department, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Keck School of Medicine of USC and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Fraser has melded great minds before. His cappuccino strategy comes from his two decades at Caltech, where he directed the Biological Imaging Center and conducted in�uential research into embryonic develop-ment. He set up an industrial co�eemaker in a central location and let the unplanned interactions work their magic.

“People would sit down and bellyache about the experiment that just failed or share the triumph they just had in the lab,” he says. “More times than not, the next person at the table would say, ‘Well, why is that a triumph?’ or ‘Wait, I know how to solve that problem.’ We generated companies, research projects and dozens of patents from people sitting down and �nding out where the solu-tions could be brought in from another �eld.”

In his new post, Fraser will be integral to pushing USC’s progress as a scienti�c leader, says Michael Quick, USC executive vice provost.

“We need to engage all of our science fac-ulty in strategic planning for the large, inter-disciplinary science initiatives that will be the hallmark of 21st-century science,” Quick says. Fraser will work closely with faculty

and deans across USC, as well as others in the O�ce of the Provost, to spur innovation.

As Fraser settles in to the fourth �oor of Irani Hall—unpacking boxes, furnishing o�ces and out�tting his lab—his schedule is still far from routine. Most days, he says, involve “some part of the day designing or interpreting experiments, and some part of the day networking with this amazing vari-ety of talents on campus.”

He especially enjoys the sense of com-munity that unites the four �oors of Irani. A fellow biologist once bumped into him in the hallway and yelled, “I love this building!”

Community and collaboration have con-tributed a great deal to Fraser’s own research.

To develop the microscope technology he needed to study rapidly developing cells, Fraser was able to “steal”—his term for inter-disciplinary appropriation—from the �nd-ings of engineers working on satellites. He sees similar potential for crossover research at USC.

“I walk around campus and I see four or �ve ways we could interface between com-putational biology and the school of cinema, let alone social sciences, let alone the busi-

ness school,” Fraser says. “We’re really trying to orchestrate a whole community of schol-ars around a set of big problems.”

When Fraser describes moments of genius that result from random interactions, you can see why his co�ee-klatch plan is key: “�e whole idea is to create an environment where accidents happen, where lightning strikes. Lightning isn’t always going to strike in the same place or between the same peo-ple, so we need to make sure we’re making a lot of opportunities.”

Fraser relishes his new challenge and believes that USC is a perfect move for him—there’s something empowering, he says, about being at a school that is large enough to think about changing the way things happen and small enough to actually imagine changing them.

“USC has been extremely venturesome in how it’s invented and reinvented itself and continues to make its programs more expansive and more powerful,” Fraser says. It’s also fertile ground for collaboration. USC already has numerous cross-disciplin-ary faculty members, including Andrew McMahon, a new stem cell scientist who is forging relationships with engineers and others at the University Park Campus, and Mark Humayun, a physician who’s also a biomedical engineer.

�e new position is no surprise to those around Fraser. Rusty Lansford, a senior research scientist, describes Fraser as “a scienti�c polymath. He is wickedly smart, highly imaginative and able to connect dots from many scienti�c arenas—all of which makes him a very creative person, someone ideal for developing new initiatives.”

Fraser’s pleasure with his new role at USC is palpable. “�ere aren’t too many jobs where you wake up in the morning and think about all the cool things that could happen that day,” he says.

He’s planning to place the new cappuc-cino maker in his Irani Hall o�ce, which has a view of the Hollywood sign, to get the conversation going. “Oh, you could prob-ably do it with margaritas as well,” he o�ers, “but it would be a much shorter day.”

“I WALK AROUND

CAMPUS AND

I SEE FOUR OR

FIVE WAYS WE

COULD INTERFACE

BETWEEN

COMPUTATIONAL

BIOLOGY AND

THE SCHOOL

OF CINEMA, LET

ALONE SOCIAL

SCIENCES,

LET ALONE

THE BUSINESS

SCHOOL,” FRASER

SAYS. “WE’RE

REALLY TRYING

TO ORCHESTRATE

A WHOLE

COMMUNITY

OF SCHOLARS

AROUND A SET OF

BIG PROBLEMS.”

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TINY BROWN-FLECKED EGGS REST ATOP nests while fuzzy quail chicks chirp and waddle inside a glass incubator. At a nearby microscope, USC biologist Scott Fraser concentrates on the moving image of a red, veiny quail heart beating inside an egg: thump thump-thump thump.

In this case, it’s a quail embryo, but it could be a frog or a zebra �sh. Fraser studies organisms’ development and other complex biological events in real time to better understand key interac-tions. He also looks at the cellular changes involved in disease.

Fraser founded the Biological Imaging Center at Caltech in 1991 and brought his lab to USC in 2012. Not only does he study complicated processes like hearts taking shape, but he and his colleagues also developed advanced imaging technologies to watch them happen.

With wavy, sandy brown hair, a youthful smile and laid-back personality, Fraser seems more like a surfer than a scientist—until he speaks. He was born in Pasadena, Calif., and reared in nearby Arcadia. His father was a Pasadena police o�cer; his mother, a secretary and homemaker. His interest in scienti�c tin-kering might have come from his grandfather, a carpenter, and his great-grandfather, who owned a machine shop.

“I was pretty certain I wanted to be a scientist from a young age,” Fraser says. “I’ve always either taken things apart or built things. And there are too many stories about me being better at taking things apart than putting them back together. Even today in the lab, I think the postdocs would come up with interesting versions of that story.”

Fraser earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvey Mudd Col-lege in Claremont, Calif., and his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Steve Kay, dean of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, lauds Fraser and his accomplishments. “Professor Fraser’s research epitomizes USC’s advance into quantitative biology, which focuses on more than organisms’ genes or cells alone,” says Kay, who has known Fraser for two decades. “Quantitative biology is about interactions and net-works, and his world-leading work in measuring and imaging living cells and organisms makes him a vital contributor to this emerging �eld.”

USC’s Faculty Hiring Initiative in the Sciences and Engi-neering challenges faculty to recruit exceptional scholars such as Fraser.

“Professor Fraser is the world’s preeminent developer of new biomedical imaging techniques, and is an experienced leader in facilitating the translation of this work from the lab to practical application,” says Elizabeth Garrett, USC provost and senior vice president of academic a�airs. “His arrival at USC under-scores our success in advancing a vibrant culture of research.”

Fraser was drawn to USC because of the many technologies and disciplines represented within a short walk—and the end-less opportunities o�ered by his new position, he says. “USC has a fantastic combination of schools and programs and talents here that make it possible for us to attack problems that no other place could as powerfully.”

TINKERING

TOWARD

DISCOVERY

A LOOK INSIDE SCOTT FRASER’S GROUNDBREAKING

BIOMEDICAL IMAGING TECHNIQUES

—Pamela J. Johnson

ABOVE: EMBRYO COURTESY OF THE CARNEGIE COLLECTION FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE , IMAGING BY RUSSELL JACOB S; MOUSE IMAGING BY RUSSELL JACOB S; RETINA IMAGING BY JEFFREY F INGLER

OPPOSITE PAGE: 3-D ATL AS OF MOUSE DEVELOPMENT, TEAM LEADER SETH RUFFINS; V ISUALIZ ATION OF ALL IMAGES BY SETH RUFFINS


Fraser studies complex

processes in organisms in real

time. Left: MicroMRI of a human

embryo in its fifth week after

fertilization; an MRI section

of a healthy mouse brain; and

optical coherence tomography

of a human retina. Above: A 3-D

rendering shows the anatomy

of a mouse embryo at 15 days.

“PROFESSOR FRASER IS THE WORLD’S PREEMINENT DEVELOPER OF NEW BIOMEDICAL IMAGING

TECHNIQUES AND IS AN EXPERIENCED LEADER IN FACILITATING THE TRANSLATION OF THIS WORK

FROM THE LAB TO PRACTICAL APPLICATION,” USC PROVOST ELIZABETH GARRETT SAYS. “HIS ARRIVAL

AT USC UNDERSCORES OUR SUCCESS IN ADVANCING A VIBRANT CULTURE OF RESEARCH.”

BY ROBIN HEFFLER

Dinosaur DepicterA talented USC Roski alumna brings the prehistoric

Mesozoic Era to life.

WHEN STEPHANIE ABRAMOWICZ WAS

growing up in Pomona, Calif., she used cot-ton, cardboard and Play-Doh to create tiny toy bears and bunnies that lived in a make-believe village in her bedroom. For a time, she even kept a miniature dinosaur museum.

As it turns out, her youthful imagination hinted at her future. ►

“Field work enriches what I do as an illustrator,” Abramowicz says. “You feel your place in history and appreciate what came before.”

I L LU S T R AT I O N S C O U RT E S Y O F S T E P H A N I E A B R A M O W I C Z A N D T H E N AT U R A L H I S TO R Y M U S E U M O F L O S A N G E L E S C O U N T Y

“She is remarkable in how skillful she is, and it speaks very highly of the kind of young professionals that the university can produce,” says paleontologist Luis Chiappe, director of the Dinosaur Institute and adjunct professor of earth sciences at USC. “She pays attention to details and is able to modify her style to whatever you want to emphasize.”

While Abramowicz was studying at USC Roski, Doyle Trankina ’04, a friend and USC Roski alumnus, introduced her to Chiappe. Abramowicz volunteered with the Dinosaur Institute for two years, became an intern and was hired after graduation.

Abramowicz credits the honing of her foundational artistic skills to two USC Roski instructors: Margaret R. Lazzari, professor of studio art, and Bob Alderette, associ-ate professor of painting and drawing. She advanced her skills in drawing nature at the Australian National University in Canberra during a semester abroad.

At the Dinosaur Institute, the latest big project is “Gnatalie,” the fossil of a newly recognized species of dinosaur discovered in Utah in 2007. Nicknamed for the biting gnats that pestered excavators, the sauropod is estimated to have been more than 70 feet long and to have lived about 150 million years ago. One day, it too is expected to be a museum exhibit that Abramowicz will bring to life with her art. �

“I enjoy being able to look at a group of fossil bones, put them back together in an illustration and �esh it out with details,” she says. “I think it’s fantastic that there can be multiple illustrations of the same animal that look completely di�erent, and are all theoretically accurate—until a new discovery may come along to change that.”

Abramowicz also relishes �eld work. She helps to prospect for and excavate fossils, pho-tographs them and draws quarry maps of dig sites. Most memorable was her �rst such expe-rience in 2005 at the Montana dig of “�omas the T. rex,” a titanic Tyrannosaurus rex thought to have been more than 30 feet long.

“Field work enriches what I do as an illus-trator,” Abramowicz says. “With �omas, it was awe-inspiring to be there when the fos-sils saw daylight for the �rst time in 66 mil-lion years. You feel your place in history and appreciate what came before.”

Her talents and thoughtfulness draw raves from collaborators.

Today the 2006 USC Roski School of Fine Arts graduate artfully brings prehistoric creatures to life as scienti�c illustrator and photographer for the Dinosaur Institute at the Natural History Museum of Los Ange-les County. She re-creates the world of the Mesozoic Era, which ended about 65 million ago and was marked by the appearance of the �rst dinosaurs, mammals and birds.

Abramowicz produces illustrations and paintings of creatures for museum exhibitions and scienti�c research. Using an electronic tablet, she begins with a simple black-and-white drawing, examines similar animals, and discusses possible characteristics with the museum’s paleontologists to develop the skeleton, musculature, scales, feathers, eyes and teeth in a colored rendering.

See more of Abramowicz’s work at natural scienceart.com. If you have questions or comments on this article, go to tfm.usc.edu/mailbag


By Alicia Di Rado

DESIGNS

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line. �e area has among the nation’s worst air quality, according to the American Lung As-sociation. Domestic violence, teen pregnancy, diabetes and obesity rates are troubling. �e list goes on.

Students strive to empathize with families without judgment. “Your role,” course assistant Mariana Prieto tells them, “is to understand people and their needs.”

�rough big groups and small, class members identify challenges to residents’ health and decide which ones they’ll tackle through product design. Energized, they map out their ideas on pages of butcher paper, but some quietly wonder, Can I do this?

TURNING IDEAS INTO REALITY

It’s midterms week in March, and young men and women are lugging cardboard boxes, plastic gizmos and drawings into Davidson Confer-ence Center at USC. �ey’re presenting their prototypes to instructors and designers for feedback.

�ere are lots of opportunities to make a di�erence. Fairbanks’ and Routzahn’s team, for one, tackles exercise. �ey present ideas for inexpensive toys that can bring communi-ties together, a machine that dispenses sports equipment and a chair that makes TV viewers work their ab muscles while seated.

Agrawal’s team, meanwhile, believes in boosting health literacy. She and her partners propose solutions to help Spanish-speaking patients better communicate with doctors and pharmacists.

“Fantastic presentation, you’ve got a very clear mission,” says Art Center faculty member Penny Herscovitch.

Wertman, professor of clinical management and organization, looks on with pride. �e students already have delivered more than he ever expected. Soon, they’ll learn about manu-facturing methods and re�ne their ideas.

“Most of our students are in business school to learn the tools,” Wertman says. “It was thought that if you wanted to save the world, you would have to solely learn about policy, social work or maybe international relations.

“We believe you can use business skills to do it.”

�e woman dices onions and peppers and tosses them in a bowl. �ey’ll soon become part of her ceviche, a seafood mélange that will feed her family of seven.

Her strong hands have prepared their share of meals in her tidy home in Lamont, a heavily im-migrant farm town in California’s San Joaquin Valley. �e passing of time here is marked not in sunrises and sunsets but in how many stockpots of beans she’s cooked. But today is di�erent. She pauses, puts down her knife, wipes her hands and sits down.

Someone has come to listen to her story. �e two USC students at her kitchen table,

Angeli Agrawal and Natalie Tecimer, traveled more than 100 miles to learn about a rhythm of life di�erent from their own. In Spanish, they talk about picking grapes, emigrating from Mexico, the value of education and the family’s recent health struggles.

I wish we could stay longer, Agrawal thinks. But they have to get back to Los Angeles.

After two nights, the pair and their 18 class-mates return to USC on a mission. �ey’ll use what they’ve learned to try to improve health among the rural poor.

�e students won’t bring change through social programs. Instead, they’ll use their cre-ativity and the tools of business.

DESIGN THINKING

�e students are part of the Social Innovation Design Lab, a hands-on course in the USC Marshall School of Business that teaches un-dergraduates to combine “design thinking” (see graphic on page 30) and business principles to make a better world. Students envision and create prototypes of a�ordable products, from breathing masks to nutrition-themed toys, that could boost health while sustainably turning a pro�t.

Kicking o� in January, the course grew out of the Society and Business Lab, USC Marshall’s program that uses business to alleviate poverty.

In the late 2000s, Society and Business Lab founder Professor Adlai Wertman and Abby Fifer Mandell, the lab’s executive director, tossed around the idea of a program that could teach students to create a bene�cial product and take it to market. �eir recent partnership with Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif.,

and its “Design Matters” program made it possible. Now USC and Art Center exchange graduate-student instructors for their courses.

Wertman and Mandell also enlisted creative minds from the international design �rm Con-tinuum to run a student workshop on design thinking. And in the San Joaquin Valley, the Dolores Huerta Foundation, a community-organizing group, placed USC students with families so they could learn �rsthand about health issues common among farm workers, such as chronic asthma and limited access to doctors and dentists.

Even the course’s funding is creative. It’s supported by a grant from the National Col-legiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance and an innovative-teaching award from the USC O¤ce of the Provost.

Students competitively apply for the class. With the understanding that the most dif-�cult social problems need interdisciplinary approaches, they represent di�erent majors. �e �rst course includes artists, engineers, and students studying business, cinema and social sciences.

“�is is the only class I’ve ever taken that’s so interdisciplinary,” Agrawal says.

LEARNING FIRSTHAND

USC students Scott Fairbanks and Petey Routzahn stare out the windows of a hatch-back as they trundle west on a dusty farm road in Weedpatch, Calif. �e 1940 classic �e Grapes of Wrath was �lmed here.

An 18-wheeler passes. “Another Coke truck,” Routzahn says.

�ey’ll see a lot of soda over the weekend. �e USC students notice other things, too— the child who eats bacon-wrapped hot dogs for breakfast and the families that avoid drinking from the tap due to arsenic in the water supply. �e students jot down notes.

As the weekend ends, the young men and women come together and share observa-tions, writing them on yellow sticky notes and slapping them up on a wall. Insights into the residents’ health start to take shape among the yellow squares.

�ey combine that with what they know: �e U.S. Census indicates that 30 percent to 40 percent of residents here live below the poverty

Creativity can combine with business principles to solve societal challenges— and turn a profit.

CHOP. CHOP. CHOP.


2 - 3 To understand their market and eventually find a solution, designers identify key people who can share valuable information with them.

Students travel to central California farm towns, and stay with families to observe their daily lives and learn about their victories and struggles.

4 Designers share their observations with each other, building an understanding of the difficulties faced by low-income men, women and children.

Students in USC’s Social Innovation Design Lab are learning to use design thinking to solve challenges and find new opportunities. Here’s how it works.

1

2 3

45

CHALLENGE

PEOPLE

INTERVIEW

SHARE

FOCUS

1 Student designers accept the challenge: Create a product to improve the health of low-income consumers.

5 As Adlai Wertman puts it, “Where’s the pain?” Designers identify one health-related problem needing a solution. It’s where a product could make a difference.

The young men and women

come together and share

observations, writing

them on sticky notes and

slapping them on the wall.

DESIGN

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6 - 7 Designers start identifying opportunities for new products by studying existing products and looking for gaps in the market. Often students go back and rethink their understanding of what low-income consumers need, leading to more sharing, lots of new ideas, discarded ideas, more new ideas and finally selection of a promising strategy.

8 - 10 For midterms, student designers present their product prototypes to a panel that provides feedback. They also learn from experts about manufacturing and how to take a product to market. Their final presentation: a product that could both prove profitable and improve health in rural America.

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OPPORTUNITIES

IDEATION

BEST SOLUTION

PROTOTYPE

REFINE

Making a world of differenceFreshly arrived in Hlalakahle, South Africa, USC Marshall School of Business student Anna Birrer headed to her home away from home: the house of a respected traditional healer and his three wives.

It was a long way from her hometown of Huntington Beach, Calif., but Birrer was up for the adventure. Like many of her classmates in the Social Innovation Design Lab and Society and Business Lab, Birrer believes that design and business can improve lives around the world. She’s traveled to developing nations like Ghana to learn from local residents and work on micro�nance projects.

During her summer 2012 trip to South Africa with the organization �inkImpact, Birrer and a Dartmouth College

student teamed with �ve Hlalakahle villagers to reduce the amount of trash scattered around town. �ey devised a system to collect and sort garbage and sell it at low cost to recyclers and artisans, who turned it into items they could sell to tourists at the nearby game reserve. When the students left, locals continued the business.

Recently graduated, Birrer ’13 hopes to enter a program to work in a company abroad. “Most of these programs have been �nanced for us through scholarships from USC,” Birrer says. “I’m really grateful for that.” —AD

Learn more about the Social Innovation Design Lab and see photos at tfm.usc.edu/2013-designlab


“My research

has always

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problems that I

found interesting

and challenging,

and that I believed

I had a chance

to solve.”

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THE TEENAGE SOLOMON GOLOMB, A

mathematics prodigy at Johns Hopkins University, probably never considered that the nation’s commander in chief would someday honor him for his intellectual prowess.

Yet there stood Golomb next to President Barack Obama at the White House in February, more than six decades after getting his first college diploma, his mind as curious at age 80 as it was at 18. In recognition of Golomb’s profound contributions to technology, Obama placed a red, white and blue ribbon with a golden medallion around his neck: the National Medal of Science.

The award is America’s highest honor for invention and discovery. Golomb was one of only a dozen researchers to receive it for 2011, the latest year awarded.

But Golomb’s motivation originates from a different prize: the successful, thrilling hunt for answers to difficult questions.

“My research has always been directed by working on problems that I found interesting and challenging, and that I believed I had a chance to solve,” he says. “I have never thought about receiving awards for my work, but it is always a pleasant surprise when they occur.”

Golomb has often been pleasantly surprised in his career.

As Erna and Andrew Viterbi Professor of Communications and University and Distin-guished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Mathematics, Golomb holds appointments at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. But his ascent began thousands of miles from USC.

Born in Baltimore, he pursued his doctorate in mathematics at Harvard University and worked summers at Baltimore aerospace firm Glenn L. Martin Co. (now part of Lockheed Martin).

Out of this combination of rigorous academia and the working world grew Golomb’s ideas. Among them: illuminating the mathematics behind “shift register sequences,” seemingly

haphazard series of 0s and 1s that conceal order behind their randomness. The feat would prove important.

While his Harvard professors took pride in promoting the purity of mathematics, Golomb sought its purpose—mathematics’ practical side ultimately drew him in. So in 1956, he moved to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where he was swept up in the scientific fervor of the age. He and his fellow youthful, brilliant minds drove the race into space. JPL friends included Andrew Viterbi, whose naming gift later endowed USC’s engineering school.

Golomb’s work with shift register sequences bore fruit at JPL. Experts had said the mathematics behind them had no application, but he defied the purists. His insights enabled JPL engineers to build a communication system that bounced signals off Venus and accurately detected their echoes. The evolving technology eventually influenced everything from Mars exploration to cellular phones.

Then Golomb eased into his career’s next phase: mentorship and performing research. After teaching part time at several Los Angeles-area universities, he made USC his academic home in 1963.

He has since amassed honors too numerous to list, including information technology’s highest honor—the Shannon Award—and election to the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences.

Even after 50 years, Golomb continues to teach first-year students. He also is an expert on an array of topics including the classics, European history, puzzles, viniculture and several languages.

Citing Golomb’s many contributions, USC President C. L. Max Nikias summed up the sentiments of the Trojan Family: “USC is so proud to have been Professor Golomb’s academic home all these years.”

Pamela J. Johnson, Eric Mankin, Robert Perkins and Alicia Di Rado contributed to this story.

USC chemistry alumnus Rangaswamy

Srinivasan PhD ’56, whose work formed

the basis for LASIK, received the

National Medal of Technology and

Innovation in February.

Srinivasan was honored as a mem-

ber of an IBM Corporation team at the

same White House ceremony as USC’s

Solomon Golomb and other decorated

scientists and engineers.

Called ablative photodecomposi-

tion, Srinivasan’s technology uses

pulses of ultraviolet light to erode

layers of organic matter such as living

tissue. His 1980 invention was inspired

by work he performed 25 years earlier

in pursuit of his chemistry doctorate

at USC.

Researchers eventually applied

the technology to laser eye surgery.

About 700,000 LASIK surgeries are

performed in the U.S. each year, ac-

cording to the American Academy of

Ophthalmology.

Vision for the Future

BUSY

SIGNALSThe National Medal of Science recognizes Solomon Golomb’s many contributions to communications technology.


By Candace Pearson

Fresh AirTargeted therapies and other advances

create new hope for lung cancer patients.

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[ KECK MEDICAL CENTER OF USC ]

BY NOW, MOST PEOPLE KNOW THE UNFOR-

TUNATE FACTS ABOUT LUNG CANCER. It’s often discovered in its late stages because tumors can grow for years with-out showing symptoms. And its �ve-year survival rate has barely budged since the 1970s, unlike that of many other cancers.

But that discouraging picture may not be the reality for much longer.

At long last, there are glimmers of hope—thanks to discoveries about the body’s genetic map, a growing slate of targeted drugs, robotic surgery and improved screening. “We’re in some exciting new terri-tory in the treatment of lung cancer,” says medical oncolo-gist Barbara J. Gitlitz, asso-ciate professor of medicine at Keck School of Medicine of USC. She’s a member of the Lung Cancer Program at USC Norris Cancer Hospi-tal, part of the Keck Medical Center of USC.

Behind the promising developments is a growing awareness that each person’s lung cancer may be unique. Lung cancer isn’t one dis-ease, experts say. It’s a spectrum of diseases. Each tumor has its own characteristics. If researchers can decode the factors that allow tumors to survive and grow, they can design treatments to work against these factors.

�at’s already starting to happen. Work under way at USC Norris to identify tar-geted therapies is among the �rst funded by the nonpro�t Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) to show tangible results.

Heading up the Epigenetics Dream Team—one of �ve prestigious teams of researchers funded by SU2C—are Stephen

Baylin of Johns Hopkins University and USC’s Peter A. Jones, Distinguished Profes-sor of Urology and Biochemistry and Molec-ular Biology.

When cancer develops, Jones explains, it causes normal cells to turn o� genes that should be on or—equally worrisome—acti-vates others. “Some genes get locked o� or silenced when they shouldn’t be,” he says. “With epigenetic therapies, we’re targeting and unlocking these cancer-�ghting genes.”

Jones and his colleagues are tackling what’s called the epig-enome. If the human genome were the body’s computer hardware, then the epigenome would be the software that instructs the computer when, where and how to work. Unlike our DNA, which can’t be changed, the epigenome is malleable, giving scientists the chance to manipulate its response with drugs.

One of these drugs traces its roots to Jones’ earliest

years at USC. In 1980, Jones made a key sci-enti�c discovery about the compound, called 5-Azacitidine, which opened the way for the �eld of epigenetics.

�ree decades later, the drug was one of two medications in a promising SU2C clinical trial for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Results showed last-ing responses in patients and indicated that the drug might make tumors more vulner-able to chemotherapy.

Jones works with medical oncologists like Gitlitz, a member of the USC Norris Devel-opmental �erapeutics Program, to ensure that such innovative ideas reach patients.

“We’re working hard to come up with biomarkers

that will help us predict who

will benefit from these therapies.”

—Peter A. Jones, Distinguished

Professor of Urology and

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology


“My hope is that we’ll be able to make lung cancer a chronic disease.”— Barbara J. Gitlitz, associate professor of medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC

Clinical trials are under way for all stages of lung cancer.

At USC Norris, doctors routinely test for genetic mutations in all advanced lung can-cer cases. Take the case of Winnie Cheung.

A nonsmoker, Cheung was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011 when the spread-ing cancer broke a bone in her neck. She had surgery at USC to stabilize her neck and remove the cancer, followed by radiation. Fortunately, her tumor carried an EGFR mutation, the target for a therapy called erlo-tinib. “� at kind of good news goes all day long,” says her son, Billy Szeto ’95, who has helped coordinate her care.

Cheung takes one pill daily. “I feel very good,” she says. “I have a lot of energy.”

David and Arlene Ray can relate. � ey’ve ardently supported innovative research for more than 25 years as founding presidents of the group STOP CANCER. “Now we’re the poster child for targeted thera-pies,” says Arlene.

David was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011. He had surgery, radiation and chemo-therapy. Twice his cancer went into remis-sion. In January, it returned again, this time in his liver. Gitlitz ran genomic tests. David came up positive for what doctors call RET translocation. “I felt like I’d won the lottery,” he says.

RET translocations—the mistaken � ip-� opping of genetic material—have long been identi� ed with thyroid cancer but also were linked to lung cancer in 2012. Gitlitz found a targeted therapy that had exclusively been used to treat thyroid cancer. “I’ll do any-thing to bring the most cutting-edge treat-ment to my patients,” says Gitlitz, a 2004 STOP CANCER grant recipient. � e Rays decided to give it a try.

In January, David started taking vande-tanib. Working with Gitlitz, the Rays have their eyes on another promising drug in clinical trials. “We’re going forward,” says Arlene. “You have to keep � ghting.”

Jones and his Epigenetics Dream Team are moving forward, too. Next up are expanded trials for lung cancer and the search for a molecular � ngerprint. “We’re working hard to come up with biomarkers that will help us predict who will bene� t from these thera-pies,” he says.

Even targeted therapies aren’t cures. Eventually, cancer � nds a way to grow again. So Gitlitz and fellow oncologists are testing drugs that might break down the mecha-nisms of drug resistance.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. But over the next � ve years, Gitlitz expects to see the discov-ery of more gene mutations and the develop-ment of more targeted therapies in response. “My hope,” she says, “is that we’ll be able to make lung cancer a chronic disease.” ●

If you have questions or comments on this article, go to tfm.usc.edu/mailbag P

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From top: Peter A. Jones, Daniel Oh and

Jeffrey A. Hagen

ELIO PAGANO WAS 79 when he had ro-

botic surgery for lung cancer at USC Norris

Cancer Hospital—past the age when many

other centers offer a surgical option.

Today, Pagano is cancer-free. He’ll turn

80 this year and says he feels great. “Things

are perfect now,” says Pagano, who gifted

his surgeon, Daniel Oh, with his homemade

marinara sauce in thanks for the successful

operation.

USC Norris was one of the nation’s first

medical centers to embrace robotic surgery

for lung cancer and is the only university-

based center in Southern California to rou-

tinely offer it as an option.

Because older patients often have other

complicating health conditions, many are

regularly turned away from surgery. At USC

Norris, though, doctors perform individual

risk assessments for each patient. The con-

sequence: About a third of cancer patients

who have a robotic lobectomy (removal of

part of the lung) there are over 80.

And while lung surgeons previously ad-

vocated robots only for early-stage cancer,

now even advanced-stage cancers may be

treated surgically with the robot.

“A confluence of technological develop-

ment—and an interest by surgeons and

patients to rethink how we do things—has

resulted in our ability to do such procedures

with smaller incisions, with greater preci-

sion,” says Jeffrey A. Hagen, associate pro-

fessor of surgery at Keck School of Medicine

of USC.

Traditional open lobectomies require a

6-inch incision and spreading of the ribs.

With the robotic da Vinci Surgical System,

incisions are about an inch or less in length,

with no rib spreading. The result is less

stress on the patient and quicker recovery.

Pagano’s suspected nodule was deep

within his left lung. He spent three days in

the hospital, less than half the typical recov-

ery time for open surgery.

Hagen and Oh join forces during robotic

lung procedures. “We believe a team

approach produces better, more reliable

results,” says Oh, assistant professor of sur-

gery at the Keck School of Medicine.

Surgeons note that new technologies are

moving beyond surgery—they’re also im-

proving cancer detection and evaluation.

In 2011, the National Lung Screening Tri-

al showed for the first time that screening

people at high risk for lung cancer could

save lives. Keck Medical Center is among

the original centers approved to offer low-

dose chest CT scans to current and former

heavy smokers.

In another diagnostic advance, USC sur-

geons use electromagnetic navigational

bronchoscopy—a sort of GPS for the

body—to reach deeper into the lung than

ever before. This helps them diagnose le-

sions that once were inaccessible. They also

use new endobronchial ultrasound to see

enlarged lymph nodes or masses through

airway walls and take tissue samples.

“Such tools allow us to make sure pa-

tients get the most appropriate care,” says

Oh, “for the best outcomes.” —CP

Eight decades’ worth of thankfulness

m USC Norris was one of the nation’s first medical centers to embrace robotic surgery for lung cancer and is the only university-based center in Southern California to routinely offer it as an option.

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The USC Alumni Association proudly welcomes

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(213) 740-2300

tunity to celebrate the achievements and tre-mendous contributions of women.”

T I M O T H Y O . K N I G H T

To learn about some of the Trojan women at the USC Women’s Conference in their own words, visit alumnigroups.usc.edu/womens conference and click on “Stories.”

family ties

Celebrating the Women of TroyTwo alumnae share their perspectives on the 2013 USC Women’s Conference.

JAIME LEE ’06, JD ’09 IS ALL ABOUT USC.

Her mother is a Trojan. Her grandfather is a Trojan. Her three younger brothers? All Trojans. Together with “countless” other relatives, they make up a big Trojan Family on their own. So when it came time to serve on the host committee for the 2013 USC Women’s Conference, Lee embraced the job.

“USC is a huge part of my identity,” she said. “My passions, beliefs and moral com-pass were all solidi�ed here, and it has given me experiences and opportunities that I could not have gotten anywhere else. I can-not help but be passionate about giving back.”

Lee, her fellow host committee members and her conference co-chairs, Alice Carde-nas ’81 and Dale Harbour-Day ’83, wel-comed nearly 1,000 USC alumnae, parents, students, faculty, sta� and friends to campus on March 7 for the popular daylong forum hosted by the USC Alumni Association. �e women attended workshops and panel discussions, but most of all, they met new friends and potential colleagues.

“Everyone I know who has attended the conference has gained something valuable that has impacted their life, whether it is knowledge, a new life goal or a new connec-tion,” Lee said.

THELMA MELÉNDEZ DE SANTA ANA PHD ’95 is just as enthusiastic. Meléndez was one of the speakers at the event, and she talked to attendees about her passion for education. �e superintendent of the Santa Ana Uni�ed School District and a 2012 USC Alumni Merit Award honoree has long heeded the advice of her beloved abuelita (grandma) Gela: “Never be afraid to follow your heart.”

Making a di�erence in the lives of oth-ers, speci�cally children in urban school settings, is both Meléndez’s legacy and her “ocupassion,” as described by her friend, author Louis Barajas.

“I enrolled at USC to work on my PhD

with an emphasis in language, literacy and learning, to focus speci�cally on the urban student population,” Meléndez said. “It’s deeply important for me to serve these chil-dren because I was one of them.”

Meléndez was energized by the event. “I knew the conference would be inspira-tional,” she said, “and a wonderful oppor-

Guest speaker Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana PhD ’95, left, with conference co-chair Jaime Lee ’06, JD ’09

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Trojan Family turns out in force for

People Serving People

Minneapolis

USC Alumni Club of the Twin Cities hosted

a children’s activity day at People Serving

People, a shelter for homeless children

and their families.

Center for Families, Children’s

Hospital Boston

Brookline, Mass.

USC Alumni Club of Boston served lunch

and provided craft activities to kids and their

families at the Yawkey Family Inn, a patient

family home at Children’s Hospital Boston.

Sacred Heart Community Service

San Jose, Calif.

USC Alumni Club of Silicon Valley

sorted and boxed groceries for more than

2,000 daily customers at Sacred Heart

Community Service, a nonprofit organiza-

tion addressing poverty in Silicon Valley.

Norwood Street School

Los Angeles

USC Half Century Trojans rearranged books and science

rooms, as well as picked up trash around the campus.

The USC Thornton Alumni Association partnered with

Education Through Music—Los Angeles to host a music

education event at the school.

Ronald McDonald House Charities

Austin, Texas

USC Alumni Club of Austin helped set up the annual Bandana Ball hosted

by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin, which is committed to

improving the health and well being of children.

Trojan Family turns out in force for 2nd annual USC Alumni Day of SCervice

Paying It Forward by Giving BackPaying It Forward by Giving Back

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North Hollywood Community Gateway

North Hollywood, Calif.

USC Alumni Club of the San Fernando Valley beautified the North Hollywood Gateway Park

with help from Patrick E. Auerbach EdD ’08, interim associate vice president of

Alumni Relations (left), Mitchell Lew ’83, MD ’87, USCAA Board of Governors president;

and Deena Lew ’85 and Scott Sternberg ’07, USC Alumni Day of SCervice co-chairs.

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TROJANS AROUND THE WORLD CAME TOGETHER March 23 to make a di�erence in their communities through the USC Alumni Association’s annual Alumni Day of SCervice. Sponsored by Global Brigades, a student-led global health and sustainable development organization, the event united nearly 1,800 alumni and friends from 18 states and eight countries.

�e projects bene�tted people (including children, the elderly, the poor and the sick), animals (both pets and zoo creatures), and places (a beach and a freeway underpass, to name a few).

Alumni shared photos, insights and memories from the day through social media. You can browse through them at alumni.usc.edu/service R O S S M. L E V I N E

Centre Thérapeutique Pédiatrique

(Croix Rouge Française)

Margency, France

USC Alumni Club of Paris volunteered at the

traveling movie theater Les Toiles Enchantées and

visited the Paris-area children’s hospital to host

activities and a movie.

Baan Kru Noi Children’s Home

Bangkok

USC Regional Representative of Thailand

organized volunteers to play games with

disadvantaged and disabled children

ages 3 to 13.

Children for a Better World

Munich, Germany

USC Regional Representative of

Munich partnered with Children for a

Better World, a nonprofit children’s aid

organization, to provide activities and a

tour of the airport.

Nam Cheong District

Community Centre

Hong Kong

USC Alumni Club of Hong

Kong entertained underprivi-

leged children at the center

with games and singing.

FaHua Elderly Center

Shanghai, China

USC Alumni Club of Shanghai

and HandsOn Shanghai assembled

care packages and engaged elderly

residents in fun activities, such as

singing and dancing.

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USC-Ghana Global Education & Health Outreach

Gomoa Dago via Apam, Ghana

USC School of Pharmacy students joined the

K. Sam Essilfie Medical Foundation to work on

education and health projects in selected

community schools and clinics.

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Alumni SCene

Trojans making an impact

1. Women of InfluenceFour “Women Making an Impact” came together on Jan. 23 for a lively discussion about the in�uence of pioneering women on their communities and the world. Moder-ated by USC’s Al Checcio (right), the panel included Dana Dornsife (second from right), founder and president of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation; Vicki Booth (second from left), president of the Ueberroth Family Founda-tion; and Patricia Riba ’93 (left), founder and medical director of Dr. Riba’s Health Club, a children’s health nonpro�t. Also on the panel was Janice Bryant Howroyd, founder and CEO of the Act*1 Group. Sponsored by the USC Alumni Association (USCAA), the USC alumni clubs of Orange County, and Town and Gown of USC, the event drew 150 attendees.

2. A Visionary in New York“USC in Your Neighborhood” was in down-

town Manhattan Jan. 31 at the New York Academy of Sciences. Presented by the USCAA and the USC Alumni Club of New York, the event featured Elizabeth Garrett, USC provost and senior vice presi-dent for academic a¡airs, and pioneering vision researcher Mark Humayun (center). See related story on page 7.

3. Meal with a Mission £e USC Latino Alumni Association (LAA) welcomed more than 750 guests to its 39th Annual Scholarship Dinner on March 1. £e event raised about $750,000 for scholarships and student leadership development programs. £e evening hon-ored the David C. Lizárraga family and TELACU Education Foundation, recipi-ents of the LAA Legacy Award, and fea-tured keynote speaker Mayor Julián Castro of San Antonio. From left, USC Trustee and LAA Corporate Advisory Councilmember

Frank H. Cruz ’66, MS ’69; LAA Execu-tive Director Domenika Lynch ’97; Mayor Castro; USC President C. L. Max Nikias; and USC Trustee Edward P. Roski Jr. ’62.

4. Short Films That Go a Long Way £e USC Lambda LGBT Alumni Asso-ciation’s 6th annual Don £ompson LGBT Film Festival on Feb. 9 drew nearly 165 attendees. £e festival, named after the late head of reference services at the USC School of Cinematic Arts Library, screened short �lms by USC student and alumni �lmmak-ers committed to exploring LGBT life and culture. Festival proceeds bene�t the Don £ompson Scholarship in Cinematic Arts, which is awarded to �lmmakers making a di¡erence in the LGBT community. £is year’s winners were Dominic Haxton ’07 for Teens Like Phil and current MFA students Conor Fetting-Smith for Bingo Night and Leopold Dewolf for Niagara.

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Half Century Trojans get a lift from a

USC student during Going Back to College Day.

THE USC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

PRESENTS

1963Class of

50th Reunion

1973Class of

40th Reunion

1983Class of

30th Reunion

1988Class of

25th Reunion

2003Class of

10th Reunion

November 15-16...together with Homecoming

http://alumni.usc.edu/reunions

Follow Us

#uscreunions

TALK ABOUT THE POWER OF ADVERTISING. While thumbing through the Autumn 2012 issue of USC Trojan Family Magazine, Jim Coulter ’61, MBA ’67 saw an ad for the Half Century Trojans Going Back to College Day. Although he and his wife (and fellow alum) Sharron live in Sacramento, they made the 362-mile trek south to attend the event on Feb. 27 for the �rst time.

�e Coulters were among the 340-plus members of the university’s senior alumni community who returned to campus for a program of faculty presentations, musical performances, campus tours and a lun-cheon featuring a panel of current student leaders.

As golf carts ferried Half Century Trojans to and from Bovard Auditorium and Town & Gown for the morning convocation and lunch program, respectively, the Coulters took some time getting reoriented to their transformed alma mater—the new buildings, fountains and landscaping—which he described as “mind blowing.”

“We’re very impressed by what has happened to the university and the surrounding area, and thoroughly enjoyed Going Back to College Day,” said Coulter. “I would attend it again and recommend it to my fellow Trojans.”

T I M O T H Y O . K N I G H T

Going the DistanceNorthern California alums attend 5th annual Half Century Trojans Going Back to College Day.

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Ask Sheryl Gordon McCloud JD ’84

about herself, and she’ll talk to you about

others. A member of the Washington

State Supreme Court since January, she’ll

point to professors, friends, her husband

and the two sons who inspired and

supported her. Or she’ll talk about the

people whose rights she’s determined to

protect.

As for her own merits? “I just wanted

to do good, work hard and do the right

thing, and I ended up falling in love with

appellate work and constitutional law,” she says.

The daughter of a school secretary, Gordon McCloud first became politically active as a

teenager when she and some friends founded the Women’s Liberation Club at their high school

in New York. After graduating from the State University of New York in Buffalo in 1976, she

stayed on the East Coast until a deadly blizzard the next year made California’s calmer weather

irresistible. She was working as a legal secretary in Los Angeles when she had an epiphany:

Becoming a lawyer would allow her to pursue her interest in individual, constitutional, women’s

and minority rights. She entered the USC Gould School of Law, and graduated in the top 2

percent of her class.

Before starting her own practice as an appellate lawyer, she clerked for a judge of the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals and worked in the public defender’s office. Early in her career she and

Yale University’s Judith Resnik, a USC professor at the time, submitted an amicus brief on a case

before the U.S. Supreme Court that dealt with the pregnancy-leave rights of working women.

What inspired Gordon McCloud most about the experience was the courage of the appellant, a

bank receptionist. “This woman, who was pregnant and got fired, decided that she could stand

up for her rights. I kind of felt if she can, then I certainly can, too.”

Today she credits much of her success to USC Gould: professors who demanded the most

out of her even when she thought she couldn’t give it; the “Law, Language and Ethics” class that

showed her different ways of looking at legal problems; and the Prison Law Project that taught

her to combine academic analysis and hands-on work. She also says that the support of former

classmates proved priceless during her bid for a seat on Washington’s Supreme Court.

“And I don’t just mean financial support,” she says. “I mean moral support and words of

wisdom and reaching out and reconnecting after many years.”

The campaign was Gordon McCloud’s second major battle within five years. In 2007, she

beat uterine cancer. Remembering the fear that came with treatment, she finds it unbelievable

that many—unlike her—have to face the disease without family, friends, insurance or income.

She has turned the conversation around again, showing that, for her, any experience can

become a lesson in gratitude.

C H R I S T I N A S C H W E I G H O F E R

alumni profile ’841 9 3 0 s

Sakaye Shigekawa ’36 celebrated her 100th birthday in January. She lives in Los Angeles.

1 9 5 0 s

John Goddard ’55 of La Cañada, Calif., is an explorer and motivational speaker, having explored the entire length of the Nile River and climbed the Matterhorn, among other expeditions. He is the author of The Survi-vor: 21 Spine-Chilling Adventures on the Edge of Death, a book chronicling his travels.

Carl R. Terzian ’57, a public relations consultant, was re-elected to a three-year term on the board of trustees at Woodbury University in Burbank, Calif. He received the Community Champion Award from the Los Angeles Opportunities Industrialization Center in December 2012.

Janet Chapple ’59 of Oakland, Calif., trans-lated and edited the book Yellowstone, Land of Wonders: Promenade in North America’s National Park, written by Belgian travel writer Jules Leclercq after visiting the park in 1883. She is also the author of Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler’s Companion to the National Park.

George Demos PhD ’59 is co-author of Philosophical Psychology: A New Frontier in Education and Therapy: Psychological Human-ism—Maslow Revisited. He is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor emeritus of counseling psychology at California State University, Long Beach.

1 9 6 0 s

Jeanne (Bramble) Pieper ’60 of Marina del Rey, Calif., is the author of In Our Lifetime: The Ordination of the First Catholic Woman Priest. She is a founding board member of the Action Committee for Women in Prison, where she is director of a program that matches women in U.S. prisons with other women from around the world as pen pals.

class notes

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The Lives

of Others


Generous

Germ Fighter

During his training at the Keck School of Medicine of

USC, Joel Breman MD ’65 saw many patients with

measles, meningitis, diphtheria, whooping cough

and tetanus, along with unusual infections.

“The great needs of the indigent patients touched

my heart and soul,” Breman says. Wanting to help

and learn beyond the confines of Los Angeles, he

asked his Keck School mentor, Paul Wehrle, about

opportunities to confront infectious diseases in countries with greater needs.

Wehrle, then chair of pediatrics and chief of the communicable diseases service at Los

Angeles County+USC Medical Center, pointed him to a new Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) program. Focused on smallpox eradication and measles control in 20 African

countries, the program was a major part of a global smallpox initiative of the World Health Orga-

nization (WHO). Wehrle’s suggestion led Breman to a life devoted to researching, controlling and

wiping out infectious diseases worldwide.

In 1967, Breman and his wife, Vicki, a nurse he’d met during his internship at LAC+USC Medical

Center, went to Guinea with the CDC. At the time, the country had the world’s second-highest

incidence of smallpox.

“Through vaccination, containment, Guinea’s commitment and a lot of resources, in two years

we eliminated a disease that had ravaged western Africa for 500 years,” Breman says. “That was

pretty heady for a young person.”

Five years later, based in Burkina Faso, he developed surveillance efforts for yellow fever,

cholera, monkeypox and other diseases prevalent in eight West African countries. He also began

work on malaria, and later investigated the first outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the

Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).

Next, Breman went to the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, where he directed research on viruses

related to smallpox and managed the global certification of smallpox eradication until the job

was completed in 1980.

Breman also shared his knowledge with others. He returned to the CDC and for more than a

decade trained young American and African scientists. He moved on to direct international train-

ing and research programs in emerging infectious diseases at the Fogarty International Center of

the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Now senior scientist emeritus at the NIH, Breman studies the malaria parasite’s resistance to

new drugs, as well as the prevalence of poor-quality and fake drugs to treat the disease.

Breman and his wife also help USC students who are passionate about studying and providing

health care in developing countries. The couple established the Keck School’s Breman Student

International Research Travel Grant, which provides awards of $2,000 to $5,000 to support eight

weeks of clinical, field or laboratory research for one or two medical students each year. One

recent recipient studied the link between childhood diseases and sanitation in Haiti. Another

examined how depression inhibits people in Africa from taking anti-HIV drugs.

“When I was in medical school, there were no opportunities for students to do research or

clinical work overseas,” Breman says. “I wanted to give back for all the opportunities that my

degree has made possible.” R O B I N H E F F L E R

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William F. O’Neill PhD ’62, professor emeritus at USC, is co-author of Philosophi-cal Psychology: A New Frontier in Educa-tion and Therapy: Psychological Human-ism—Maslow Revisited. He specializes in educational philosophy and international education.

Bill Altaffer ’67, MS ’69 of Carmel Valley, Calif., has been named the Most Traveled Man by various travel organizations. He has traveled to every country in the world and has visited more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than anyone else on record.

Forrest Sherrill MS ’67 has a new com-position titled “Divertimento for Strings” included on Moto Perpetuo, a CD released in March by Navona Records. He lives in Greenville, S.C.

Sonnee Stallman Weedn ’68, ME ’69, ’73 published her book Many Blessings: A Tapes-try of Accomplished African American Women, a compilation of interviews with 30 con-temporary African-American women. She is a clinical psychologist in Novato, Calif.

1 9 7 0 s

Sydney (Sullivan) Knott ’78 is the founder, president and executive director of Horses-4Heroes Inc., a nonpro�t equine services organization that serves all active-duty military personnel, veterans, �rst responders, nurses and their families. She lives in Las Vegas and has three daughters.

Cindy McCain ’78 of Phoenix recently joined the board of directors of the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles. She is involved in a number of international charity organizations and is chairman of Hensley Beverage Co.

1 9 8 0 s

Gene Del Vecchio MBA ’80 is an adjunct professor at the USC Marshall School of Business. He has spent more than 30 years in private industry, specializing in enter-tainment and youth marketing, and he is

alumni profile ’65

USC Center for Joint Preservation and Replacement

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surgeons use the latest technologies, minimally invasive techniques, innovative

pain management, and intensive physical therapy to help minimize pain and

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Call us today, and get back to your everyday.

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Pools as well as Pineapple Pools, a company that services pools and repairs equipment.

1 9 9 0 s

Jeff Bernhardt MSW ’94 of Van Nuys, Calif., is the author of On Sacred Ground: Jewish and Christian Clergy Reflect on Trans-formative Passages from the Five Books of Moses, a collection of more than 100 essays by clergy. His play Therapy premiered in Los Angeles in March.

Howard Hsu ’94 of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., recently accepted a position as �nancial controller at Pryde Group Americas, a Hong Kong-based manufacturing, distribution and brand management company focused on high-performance sporting products.

Natalie Pace ’94 of Santa Monica, Calif.,

is the author of The ABCs of Money, which teaches basic �nancial literacy. She is CEO and founder of Women’s Investment Net-work LLC.

Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab MA ’96 won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for her and her co-winner’s series in The New York Times about Wal-Mart using widespread bribery to dominate the retail industry in Mexico.

Sebastien DeClerck ’98 was named a 2013 California Teacher of the Year. He teaches Italian and French at Ventura High School.

Justin Sohl ’98 is founder and chief �nancial o�cer of Hollywood Access Services, a Bur-bank, Calif.-based company that produces audio narration for television, movies, home entertainment, Web content and theme parks. �e company has developed Solo-Dx, a proprietary line of audio description MP3

the author of several books, including the recently published Creating Blockbusters.

Paul D. Corona ’84 of Laguna Niguel, Calif., is the author of Healing the Mind and Body. A physician for 20 years, he specializes in psychiatry, mood disorders and chronic recurring physical problems.

Katherine Turman ’86 published her �rst book, Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Marion E. “Priss” Benbow ’87 co-wrote “European Startups: Now Is Your Time to Shine,” an article that was published on technology blog VentureBeat. She lives in San Francisco.

Kerri Elizabeth McCoy ’87 recently won the Master of Design Award at the International Expo of Swimming Pools. She is the owner of Moorpark, Calif.-based Derian Quality

Black Alumni AssociationA division of USC Student Affairs

NETWORKING MENTORING “1,000 FOR $1,000” SCHOLARSHIP CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE SERVICE

Leadership, Legacy& Scholarship�e USC Black Alumni Association proudly continues

its mission to support successful outcomes for USC black

students through scholarship, mentoring and leadership

opportunities by engaging our Trojan Family network.

Learn more online at usc.edu/baa

Pictured, bottom right: Rev. Dr. Thomas Kilgore, Jr., founder, USC Black Alumni Association


JOIN THE USC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION FOR OUR

2013 FOOTBALL

WEEKENDERS!

http://alumni.usc.edu/football

For complete information on all our Weekender events,

please visit us online or call (213) 740-2300.

FIGHT ON!

AT HHAAAWWWWAAAIIII THURSDAY, AUGUST 29

AT NNOOTTTRREE DDAAMMMEE

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19

AT CCAAALL

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9

AT CCOOLLOORRAADDOOO

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23

lifelong and worldwide

Market to the Trojan Family by joining the nearly 1,000 Trojan-

owned/affi liated businesses already part of this new directory.

Visit TrojanBusinessDirectory.com

or call (888) 872-9295

Sign up before July 15 and get 50% OFF

a Cardinal or Gold listing!

Own a business?

Use the USC Alumni Business and Service Directory to:

� Locate Trojan-owned/affi liated businesses searchable by

profession, keyword, city or country

� Take advantage of Trojan Family discounts and sign up for alerts

about weekly special off ers

� Download our iPhone app to explore Trojan businesses near you!


Jackie Covas ’04 of Torrance, Calif., is the creator of Dance Dot, a small, portable board that allows tap dancers to practice outside a dance studio.

Marcus Phillips ’04, Tony Phillips ’05 and Shawn Drost ’06 created Hack Reactor, a 12-week programming class in San Francisco focused on front-end Web development.

Shaun Sanghani MFA ’05 of Los Angeles is the creator and executive producer of The Governor’s Wife, which premieres on A&E this summer. He is the founder and owner of the production company SSS Entertainment.

Todd Scherwin JD ’05 is managing partner at the Los Angeles o�ce of Fisher & Phil-lips LLC, a labor, employment and civil rights law �rm.

Merrill Irving Jr. PhD ’07 was appointed to a one-year term on the American Asso-ciation of Community Colleges’ Advisory Committee on Leadership Initiatives. His appointment begins July 1. He is associ-ate vice president of continuing educa-tion, training and workforce development at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Ill.

Celeste (McGovern) Kidd ’07 was featured on Discover magazine’s list of top science stories of 2012 for her research on children’s decision making. She completed her PhD in brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester in May.

Tom Prieto MBT ’07 published his fourth article for the journal Practical Tax Strategies, “In�ation Protection and Taxes.” He lives in Valencia, Calif.

�les that can be played along with movies or television programs to aid the visually impaired.

2 0 0 0 s

Paul Nankivell ’02 is a videographer for Time Warner Cable Sportsnet. He lives in Los Angeles.

Jared Yeager ’02 was the executive producer for Beeline Interactive’s recently released mobile game “Ghostbusters” for the iPhone and iPad. He lives in Culver City, Calif.

Sam Thong ’03, ’04 was recently named manager at Lucas, Horsfall, Murphy & Pin-droh, an accounting and business consulting �rm based in Pasadena, Calif. He has been with the �rm for seven years.

Our Savior Parish &USC Caruso Catholic Center Invite You

September 4, 2013 Welcome Fiesta to kick o� the School Year

September 21, 2013 Trojan Family Tailgate Barbecue on Campus

October 27, 2013 Parents Weekend Mass, Blessing and Continental Breakfast

December 8, 2013 First Anniversary Mass and Reception.

Save the Dates!

A Place of Service, Spirit and Intellect.

A New Home at USC

� e USC Catholic Community welcomes the Trojan

Family to the magni� cent new Our Savior Church

and USC Caruso Catholic Center. All are welcome

to attend our events and activities as we celebrate

our grand opening year. We hope to see you often at your University Parish.

And, when you’re on campus, please stop by for a visit and tour.

844 west thirty second street los angeles, ca 90007 213-516-3959 www.catholictrojan.org


in memoriam

2 0 1 0 s

John Sandoval ’13 received the 2013 Dr. John R. Hubbard Award at the 39th annual USC Latino Alumni Association scholar-ship dinner in March.

M A R R I A G E S

Justin M. Evans ’03, MS ’05 and Jennifer M. Leong ’05, JD ’08

Peggy J. Vadillo ’05, MPP ’10 and Dave Orenstein.

A L U M N I

Walter W. Faner ’40, LLB ’50, Hidden Hills, Calif.; Dec. 18, 2012, at the age of 94

Arthur A. Bardos ’43, Chevy Chase, Md.; March 7, at the age of 91

Raymond Wilde ’49, of Elk Grove, Calif.; March 30, at the age of 88

James Edward Stewart MS ’50, Glendale, Calif.; March 15, at the age of 89

Floyd Alvin Paul ’51, Glendale, Calif.; Aug. 31, 2012, at the age of 89

Burbank (818) 972-2405

Encino (818) 788-8870

Hollywood Hills (323) 874-7711

Rancho Palos Verdes (310) 377-9977

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Let us help make this chapter one of your best.It begins with the right setting. Comfortable surroundings that

please the eye and senses. A responsive staff for resident support

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B I R T H S

Angela An ’94 and Don Wolery, a daughter, Emmie

Mario Fernandez ’95 and Corinne Fernandez, a son, Coen Richard. He joins brother Mario Giordano

Daniel Eugene Owens ’97 and Delia Jimenez Owens, a son, Jaymes Alexander. He joins brother Dylan Alexander. He is the nephew of Michelle Lynnette Owens ’95

Jeffrey A. Cadmus ’99, EMBA ’10 and Sierra Cadmus, a son, Resse. He joins brother Chase

Derek Kealii Polischuk ’01, MM ’04, DMA ’06 and Karin (Diltz) Polischuk ’01, a son, Miles Jozef Akeamakai. He joins sister Veronica.

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Known worldwide as the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball franchise, Jerry Buss PhD ’57 masterminded the chemistry behind the famous “Showtime” teams of the 1980s. It only made sense: Buss studied and taught that science at USC. Buss died Feb. 18 in Los Ange-les. He was 80.

Born in Salt Lake City, Buss graduated from the University of Wyoming with dreams of becoming a chemistry professor. �e analytical young Buss earned his doc-torate in physical chemistry from USC and worked in the aerospace industry, as well as serving on the chemistry faculty at USC.

To supplement his teaching income, he started investing in Southern California real estate. One big deal led to another, and soon he embraced the real estate business full time.

His �rst foray into sports team ownership—a professional tennis franchise—was short-lived, but his breakthrough came with the purchase of the Lakers and the Los Angeles Kings hockey team in 1979. �e Lakers won 10 championships under his tenure, and he transformed professional

basketball into an entertainment event. Buss also left his mark on USC. He

served on the �rst USC College Board of Councilors and gave $7.5 million to what’s now called the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences to endow two chairs in chemistry and a scholarship fund for graduate students. He supported ath-letics and marching band scholarships and was a fervent USC track and football fan.

He is survived by his sons John, Jim, Jesse and Joey ’06 and daughters Jane Drexel and Jeanie ’85. �

Yvonne Brill MS ’51, a pioneer-ing rocket scientist and expert in the chemistry of space propulsion, died March 27 in Princeton, N.J. She was 88.

Born near Winnipeg, Manitoba, she was barred from majoring in engineering at the University of Manitoba because there were no accommodations for women at a mandatory engineering camp. Instead, she studied mathematics and chemistry, graduating at the top of her class, and went on to work with Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, Calif. She is believed to have been the only woman in the United States doing rocket science in the mid-1940s, when she worked on the �rst designs for an American satellite.

After marrying, she took several years o£ from her career to raise her family; she returned in the 1960s, working at RCA Astro Electronics. In the early 1970s, she invented a propulsion system to help keep communications satellites from slipping

out of their orbits. It later became the industry standard. From 1981 to 1983, she worked for NASA developing the rocket motor for the space shuttle.

�roughout her career, she contributed to the propulsion systems of Tiros, the �rst weather satellite; Nova, a series of rocket

designs that were used in American moon missions; the Atmosphere Explorer, the �rst upper-atmosphere satellite; and the Mars Observer. Brill spent her career encouraging women to pursue engineering and science.

She received numerous awards, includ-ing NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal. In 1987, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. In 2011, she received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Franklin Brill. She is survived by sons Matthew and Joseph, daughter Naomi and four grandchildren. �

Jerry Buss

Yvonne Brill

Fred Ray Klumb ’56, MS ’57, Duarte, Calif.; Oct. 30, 2010, at the age of 77

Bruce A. Macfarlane ’57, Arcadia, Calif.; March 5, 2012 at the age of 81

Morgan L. Morgan MD ’58, Corona del Mar, Calif.; Aug. 20, 2012, at the age of 79

Richard Gordon McEwen ’66, Green Valley, Ariz.; Aug. 14, 2012, at the age of 74

Donald L. Johnston ’77, North Palm Springs; Jan. 19, at the age of 64

Richard H. Stewart DMA ’77, Escondido, Calif.; May 22, 2012, at the age of 82

Aram Peter Kezirian Jr. JD ’89, Los Angeles; Nov. 19, 2012, at the age of 48.

FACULT Y, STAFF & FRIENDS

Salvador “Sal” Salas Mena Holtville, Calif.; Dec. 27, 2012, at the age of 95

Douglas R. Taylor Santa Monica, Calif.; Jan. 11, at the age of 74

William Van Cleave Idyllwild, Calif.; March 15, at the age of 77

Jeff Winans Turlock, Calif.; Dec. 21, 2012, at the age of 61.

READ THE OBITUARIES

OF THESE MEMBERS OF

THE TROJAN FAMILY AT

tfm.usc.edu/memoriam

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last look

PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

A History of Service

Countless future military

officers have been edu-

cated at USC through

the years. During World

War II, programs such as

the Naval Reserve Officer

Training Corps (started in

1940) and the V-12 Navy

College Training Program

supported young men who

pursued college degrees

and were bound for the

military. Those in the V-12

program were in uniform,

on active duty and subject

to military discipline. “It

was hard, not only for us,

but also for the staff and

professors,” says Newell

Boughton ’45.

But college life had

perks. “We worked

hard but played hard

between noon Saturday

and 6 p.m. Sunday,”

Boughton remembers. On

the weekends, students

went to the beach, danced

to big band sounds at the

Cocoanut Grove ballroom

and skied at local moun-

tains.

Classmates held send-

offs for USC students who

were about to leave for

active duty (right). In this

image, ca. 1944, the crowd

stretches all the way from

the Old College entrance

to the grounds.

The U.S. Navy’s V-12

program ended after the

war, but new USC ROTC

programs were created in

the years since: Air Force

ROTC Detachment 060 in

1949 and Trojan Battalion

Army ROTC in 1980. �

World-class medical care.

At the Keck Medical Center of USC, you will find some of the finest physicians in the world. From the most complex diagnoses and treatments to primary care for the entire family, more than 600 USC physicians are in your community providing world-class care. Our physicians practice in locations throughout Southern California including downtown Los Angeles, La Cañada Flintridge, Beverly Hills and now, Pasadena.

Visit KeckMedicalCenterofUSC.org for a complete list of locations or call (800) USC-CARE.

Local address.

Keck Medical Center of USC Pasadena625 S. Fair Oaks Avenue, Suite 400

KeckMedicalCenterofUSC.org/Pasadena(626) 568-1622

Visit our medical o�ce in Pasadena

non-profit

organization

u.s. postage paid

university of

southern

california

USC Trojan Family MagazineUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA 90089-2818

Change Service Requested

USC Sports Medicine.Make an appointment today.

800-USC-CARE or ortho.usc.edu

Their doctors. Your doctors.

USC Sports Medicine.

At Keck Medical Center of USC, you have access to the same orthopaedic surgeons

and sports medicine specialists who care for the USC Trojans and Olympic

champions. If you have a sports injury or pain of the shoulder, knee, hip, or elbow,

we provide world-class care to defeat it.

Documents

Trojan Family Magazine Summer 2013