trojan family magazine winter 2014

WHERE TROJANS COME TOGETHER

T e Nikiases welcome the Trojan Family to the USC President’s House

WINTER 2014 $4.95

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

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e main reading room in the Hoose Library of Philosophy has been a favorite haunt for studious Trojans since 1929. Housing rare medieval manuscripts and an extensive philosophy collection, USC’s oldest library can’t help but encourage quiet, scholarly re ection thanks to its vibrant stained glass windows, intricate mosaics and soaring cathedral ceilings.

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O N T H E C O V E R : P H OT O B Y B I L L Y O U N G B L O O D

3usc trojan family

4 Editor’s Note

Can you live long and live well?

5 President’s Page

Not only do USC’s trustees donate signi cant time and energy to advance the university’s work, but their generosity also has added $1 billion to the Campaign for USC.

6 Mailbag

Pats, pride and other observations from our readers.

9 News

Ten years of milestones at USC Viterbi, getting adventurous with USC Annenberg’s new journalism director, and a pop quiz on USC football.

20 Robo Beekeeper

By Diane Krieger Harnessing the power of “swarm

intelligence” with tiny robotic insects, one USC Viterbi engineer has the tech world buzzing.

22 Care to Dance?

By Elizabeth Segal Arts reporting is alive and well

thanks to cultural communicators like Sasha Anawalt.

26 Close to Home

By Diane Krieger For a holistic approach to healing,

pharmacologist James Adams blends scienti c methodology with traditional Chumash techniques.

55 Alumni News

An alumni club for entertainment industry Trojans is a smash, a mobile app connects alumni and faculty like never before, and the Tommy Awards spotlights New York’s rising stars.

61 Class Notes

Who’s doing what and where.

72 Ask Tommy

Trojans share notes on their favorite places to study around USC.

28 Live Long and Prosper

Researchers at USC are unlocking the biological processes of aging so that we can live longer, healthier lives. By Marcus Woo

34 Life Redesigned

From autism to obesity, USC occupational scientists are there to help—and now they’ve gotten a big boost from the Chan family. By Jessica Raymond

40 Meet Your Tech Future

Ready to geek out? Take a peek into the future with ve game-changing innovations that will transform how we’ll be healing, teaching, entertaining and protecting ourselves. By Marc Ballon

48 Welcome Home

From students yearning for a warm ¤ anksgiving family dinner to alumni who bleed cardinal and gold, the USC President’s House has seen them all.

By Eric Noland

i n s i d e

At the USC President’s

House, the Trojan Family

feels right at home.

4 usc trojan family winter 2014

Here’s to Your Health

“Seventy-five. at’s how long I want to live: 75 years.” ose are the words of National Institutes of Health bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel, who wrote a thought-provoking piece on the human lifespan in e Atlantic earlier this year. Emanuel’s essay on living well—versus living long—sparked lively discussion in our o ce, especially in light of this issue’s feature story on longevity. Emanuel believes Americans are “obsessed with exercising, doing mental puzzles, consuming various juice and protein concoctions, sticking to strict diets, and popping vitamins and supplements, all in a valiant e ort to cheat death and prolong life as long as possible.” Anyone who’s seen the prevalent ads touting seemingly miraculous tropical juices and rejuvenating hormones might agree. Here’s where a discussion with USC’s longevity researchers proves enlightening, though. When USC Longevity Institute Director Valter Longo talks about the bene§ ts of a Mediterranean diet and eating moderately to extend life, he’s not advocating tacking extra time to the end of a lifetime, stretching out years of disability or squeezing out a few more days wracked by pain. Longevity can be about prevention—a focus on dietary and lifestyle practices that could forestall disease and add healthy days to the most productive span in our lives. Why shouldn’t we use § ndings from science to inª uence everyday habits that could keep our bodies aging well through our 80s, 90s and possibly beyond? I, for one, will keep trimming red meat from my diet, add more § sh, use sun protection, and continue my addiction to savory greens and morning runs. And I’ll keep looking out for what’s new from the USC Longevity Institute to share with you.

A l i c i a D i R a d o Editor-In-Chief, USC Trojan Family Magazine

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e quarterly magazine of the

University of Southern California

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Alicia Di Rado

MANAGING EDITOR

Elisa Huang

SENIOR EDITOR

Diane Krieger

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Mary Modina

ART DIRECTOR

Sheharazad P. Fleming

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Pentagram Design, Austin

CONTRIBUTORS

PUBLISHER

Minne Ho

MARKETING MANAGER

Rod Yabut

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES

Kristy Day | [email protected]

USC Trojan Family Magazine

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(ISSN 8750-7927) is published in

March, June, September

and December by

USC University Communications.

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Kirsten Aten

Laurie Bellman

Michelle Boston

Nicole DeRuiter

Simon Flores

Paul Goldberg

Michelle Henry

Sue Khodarahmi

Dan Knapp

Carl Marziali

Maya Meinert

Beth Newcomb

Russ Ono

Alison Stateman

Holly Wilder

Claude Zachary

tfm.usc.edu 5usc trojan family

Every day, Niki and I feel tremendous gratitude for the magni cent support of the Trojan Family. e uni-versity’s alumni and friends do so much to advance our community’s work and to ensure that it bene ts society in meaningful ways. At the fore of this exceptionally dedicated group I must include our venerable trustees.

While they contribute their time and energy, they also stand among USC’s most ardent benefactors. As we move past the halfway point for e Campaign for USC—exceeding $3.7 billion, or 63 percent of our $6 billion goal—our trustees continue to step forward with transformational gifts, ones that are spectacular in both scope and size. So far, our trustees’ collective contributions to our campaign total nearly $1 billion.

Kathleen Leavey McCarthy and her family’s foundation committed the rst major gift in support of our new USC Village. is $30 million gift will name the Leavey Foundation Honors Hall, which will house up to 600 of our most academically ambitious students. Mrs. McCarthy has long shown singular dedication to our undergraduates, a dedication that is surely rooted in fond recollections of her own experiences at USC. In 1954, she was our homecoming queen!

Another trustee, Frank Fertitta, and his wife, Jill, provided the gift to establish Fertitta Hall, a new home for USC Marshall School of Business under-graduate students. is will be a technology-rich center for young entrepreneurs, one that nourishes creative collaborations and professional connections while maintaining cutting-edge learning tools. Fertitta Hall will sit prominently at the university’s southeast gateway, and a quick drive to downtown, our city’s economic center.

Ronnie and Barbara Chan have elected to support our top-ranked occupational science and occupational therapy program. eir $20 million gift—their third major gift to USC—honors Ronnie’s dear mother and will name the USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational erapy. is is the rst naming gift and the largest ever made to any occupational therapy program in the eld’s history.

In June, we celebrated two other landmark trustee gifts, each totaling $15 million. omas Barrack Jr. and

his family gave theirs to USC Marshall, signi cantly advancing the school’s global mission and supporting the renovation of a key building, to be renamed Barrack Hall. is will serve as a vibrant hub for students preparing to become international business leaders.

Also last summer, we received an equally gener-ous gift from Andrew and Erna Viterbi—$10 million of which is directed to our USC Viterbi School, and $5 million of which is dedicated to the USC Shoah Foundation— e Institute for Visual History and Education. is gift enhances the Viterbis’ already-stellar legacy, and coincides with the 10th anniversary of their $52 million naming gift to our engineering school.

USC was founded on a philanthropic spirit. More than a century ago, Judge Robert Maclay Widney, the university’s chief architect and founder, donated $100,000—an extraordinary amount in that age—for the university’s rst endowment fund, and later super-vised the management of that fund. Fittingly, he also served as the rst chairman of USC’s Board of Trust-ees, and in so doing began a sterling tradition at the university, one that marries leadership with charity, vision with philanthropy.

C. L. Max Nikias and

Niki C. Nikias with

Erna and Andrew

Viterbi at the 10th

anniversary of the

Viterbis’ engineering

school naming gift.

Uniting Vision with Philanthropy

p r e s i d e n t ’ s p a g e

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Trojan MemoriesI enjoyed your article about the favorite hangouts of former Trojans (Ask Tommy, Summer 2014, p. 72). What a happy surprise to see a photo (by Julius Shulman) of my “Coee Dan’s” in Van Nuys. I designed that building in 1963; it was the corner anchor of the block-long neighborhood shopping center. Unfortunately, it was demolished a few years ago to allow for a more intensive use of the site. I am happy to learn that Trojans frequented and enjoyed my design. William Krisel ’49 (ARC)Los Angeles, CA

Buck the TrendI love real human-life stories, and your story on Javorius “Buck” Allen (“Tailback U,” Autumn 2014, p. 12) is a standout. My admiration and congratulations on his ac-complishments “under the helmet” and as a ¥ne young man—he is a true student-athlete. I enjoyed getting to know him in this way. I am an old Trojan, 74, graduated with a BS in business, played on the Trojan Rugby Club in ’61–’62 (right wing, mostly), loved ’SC and still do, and proud to display my loyalty in front of the UT Longhorn fans here in Texas!Bayard G. Bookman ’62 (BUS) Wimberley, TX

Channel Sur¥ng´ank you for interviewing Peter West-wick. I can’t wait to read the book about surf history. I thought it would be interest-ing for people to know that my father, Don James, attended the dentistry school in the ’40s and later became a well-known surf photographer as well as a dentist in the Los Angeles area. His book, Surng San Onofre to Point Dume: 1936–1942, is a classic slice of sur¥ng history from that era in Southern California. USC can claim one of its own, Don James, as a major player in the begin-nings of sur¥ng in California. I am also

proud to mention that his granddaughter, Gabriela Rosales, just graduated from USC this past year!Cynthia JamesSanta Barbara, CA

It Takes a VillageI love what the USC Village will do for the university and the surrounding area, but I am a bit disappointed that, aesthetically speaking, the design of the buildings leans toward an East Coast, Ivy League feel and less of the traditional USC architecture that I loved while attending the university.Tom Bussanich MA ’07 (ACC)Malibu, CA

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A recent study by Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute, generated buzz across the Internet with evidence that fasting every so often can regenerate the human immune system. After the study was posted on Reddit discussion boards, more than 200,000 users visited USC News online (news.usc.edu) to read about the study’s findings.

YouTube views for USC Admissions’ “USC Dorms” series, which gives prospective students a tour of six distinctive student rooms. The videos compelled the social media management platform @Hootsuite to tweet that USC sets the example for how social media can enhance student life. Watch the series at bit.ly/USCDorms.

“Likes” on Instagram for this snapshot taken from the elevators in the Tutor Campus Center.

C O U N T I N G C L I C K S


We welcome your feedback. Submit your letter to the editor at tfm.usc.edu/mailbag or by email at [email protected].

2,744 Number of “Likes” for this photo of Hahn Plaza at dusk, which was the timeline cover photo for the USC Facebook page.

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Fitting TributesI read with sadness the passing of Mel Patton. Mel and I were undergrads to-gether in 1949. As I recall, Mel was a soft-spoken young man. He was a sprinter and practiced running up and down the stairway of the Coliseum from Row 1 to Row 36, starting at dawn and over again at twilight. I watched him do this many times. I remember Mel becoming a world-class competitor in track events, beyond the Hall of Troy. I send to the Pat-ton family my deepest feelings of sorrow.Malcolm Gerstein ’50, MS ’55 (EDU) Claremont, CA


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BODY OF WORK

Artist Phyllis Green’s creations

often resemble organs and

skeletal parts. A member of

the faculty of the USC Roski

School of Art and Design,

Green makes multimedia ob-

jects that represent the body.

With a practice integrating

gender politics and infl uences

of modernism, Green has

earned plenty of notice:

The Guggenheim Foundation

named her a 2014 fellow.

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winter 2014

The Design DecadeFrom startups to cybersecurity,

USC Viterbi has had 10 memo-

rable years since its landmark

naming gift.

It was a gift that would change engi-neering at USC forever. USC Trustee Andrew J. Viterbi PhD ’62 and his wife, Erna, donated $52 million to USC in 2004, naming the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Andrew Viterbi knows en-gineering well: He co-founded Qualcomm and created the Viterbi algorithm, which is used in everything from wireless and satellite communications to online search engines. A decade later, the Viterbiscontinue to invest in innovation. is year, they gave another $15 million to the university, designating $10 million to USC Viterbi and $5 million to USC Shoah Foundation – e Institute for Visual History and Education. Here’s a look back at 10 USC Viterbi moments and milestones in the 10 years since the Viterbis’ original gift.By Jessica Raymond

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USC Viterbi’s Information

Sciences Institute (ISI) in

2004 became the headquar-

ters for DeterLab, a major

cybersecurity test bed for

academia, industry

and government.

SCIENCE OF SECURITY

CREATE, a national counterter-

rorism research center, began

at USC Viterbi and the USC Price

School of Public Policy in 2004.

Innovations include port and

airport security systems.

EMERGING LEADERS

Since 2004, a nation-lead-

ing 10 USC Viterbi faculty

members have made MIT

Technology Review’s list of

35 Innovators Under 35.

(top) Maryam Shanechi

(middle) George Ban-Weiss

(bottom) Megan McCain

GAME CHANGER

The Princeton Review named USC

Games, a partnership between

USC Viterbi and the USC School of

Cinematic Arts, as the No. 1 game

design program in 2010—and

every year since.

QUANTUM LEAP

In 2011, ISI became home to Lockheed

Martin’s powerful D-Wave quantum

computer, which could potentially

solve optimization problems faster

than any processor ever.

HIGH-TECH HEALTH

The Health, Technology and

Engineering at USC program

(HTE@USC) formed in 2011

to develop revolutionary

medical devices.

LIMITLESS LEARNING

In 2012, USC Viterbi

launched the iPodia

Alliance, which brings

together engineering

students electronically.

It now links 10 schools

worldwide.

STARTUPS

In 2013, USC Viterbi

Startup Garage—

Southern California’s

only engineering

student-led venture

accelerator—began

to launch tech

companies.

BIONIC EYE

The U.S. Food and Drug

Administration in 2013 approved

use of the Argus II, a device

that restores limited vision to

the blind. USC researchers were

instrumental.

GOING THE DISTANCE

U.S. News & World Report

ranked the school’s

Distance Education

Network as the top online

graduate computer science

program in 2013 and 2014.

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F A T H E R A N D F O U N D E R

The “pistol-packing judge” is back and larger than life on the University Park Campus. A new sculpture of USC’s founder, Judge Robert Maclay Widney, stands outside the Widney Alumni House. Towering some 8 feet 6 inches tall—and weighing more than 1,000 pounds—the bronze and steel statue commemorates the frontier lawman and developer who launched Los Angeles’ first university in 1880. Created by artist Christopher Slatoff , the sculpture was unveiled in August at a ceremony attended by nearly a dozen of Widney’s descendants and their family members.

On the evening of Nov. 9, 1989, Americans were tuned to their televisions watching NBC Nightly News anchorman Tom Brokaw’s exclusive live report from West Germany as the Berlin Wall, a 28-year symbol of divided Cold War Europe, came down.

Americans might have seen Germans climbing over the Berlin Wall and chip-ping the concrete apart, but 25 years later, the circumstances that led to its collapse re-main widely unknown in the United States, according to Mary Elise Sarotte, Dean’s Professor of History and professor of in-ternational relations at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

While many believe the fall resulted from an agreement between former Presi-dent Ronald Reagan and then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Sarotte’s book e Collapse: e Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall (Basic Books), published in October, traces it to a series of mishaps.

It began when the East German regime sent a carelessly worded press

announcement declaring that its people would get new travel rules.

“© e regime botches the announce-ment so badly that it sounds like they’re announcing real travel freedoms,” Sarotte explained. “At this point, the revolution-aries are so well organized that they can seize on that, and tens of thousands of people start showing up at the wall say-ing, ‘© e wall’s open!’”

To document the events that led to the wall’s destruction, Sarotte conducted more than 50 interviews, speaking with former revolutionaries, border guards, Communist party o° cials and journalists, including Brokaw, one of the only Ameri-can TV journalists with a full news crew on the scene when the wall came down.

“© is is not a story about high-level politicians,” Sarotte said. “It’s a story about people you’ve never heard of. © e goal of the book is to let them speak in their own voices and get credit for their accomplishments, and in some cases, for their mistakes.”

Picking Up the PiecesA historian tracks the untold story behind

the fall of the Berlin Wall.

that its people

Digital RevolutionVirtual reality. Medical histories on a microchip. Digital sculptors crafting a 3-D body using code, not clay. In the not-too-distant future, digital technology will blur the lines between the physical world and the virtual one, say USC researchers. Using USC’s biannual Global Conversa-tion in New York as their platform, USC scientists, engineers and creative thinkers recently made their predictions for a digitized world. They were led by keynote speaker Jimmy Iovine, the music industry innovator, entrepreneur and namesake donor with Andre “Dr. Dre” Young to the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. Iovine said he’d like the Iovine and Young Academy to become known as the Apple of higher education, a home for innovators fl uent in technology and the arts, and for a radically new model of instruction that erases disciplinary boundaries. “Education,” Iovine said, “is really ground zero for fi xing anything.” Curious about the researchers’ predic-tions and visions of our digital frontier? Take a look at our feature on your tech future (p. 40)—and read more online at bit.ly/2014NYGC.

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USC Annenberg School of Journalism Director Willow Bay wants students to get adventurous.

Next-Generation Newsroom

Willow Bay took the helm of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism this year amid seismic shifts in her eld. A veteran of broadcast news and, more recently, the Hu ngton Post and Bloomberg TV, Bay is eager to lead the next generation of sto-rytellers as the school’s new director. She spoke with journalism graduate student Daina Beth Solomon about the challenges and rewards of modern journalism, and why USC Annenberg is becoming the city’s most innovative newsroom.

What is the state of journalism today,

and what kinds of opportunities do you

see for young people? ere have been profound changes in both journalism and public relations, most of them technologi-cally driven and many of them disruptive. e ip side of that is we’ve never had more tools to be able to go out and tell extraordinary stories. We’ve never had a greater ability to reach audiences. We’ve never had more creative ways to inform our readers and our viewers.

Even with so many skills, will we fi nd

jobs, given journalism’s uncertain busi-

ness model? I would like Annenberg to not just equip students with the skill set they need, which is sizeable, but with a mind-set that is entrepreneurial, risk-taking—I might even say adventurous. I would love to see our graduates not just go out and change the world with their reporting, but also to change the world of journalism. I’d love to see the future of journalism rmly in the hands of journal-ists rather than technologists, who are our valuable partners, or big companies that are often our funders.

How has your career shaped your vision

for the school? Having worked at Hu ngton Post when it was a startup, I appreciate the energy, the excitement and the culture of collaboration and iterative development. It

was the circular nature of change, constant improvement and constant invention there that has now become imperative at all or-ganizations—particularly here at a school of journalism that’s operating in a space where constant change is the new normal.

Annenberg’s biggest change this year is

the move to the converged Media Cen-

ter in the new Wallis Annenberg Hall,

blending broadcast, print and digital

platforms. How will this work? Students come in from the field, and they don’t retreat to a Balkanized set of stations that are their platforms. ey come to a group of editors, and say, “OK, here’s what I’ve gathered in the eld. What’s the best way to tell this story?” It ’s a really exciting moment to be coming into this sandbox as a student reporter.

Could the Media Center become a model

for the industry? I want to say to the industry: Come on in, see all that’s going on here, bring us the challenges that you’re

facing in your path to convergence. Let us wrestle with some of those, with you or for you. Bring us stories that you want us to help you cover. We want to open the doors to all sorts of conversations about how we can connect and partner.

In such a rapidly changing fi eld, what’s the

value of a formal journalism education? e business today expects the digital-native generation to be equipped with skills that previous generations of journal-ists didn’t have. You’ll be expected to hit the ground running and to write for multiple platforms—for web, for digital video, for longer-form stories. You’ll be expected to handle images, to shoot and cut video. Additionally, journalists today are often expected to be their own marketing and distribution departments. You are expected to know how to leverage social media tools to get your stories in front of an audience. at’s a sizeable amount of skill to pack in to a four-year undergrad education or a nine-month graduate program.

To read more from the inter-view, visit bit.ly/WillowBay.

winter 2014

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Two Teams, One MissionUSC’s women’s basketball team is out to prove that last year’s dream season was no fl uke, and the men’s basketball squad is set to take on the Pac-12 with a crop of highly touted newcomers. Entering her second season, women’s basketball Coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke looks to build on the Trojans’ 2013–14 Pac-12 Tour-nament Championship, which shot the team into the NCAA tournament for the fi rst time since 2006. On the men’s side, Coach Andy Enfi eld’s squad—anchored by sophomores Nikola Jovanovic and Julian Jacobs—adds sophomore transfers Katin Reinhardt and Darion Clark to a 12th-ranked recruiting class of talented freshmen. Get to know the teams online at usctrojans.com. To see them in action at the Galen Center, tickets are available at gettrojantix.com or call (213) 740-GOSC (4672).

“My students are very respectful

of the fact that they’re in my

classroom to learn history. But I

have more traffic in office hours

from students who want to talk

about writing fiction, adapting

fiction to film and getting books

signed for their mom!” Deborah

Harkness, USC Dornsife history

professor and bestselling

author of the All Souls Trilogy

Healthy SmilesFor children, not seeing a dentist can mean more than just getting a few cavities. Dental pain and illness is a leading reason children miss class and do poorly in school. Since 2012, the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC and the USC School of Social Work have collaborated to provide underprivileged children and families in Los Angeles with services including oral health care. For thousands of children in LA, the Children’s Health and Maintenance Program (CHAMP) is the only way to get a dental checkup. Now, a $3 million gift from the Hutto-Patterson Charitable Foundation will expand USC’s community outreach. ¥ e gift establishes the Hutto-Patterson Institute for Community Health. Funds will support an eight-chair mobile clinic trailer—the Ostrow School’s largest—as well as faculty endowments and student scholarships. ¥ e schools estimate that USC will be able to reach more than 45,000 children through CHAMP. For Catherine Hutto Gordon MSW ’97, the foundation’s president, this gift was a perfect ® t. She’s a member of the School of Social Work’s Board of Councilors, and the founda-tion has a history of giving to dental education. ¥ e foundation was established with an inheritance from her grandfather, a dentist. Also, as a graduate student at USC, she was in° uenced by a professor who held positions in both schools. Says Hutto Gordon: “I could see how important it is for dental students to have social work training and awareness—the more interchange of information, the better o³ all the clients end up being. Now I get a chance to in° uence this myself.”

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Along with MIT and Harvard colleagues, a USC Stem Cell researcher has found a way to iso-late breast cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream and grow them in a lab. This technique could eventually allow doctors to pre-test drugs on cancer cells taken from patients, allow-ing them to better customize therapies.

A research team including Keck School of Medicine of USC scientists linked 108 locations in the human genome to schizophrenia risk. More than 80 per-cent of these genes had never been associated with the disease. The fi ndings could fast-track the development of schizophrenia treat-ments, which have seen little progress in the last 60 years.

#1 Charles White

#2 John Robinson

#3 Charles Young

#4 Gil Kuhn

#5 Clay Matthews III

#6 Mike Garrett

#7 Marion Morrison

A study led by USC social work experts found that young teens who received

“sexts”—sexually suggestive texts or photos on their phone—were six times more likely than others their age to report being sexually active.

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P O P Q U I Z

Produced in collaboration with USC Athletics, The Offi cial and Exclusive Illustrated History of USC Trojan Football (Skybox Press) off ers illuminating nuggets from the world of pigskin. Can you match each of these Trojans to a tidbit from the book that describes him?

a. USC’S fi rst All-American tight end, he was drafted sixth overall in the 1973 NFL draft.

b. A Green Bay Packers linebacker, he began at USC as a walk-on. His father and an uncle and brother all played for the Trojans.

c. In 1937, he was the fi rst USC player drafted to pro football (in the 10th round to the now-defunct Brooklyn Dodgers football team).

d. With 1,440 yards rushing, he was USC’s fi rst Heisman Trophy winner in 1965.

e. Later changing his name to John Wayne, this actor was a backup tackle for USC in 1925 and 1926.

f. This Heisman winner scored the game-winning touchdown in the 1980 Rose Bowl.

g. He urged his team to “win one for the fat guy” and beat Notre Dame in 1982. USC did, on a touchdown with only 48 seconds on the clock.

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winter 2014

Being Tommy

S T U D E N T P R O F I L E A M Y V A N D E N B E R G

Her hair up in a ponytail, Amy Vandenberg looks nothing like a man. You’d never guess this petite chatterbox could be transformed into a hulking Tro-jan warrior. Yet on game night, that’s exactly what happens. Vandenberg is the girl inside the Tommy suit—the larger-than-life mascot who rallies Galen Center basketball fans. “Whenever I put on that suit, I seriously become Tommy Trojan,” says the sophomore mechanical engineering major from Katy, Texas. “My posture changes. I stand up straighter. I put my arms out—you know how really strong guys walk with their arms out? I put a bounce in my step. I make sure every single part of me is in character.”

Introduced last fall, the Tommy and Traveler mascots became instant hits thanks in large measure to Vandenberg and her fellow “mascoteers”—political science major Mario Montes, environmental engi-neering major Howard Gil and recently graduated business major Neal Pecchenino ’14. All are volunteers. For Vandenberg, being a mascot is more than an outpouring of school spirit. It’s a chance to shape-shift. “I love how you can put on an alternate persona and be your crazy self, or be whatever your character is, and no one knows it’s you,” she says. Vandenberg got her big break during high school when she landed a job as the cow at

her hometown Chick-Fil-A. Her one regret when leaving Texas for Los Angeles was that USC didn’t have a mascot program. Then one day she spotted an inconspicuous fl yer at the Lyon Center inviting Trojans “inter-ested in spirit” to a meeting. “It sounds weird but I felt it calling me,” she recalls. When Vandenberg realized it was a mascot recruitment meeting, she was thrilled—until she heard the Tommy suit was sized for someone measuring 5 feet 8 inches. (Traveler is even taller.) “I’m 5-foot-1,” she laments. “But when they saw me in the costume, they were like, ‘OK, you’re allowed. You love it so much.’” Pretty soon Vandenberg was working popular hip-hop moves

like the Dougie into her routine. The fans went wild. Being Tommy isn’t easy. Suiting up takes 15 minutes, with a helper. A muscle-bound spandex under-suit is followed by Tommy’s skin. Next come bulky pants with more built-in muscles, a barrel-shaped “super chest” and the massive head, helmet and sandaled feet. The costume alone weighs about 20 pounds, not counting the heavy sword and head. It’s sweaty work, the battery-powered fan inside the head notwithstanding. Vanden-berg compares it to when she played summer soccer in Texas, where the mercury would hit 104 degrees with 100 percent humidity. Thankfully, the under-suit gets dry-cleaned regularly. There’s supposed to be a half-hour time limit inside the suit, but Vandenberg has clocked 90-minute performances. “I have way too much fun,” she explains. “They can’t get me off the court.” What is it about being a mascot that gives Vandenburg such a rush? “I love doing things for people,” she says. “As a mascot, you get to make people laugh, and they don’t feel like they have to do anything back. And I think that’s really cool.”

D I A N E K R I E G E R

Amy Vandenberg is student by day and Tommy Trojan at night.

20 usc trojan family winter 201420 usc trojan family

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A USC Viterbi scientist wants to create tiny robotic insects that could yield big scienti c bene ts.

Picture a swarm of robotic bees—hundreds, maybe even thousands of them—whirring their gauzy wings as they hover and dart away, sensing the world around them through tiny cameras no larg-er than the head on a Lincoln penny.

This is Néstor Pérez-Arancibia’s dream. A young scientist in the eld of biomimetics, Pérez-Arancibia joined USC in 2013 as an assistant professor in USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s aerospace and mechanical engineering department. He lost no time launching his Autono-mous Microrobotics Systems Laboratory

to expand on work he began as a postdoc on Harvard’s RoboBees project, which aims to arti cially mimic the collective behavior and intelligence of a bee colony for scienti c bene t.

Pérez-Arancibia’s dream of a robotic swarm may sound far-fetched, but according to the Chilean researcher, “everything looks extremely good” to make his dream a reality.

He has already built a feather-light, 5-millimeter-long camera that delivers 96-by-96-pixel resolution. And he’s clos-ing in on a completely new technology for powering his micro-robots.

« e scale may be tiny, but the sheer ambition and di¬ culty of Pérez-Aran-cibia’s project are monumental.

“What living creatures do e ortlessly, robots must be programmed to do arti -cially,” he explains. « is leads to a long list of engineering problems ranging from the aero-dynamics of insect hovering to ° ight control. For the bees to be fully autonomous, they also need to be smart. To that end, Pérez-Aran-cibia, whose expertise is in control algorithms, plans to collaborate with Alice Parker, a USC Viterbi computer engineering professor, to create a minuscule “arti cial brain.”

To better understand the infl uence of emotion in business deliberations, researchers from USC Marshall School of Business, USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) and USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences recently conducted a study in which they watched people interact with computer-generated negotiators. Study participants were more willing to work out investment deals with a computer counterpart who smiled when cooperating with them and frowned to express regret after exploiting them. In other words, people interpreted facial expressions to determine a counterpart’s intention to cooperate. “If you come to an agreement in a negotiation and you are really happy, it may not be a good idea to show how happy you are, because it might lead the other person to think that you did better than they did. But in other circumstances, showing strong emotion may be the ticket to success,” explains Peter Carnevale, USC Marshall professor of management and organization, who helped lead the study. How negotiators interpret facial expressions can infl uence economic decision making in the business world—and beyond. Advances in graphics technology mean that today’s onscreen, vir-tual characters, like those created at ICT, are far more expressive than ever before. According to Carnevale, this has “tremendous implications not only for entertainment, but also for education and training systems and for remote business via animated images.”

Face Value

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Sadness

Joy

Regret

Anger

If you’re negotiating a deal, expressing

your emotions could help clinch it.

en there’s the challenge of designing an ultra-lightweight power supply.

“If the robot weighs 60 milligrams and you have a payload of 50 milligrams, how do you put power inside? at problem has not been solved yet,” he says. Working with USC Viterbi colleague and former astronaut Paul Ronney, Pérez-Arancibia devised a way to get the same robot to y for two hours, he says—at least in theory.

Perhaps the most daunting hurdle for Pérez-Aran-cibia is fabrication. “When developing a ying robot on the scale of a common house y, all hardware must be developed from scratch,” he says. Nothing can be purchased o the shelf, and every piece must be pains-takingly assembled under a microscope.

“ e scale and complexity of the mechanical fea-tures require new ways to design and prototype,” he says.

And remember, he wants to build a swarm. “If you want a colony, then you need communica-

tion between the robotic bees,” Pérez-Arancibia says. at means designing a tiny circuit to support in ight data transmission.

Far from discouraged, Pérez-Arancibia is excited by the hurdles. In the world of science, he says, “the more problems you have, the better—because every problem leads to students getting PhDs and publishing papers.”

Fewer than a dozen researchers are currently work-ing on robotic insects, but Pérez-Arancibia has one big advantage: He can use MOSIS, the Multi-Project Wafer Integrated Circuit Fabrication Service, which is operated by USC’s Information Sciences Institute.

“ is is one of the great things about USC,” he says. “At Harvard, you would have to go to a private company and pay them $500,000 to fabricate a circuit. MOSIS will do it for free or, if not free, way cheaper than half a million dollars.”

DIANE KRIEGER

Robotic insects may sound like a fanciful research area, but fl ying micro-robots off er potential practical benefi ts:

• Crop pollination to off set the impact of colony collapse disorder among bees

• Searching for survivors before sending in fi rst responders • New surgical devices, such as robotic catheters with em-

bedded sensing• Research in fragile habitats where human observers cannot go• Models for basic aerodynamic experiments

Why Robotic Bees?



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F A C U L T Y P R O F I L E S A S H A A N A W A L T

Ask Sasha Anawalt when her obsession with the arts began, and she’ll fondly look back to her childhood in New York City. Lively dinner table conversations about the arts with her father, a painter, and mother, a dance critic, stretched long into the evenings. When the legendary Soviet-born ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev fl ed to the West in 1961, his story cap-tured the family’s imagination. “His defection changed our lives!” she remembers. Dance, in particular, was a constant from an early age. “My sister and I went with my par-ents to the ballet many nights a week—in our pajamas—and did our homework during intermis-sions at City Center,” Anawalt says. She would go on to become chief dance critic for the Los An-geles Herald-Examiner, National Public Radio affi liate KCRW and LA Weekly. In 1996, she published a Los Angeles Times best-selling cultural biography, The Joff rey Ballet: Roberty Joff rey and the Making of an American Dance Company. Now director of arts journalism programs at USC Annenberg, Anawalt wants her students to experience the same sort of passionate discussions about the arts. She takes them behind the scenes to the studios of artists like Bill Viola and Kira Perov and architect Frank Gehry ’54. She also showcases LA’s diversity with trips to the J. Paul Getty Museum and a theater troupe on Skid Row. But even with exposure to LA’s art world, Anawalt knows her students have challenges ahead. The rise of the Internet disrupted traditional journalism, and newsrooms have cut many of their arts reporting positions. Yet the electronic media revolution has also spurred an unprecedented explosion of diverse voices and opinions. Anawalt spearheaded a popular course that gives students en-trepreneurial skills. Her former students have found niches at the Village Voice, the Los

Angeles Times, The Smithson-ian, the Pritzker Architecture Prize and their own startups. Anawalt has seen enrollment in USC Annenberg’s arts journalism program more than double since it started in 2008. Now Anawalt is looking ahead to new projects and starting an arts, culture and en-tertainment desk. This student-run online news center will help fi ll a void in LA arts coverage by partnering with the Los Angeles Times, KCET’s ArtBound and KPCC public radio. “Instead of competing, we need to join forces

by telling stories together and sharing research around a central hub,” she says. “What better than a university to be that common ground?” She’s also launching the DanceMapLA project online, featuring data visualizations, a dance survey and up-to-the-minute updated dance articles, chat and news. For Anawalt, discovering and sharing the world of the arts is

essential to being human. If no one had written about Nureyev, she wonders, would she ever have seen him perform? “When you see something that moves you, that opens your eyes to what a miracle human beings can be, you want to tell others. It’s hardwired in our nature,” she says. “Arts journal-ism isn’t going to go away. There are too many artists out there to enthrall us, and make us want to tell the world.”

ELIZABETH SEGAL

USC Annenberg’s Sasha Anawalt keeps arts journalism

alive during turbulent times in media.

Care to Dance?

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“Unbelievable. Go see Ailey. It’s change-your-life good.” - NBC’s Today Show

musiccenter.org/ailey | (213) 972-0711

Robert Battle

Artistic Director

Masazumi ChayaAssociate Artistic DirectorApril 15–19, 2015

MAKE A GROUP AND SAVE! Student group pricing available. Call (213) 972-8555 for more details.


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Three new members were elected to USC’s Board of Trustees this year, and they have one important thing in common: ey’re committed to using their expertise to bene t the university.

A HEALTHIER FUTURE

Robert A. Bradway is chairman and CEO of biotechnology company Amgen Inc., which researches and manufactures thera-pies for serious conditions including cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and bone and kidney disease. Headquartered in ousand Oaks, California, Amgen has a presence in more than 75 countries and has reached more than 25 million patients.

Prior to joining Amgen, Bradway was a longtime healthcare investment banker at Morgan Stanley. He began his Amgen career in 2006 as vice president for operations strategy and quickly rose through the com-pany. He was named president and chief operating o§ cer in 2010, CEO in 2012 and chairman in 2013.

At USC, he also serves on the advi-sory board of the Leonard D. Schae¬ er Center for Health Policy and Economics.

Bradway received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Amherst College and an MBA from Harvard University.

FAMILY TIES

Ramona Cappello ’81 has a long relation-ship with USC. Growing up in a family of Trojans, Cappello went to football games at the Coliseum from an early age. She was a star student at the USC Marshall School of Business and graduated as valedictorian.

Cappello has distinguished herself as an entrepreneur. After years of develop-ing and running successful businesses, she founded Corazonas Foods in honor of her father and grandfathers, who died of heart disease. Corazonas creates snack foods that are infused with plant sterols, which lower levels of so-called “bad” cholesterol. Hav-ing recently sold the company, she’s now founder and CEO of Sun Harvest Salt LLC, a distributor of a line of natural sea salts.

Cappello remains one of USC’s most dedicated volunteers. A member of USC Associates, she recently completed her term as president of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors.

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

Dominic Ng has helped build bridges between the United States and Asia as chairman and CEO of East West Bank. Under Ng’s leadership, the Southern California-based bank has transformed from a small savings and loan association into an international commercial bank with assets of $27.6 billion.

Ng is a community leader as well. In 2000, he became the rst Asian Ameri-can to chair the fundraising campaign for the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and raised a record $66 million. He cur-rently serves as an independent director on the board of Mattel Inc., and is a board member of the Committee of 100, having completed his term as chairman this year. He’s also a dedicated supporter of the USC Paci c Asia Museum and served on the President’s Leadership Council at USC.

Ng was raised in Hong Kong and moved to the United States to attend the University of Houston. Prior to joining East West Bank in 1991, he was a certified public accountant with Deloitte & Touche.

Leading by ExampleThe USC Board of Trustees welcomes

three visionary executives.

BY JESSICA RAYMOND

Scholarships change lives.Every gift counts.giveto.usc.edu


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James Adams is a pharmacologist and USC School of Pharmacy associate professor. He also happens to be a trained Chumash healer.

ough he doesn’t possess a drop of Native American blood from the Chumash tribe, you could say Adams’ passion for natu-ral remedies ows in his veins. His ancestor William Adams, a surgeon and Virginia settler, embraced the healing practices of Na-tive Americans in the 1630s when medical supplies from England were scarce. ose practices stayed in the family through the cen-turies, and Jim Adams grew up on remedies like sassafras tea for childhood aches and pains.

Today, Adams—a 26-year USC faculty member who earned his PhD in pharmacology and toxicology from UC San Fran-cisco—studies the active ingredients in medicinal plants native to Southern California.

e work is sorely needed. While 75 percent of today’s phar-maceuticals trace their roots to plants and other natural sources, Southland ora have been conspicuously overlooked. Commercial plant-based drugs are almost exclusively derived from European and Amazonian species. “ ere are dozens of plants in these hills right here that no one has ever investigated,” Adams says.

No one in a lab coat, anyway. For 14 years, Adams trained under renowned Chumash

medicine woman Cecilia Garcia, who passed away in 2012. e two co-authored a book, Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West published the same year.

Adams brings 21st-century tools to the study of plants the Chumash have used for millennia. In his USC lab, specimens that Adams gathers by hand undergo high-performance liquid chro-matography, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Botanists based in China and France have traveled to USC to collaborate with him.

In addition to teaching a course on Chumash healing at the pharmacy school, Adams regularly o° ers plant walks for USC medical students and the public.

His research team, which includes USC undergraduates, is now studying California holly (Heteromeles arbutifolia), also known as toyon and Christmas berry. “No one has any clue what’s in this plant and how it works,” Adams says, even though the Chu-mash have long used it as an Alzheimer’s treatment. Incidentally, so abundant was California holly in Los Angeles that it gave rise to the name now known the world over: Hollywood.

Close to HomeA USC pharmacologist studies the power

of medicinal plants in our own backyard.

Made in LAJim Adams off ers insights on

his weekend hikes about how

Chumash healers use plants

common to Southern California.

Among them:

FIG. 1 CALIFORNIA

EVENING PRIMROSE

(OENOTHERA CALIFORNICA)

“This plant helps women stay

in balance through menopause

and uterine problems, like

fi broids and cysts. It also helps

diminish hot fl ashes.”

FIG. 2 MUGWORT

(ARTEMISIA DOUGLASIANA)

“This plant contains serotoner-

gic agents that interfere with

addiction mechanisms. People

can use it to quit cigarettes,

cocaine, alcohol, In ’n’ Out

Burgers—whatever.”

FIG. 3 YARROW

(ACHILLIA MILLEFOLIUM)

“They say Achilles used this

plant to cure bleeding in his

soldiers. It works on nose-

bleeds. It’s also useful for minor

pain relief, like a headache.”

FIG. 4 CLEVELAND SAGE

(SALVIA CLEVELANDII)

“This is a beautiful plant you

can use for pain instead of

naproxen, aspirin or ibuprofen.

It contains 52 diff erent mono-

terpenoids that are all pain

relievers.”

FIG. 5 CALIFORNIA HOLLY

(HETEROMELES ARBUTIFOLIA)

“These wonderful red berries

are used against Alzheimer’s.

Does it cure the disease? No,

but it helps patients be more

functional in society.”

FIG. 6 VALLEY OAK

(QUERCUS LOBATA)

“This used to be very common

in the San Fernando Valley. The

Chumash people planted it be-

cause the acorns are enormous.

They make an acorn soup that

helps cure diarrhea.”

FIG. 7 ELDERBERRY

(SAMBUCUS NIGRA)

“The elderberry blossom is good

for colds and fl u. It’s sold at

the drug store as Sambucol.”

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Our numbers back us up.Our beliefs propel us forward.

Ranked a top hospital in Los Angeles

and California by U.S. News & World Report

At Keck Medicine of USC, we believe in making a difference

in what matters most in health care — big and small. We are

continuously reimagining and reinventing care. Our scientific

research and breakthrough therapies improve outcomes, and

our custom treatments and personal touches make care more

compassionate. Here, we’re not just practicing medicine;

we’re redefining it.

ARCADIA • BAKERSFIELD • BEVERLY HILLS • BURBANK • COVINA • GLENDALE • GLENDORA • IRVINE • LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE • LANCASTER •

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(800) USC-CARE KeckMedicine.org/beyond

2014-2015

U.S. News & World Report

#3 Top Hospital in Los Angeles

#8 Top Hospital in California

#9 in the Nation for Ophthalmology

#20 in the Nation for Urology

#23 in the Nation for Cancer care

#33 in the Nation for Geriatric care

High-performing in 7 specialties

© 2014 Keck Medicine of USC


LiveLong

Prosperand

Researchers at USC are

untangling the biological

processes of aging so we can

enjoy longer, healthier lives.

B Y M A R C U S W O O

Legend says that Ponce de León was looking for the Fountain of Youth when he

landed in Florida in the 1500s. Although the story is likely apocryphal, centuries

later countless others are still seeking the secret to youthfulness. Despite detox PH

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VISIONARYSCIENCE


diets and sham pills that promise the con-trary, we still follow the inexorable march of Father Time, year by year, decade by decade.

We still grow old.Ask a doctor about how to stay young,

and you’ll likely hear familiar truisms: Exercise regularly, eat your fruits and vegetables, and don’t smoke. But now sci-ence is starting to give us more detailed answers about what happens when we age and how things like diet a ect us at the cellular, molecular and genetic levels.

As we get older, wear and tear makes us more prone to diseases like diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s. “Statistically speaking, age is the most potent risk factor for many of these diseases,” says Pinchas Cohen, dean of the USC Davis School of Gerontology. By teasing apart how aging relates to disease, USC researchers are learning what it takes to live longer and, more importantly, to live healthier.

“For us, the goal is really to make life disease free,” says Lucio Comai, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. His research quest starts with a particularly rare and debilitating genetic disease—one that causes time to seemingly speed up.

AGING FAST

¢ ose with Werner syndrome have a normal childhood, but when they reach puberty, things start to go awry. First, there’s no growth spurt. In their 20s, they go bald or their hair turns gray. By their 30s and 40s, they develop cataracts, type 2 diabetes or cancer. ¢ eir bones weaken and arteries harden. In short, they get old. Fast.

¢ e syndrome occurs when people carry a mutation in an important gene. ¢ e mutation causes the loss of the normal version of what’s called the Werner protein.

Comai and his colleagues are studying how the healthy Werner protein protects cells against age-related wear and tear. It seems to help keep the genome stable—including protecting the telomeres, the fragile regions of DNA at the end of chromosomes whose deterioration has long been linked to aging.

¢ e hypothesis is that as we age, the Werner protein deteriorates over time, Comai explains. Because it stops working like it used to, we become more vulnerable to diseases. “Our goal is to really understand the details, because that’s how you design a drug,” he says. “We think we’re halfway there.” Such a drug that boosts the protein

might help people stay healthier. “¢ is is fantasy right now, but that’s

our ultimate dream,” Comai adds. Still, a long life won’t be as simple as making more of this protein—too much could actually increase the likelihood of cancer.

PROTECT AND REPAIR

A variety of threats can damage cells as we age, says Kelvin Davies, the James E. Birren Chair in Gerontology at USC Davis, where he is also dean of faculty and re-search. Even psychological and emotional stress can cause harm.

Much of the deterioration of our cells over a lifetime is due to what’s called oxi-dative stress, the consequence of molecules known as free radicals that wreak havoc in cells. While some free radicals come into the body from drugs, alcohol, radiation and air pollution, most are byproducts of normal metabolism as cells turn food and oxygen into energy.

¢ ese free radicals, or oxidants, are harmful because they have a lonesome, unpaired electron hanging around the fringes of the molecules. Electrons love to be in pairs, so in a quest for balance, the free radical will strip an electron away from an-other molecule, such as DNA or a protein, damaging that molecule in the process.

In every cell of your body, free radicals damage some 1,000 sites in your DNA ev-ery day, Davies says. But your body can ¬ x about 99 percent of the damage, thanks to several layers of defense and repair systems.

You’ve probably heard of antioxidants such as vitamins E and C, which are abun-dant in fruits and vegetables and can’t be produced naturally in your body. ¢ ey’re good for you because they disarm free radicals. (Nevertheless, antioxidants are

overhyped, and most people don’t need supplements, Davies says. “You’re better o eating lots of fruits and veggies like your mother told you.”)

But antioxidants can only do so much, and some free radicals eventually get through, crippling or killing cells. Damage to DNA, in particular, can cause cancer. In fact, free radicals are involved in just about every major disease, from heart attacks to Alzheimer’s. ¢ ere’s even a well-respected theory that free radicals may cause aging and determine lifespan.

Fortunately, antioxidants are just one way the body mitigates damage. Cells sometimes slow down their other activities to focus on protecting and repairing them-selves, and they can adapt to stress by turning on extra protective genes, Davies explains.

Hundreds of genes and enzymes are involved in protecting cells and adapting to stress. Over the past few years, Davies and his colleagues have identi¬ ed these adap-tive pathways and discovered a handful of master genes that control this protective system, he says, “like a conductor of an orchestra.” One such gene is NRF2.

“¢ e more we look, the more involve-ment we ¬ nd that it has with adaptation, stress resistance, longevity and lifespan,” he says. As it turns out, NRF2 works less e ectively as we age.

Researchers like Davies want to reverse this slowdown—and ¬ nd out if doing so extends youthfulness. Can they ¬ nd ways to boost NRF2 or remove the roadblocks that keep it from working well? So far, he says, they’ve found tantalizing clues. Eating fewer calories, for example, improves the NRF2 response, although no one knows yet exactly how that happens. Other research-ers are testing the potential of drugs that can make the body act like it’s getting too little food.

FASTING FOR YOUTH

Cutting calories has been one of the most intriguing ways to promote longevity. Just ask Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute, whose research on periodic fasting and protein restriction has thrust him into the news.

Here’s how fasting works. By default, your body is always geared toward reproduc-ing, since you never know when a suitable mate will come along. But if you restrict your calories, your body will focus its resources on protecting itself—an evolu-tionary adaptation for when food is scarce. P

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“Statistically speaking, age is the most potent risk factor for many of these diseases.”


Five Simple Ways to Live Healthier—and Longer

There’s no magic pill (yet) that

stops us from getting older. But

here are some reminders about

how to stay healthier longer,

from USC experts:

1. Eat less. Valter Longo

suggests two meals a day

and a light snack.

2. Eat a plant-based diet. A

diet isn’t about losing weight

in the short term, but being

healthier for life. Eat more

fruits and vegetables and

less meat. Fish is good, as

long as it doesn’t contain too

much mercury. Cruciferous

vegetables like broccoli are

especially beneficial, Kelvin

Davies says, as they induce

the NRF2 gene, which is

linked to stress resistance

and longevity.

3. Exercise. That doesn’t

necessarily mean running

marathons or getting buff.

Exercise is a lifestyle choice,

Pinchas Cohen says, and

what’s most important is

physical activity every day.

4. Don’t smoke. Tobacco

smoke contains lots of free

radicals that damage DNA.

5. Beware of supplements.

“There’s a lot of junk science

out there about aging,

particularly as it relates to

supplements,” Cohen says.

Many are useless or even

dangerous.

Charting the FuturePinchas Cohen serves as dean of the USC Davis School of Gerontology and is also executive director of the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center. A major focus of his work is “personalized aging” and developing digital initiatives for longevity research.

You’ve coined the term “personalized aging,” in which genome sequencing

will someday guide a personalized strategy for healthy longevity. How

would this work? Personalized medicine is essentially a way to select the best treatment for you based on the genomics of your disease. You can get your genes sequenced and learn your risk for diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer or heart disease. You can further identify these risks with a review of family history. Using a combination of these risk-factor assessment tools, you can then select diet, nutrition, exercise and lifestyle choices for yourself. If you’re at risk for Alzheimer’s, for example, there are things you can do to prevent the disease, such as physical exercise, brain-training strategies or learning additional languages.

Many of these risk-assessment tools are available already. But what we still need to learn is what kinds of strategies are most e¡ ective for speci¢ c genetic risks. For example, given a certain gene that increases the risk for diabetes, we don’t really know how e¡ ective a low-carb diet will be. Maybe diet won’t particularly help, but exercise will.

What ethical issues need to be considered when it comes to genetic

screenings? Many people don’t want to have genetic testing done for fear of losing their health insurance or losing their job if their test results become known and they are discriminated against in the workplace. While these are valid concerns, measures should be taken in order to ensure against these discriminatory practices. Others fear the psychological e¡ ects related to ¢ nding out they are at higher risk for certain diseases. ¥ is is something that should be discussed with your doctor before proceeding.

How might we experience personalized aging in the future? Hopefully genetic testing will provide us with information on which foods to eat for optimal performance, which forms of physical activity we are best suited for, how much sleep we should be getting and what types of social engagement we should participate in. ¥ e whole idea is to maximize our health span.

Read the entire interview on-line at bit.ly/USCLongevity.


at’s one idea, anyway. ere are countless factors and biological processes involved, and no one knows exactly how cutting calories may extend lifespan. But thanks to experiments on mice, worms, fruit ies and yeast, scientists know that organisms that consumed fewer calories than on a normal diet—in some cases, 40 percent less—lived much longer. On the other hand, much longer studies involving rhesus monkeys proved less conclusive, probably because they ate very little over a long time, which might have counterbal-anced fasting’s protective e ects, Longo says.

Regardless, Longo acknowledges that it’s impractical to nibble at every meal and constantly feel hungry. It’s hard enough to ignore that last french fry, let alone skip a third of your calories. “Nobody’s ever going to do it,” he says.

Instead, periodic fasting may be a better strategy. “Fasting is probably the most powerful bene cial intervention you could do to a human being,” Longo says. Cutting calories for a few days shifts the body from ready-to-mate mode into stand-by and maintenance: You save energy and your cells get a chance to regenerate.

In particular, Longo has found that fasting helps rejuvenate the immune system, which weakens with age, making the elderly more susceptible to disease. While fasting, your body gets rid of old and damaged immune cells, but once you eat again, your immune system comes back renewed. e team is now planning a clinical trial to see if fasting can help elderly people combat the u by renewing their immune systems.

His quest for answers has even whisked him a continent away—to remote villages in Ecuador.

In 2005, he contacted an Ecuadorean physician who was studying a group of people with an intriguing genetic muta-tion—one that’s similar to mutations that Longo’s team had discovered among yeast and mice with unusually long lifespans. ese Ecuadoreans were all under 4 feet tall—and they were remarkably youthful and free of cancer or diabetes. e reason: A genetic mutation blocked the activity of a growth hormone. at got Longo thinking.

Levels of that same growth hormone rise when people eat a high-protein diet.When Longo and his partners studied a large group of Americans’ eating habits over two decades, they found that eating lots of animal-based protein like meats and dairy products during middle age raised

the chance of cancer and early death. In an-other study, they showed that a low-protein diet mitigated symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in mice.

It’s early, but the data are promising: Periodic fasting seems to dampen the growth hormone’s activity. Soon the team will publish a study that tested a fasting regimen among volunteers. For ve days a month, over three straight months, people were asked to follow a carefully designed, extremely low-calorie diet—about 700 to 1,100 calories per day, far lower than the 2,000 to 2,500 recommended for most adults.

Longo already thinks periodic fasting is the way to go, and he follows the fasting plan himself—as do others in his lab, and his family and friends, he says. But he warns that no one should do it without medical supervision and food proven to provide adequate nutrients. (In response to cancer patients asking him if they could eat something instead of fasting, Longo has started a USC spinoff company called L-Nutra that prepares and sells the meals. To avoid a con ict of interest, he’s not al-lowed to be involved in the collection or analysis of the data in the human studies.)

While drugs may someday treat aspects of aging, they may also carry side e ects, Longo says. So fasting will likely be the best option, since your whole body can adjust accordingly. “You are in tune with the diet,” he says. And fasting, he points out, is something people have been doing for thousands of years as part of necessity or religious practice, which he suspects was likely also done for its mental and physical health bene ts.

USC Norris Cancer Center, the Mayo Clinic and other hospitals are even testing whether careful fasting can help protect cancer patients and sensitize their cancer cells to treatment.

“ is is not a fad,” Longo says. “ is is our history. Now, nally, it’s met with the

clinical, scienti c evidence that’s necessary to do it right.”

HOLISTIC PRECISION

Much of what science is learning about aging is consistent with what social scientists see outside the lab. Murali Nair, a clinical professor in the USC School of Social Work, has met some of the world’s oldest citizens in nations from Japan to India. Getting to know several dozen centenarians taught Nair that most of them, whether they’re rich or poor, share a lifestyle that he says the rest of us should emulate.

ey eat regularly and relatively little, mostly vegetables, fruit and nuts. ey remain physically, socially and mentally active. ey maintain a positive outlook on life and have some sense of spirituality and faith in something greater than themselves. ey also all believe in random acts of kindness. “We have advanced technology in extending our lives, but modern medicine alone is not enough,” Nair says. We need a holistic approach that shows better appreciation of our body, mind, spirit and the environment.

Aging is complex, involving every biological organ and system. Lifestyle, envi-ronment and genetics all come into play. As a result, no one ages the same way, and we all have di erent susceptibilities to diseases and di erent responses to diet, exercise and drugs. e solution to such diversity may be what Cohen, of USC Davis, has dubbed “personalized aging.”

“ e concept is that there isn’t a single recipe for staying healthy longer,” Cohen says. “Each of us should nd the best strategy that’s scienti cally driven.”

Doctors are already beginning to target cancers at the genetic level. Cohen proposes a similar approach to delay aging. By sequencing your genome while you’re healthy, doctors could determine your risk of age-related diseases like diabetes or Alzheimer’s. If you show a high risk for disease, then doctors could identify drugs or lifestyle changes that might work par-ticularly well for your genomic pro le.

Today, doctors can already reasonably assess risk for some diseases, and they’ll only get more accurate over time, Cohen says. But no one completely knows which treatments and strategies are best suited for each person’s individual genome. at will likely take decades.

“We’re not even halfway there,” Cohen says. Until then, we have yoga and broccoli.

“ ere isn’t a single recipe for staying healthy longer.”

USC has been putting occupational therapy on the international map for decades by building the science behind occupational therapists’ work with patients. And with a recent gift from USC Trustee Ronnie C. Chan MBA ’76 and his family, USC cemented its place in the field, becoming home to the nation’s f irst named occupational therapy program. Yet occupational science and occupational therapy remain misunderstood. Many confuse it with other helping professions, like physical therapy. Instead, think of occupational therapy as a toolkit for living your best life. From the occupational therapist’s perspective, “occupations” refer not to your job but rather to day-to-day activities like brushing your teeth or cooking dinner. Many of us take these routine tasks for granted, but occupational scientists and occupational therapists recognize that for people with injury or illness, even the simplest tasks can be di cult. Occupational therapists work with people of all ages to develop new habits and routines that enable them to live happier and more productive lives, no matter what conditions stand in the way.

The USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and

Occupational Therapy helps people live life to its fullest,

no matter what challenges they face.

B Y J E S S I C A R A Y M O N D


LifeRedesigned

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Supporting Student Veterans

A Legacy of Leadership

Occupational therapy formally began as a profession in 1917 during World War I. e rst occupational therapists helped to rehabilitate wounded veterans and reintegrate them into civilian life. Nearly 100 years later, occupational therapists continue to play a vital role in the lives of returning service members.

Veterans have a unique set of challenges. In addition to mental health concerns, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, they often struggle with vision and hearing. Tinnitus—persistent, strong ringing in the ears—is the most com-mon disability among veterans. Among student veterans, tinnitus can make it di cult to listen to lectures and focus on coursework.

At USC, student veterans have an advocate and helper in Carlin Daley ’02, MA ’06, OTD ’07, an assistant professor of clinical occupational therapy.

For one, Daley makes sure student veterans get the special accommodations they need. at could mean providing a note-taker during class or securing electronic versions of the documents for students with sustained vision or hearing loss.

“If for some reason an accommodation doesn’t seem to be working, students might be referred to me to see if I can gure out a di¦ erent piece of the puzzle, because occupational therapists are trained to look at all elements of a person’s life,” Daley says. “I’m going to think about what’s happening psychosocially, physically and ergonomically, and combine that with the sensory piece to inform them of ways we can help them through other resources.”

Daley also frequently works with student veterans at USC’s Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity to identify new habits and routines that could boost their academic success. She’s noticed that often student veterans struggle without a clear schedule, regular exercise and a sense of community—the hall-marks of military life. In these cases, she might help them create structured routines and come up with ways to build social and academic support networks.

“From the occupational therapy lens, it’s thinking about how our suggestions will t in with everything else they are doing. I think that a holistic view is something that’s a unique strength of this profession,” Daley says.

Daley also has been active in military support and outreach e¦ orts throughout the USC community. She’s been involved in the planning phase of the new USC Veterans Resource Center, which brought her occupational therapy expertise to discussions on the space’s layout and its programming and services.

“ ere’s so much positive momentum with the veteran popu-lation here,” Daley says, “and it’s exciting that occupational therapy has such a strong voice in what’s happening.”

In 1942, USC welcomed its fi rst students to its newly formed occupational therapy department. The United States had just entered World War II, and the university wanted to ensure that well-trained occupational therapists would be ready to care for injured servicemen when they returned home. USC became a leader in the fi eld and has established an unparalleled record of excellence over the past seven decades. Among USC’s highlights in occupational science and occupational therapy:

• Has held the No. 1 spot for 12 years in U.S. News & World Report rankings

• Established nation’s fi rst post-professional degree program in occupational therapy in 1947

• Created the nation’s fi rst two-year, entry-level master’s degree in occupa-tional therapy in 1962

• Established the world’s fi rst doctoral program in occupational science in 1989

• In 1997, the infl uential “Well Elderly Study”—led by Florence Clark, associate dean at USC Chan—became the fi rst occupational

therapy research to be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association

• Secured more than $20 million in federal grants over the past 10 years

• Four alumni have been elected president of the American Occupational Therapy Association

• Since 1958, 15 Trojans have received the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Eleanor Clarke Slagle Award, the profession’s most prestigious academic recognition

Occupational therapists help student veterans at

USC create structured routines, a hallmark of their

time in the military.

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Keeping the Weight

Off for Good

For years, weight loss seemed impossible for David Morrison MRED ’90, a 62-year-old banker from Alhambra, California. At 328 pounds, even simple activities like walking and sleeping were dif- cult, and he couldn’t nd weight-loss strategies that worked.

“For whatever reason, I was not disciplined enough to stick with a diet,” he says. “I didn’t want to play games with myself and pretend something was going to work when I knew it wouldn’t.”

In 2010, Morrison opted for a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band procedure—commonly known as lap band sur-gery—to limit the amount of food he could eat. But he couldn’t sustain the changes he needed to make and eventually regained the weight he lost after surgery.

Two years later, Morrison turned to Peter Crookes, associ-ate professor of surgery with Keck Medicine of USC. Crookes performed gastric bypass surgery, a procedure that shrinks the stomach and reduces the number of calories the body can absorb. ¦ is time, to make sure he had the support he needed to adjust to life after surgery, Morrison joined the Lifestyle Redesign Weight Management Program at the USC Occupational ¦ erapy Faculty Practice.

In this program, patients meet regularly with an occupational therapist to develop new habits aimed at managing weight and reducing stress, like learning to cook more healthful food and tting exercise into a work schedule. ¦ ey also discuss emotional issues related to food.

After his operation, Morrison started meeting with Ashley Uyeshiro ’08, MA ’10, OTD ’11, an assistant professor of clinical occupational therapy, every one to two weeks. Uyeshiro worked with Morrison to create a customized plan that incorporated physical activity and a prescribed diet into his daily routines, as well as strategies to control portion sizes, which was especially important for Morrison because a bypassed stomach can eventu-ally stretch from overeating.

“I was lucky because [Uyeshiro and I] happened to work on the same wavelength,” Morrison says. “I would bring in my questions, and she would work with me on answering them.”

¦ e treatment plan has been a huge success. Twenty-two months after the surgery, he weighs 189 pounds—a drop of nearly 140 pounds from his heaviest weight. More important, he’s dis-covered daily strategies that have kept the weight o± and now sees Uyeshiro just once every six to eight weeks.

“I think the reason this program works is because our oc-cupational therapists cater the education, the problem solving and the occupation-based activities to people’s unique situations,” Uyeshiro says. “We also hold people accountable for the changes they plan to make and equip them with the tools they need to self-manage their weight for a lifetime.”

A diehard Trojan football fan, Morrison says that being able to walk easily from his car to his seat at the Coliseum is a wonderful feeling. He’s also been enjoying watching people react to his transformation: “¦ ey’re in shock!”

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Florence Clark:

Life Architect

Florence Clark PhD ’82 has led the USC Chan Division for nearly four decades as an associate dean, chair and now the Mrs. T.H. Chan Professor of Occupational Science and Occu-pational ¦ erapy. A trailblazer, she’s helped her program keep its No. 1 ranking for 12 years. Here’s her take on her eld.

How do you defi ne occupational therapy and occupational

science? Although the profession got its start nearly 100 years ago, its aims today remain the same: to help people live life to the fullest. Occupational therapists do that by helping people build sustainable, health-promoting routines that can decrease risk of, or better manage, chronic diseases and disabilities. In the late 1980s, our then-department chair, Dr. Elizabeth Yerxa, summarized it this way: “Medicine is concerned with preserving life; occupational therapy is concerned with the quality of life preserved.” ¦ e research discipline that emerged—occupational science —and the health care profession of occupational therapy do just that. We optimize people’s quality of life no matter what disease, disability or condition confronts them.

What makes occupational therapists uniquely qualifi ed

to help people? I call occupational therapists “life archi-tects.” When architects design and renovate homes they take aesthetics, the surroundings and functionality into account. When occupational therapists help people, we customize potential options with the goal of reducing health risks. With a stroke survivor, for example, an occupational therapist will enable him or her to re-enter previous worlds of activity through a combination of coaching, acquiring new skills and relearning old ones, providing specialized equipment and modifying the surrounding environment. We call this “lifestyle redesign.” Our faculty therapists lead you through an assessment of lifestyle risks, identify goals, build a plan for developing healthy habits and coach you through long-term change. Research has shown that lifestyle redesign improves quality of life and reduces health care costs, which are major concerns in health care today.


A Gift at Makes History

D O N O R P R O F I L E R O N N I E C H A N M B A ’ 7 6

USC Trustee Ronnie C. Chan MBA ’76 and his wife, Barbara, have a special appreciation for occu-pational therapy after watching their younger son go through the program at USC. Now, thanks to their generosity, countless other occupational science and occupational therapy students will share their knowledge around the world. The Chans’ $20 million naming gift, announced in Sep-tember, represents the largest to any academic program in the history of occupational therapy. More than 70 years old, the program is now called the USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occu-pational Science and Occupa-tional Therapy. Their gift names the program in honor of Ronnie Chan’s mother, who worked for many years as a nurse. It also endows the Mrs. T.H. Chan Professorship in Occu-pational Science and Occupa-tional Therapy, which is held by Florence Clark, associate

dean of the division. And there’s more: the new USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Occupational Therapy China Initiative will establish a partnership with a top Chinese university to create a gradu-ate program in occupational therapy there. Ronnie Chan has extensive business experience in China. He’s the chairman of Hang Lung Group Limited and its subsidiary, Hang Lung Properties Limited, which stands among Hong Kong’s leading real estate companies. He also co-founded the Morning-side Group, a privately held investment fi rm that owns and manages industrial and service companies throughout the United States and Asia. A longtime leader dedicated to helping USC partner with organizations around the Pacifi c Rim, Ronnie Chan established the USC Hong Kong Alumni Association and supported construction of the USC Inter-national Residential College,

where international students have the opportunity to live and learn side by side with their American classmates. He also led eff orts to raise money for the International Plaza at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center—rallying support from USC alumni in Asia—and donated toward the plaza’s building fund. The Chans have two children who graduated from USC: Adriel ’04 majored in international relations, while Adley ’06, ’07, MA ’08, OTD ’12 went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in occupational therapy after earning his bachelor’s de-gree in sociology in 2006. Adley Chan recently joined the division as a clinical faculty member. Having grown up in Hong Kong, Adley Chan is passionate about enhancing occupational therapy education and practice in Asia. “Although there are already several occupational therapy degree programs in China, and a number of outside

universities have established relationships with Chinese partners to bring occupational therapy education to parts of China, USC has the potential to help expand the spread of occupational therapy in China on a larger scale,” he says. “Beyond China, the whole of East Asia needs well-trained occupational therapists,” Ron-nie Chan adds. “USC has a very strong presence and reputation in this part of world, so the potential for the university to set the standard there—just as it’s done in the United States—is huge.”

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Living Well with Autism

Autism spectrum disorders a ect 1 in 68 children and com-prise the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States. Researchers throughout the USC community—from physicians to lmmakers—are working together to try to im-prove the diagnosis and treatment of autism, and occupational therapists are among them.

Occupational therapists work with people with autism to improve everything from their coordination to how they interact with other people. But one key way that occupational therapists help is by focusing on the needs of families living with autism.

“We’ve been examining some of the functional problems or challenges that families experience when they have a child or family member with autism, as well as developing better under-standing of family strengths and expertise,” says Mary Lawlor, associate chair of research and professor of occupational science and occupational therapy.

Frequently, for children with autism and their families, daily tasks like getting dressed or taking a bath pose unique challenges. Parents appreciate strategies that can improve their child’s en-gagement and participation in everyday life, and occupational therapy and occupational science professor Sharon Cermak is studying practical solutions.

Take the dreaded visit to the dentist. Cermak recently con-ducted a study on how to make dental visits more manageable for children with autism spectrum disorders. £ e glaring lights, harsh sounds and strong smells of a dental o¤ ce can cause a sensory overload that triggers anxiety and disruptive behavior among these children. Dentists are sometimes required to use general anesthe-sia or restraints to safely clean the children’s teeth.

Cermak found that making some simple changes to the environment could help, such as replacing ¦ uorescent lights with softer, colorful lights, playing soothing music and bundling children snugly in specially designed butter¦ y-shaped wraps, which provide calming pressure. With the modi cations, children were much less anxious, according to her study.

“Down the road, we hope that we can design interventions that will lead to a better quality of life for children with autism and their families,” Cermak says.

She’s already identi ed several areas where environmental adaptations can make a di erence. For example, changing lights and cutting noise in school classrooms may help some children with autism learn better. “Fluorescent lights give o a ¦ icker that’s not noticeable for most people, but can be highly irritating for children with autism. Just changing the lighting can increase their attention,” she says.

Findings from her research extend to the home. Many chil-dren with autism are highly sensitive to certain foods, which can strain family meal times. But making simple changes like dimming lights, playing soft music and limiting distractions could make mealtimes easier for these children.

Bedtime also poses concerns. Children with autism have a hard time falling asleep, and they experience less restful sleep than other children. But Cermak has found that warmth can help them relax. “Even putting their blanket in the dryer for a few minutes before bedtime can induce a calming e ect,” she says.

When children with autism are given the tools to actively participate in daily life, Cermak says, they’re happy and thrive—and their families do too.

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MEET YOUR TECH FUTUREGET A GLIMPSE AT FIVE WAYS USC RESEARCHERS WILL CHANGE THE WAY

YOU LIVE.

BY MARC BALLON

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ZOHAR LAZAR


Raise your hand if you thought you’d have a jetpack or make your morning commute in your ying car by now. Dis-appointed? Don’t be. anks to USC researchers, other surprising ideas and in-novations are poised to revolutionize our world. From implantable memory chips that help us learn faster to cybersecurity tools designed to thwart terrorist attacks, Trojan technological advances are set to become part of everyday life.

BUILDING BUDDIESOn a cold winter night in 2024, it’s quit-ting time for Sally, a corporate attorney who works in a 25-story downtown high-rise. A frenetic whirlwind of energy, she often for-gets to turn o£ the lights and shut down her computer. Just as Sally is about leave, a smil-ing avatar named Jess appears on her screen.

“Hey, Ms. Harried,” Jess jokes. “I know you’re in a hurry to hit the gym, but please turn everything o£ before you head out.”

Suddenly, pictures of animals in the wild, crashing waves and majestic red-woods are projected onto a screen in Sally’s oª ce. “Do it for Mother Nature,” Jess adds.

Sally quickly turns o£ the lights and her computer. A text message lights up her cell phone. “ anks, friend. Have a great night!” It’s signed “Jess”—with a smiley face.

Last week, Jess appeared as a holo-gram on her co-workers’ desks to remind them of Sally’s birthday, prompting an im-promptu party. Sally has gotten to like Jess.

Almost everyone in Sally’s building has their own version of Jess—their own personal avatar to watch over them. e avatars, which the employees name and design, text the employees good morning, celebrate their work achievements and en-courage them to save energy.

e avatars, in fact, are proxies for the building itself, which wants to forge rela-tionships with occupants to increase their comfort and reduce the building’s overall energy usage by one-third. (Oª ce tow-ers and commercial buildings account for about 20 percent of all domestically con-sumed energy.)

“I see buildings and their occupants working together and even forming friend-ships,” says Burcin Becerik-Gerber, a USC Viterbi assistant professor of civil and en-vironmental engineering. Her research on building-human interactions won her a spot

on the 2012 MIT Technology Review list of the world’s top innovators under age 35.

In Becerik-Gerber’s vision, a building would use occupants’ cell phones to initi-ate a conversation to nd out how satis ed they are with the temperature, lighting and air quality. Sensors throughout the build-ing would capture additional data. All of this information would lter through algo-rithms that could recommend temperature and lighting levels for di£ erent oª ce suites to optimize comfort and conservation. En-ergy wasters would receive texts, emails and audio messages to encourage them to make better choices.

Further in the future, an avatar might reward employees for making smart de-cisions like jettisoning a space heater or switching to two-sided copies.

Says Becerik-Gerber: “ ere’s a lot of room to change behaviors and save energy.”

MECHANICAL MINDERSJohn doesn’t want to get out of bed.

At 79, he’s su£ ered a stroke that’s left him with aches and limited range of mo-tion on his left side. If he doesn’t work on rehabilitating his left arm and leg, his doc-tor says, he’ll develop arthritis in the limbs on his right side from overuse.

In a perfect world, physical therapists would come to his house to help. But it’s the late 2020s, and he needs more care than he can a£ ord. Physical therapists are in short supply too.

ank goodness for Tiny Tim. “Come on, John,” he says. As John reluc-

tantly gets up, Tiny Tim moves closer to him, ashing his eyes red and green in excitement.

“Follow me,” he says, reaching and pointing with his left arm. “You can do it.”

For the next half hour, Tiny Tim suc-cessfully leads John through a series of arm and leg exercises.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Tiny,” John says.

Tiny Tim is a robot. He and other so-cially assistive robots are part of the future of health care.

For the past decade, USC Viterbi’s Maja Matarić and her team of PhD stu-dents have studied how intelligent robots might provide one-to-one personalized care to assist stroke patients, people with Al-zheimer’s disease and children with autism, among others.

BURCIN

BECERIK-GERBER

USC Viterbi assistant

professor

Stephen Shrank Early

Career Chair in Civil

and Environmental

Engineering

MAJA MATARIĆ

Professor and Chan

Soon-Shiong Chair

in Computer Science,

Neuroscience and

Pediatrics

USC Viterbi vice

dean for research

Director, Robotics

and Autonomous

Systems Center

Co-director, Robotics

Research Lab

“I see build-

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occupants

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even forming

friendships.”


games and conversation, and help stroke patients have the support and motivation around the clock that is needed for the re-habilitation process.”

DIGITAL DOUBLESWith the Paci c Ocean as a backdrop, the familiar faces slowly make their way toward a stunning Malibu beach house.

e camera lingers on each of them, bringing smiles of recognition to excited lmgoers watching the screen. Jet Li ap-pears rst. en Dolph Lundgren. Next is Sylvester Stallone, who smiles and hugs his comrades. e Expendables are back together, 40 years after their last movie adventure—in 2014.

ey haven’t aged a day.New members materialize. A youth-

ful John Wayne, wearing his trademark cowboy hat, saunters up. “Howdy, partner,” he says. A young Marlon Brando, circa A Streetcar Named Desire, nods his head at the assembled. Hollywood’s latest heart-throb, Bobby Whit eld III, enters, looking resplendent in a black Italian suit. “Now, let’s get this party started,” he quips.

Incredible, yes. Impossible, no. At least not according to Paul Debevec.

Debevec is the Academy Award-winning chief visual o£ cer at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies. e photorealistic digital faces he and his re-search team have created—which seem lifelike in any lighting condition—have appeared in such blockbusters as Gravity, Avatar and e Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Most recently, Debevec and his colleagues took high-resolution scans of the cast of Male cent to create computer-generated pixies and a “digital double” for star Angelina Jolie that was used in some of the lm’s more dangerous stunts.

A computer scientist with a PhD from UC Berkeley, Debevec is perhaps best known for inventing the Light Stage, a spherical, computer-controlled lighting apparatus now in its 11th iteration. With 12,000 light-emitting diodes and seven high-de nition cameras, the Light Stage allows actors to be photographed under any color, intensity, polarization and distri-bution of light, providing the data to create photorealistic digital doubles.

So how does he think e Expendables might get made in the future? To resurrect Wayne, Brando and other long-deceased

eir pioneering work, which includes programming smart machines to be more engaging and responsive, aims to help people in need “become more self-motivated and con dent to lead better lives,” says Matarić.

Matarić’s interdisciplinary team has contributed impressively to the eld. In a pilot trial with stroke patients, they dis-covered that patients were more likely to exercise when encouraged by a robot than when alone. In studies with healthy seniors and those with Alzheimer’s, both groups strongly preferred exercising with a robot than with a computer screen. Another study tested robots that made encouraging sounds and blew bubbles whenever children with autism moved closer and interacted with them. Some children reacted so well to the robots that they talked more and turned to their parents to describe events as they occurred, a surprising feat among children who struggle to communicate.

Now Matarić’s team, in cooperation with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, is examining whether children receiving in-travenous injections experience less pain if empathetic robots comfort them beforehand.

To date, no one has run large-scale clinical trials with these types of robots, largely because of the lack of funding for such “demanding yet crucial assessments,” Matarić says.

“In 10 years,” she adds, “I hope that we will see specialized, socially assistive robot technologies enhancing human care to help children with autism learn spe-ci c communication or social skills, help elderly people feel less lonely through

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create photorealistic

digital faces.

PAUL DEBEVEC

Chief visual offi cer,

USC Institute for

Creative Technologies

Professor of

computer science

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according to White House o cials. And in September, a cyberattack reportedly ex-posed information on more than 27,000 U.S. government employees.

Given cyberterrorists’ increased so-phistication and the defensive nature of cyber warfare—bad guys need only nd and exploit system vulnerabilities, while those under attack must protect entire networks—the risk of a cyber Pearl Harbor has never been greater.

“While cyberthreat growth contin-ues to accelerate, the stream of new and e ective cyberdefense technologies has grown much more slowly,” Terry Benzel said before Congress in 2013. As deputy director for the Computer Networks Division at USC’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI), she went to Washington to address lawmakers about ways to improve cybersecurity research, including better technology transfer between academia and industry.

Benzel, a renowned cybersecurity ex-pert and former division vice president of the antivirus company McAfee Inc., has spent the past decade at ISI leveling the playing eld.

Under her direction, USC, in co-operation with UC Berkeley and private partners, built DeterLab. e nation’s largest and most advanced university-managed test bed supports research and development on next-generation cybersecurity technologies. More than 200 organizations, including the Paci c Northwest National Laboratory and Co-lumbia University, use the platform, which is largely funded by the Department of Homeland Security.

How might DeterLab help thwart large-scale cyberterrorism?

Entrepreneurs and researchers could develop powerful anti-malware software within this sealed-o mini-Internet by launching and learning from simulated cyberattacks on critical American infra-structure, including power grids, nancial systems and transportation networks.

Within a decade, Benzel hopes De-terLab could link with other test beds to create specialized environments in which agencies like LA’s Metro and DWP could “take advantage of the tools and protocols we’ve developed to create new technolo-gies to repulse attacks,” she says. “We need an ecosystem of test beds connected to-gether for research on the hard problems facing us.”

actors, computer-vision algorithms would analyze hundreds of frames from old movie footage to compute 3-D images of their faces. Actors like Li, Lundgren and Stallone could be preserved at their current ages by being scanned at the Light Stage to create digital doubles for future use. e digital faces could be composited onto the bodies of contemporary actors who could mimic the stars’ movements, while impres-sionists could imitate their voices. Will lmmakers and audiences balk at the cast-ing of deceased actors’ digital doubles? at remains to be seen, but the technology will likely make it possible.

at’s not all. Debevec believes digital entertainment technology will one day al-low directors to cast whomever they want in a movie—living, dead or invented.

“I like the idea of a lmmaker say-ing, ‘ is is what I want a person to look like,’ and telling a computer, ‘ is is how I want their eyes to be, how many freckles I want,”’ he says. “ is could be a whole new way of applying the skills and talents of a casting director.”

SUBDUING CYBERTERRORISMIt’s a typical November night in the City of Angels in 2025.

e freeways, Metrolink trains and Metro railcars teem with commuters. Over-head, 1,500-seat jumbo jets take o and land at Los Angeles International Airport in quick succession, a precisely choreo-graphed ballet of technology. Elsewhere, telecommuting moms and dads check email and wrap up virtual conference calls on their tablets, smartphones and watches.

At 7:58 p.m., disaster strikes.Within seconds, a multipronged

cyberattack takes out the local air traf- c control system. Terrorists knock out Metro’s communications network, derail-ing trains. Hacked Department of Water and Power (DWP) computers shut o water to local residents and release millions of gallons into the ocean. e power grid is knocked out. en the region’s Internet goes down.

Los Angeles grinds to a halt.Far-fetched? Maybe not. In 2012, an

Al Qaeda video called for an “electronic Jihad” against the United States. e next year, federal agents warned more than 3,000 companies that they’d been hacked,

TERRY BENZEL

Deputy director,

Computer Networks

Division

Research scientist,

USC Marshall School

of Business

“We need an

ecosystem

of test beds

connected

together for

research

on the hard

problems

facing us.”

“[A chip]

theoretically

could make

people

smarter, give

them more

detailed

and vivid

memories.”


MAKING MEMORIESMadeline, an 85-year-old grandmother, enters a classroom. e French teacher, a tall, beret-wearing robot named Jacques, immedi-ately moves to kiss her on both cheeks.

“Comment allez-vous?” he asks. e elderly woman smiles at Jacques, who has taught her French for the past few months. Today, Monsieur Robot discusses how to conjugate regular verbs into the subjunctive tense, which expresses uncertainty, doubt and possibility. Complex stu .

Back in the day, in the 2010s, even the most dedicated French students struggled with the subjunctive and its nuances. No more. Madeline has no problem mastering French’s many linguistic complexities. She’s also recently learned calculus and Spanish with relative ease.

People used to grow more forgetful and less sharp with age. Memories of yesteryear sometimes lost their vividness or disap-peared altogether. e situation was worse for people whose brains were damaged from stroke, injury or dementia. ese people often failed to create new long-term memories, making it di¦ cult to remember caregivers’ names, how to dress or even how to § nd the bathroom.

So what changed to allow seniors to learn foreign languages as easily as their grandchildren? How could people with brain injuries make new long-term memories?

Perhaps it was because a brain implant now in development by USC Viterbi professor Ted Berger eventually went mainstream.

“In the future, we expect that the chip will help many people have better and stronger memories,” says Berger, whose chip was dubbed a “breakthrough technology” by MIT Technology Reviewin 2013.

A renowned neuroscientist and biomedical engineer, Berger has worked for more than 15 years on an implantable silicon mi-crochip that could help patients with severe memory problems form long-term memories again. e chip, which would be placed under the skin at the crown of the skull, might one day also im-prove the memories of healthy people.

Berger’s neural prosthesis, which he has developed with an international team of computer scientists, engineers and physi-cians, would boost a damaged hippocampus—the region of the brain where long-term memories are made. e chip would act as a bridge across damaged brain tissue to help short-term memories become long-term ones.

e chip translates short-term memories into the proper codes as they travel through the hippocampus. In successful pi-lot trials, researchers have even recorded memories as they occur. Large-scale clinical trials could happen within a year.

Berger’s fervent commitment to developing the world’s § rst memory chip is personal. A series of strokes left his mother unable to make any new memories. He felt helpless watching her mind waste away. His team’s chip could greatly bene§ t people like her—and perhaps the entire population.

“It theoretically could make people smarter, give them more detailed and vivid memories that fade away not in two years but in 10 years,” Berger says. “ e chip might make people better at math and spelling and allow them to make associations to come up with new ideas, unique things.”

Here are some breakthroughs created at USC that changed the world we live in today.

COLOR TVIn the 1940s, Willard Geer, USC professor of physics, created the Geer tube, a cathode ray tube that used electron guns to beam colors onto a display screen, enabling full-color television.

JPEG AND MPEG The coding research begun in the 1970s at the USC Signal and Image Processing Institute became the basis for the JPEG and MPEG standards used for digital image compression—enabling today’s selfi es.

COMPUTER VIRUS In 1983, then-graduate student Frederick Cohen PhD ’86 created the fi rst documented “parasitic application.” Dubbed a computer virus, his hidden program was able to seize control of a computer when unknowingly uploaded from a fl oppy disk.

.COMWhile working at USC Viterbi Information Sciences Institute, Paul Mockapetris and Jon Postel pioneered the Domain Name System, which introduced the “.com” and “.org” Internet naming standards.

CHOLESTEROL AND HEART HEALTH In 1987, David Blankenhorn, a USC cardiologist and professor of medicine, defi nitively linked cholesterol to heart health. He proved that lowering cholesterol could reverse heart disease, spurring the development of cholesterol-lowering medications.

LOUDNESS STANDARDSTomlinson Holman, USC School of Cinematic Arts profes-sor and co-creator of the THX audio quality standards for theater sound, helped establish the Motion Picture Asso-ciation of America’s loudness standards for movie trailers.

FACIAL REGOGNITION SOFTWAREUSC physics, biological sciences and computer science professor Christoph von der Malsburg pioneered a complex facial recognition program that could scan and identify faces in images, creating the basis for many security applications.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY USC

TED BERGER

Professor of biomedi-

cal engineering

David Packard Chair

of Engineering

Director, Center for

Neural Engineering

tfm.usc.edu

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Welcome HomeFrom students yearning for a warm anksgiving

family dinner to alumni who bleed cardinal and gold, the USC President’s House has seen them all in the

rst four busy years of the Nikias presidency. b y e r i c n o l a n d

c o u r t e s y o f s a n m a r i n o o u t l o o k

It’s 6:30 p.m. and guests are descending on the house. Here’s a USC

physician, fresh from seeing her last patient of the day. Next comes

a silver-haired, quick-witted business professor, with his hearty laugh

and rm handshake. A steady procession of USC employees, from

administrative sta to scientists, follows them to the home’s front

door, all ready to see their hosts: USC President C. L. Max Nikias

and his wife, Niki.

e growing crowd might intimidate some, but hospitality

comes naturally to the Nikiases. ey’re at ease hosting groups large

and small at the USC President’s House, an expansive yet comfort-

able estate in San Marino, California, that’s been home to USC

presidents for 35 years. Natives of Cyprus, the Nikiases have

hospitality threaded through their DNA.

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they are by hosting large gatherings, the couple opened the house to 400 USC students the next day for anksgiving dinner. Many of them were international students, while others were U.S. stu-dents who weren’t able to get home for the holiday. e Nikiases couldn’t abide the thought of them rattling around near-empty residence halls and a quiet campus.

is couple had personal experience with that. ey both earned their undergraduate degrees in Athens before venturing to far-o Bu alo to pursue graduate degrees at the State University of New York.

e holiday dinner, Max says, was Niki’s idea, and “I think she came up with it because we both remember very well, when we came to this country as graduate students, the rst two or three years were very lonely on anksgiving Day. Everything was closed and you don’t have a family anywhere to go to for anksgiving Day.”

It has since become an annual tradition. “ e last couple of years, we noticed that we also get local kids,” he says with a laugh. “From Pasadena, Arcadia. ey come for the dinner.”

Niki interjects: “We’d been doing that with our daughters’ friends for years. ‘ ey have nowhere else to go. Can we bring them?’”

Shiyao Wu, a junior majoring in computer science who grew up in China, remembers experiencing the American holiday for the rst time at last year’s anksgiving. “I was impressed that it was not just a formal dinner, but really a family dinner,” he recalls.

In addition to being pleasantly surprised by the garden setting, Wu remembers the warmth of the hosts. “President Nikias, his wife and daughters all came, walked around the tables and talked to us and even took pictures with us. at really made us feel that we are a family.”

Reed, the USC trustee, says that it’s a mutually bene cial occasion, because Max and Niki “love the kids, being with them and mingling. It gives them a chance to have some one-on-one conver-sations with them. Talking to the kids is a highlight of their year.”

ey’ve had other students over too. Take that backyard bar-becue for basketball players, for one. And during the football team’s NCAA sanctions, when the team was banned from postseason bowl games for two years, the couple twice invited the student-athletes to the home for a Christmas party—with the NCAA’s blessing.

“In Greek culture, you never sit down to have dinner alone,” Niki says. “ ere’s always the neighbor, the cousin, the mother-in-law, the father-in-law who will drop by and say, ‘Well, what’s up for dinner?’ And you don’t even plan on it. Not only that, but you also plan a lot of parties—birth-days, celebrating by hosting dinners at the house. It’s something that I’ve done a lot.”

“ e rule is,” Max adds, “you don’t do it unless you really love it. e pressure is always there, the time commitment is always there. e challenge you face is how you pace yourself. But when you have to be on, you have to be on, and you have to love it. You can’t fake it.”

e Nikiases have ample opportunities to put this into practice. Since moving into the home, they’ve hosted about 175 events there—from intimate little dinners of four to orchestrated parties for 400 people on the rear lawn, under a tent. Nearly 15,600 guests have attended gatherings at the house during the Nikias years. “And we shake hands with every one of them as they come through the door,” Max says over his ever-present laugh.

It’s no exaggeration, apparently. “It doesn’t matter the size of the party—when you walk in the door, they’re both right there to greet you,” says Lorna Reed, a member of USC’s Board of Trustees since 1987. “Large or small, they make you feel you’re the most important guest to walk through that door.”

Because of that crush of visitors, the Nikiases are sensitive to the impact the busy entertainment schedule might have on their San Marino neighborhood. For the big events, typically held in December, they not only notify neighbors, they invite them, along with various city o¶ cials.

e USC President’s House has long ties to the university. Seeley Mudd, a for-mer dean of USC’s medical school, left his home to the university in his estate, with the stipulation that it house the university president. It has done so since 1979.

After Max Nikias became USC’s president in August 2010, the university undertook some renovations to the house, and the Nikiases moved from their long-time home in Rancho Palos Verdes on the day before anksgiving that year.

Demonstrating just how undaunted

c o v e r

RIGHT: With hospitality

and comfort as the

foremost goals for

guests at the USC

President’s House,

Niki Nikias works with

staff to approve event

details from menus

to seating.

OPPOSITE: Niki Nikias

makes sure everything

is set for guests before

they arrive. Then, when

the doorbell rings, the

couple are always at

the front door with a

warm welcome.

The Nikiases juggle a schedule that can take them across Los Angeles and the country, building relationships. Here is the lineup for a typical week.

Monday: “1 Percent Dinner”

for Good Neighbors donors at home

Tuesday: USC Board of Councilors reception

Wednesday: Dinner with USC Trustees at home

Thursday: Cancer research gala fundraiser

Friday: Dinner with chief executive of Keck Medical Center of USC

Saturday: LAPD reception to receive Jack Webb Award

Sunday: Student event and author book signing on campus


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“Being invited to the president’s dinner was an honor,” says senior Katherine Grabar, president of USC’s Panhellenic Council. At a leadership dinner last December, she met the Nikiases and re-members, “ e house is stunning. We were free to roam about the grounds and the downstairs of the house. e ambiance was festive!”

e Nikiases also open the home for the annual “1 Percent Dinner” recognizing USC employees who donate 1 percent or more of their pay for USC’s Good Neighbors Campaign, which supports neighborhood partnerships. During the house’s 2010 renovation, guests at the French-themed dinner on campus had such a rousing time that Max declared the next year’s dinner would be “Greek night”—opa!—at the USC President’s House. He stayed true to his word, bringing Greek food, dancers and musicians from St. Sophia Cathedral.

It’s spawned a warm family feeling and memorable entertain-ment ever since, featuring performers from traditional Chinese lion dancers to artists from the USC ornton School of Music. At each event, especially the small ones, Max listens carefully to his guests, building connections from the common threads in their lives.

e Nikiases also have hosted donors and supporters who are instrumental to the $6 billion Campaign for USC. Some stay overnight.

As part of the home renovations, Niki asked that a bedroom suite be created on the ground ¥ oor. Max says he “half-jokingly, half-seriously” refers to it as the Lincoln Bedroom, because an overnight stay in those quarters costs $1 million, “payable to USC.”

Guests stay up late chatting with their hosts and have breakfast with them in the morning. e couple still chuckle about the overnight visit of David and Dana Dornsife, who donated $200 million to USC’s College of Arts and Letters, which now bears their name. After breakfast the next morning, Max had to leave for his USC o© ce, but told the Dornsifes they were free to linger and stroll the property. He laughs at the memory: “I got a text from Dana: ‘ ank you, Max, we had a great time; 199 nights to go.’”

e press of these social encounters—large and small—is unrelenting. From late August when the school year begins un-til mid-December, the Nikiases have few nights to themselves in the house. ey savor that time together.

e two walk several miles in the neighborhood for exercise or slip out to their favorite seafood restaurant. And they’ve gotten quite comfortable in the house itself. It was built in 1932 by archi-tect Reginald Johnson, who is noted for the Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel. Panel-ing was brought from a manor house in England, and rooms in the house had to be designed in accordance with those panels’ speci³ cations, Niki says.

But their enthusiasm really begins to bubble over when they talk about the beautiful murals. What a bizarre coinci-dence they encountered when they moved into this house.

e Mudd family made its fortune mining copper on Cyprus in the early 1900s. One of the sons, Seeley (Harvey, the namesake of the college, was the other), commissioned noted muralist Alson Clark to paint scenes of Cyprus on the walls around the staircase in his San Marino home.

e murals have long since been painted over, but Max has old, yellowed photographs of them. He excitedly ri· ed through a folder of them. Look at this, he says—the Greek theater of Salamis: “Niki grew up two miles from it!”

en he produces a photo of a mural of the Byzantine monastery Antifonitis, which was painted at the base of the stairs.

And the tour continues. ey both gesture out a window toward a stand of trees in the backyard, where the roof of a small building peeks through the shrub-bery—it’s a playhouse, built for Mudd’s daughter, and it has electricity, running water and a kitchen.

ere seems to be no evidence that the Nikiases’ hospitality is forced. Or rushed. is really does come naturally to them.

“ e interesting thing,” says Lorna Reed, “is that though it is the Nikiases’ home, they truly believe it is all of the uni-versity’s house. at’s why they love to entertain so much. ‘Come to your house.’ It’s a wonderful feeling you get as having a little bit of ownership.”

OPPOSITE: Hosting

Ladies’ Tea is a spring-

time tradition to thank

support organizations

like Town and Gown

of USC, the Association

of Trojan Leagues and

the Alumnae Coordi-

nating Council.

BELOW: Each year,

the Nikiases open

their home to hun-

dreds of students for

a traditional family

Thanksgiving.

Niki Nikias em-braces the role of “fi rst lady.” She chooses all menus and themes for house events, ap-proving details from linens to seating. In 2013, she welcomed hundreds of guests and appeared at dozens of events on USC’s behalf. Here’s a rundown.

Off site meetings with donors and offi cials: 61

Events attended as guest: 65

Events hosted at house or at USC: 90

Meetings and retreats at house: 7

Travel days: 49

Total: 272 out of 365 days

c o v e r

ALUMNI.USC.EDU | [email protected] | TEL: 213 740 2300

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Roll up your sleeves and join thousands of fellow Trojans participating

in community service projects around the world.

Sign up for a project in your area: alumni.usc.edu/scervice

USC Alumni Day of SCervice

Daylong and Worldwide.


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IN YOUR EYES

The regular Pac-12 football

season may be over and

daylight hours have waned,

but it’s always a sunny

Saturday at the Coliseum

for Trojan sports fans.

Throughout the year, submit

your comments or photos

from sporting events using

the #USCNow hashtag on

social media, then go to

usctrojans.com to

see yourself in your full

Trojan splendor—with or

without sunglasses.


f a m i l y n e w s

Friends in the BusinessA network for Trojans in the entertainment world now numbers nearly 2,000 members. b y d i a n e k r i e g e r

Here’s a simple question: What USC school produces Trojans who go on to work in the entertainment industry?

If you said the USC School of Cin-ematic Arts, you’d be right. But if you said the USC Marshall School of Busi-ness, you’d also be right. Same goes for USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC Gould School of Law and several others.

¤ is reality is at the heart of the Trojan Entertainment Network (TEN), a highly successful alumni group that’s breaking the alumni relations mold.

Traditionally, USC alumni groups have converged around a school, a geo-graphical region, an age range or an identity—women, LGBT, Latino, Afri-can American and so on. But in today’s boundary-busting professional world, an entertainment lawyer might have more in

common with a video game designer or a reporter from Variety than with a divorce attorney or a public defender. TEN brings together alumni who work in entertain-ment, regardless of their professional discipline or major.

TEN founders Jim Kelly MFA ’10, Alex Lazaris ’04, MBA ’10 and Ian Christian Blanche MFA ’10 tapped into something big when they established the group in 2010. Demand from Trojans across the entertainment industry kept growing, and they eventually turned to USC Alumni Association (USCAA) chief executive Patrick Auerbach EdD ’08 for university backing and sta² support.

Auerbach, associate senior vice presi-dent for alumni relations, was happy to help. ¤ e group became a chartered member of the USCAA in 2014 and already has nearly 2,000 members.

TEN is selective. Applicants must

work in the industry and hold a degree from USC. Undergraduate alumni must wait two years after graduation to apply, though graduate alumni can apply imme-diately, says Erin Mascho, USCAA’s liaison with the group. ¤ ey must go through a screening that involves veri³ cation of degree status and employment. Basic membership is free, but paid levels (Indie $100, Studio $250) come with perks, such as invitations to exclusive events.

Career development is a huge draw. While the USC Career Center organizes job fairs and networking events for entry-level alumni, TEN is about “providing more sophisticated programming content and a forum for mid-career professionals to network,” Auerbach says.

¤ e alumni network concept opens up a new frontier, according to Auerbach, and USCAA President Amy Ross PhD ’86 agrees. “We realize the old ways of looking at alumni engagement don’t always work anymore,” she says. “It’s more than going to a football game or going to your class reunion. It’s about, How can you stay en-gaged? How can the university be relevant?”

Inspired by TEN’s success, three new Trojan networks are in development and will target real estate, education and veter-ans. (Although not an industry, veterans are well suited for an alumni network because there is a strong shared identity, and alumni come from all disciplines).

Networks won’t replace school-based groups or other alumni clubs. ¤ ey’ll add to them. Ultimately, alumni relations aims for inclusion. “We want to encourage in-volvement with the university,” Auerbach says. “We want to build volunteerism, and we also want to build philanthropy back to USC.” P

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For more information or to apply for TEN membership, visit alumni.usc.edu/ten.

BELOW: TEN leaders,

from left: Heather

Moos ’97, Ian Christian

Blanche MFA ’10, Jim

Kelly MFA ’10, Alex

Lazaris ’04, MBA ’10,

Jennifer Sullivan ’01,

Norman Hopson EML ’11


Life and Times of a Litigator

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Longtime LA attorney remains a “perpetual cheerleader” for USC.

Despite what you might see on TV courtroom dramas, being a good litigator is not about being aggressive, fl ashy or devious. “To make it work, you must build a story around your facts,” says Wilma Williams Pinder ’62, with the conviction of a seasoned lawyer. For 30 years, Pinder repre-sented the city of Los Angeles and rose to the position of as-sistant city attorney before she retired in 2008. She knows the courtroom well. She also knows about the importance of hard work and persistence, both in the legal world and beyond it. The older of two sisters, Pinder was only 3 years old when her family moved from Shreveport, Louisiana, to LA in search of better opportunities. She’s thankful for her parents’ can-do spirit. “They raised us to be decent, caring people and

to have no expectations of any-one except ourselves,” she says. Pinder’s mother, a Realtor and the family’s main breadwinner, used to tell her, “You’re going to college, and I am going to pay for it.” And she did. A graduate of Dorsey High School, Pinder attended what was then called Pepperdine College (at that time, located a few miles south of USC in South LA), then transferred to USC her junior year. In an undergraduate psychology class, she met the young man who would become her husband: Frank E. Pinder III ’63. “He was just a kid, like I was,” she recalls. “But we shared the same values, and he ended up being such a joy.” Besides common values, they shared a curiosity and caring about people. Wilma Pinder went on to earn a mas-ter’s degree in psychology at

Howard University, where Frank earned his medical degree, later specializing in psychiatry. (Currently semi-retired, he still works part time as an assistant clinical professor for the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center’s Psychiatric Inpatient Service.) After stints teaching psychology in the 1970s, Wilma Pinder studied law at UCLA and then joined the city of Los Ange-les’ legal team. Known during her career for being a consummate attorney with an unrelenting style, Pinder brings that same passion to volunteering. A self-described “perpetual cheerleader for USC,” she helped organize her class’s 50th reunion as well as the USC Women’s Conference in 2012. She also serves on the board of the Half Century Trojans alumni group. “You can come home again,” she says.

Besides organizing events and activities, Pinder enjoys being swept up in the spirit of the university. “It’s an anchor in LA,” she says, leaning back in an armchair in the President’s Lounge at Widney Alumni House. “And it has made an imprint on the world, because there are so many international students here.” It’s not surprising that she mentions USC’s international fl avor. The Pinders have trav-eled far and wide throughout America, Africa, Europe and Asia, taking their Trojan spirit with them. A picture that she recently found in her home in the Mid-Wilshire area shows her and Frank in 1987, posing in front of the Great Wall of China. All smiles, they’re both raising two fi ngers to the sky: V for Victory.

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


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Healing Unseen Wounds

V O L U N T E E R P R O F I L E P R I S C I L L A P A R T R I D G E D E G A R C I A ’6 3, M S ’6 7, E D D ’7 2

A clinical psychologist helps PTSD patients fi nd a path forward.

In honor of her work in the community, Priscilla Partridge de Garcia ’63, MS ’67, EdD ’72 lit the Olympic torch in Santa Barbara, California, as part of its journey to the 1996 Atlanta Games. Accompanied by police offi cers, she high-fi ved cheering bystanders as she ran along the designated route. It wasn’t until later that she learned some observers were less supportive. “I’d received 17 death threats,” she says. “Turns out, the runner who lights the torch is always a target.” She subsequently discovered that “beyond the police that I knew of running beside me, there were also CIA members all around and snipers covering me from the trees.” She might not have known about the threat to her life, but she does understand the impact of fear. Her life’s mission is to help people who’ve grappled with violence and loss. A clinical psychologist in private practice, Partridge de Garcia works with clients suff ering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She also studies mind-body connections in the aging brain, dementia and Al-zheimer’s disease. Through her one-on-one work with patients in Camarillo, California, she helps heal unseen wounds that lie deep in the psyche, helping her patients move past trauma. She entered the fi eld in 1975 as a young psychologist at Oxnard College’s Re-Entry Program. She transitioned people experiencing PTSD into college courses, then careers. The students Partridge de Gar-cia encountered ran the gamut from domestic abuse victims to Vietnam War veterans. “I realized they had a lot of blocks from the past,” she recalls. “The goal was to help remove disabling patterns. Sometimes talk therapy alone just doesn’t do that. For someone to really get well, working on all levels—emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual—has to come into play.” Beyond traditional therapy, Partridge de Garcia’s uses eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, hypnotherapy,

neuro-linguistic programming, biofeedback and a brain-training machine akin to a video game. She emphasizes the power of the mind. “We’re fragile, but able to overcome our past,” Partridge de Garcia says. “There’s always that little light, hope or person in the background letting us know we’re going to be OK.” She encouraged Oxnard Col-lege to expand the program by establishing a Re-Entry Center, where she worked until 2002. Grateful clients have kept in touch. “Each Christmas, I get phone calls from veterans I’ve worked with, thanking me be-

cause they can sleep at night,” she says. “Or Re-Entry Program participants who’ve turned their lives around and become law-yers, doctors, social workers.” As a devoted Trojan with three degrees, she’s also stayed close to her alma mater. She proudly rattles off , “I’m a Helen of Troy, on the board for the Half Century Trojans and 50th Reunion Committee, member of Town & Gown, donor for USC Rossier School of Education, holder of Cardinal & Gold season tickets.” She and her husband, Pedro Garcia EdD ’83, a profes-sor of clinical education at USC

Rossier, haven’t missed a home football game since 1977. Much like the day she carried the Olympic torch, Partridge de Garcia knows fi rsthand that moving ahead in life often re-quires support from others. Her Trojan network helps, and so do her guiding words: “Keep your mind on your life’s purpose, be with other people, stay present and in control of what you can learn and build.”

B E K A H W R I G H T

“We’re fragile,

but able to

overcome

our past.”

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TROJANS IN

THE SPOTLIGHT

At the 5th annual Tommy Awards held in June, Trojans were honored for their creative, philan-thropic and business contributions to New York.

#1 SING ALONG

Alumni from USC a cappella groups SoCal VoCals, Reverse Osmosis and the Trojan Men perform a number for the New York Trojan Family. The USC Alumni Club of New York includes members from New York City, Long Island, the lower part of the state of New York, southern Connecti-cut and northern New Jersey.

#2 LET’S ROCK

Carrie St. Louis ’12, who plays the lead role of Sherrie in Rock of Ages on Broadway, takes the stage. The vocal arts major from the USC Thornton School of Music made her Broadway debut in the musical, which tells the story of two young artists trying to make it big in the 1980s LA music scene.

#3 WRITING

THE BOOK

Tommy Awards performer Marja Harmon ’05, a cast member in The Book of Mormon, gradu-ated from the USC School of Dramatic Arts. Thanks to New York-area alumni, the Tommy Awards event has raised about $150,000 in scholarships for USC students from the region.

Check out photos from recent USC alumni events at ickr.com/usc_alumni.

One Big “Appy” Family Whether they’re in Los Angeles or London, Beijing or Boston, Trojans can easily stay connected with each other and their alma mater with the new USC Fight Online app for smartphones. Geo-social connecting is just the beginning. The app offers seamless access to two members-only alumni databases—the FightOn!line web community and the searchable USC Business & Service Directory —as well as a suite of online career services, including the popular connectSC job-listing portal. It off ers fun features too: built-in instant messaging with Trojan emojis and a photo booth with templates for dressing up your selfi es in Trojan gear. Available for the iPhone and iPad (an Android version arrives in 2015), the free USC Fight Online app can only be activated by degreed alumni. “This is a benefi t of being part of a very distinct community,” says Patrick Auerbach, associate senior vice president for alumni relations. The social networking possibilities are up to your imagination. Throwing a USC cooking party? The app lets you invite Trojan foodies in your area. Starting a book club? Use the app to fi nd fellow USC bookworms. About 93,000 Trojans—more than a quarter of USC’s alumni base of 360,000—already have FightOn!line accounts, and the same ID and password will access the mobile app. Within the fi rst year, Auerbach hopes to have 10,000 users on the mobile app and to increase Fight On!line participa-tion by 10 percent. It even comes with bragging rights: It’s the first geo-social alumni mobile app in the Pac-12.


The inaugural Trojan Wine Collection includes three exceptional

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Unique wines crafted exclusively for the Trojan Family.

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vintages — a Stuhlmuller Vineyards Chardonnay, a Luna

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proudly features two USC alumni-managed vineyards.

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f a m i l y c l a s s n o t e s

1 9 5 0 s

Donald Thomas Aikens ’53, MS ’61 (BUS)

was recently appointed a member of the Palm Springs Unified School District Board of Education. He lives in Palm Springs, California.

1 9 6 0 s

Jim S. Gaede MSW ’60 (SSW) retired in May from Fresno State University where he taught and inspired students for 17 years as a part-time undergraduate faculty member with the Department of Social Work Education. Previously, Gaede served as a program manager for 35 years at Kings View Behavioral Health Systems, a private, faith-based mental health nonpro t.

Vivian Von Hagen Thompson ’62 (LAS)

recently donated the charmed memorabilia of her late mother, Vivian Tobin, as the rst Alice in Wonderland to appear on a U.S. stage (1915) to Doheny Memorial Li-brary’s Cassady Lewis Carroll Collection. £ e package includes original performance photographs, program notes, related cor-respondence and dated newspaper reviews that laud the Alice productions in both Chicago and New York. Also in the gift was the actress’s later theater and lm ca-reer record, her most important role having been Dacia in C. B. de Mille’s rst major extravaganza, e Sign of the Cross (1932).

Leslie Ann Geyer ’63, MA ’63, PhD ’77 (LAS) received the Community Impact Award from the State Public A« airs Committee of the Junior Leagues of California for her work on behalf of homeless women. She also was selected as Outstanding Woman of Monterey County by the Commission on the Status of Women for her commu-nity activism.

Nancy Humphreys MSW ’63 (SSW) retired in April as the director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work, which she founded. Previously, she served as president of the National As-sociation of Social Workers, director and

professor at Michigan State University’s School of Social Work, and dean and pro-fessor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work.

1 9 7 0 s

Gene Aguilera Gene Aguilera ’76 (LAS) has written Mexican American Boxing in Los Angeles, part of Arcadia Publishing’s popular “Images of America” series. £ e vintage-pictorial history celebrates the colorful and ± am-boyant world of Mexican-American boxing in Greater Los Angeles from the 1900s to the 1990s. Written from a historical per-spective, it provides snapshots of boxing’s sociological culture, from neighborhood rivalries and Mexican idols to posters and promoters. In the book, Aguilera covers some of the most notable Mexican-Amer-ican ghters, from “Mexican” Joe Rivers to Oscar De La Hoya, telling the stories of their sensational ring wars while keep-ing alive the spirit and legacy of Mexican-American boxing.

Frederick J. Ryan Jr. ’77 (LAS) ’77 (SCJ),

JD ’80 (LAW) was named publisher and chief executive o cer of e Washington Post. Ryan previously served as president and CEO of Allbritton Communications, founding chief executive of Politico and served as chief of sta« under President Ronald Reagan. He was recently appointed to the National Geographic Society board of trustees, joining 20 other leaders in

science, education, law, business, nance, government and public service.

1 9 8 0 s

Renee White Fraser PhD ’81 (LAS) was honored as one of the “50 Influential Women in Los Angeles” by Los Angeles magazine and named one of the “Ten Brightest Women in Advertising” by Adver-tising Age. £ e CEO and founder of Fraser Communications, she has co-hosted “Un- nished Business Tips” on KFWB, a Los Angeles AM radio station, to encourage and inspire entrepreneurship.

Nate Thomas Nate Thomas MFA ’84 (SCA) won an Emmy Award for a national television public service announcement (PSA) campaign he pro-duced and directed for the FBI on intel-lectual property theft. £ omas received the honor at the National Academy of Televi-sion Arts and Sciences 40th Annual Paci c Southwest Emmy Awards gala in Carlsbad, California. £ e award-winning work in-cluded three ads on music piracy, bootleg clothing and stealing trade secrets. £ e project was done through £ omas’ produc-tion company, Nate £ omas & Associates, which specializes in making PSAs. £ omas is a tenured professor of cinema and televi-sion arts and head of the lm production program at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Richard Ollis, MFA

’84 (SCA), a CSUN lecturer, served as

Class notes appear online. Read news about each graduate at tfm.usc.edu/classnotes and send your news for consideration to [email protected].

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director of photography on the ad cam-paign. omas and Ollis both previously received a commendation from former FBI Director Robert Mueller for their FBI PSA work.

1 9 9 0 s

Erika Endrijonas MA ’90, PhD ’96 (LAS)

was named president of Los Angeles Valley College. She was previously executive vice president and accreditation liaison o cer of Oxnard College in Ventura County, California.

2 0 0 0 s

A. Phoenix Delgado ’02, MM ’04, DMA ’13

(MUS) conducted the New Valley Sympho-ny Orchestra in June in the summer pops concert “Mancini Tribute & Composers of Our Time,” featuring the music of Henry Mancini, Erich Bulling and Leonard Bernstein. Mancini’s widow, Ginny, who attended the event, was moved by the touching tribute.

Julie Boardman ’04 (MUS) received the Spirit of Troy Award at the USC Alumni Club of New York’s Fifth Annual Tommy Awards on June 23. Since graduation, Boardman has worked in various aspects of the entertainment industry and is currently co-producer of An American in Paris and Peter and the Starcatcher through her com-pany, Untitled eatricals.

Campbell Coulter ’04 (ARC) was named vice president of Building Performance Lighting for Piper Technologies. Coul-ter’s primary focus will be to lead Piper’s Redwood Systems and Sensity Systems practices, both of which provide advanced low-voltage lighting control capabilities for lower-cost, higher-performing interior and exterior workplaces.

Sahar Fathi ’04 (LAS), a policy analyst for the Seattle O ce of Immigrant and Refu-gee A« airs, was honored as a Rising Star by the nonpro¬ t Women of Color Empowered.

She was named one of the “Smartest People in Seattle Politics” by e Stranger in 2013 and one of “Seattle’s Smartest Global Women” by e Seattle Globalist in 2014.

Clara Yang ’04 (MUS) and Xiao-Dan Zheng

’05 (MUS) released a recording of Grieg and Proko¬ ev for Albany Records in April. Yang is assistant professor of piano at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and cellist Zheng is a tenured mem-ber of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra.

Leslie H. Wind PhD ’03 (SSW), USC School of Social Work clinical associate professor and associate dean of academic programs, received the National Association of Social Workers Lifetime Achievement Award in May. Wind’s career spans more than four decades as a licensed clinician, researcher, advocate, community organizer, activist, author, professor and mentor.

2 0 1 0 s

Ali Atefi MA ’11 (ENG) is a registered patent attorney and partner at Loza & Loza LLP, an intellectual property law ¬ rm based in Southern California. He specializes in patent law, particularly in the process of obtaining patents for valuable inventions in the tech-nical areas of computer software, electrical engineering and biomedical engineering. His clients range from startup ventures to For-tune 500 corporations in all aspects of intel-lectual property counseling and protection.

Kory Reid MM ’11 (MUS) has been appointed assistant music director of the Grammy Award-winning choral ensemble Chanticleer.

Callie SchweitzerCallie Schweitzer ’11

(SCJ) has been named editorial director for audience strategy at Time Inc., where she will work on a variety of digital initiatives

at the corporate level. Schweitzer joined Time Inc. in 2013 as director of digital innovation at Time magazine, where she led the magazine’s website to a record 20

million monthly social referrals. Time’s combined social followings now exceed 20 million, the largest at Time Inc. In her new role, Schweitzer will continue to oversee the social team, editorial technology, con-tent partnerships and newsletters at Time while also working across divisions on digital strategy.

Named as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Media in 2012 and 2013 and Busi-ness Insider’s 30 Most Important Women in Tech Under 30 in 2013, Schweitzer has formerly served as director of marketing and communications at Vox Media and deputy publisher at Talking Points Memo.

Alejandra Cortez ’12 (LAS), a current USC School of Social Work (SSW) student, won her bid for election to the Cypress Park Neighborhood Council in Los An-geles. A lifelong resident of Cypress Park, Cortez is a committed community advo-cate working alongside her neighbors to make positive change.

Kristen Kavanaugh MSW ’12 (SSW) received a “40 Under 40 Award” from San Diego Metro magazine in October. Kavanaugh, a former Marine captain who served ¬ ve years in the military including a combat deployment in Iraq, co-founded the Military Acceptance Project, a social justice nonpro¬ t that promotes acceptance of LGBT service members, veterans and their families.

Samuel Barbara DMA ’13 (MUS) has been appointed director of choral activities and assistant professor of music at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

Paul J. Richardson MSW ’13 (SSW) was promoted to ¬ rst lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. An alcohol and drug abuse preven-tion and treatment clinic program manager stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Rich-ardson serves more than 10,000 active-duty personnel, overseeing substance abuse pre-vention, education and treatments as well as providing outpatient treatment options to active-duty populations in Las Vegas.

John Russell DMA ’13 (MUS) has been appointed conductor of the San Diego Master Chorale.

We welcome updates from our fellow Trojans. Go to tfm.usc.edu/classnotes to submit news for consideration through your school ’s online form or to your school ’s listed contact.



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Armed only with a small canvas backpack, a video camera and an artistic vision honed at USC Roski School of Art and Design, Karen Adelman MFA ’12 fl ew to Colombia to track down bullerengue. A form of music and dance based in cumbia, bullerengue is a sort of call and response—a courtship ritual originally gener-ated by the mingling of black slaves with indigenous women in colonial Colombia. Adelman used her $5,000 Neely Macomber Travel Prize—a competitive award for USC Roski students—to experience bullerengue fi rsthand. She returned to Los Angeles and last year presented her installation, La Bulla y Res-tos, which translates roughly to “the ruckus and remainders.” Videos of life on the Colom-bian coast were projected in endless loops across the USC

MFA Gallery walls, illuminating a gigantic sculpture knitted of mohair that hung in the center of the room. As the video’s soundtrack alternated between Spanish conversation and sing-ing, Adelman’s live outbursts of song bounced off the walls, fi ll-ing the space with the haunting echoes of bullerengue. Adelman has a talent unusual among visual artists: She is a classically trained opera vocal-ist. From a young age, the New York native aspired to sing, from belting on a Broadway stage to crooning in jazz-blues clubs. As a child, she also was fascinated by crafts, particularly sewing, embroidery and knitting. “I end up thinking about those material experiments I was engaging in as a child, working my way through materi-als to their fi nal form,” Adelman says. “Most objects I make exist

in this sculptural place. I also bring my performance work into some kind of integrated reality. I knew my work here would involve music and videos.” During one of Adelman’s live performances, she paced under a spotlight with a large scroll in hand, synchronizing her vibrant singing with the sounds and voices in the videos. She sang in both English and Spanish, pro-ducing the fusion fundamental to bullerengue. “The entire show is like a song,” Adelman says. “It has aspects that repeat, aspects that don’t. But in the end, there’s this sense of a story being told. And a sensory feeling about what happens.” A strong advocate of live performance, Adelman has appeared in several other Los Angeles shows following her Macomber exhibition. She

says her experimentation with integrating music, spoken word and the visual makes her art impossible to ignore. “A way of making meaning is to attend to something very carefully,” she says. “One of the reasons I do these performances is that I can activate attention as one of the faculties we have. When there’s signifi cation, there are feelings produced by it.”

L I L L I A N I N S A L ATA

e Art of Singing

A L U M N I P R O F I L E K A R E N A D E L M A N M F A ’ 1 2

Karen Adelman uses visual art,

video, music and spoken word in

her exhibitions.


It was a call in autumn 2008 from the Los Angeles Times that gave Nate Kaplan MPP ’11 pause. Kaplan was the commu-nication director for then-Los Angeles Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, and the newspaper wanted to know: How would Rosendahl be voting on the November ballot? “I’m hammering through the boring, gray voter guide we’ve all come to know and resent, and I’m thinking this is pretty diffi cult—and I have a background in policy,” Kaplan remembers. A follow-up conversation with Rosendahl put things in perspective. It was the year of Proposition 8, the proposed ban on same-sex marriage—and Rosendahl is openly gay, so the issue was particularly important to him, Kaplan says. “He was convinced he had to vote yes. We kept assuring him, ‘You’ve got to vote no if you support same-sex marriage.’” The experience clicked for Kaplan. “I thought, there has

to be a better way to communi-cate this information,” he says. “Text-heavy voter guides don’t cut it.” Kaplan came up with an idea to create short, nonpar-tisan video clips that could clearly explain ballot measures. Kaplan headed to USC Price School of Public Policy to earn his Master in Public Policy degree while still working with the LA City Council and on his video project. Despite having no background in video produc-tion, directing or screenwriting, he made a trial-run series of black-and-white, low-budget videos. It evolved into what’s now SeePolitical.com. In 2012, an invitation to speak at Otis College of Art and Design proved integral for the fl edgling site. Chip Houghton, co-owner of the Emmy Award-winning animation studio Imaginary Forces, approached Kaplan at the event about partnering on the project. “They’ve been a godsend,” Kaplan says of Imagi-nary Forces. “They’re incredibly

talented at telling a story in 30 seconds to two minutes.” Two minutes was key for SeePoliti-cal—it’s the magic number af-fi xed to voters’ attention spans. SeePolitical had its soft launch before last June’s elec-tion and then refocused on November’s vote. Undergrads from USC Dornsife’s Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics per-form the ballot research. Says Kaplan: “We really benefi ted from their youthful energy and suggestions of how to com-municate information.” Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute, also serves on SeePolitical’s board of directors. For Kaplan, SeePolitical’s agenda is simple: clarity. Kaplan envisions the site as a “platform for all things elec-tion and politics, and to em-power voters with knowledge, helping them make decisions for themselves.” Several powerhouses have joined SeePolitical’s cause, including the League of Women Voters, Yelp and Time Warner

Cable. Talks are in progress with Univision and Telemundo to potentially off er SeePolitical videos for Spanish-speaking voters. “We want to expand to other states, and drill down to local city and county issues as well,” Kaplan says. As SeePolitical gains momentum, Kaplan is asked the inevitable question: Would he consider running for offi ce? After all, the Massachusetts native became the young-est candidate in his district’s history to win a primary when he ran for the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2006. His response is that of a true politician: “I’ll always keep that option on the table, but my dream is for SeePolitical to become a national success and to serve as its executive direc-tor for a very long time.”


Winning Proposition

A L U M N I P R O F I L E N A T E K A P L A N M P P ’ 1 1

USC Price grad uses quirky characters to educate voters on key issues.


B I R T H S

Mindi (Huth) Monty ’93 (OST) and Scott Monty, a daughter, Grace Catherine. She joins brothers William Scott, 10, and Drew Allan, 7.

Brad Eilert ’94 (BUS) and Kristen Eilert, a daughter, Reese Ava. She is the niece to Heidi Eilert Kuss ‘91 (LAS).

Jacob Ullman ’95 (SCJ) and Xandi Ullman, a son, Nolan.

Laura (Giles) Rath ’00, MS ’02 (GRN) and Steve Rath, a daughter, Anna Elizabeth. She joins sister Audrey.

Christopher Cagle ’02 and Jill Cagle, a daughter Keira Nicole. She joins brother Carson William, 2. She is the granddaughter of William Workman ’78 (SPP) and great-granddaughter of George Brokaw ’58 (EDU).

Justin Evans ’03, ’05 (ENG) and Jennifer

Leong Evans ’05 (LAS), JD ’08 (LAW), a daughter, Charis Noelani.

Ashley Cooper ’04, MA ’06 (SCJ) and Michael Cooper ’02 (LAS), twins, a son and daughter, Clark and Norah.

Matthew Souza ’04 (ACC) and Nicole Go-mez Souza, twin daughters, Mia Michele and Ella Nicole. ey are the nieces of Joseph Souza ’07 (ACC), granddaughters of Anthony Souza ’77 (ACC) and Diana del Rio

Souza ’78 (BUS), and grand-nieces of Ana

Marie del Rio ’76 (LAS), MPA ’78 (SPP).

Jessica (Jones) Nelson ’05 (SCJ) and Trevor Nelson, a son, Chase James. He joins brother Lazarus Wood.

Caryn Weghorst MBA ’09 (BUS) and Matt Weghorst, a daughter, June Annabelle. She joins sister Violet Estelle. ey are the nieces of Jason Ginsburg ’96 (DRA).

Marisa J. Lopez-Sevilla MAT ’11 (EDU) and Alfredo Q. Sevilla, a daughter, Veronica So a. She is the niece of Jacobo S. Lopez

’15 (SCA).

M A R R I A G E S

Scott Anderson ’96 (SCJ) and Nova Via.

Annie Faulkner ’11 (SPP) and Brian

Wagner ’12 (LAS).

Michael Directo ’06 (LAS), MBA ’13 (BUS),

MD ’13 (MED) and Shari (Vasquez) Directo

’07 (MED).

Jaime Lee ’06 (LAS), JD ’09 (LAW) and Matt Cheesebro MS ’09 (ENG).

Michael Hu ’11 (SCJ) and Caleigh Douglass

’10, MPH ’12 (MED).


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I N M E M O R I A M

A L U M N I

Harold J. Greene, 55Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene MS ’89, MS ’90,

PhD ’92 (ENG) of Falls Church, Virginia, died in the line of duty in Afghanistan on Aug. 5 at the age of 55.

Greene was the highest-ranking soldier lost in the line of duty since the Vietnam War. He had earned dual master’s degrees in materials science and mechanical engi-neering as well as a doctorate in materials science from USC Viterbi School of En-gineering. In his more than 30 years with the U.S. Army, Greene earned numerous commendations and awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal.

Florian Mansfeld, now a professor emeritus of materials science, served as Greene’s academic adviser at USC. He re-members a warm and approachable student, a bit older than his classmates, but friendly with everyone. Before applying to USC, Greene called Mansfeld and told him that the Army had given him an opportunity to pursue a PhD, but at a di erent school. Greene convinced his superiors to send him to USC’s engineering school instead, where he researched and wrote a dissertation about how the materials used in helicopter ro-tor blades experience corrosion and fatigue when exposed to polluted air.

After leaving USC, Greene’s exper-tise in airframe materials led him to a job helping the Army investigate helicopter crashes. Having developed a strong bond, Greene hired Mansfeld as a consultant, and they worked together to improve the safety of helicopters by researching what causes failures. From there, Greene rose through the ranks of the Army, ultimately earning promotion to two-star general in 2012.

Greene, a devoted family man, was “always very proud of his children,” said Mansfeld. Mansfeld often invited students to his home for holiday dinners, which Greene attended with his wife, Susan Myers, and young son, Matthew. Greene’s daughter, Amelia, was born right around his graduation.

“General Greene served our country with honor and distinction. He served with unparalleled dedication and o ered the highest sacri§ ce, his own life,” said Yannis C. Yortsos, dean of USC Viterbi. “We are hon-ored and proud to count him as our own.”

Bob (Robert) D. Johnstone ’42 (ENG) of Ventura, California; Dec. 20, 2013, at the age of 94.

Max Oppenheimer Jr. PhD ’47 (LAS) of Sun City, Nevada; May 23, at the age of 96.

Walter Mazzone ’48 (PHM) of San Diego, California; Aug. 7, at the age of 96. P

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Shining STARUSC Professor Roberta Diaz Brinton, named Woman of the Year

by Los Angeles magazine for her research in the fight against

Alzheimer’s disease, received a unique accessory in addition to

her honors, courtesy of the fine jewelry artists of Buccellati. At a

private event at the Beverly Hills store, Brinton expressed delight

to Buccellati CEO Alberto Milani over the Soleil Rayon 22-carat

gold bracelet. The design serves as a reminder of her decades-

long involvement of the USC STAR program, a highly successful

science enrichment program at the university.

buccellati.com

P R O M OT I O N S

E V E N T S

O P P O RT U N I T I E S

EAT

Beautiful NeapolisTrattoria Neapolis has a new Chef (Clinton McCann) and menu

focusing on high-quality and distinctive versions of Italian-

American classics, from Tuscan Meatballs to Bolognese to main

courses like Salmon Puttanesca. The gorgeous bar and booth

area is great for business lunches or intimate dinners. The airy

Garden Room replicates alfresco dining and the second floor

Balcony and Wine Room is perfect for holiday events. New Chef,

new menu, same beautiful Neapolis.

trattorianeapolis.com

I N T H E

M I X


With the USC Alumni Association’s

new USC Fight Online app for

the iPhone® and iPad®, degreed

USC alumni can:

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Go to alumni.usc.edu/app to

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Keep the Trojan Family Close at Hand


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Buzz-worthy dining venues with waiting lists for reservations are no big thing in Los Angeles. But back in 2009, one that hit the scene wasn’t located in a trendy foodie neighborhood. It was run out of the North University Park apartment of two USC sophomores, Robert Kronfl i ’11 and Alex Chang ’11. Over the next two years, what started as a casual Thursday night din-ner among friends became an underground phenomenon. It would spur a documentary fi lm and forever change their lives. The illicit supper club was called Paladar, the Cuban term referring to a restaurant run out of a private home. While Kronfl i, a music major, took on the role of restaurateur, Chang, a kinesthesiology major, served up three-course prix fi xe dinners that ranged from Spanish-in-spired cuisine to New American. By the end of Kronfl i’s and Chang’s senior year, the Thursday night dinners had expanded to Tuesday through Saturday with

up to 70 diners per night and a documentary in the works by USC fi lm student Gil Freston ’12. Kronfl i, who was juggling schoolwork and internships, began to consider another ca-reer path. “When Paladar began taking up so much of my time, energy and mental focus, my life just naturally went down that road and I decided to go with it,” Kronfl i remembers. After graduating, Chang headed to Europe to hone his cooking skills. Kronfl i took his own next logical step: He went into business with his brother Daniel ’05, the founder of Bacaro LA restaurant. Now a full-time restaurateur, Kronfl i’s days are anything but predictable. “During the day, I could be doing accounting and fi nancial forecasting, marketing and branding; at night, serving customers or washing dishes.” The pace of the business is a perfect fi t. “We don’t like complacency,” he says. “We’re always looking toward the next

project, how we can keep grow-ing and stay busy.” And busy they are. Beyond expanding Bacaro LA, the Kronfl is and their business partner, Lior Hillel, opened Nature’s Brew, a cafe next door. Demand for their sauces led to the opening of Kronfl i Broth-ers Inc., a retail foods bottling company. In August, the broth-ers and Hillel stepped outside their USC neighborhood comfort zone, opening Bacari PDR in the community of Playa Del Rey. Each new endeavor has met with success in an often-cruel industry. The Kronfl is’ approach? Extreme attention to detail. “My OCD, in this regard, really ensures that every de-tail—from food, service, design and cleanliness—is executed properly,” Kronfl i says. “Obvi-ously, hard work and a strong vision also need to work side by side with eff ective business and marketing strategies.” And many of their staff members are USC students or

alumni, by design. “This invest-ment isn’t only fi nancial but also an emotional one,” he says. “We treat our team members as if they’re part of our extended family. We couldn’t accomplish the goals we‘ve set in place without a hardworking team that shares our passion.” The brothers and Hillel now dream of dramatically growing their restaurants and product line. But in the midst of so many projects, Kronfl i won’t forget his roots as a student at USC. Freston’s documentary, Paladar, which captured the scrappy, experimental underground club that started it all, showed at the Tribeca Film Festival and Down-town Film Festival–Los Angeles in 2013 and is now available on iTunes and Amazon.com.

Watch the Paladar trailer at bit.ly/USCPaladar.


A L U M N I P R O F I L E R O B E R T K R O N F L I ’ 1 1

Serving Up SuccessA restaurateur on the rise started with an underground

supper club run out of a USC student apartment.

Robert Kronfl i, left,

with Lior Hillel and

Daniel Kronfl i



Clarence “Cully” Cullimore AIAE ’49

(ARC) of Bakers eld, California; April 20, at the age of 88.

Janet Catherine Horning Tubelle ’50 (LAS) of Walnut Creek, California; Feb. 15, at the age of 86.

Rudolph “Rudy” E. Fanska ’52 (LAS) of Titusville, Florida; April 4, at the age of 90.

Ned Delmont Osborn ’58, MS ’60 (ENG),

of Torrance, California; June 27, 2013, at the age of 94.

Harold “Hal” Tobin ’62 (BUS), Indio, California; Nov. 9, at the age of 74.

Bud Hollowell ’64, PhD ’70 (EDU) of Lakeland, Florida; May 16, at the age of 71.

James Porter ’66 (ARC) of Los Angeles; July 15, at the age of 72.

Phillip D. Shannon MA ’66 (OST), MPA ’74

(SPP) of McAllen, Texas; June 23, at the age of 77.

Joel Rosenzweig ’70 (DRA) of Richard-son, Texas; Oct. 29, at the age of 66.

Wilson C. Stockey MS ’73 (SPP) of Naper-ville, Illinois; April 28, 2013, at the age of 75.

Mark Nicolay DMA ’89 (MUS), Redlands, California; May 19, at the age of 57.

Evans Alexander Hanson ’00 (LAS) of Houston; Nov. 21, 2013, at the age of 35.

Christopher Mello DMA ’07 (MUS) of San Pedro, California; June 19, at the age of 38.

F A C U L T Y , S T A F F

& F R I E N D S

Peter Daland, 93 Legendary USC men’s swimming head coach Peter Daland passed away on Oct. 20 in ® ousand Oaks, California. One of the most successful and respected col-legiate and international swim coaches in history, Daland spent more than 45 years coaching at the club and college lev-els. Under Daland, the Trojans won nine NCAA team championships from 1958 through 1992. Daland, a six-time Nation-al Coach of the Year, led his swimmers to 93 NCAA and 155 Pac-10 individual and relay titles. USC went undefeated in dual meets in 20 of his seasons. His 1977 team is regarded as the nest collegiate swim team ever.

John Naber ’77, four-time Olympic gold medalist and 10-time NCAA cham-pion, said of his former coach: “® e sport lost a great man, and I lost a dear friend. He brought a wealth of knowledge and understanding on how to get the most out of his teams, and his swimmers repaid him

with great admiration, loyalty and respect.”Daland also coached the U.S. men in

the 1972 Olympics as they won nine gold medals (including seven by Mark Spitz) and the U.S. women’s 1964 Olympics team, which captured six golds. He guided American teams to impressive victories against East Germany and the USSR in 1971 and at the World University Games in 1973.

Daland was inducted into the In-ternational Swimming Hall of Fame, the American Swimming Coaches Associa-tion Hall of Fame and the USC Athletic Hall of Fame. ® e pool at USC’s Uytengsu Aquatics Center bears his name.

Daland is survived by Ingrid, his wife of nearly 50 years; children George, Roger, Peter Jr., Bonnie and Leslie; and eight grandchildren.

In lieu of owers, Daland’s family re-quests that donations be made to the Peter Daland Endowed Head Swimming Coach’s Chair to endow the men’s swimming head coach’s position (c/o Ron Orr, USC Athletic Department, Heritage Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0602).

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Extends a tradition of excellence to outstanding

high school students through unique 4 & 2 week summer courses. Students engage in the university

experience through a combination of lectures, hands-on workshops and labs, guest speakers and academic eld trips to

locations throughout LA!

summer.usc.edu

(213) 740-5679

2015 Summer

Programs

Katrina Edwards, 46A dedicated teacher, mentor and leader in the eld of geomicrobiology, Katrina Edwards passed away in South Pasadena, California, on Oct. 26. e professor of biological sciences and earth sciences at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences made pioneering advances in understanding “intraterrestrials”—mi-crobes living miles below the ocean’s crust and sediment. Edwards’ research illumi-nated the reciprocal interactions between microbes, rocks and minerals in the ocean’s crust and how these interactions in uence global biogeochemical processes.

“In the world of geobiology at USC, it is now hard to imagine anything oc-curring that was not started or improved upon by Katrina Edwards,” said Kenneth Nealson, holder of the Wrigley Chair in Environmental Studies and professor of earth sciences and biological sciences at USC Dornsife.

Edwards received many distinctions throughout her career for her contributions to oceanographic research, including the prestigious Royal Society of Canada’s 2012 A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in Marine Science. She published about 100 research papers, contributed to several microbiology textbooks, and served on the editorial boards for publications includ-ing Environmental Microbiology, Geobiology Journal and Geomicrobiology Journal.

In 2009, with the support of a $29 million grant from the National Science Foundation, Edwards and her USC team partnered with several major research universities and national laboratories to establish the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations, the second NSF

Science and Technology Center headquar-tered at USC.

Edwards earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in geology at e Ohio State University and went on to earn her master’s in geology and a PhD in geomicrobiology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Edwards is survived by her children, Ania, Katya and Nakita Webb; her par-ents, Timothy and Sandra; her siblings, Ben, Melanie and Nina; and many nieces and nephews.

David Weiss of Los Angeles, California; May 24, at the age of 67.

L E G E N D

LAS USC Dornsife College of Letters,

Arts and Sciences

ACC USC Leventhal School of Accounting

ARC USC School of Architecture

BUS USC Marshall School of Business

SCA USC School of Cinematic Arts

SCJ USC Annenberg School for

Communication and Journalism

DNC USC Kaufman School of Dance

DEN Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC

DRA USC School of Dramatic Arts

EDU USC Rossier School of Education

ENG USC Viterbi School of Engineering

ART USC Roski School of Art and Design

GRN USC Davis School of Gerontology

LAW USC Gould School of Law

LIB USC Libraries

MED Keck School of Medicine of USC

MUS USC Thornton School of Music

OST USC Chan Division of Occupational

Science and Occupational Therapy

PHM USC School of Pharmacy

BPT Division of Biokinesiology and

Physical Therapy

SPP USC Price School of Public Policy

SSW USC School of Social Work

Susan Bell, Carrie Banasky, Kristin Borella, Wendy Gragg, Mike McNulty, Maya Meinert, James Morse, Jane Ong, Kristi Patton, Kathleen Rayburn and Mara Simon-Meyer contributed to this section.

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A masonry monkey

thumbs its nose high

above passersby at

the Student Union.

f a m i l y q & a

Dear Readers,As 2014 dwindles down to its last few days, USC students are taking their nal exams and nishing up their nal projects. I remember those days. In fact, I still have dreams in which I suddenly realize I have to take a nal exam for a class I’ve com-pletely forgotten. (Sound familiar?) More than the exams themselves, though, it’s what I learned about life from some of my professors that has stayed with me. I had a few instructors who got me inter-ested in topics I’d never expected to enjoy. OK, Greek mythology was probably an obvious choice for a Trojan, but who knew I’d also like learning about rocks? Yet other teachers in¦ uenced my career choices. Do you have memories about a favorite USC professor or instructor? Drop me a line at [email protected] to share your stories. Now let’s get to your thoughts. In the Spring 2014 issue of USC Trojan Family Magazine, I invited you to submit your favorite spots on campus for studying. Here are some of your responses.

Without a doubt, my favorite study spot was the edge of the old fountain in the center of campus. There, surrounded by roses, with Youth Triumphant towering over me, Doheny Memorial Library at my back, and Bovard in front of me (beyond the meticulously main-tained owerbed with “USC” spelled out in hedges), I felt so much a part of our great and historic alma mater. I could not be anything but studious in that spot. As far as libraries go, the library in Mudd Hall. e church-like silence must come with its mock-cloister architecture. Again, sitting at the “altar” (the table in the apse), or in one of the smaller alcove tables, surrounded by aged leath-er-bound volumes, what else can one do but study intently? (Except maybe drift into long daydreams about the weekend to come.) Mudd Hall closes early though, so my choice for later

study would have to be Doheny’s main reading room. ough it had been closed for retro tting and renovation for one or two of my years at ’SC, Doheny is a stunning gem. ey just don’t build them like that anymore (for example, Leavey Library—functional, but sterile).

JASON MA YNARD ’04

The monkey near the ledge at the Student Union—its legend and the history with the architect and construction crew with Presi-dent von KleinSmid. Easily, that is No. 1 in Trojan Family lore.

LARRY ST EVEN LONDRE ’71, MBA ’74

Dear Larry,Bonus points for any students who could study near this distracting primate! Above

the main entrance on the east side of the Student Union is a stone likeness of USC’s fth president, Rufus B. von KleinSmid. To his right, a monkey gargoyle thumbs its nose in von KleinSmid’s direction. Accord-ing to urban legend, architects placed the monkey there to express their sentiments. Some say the builders were frustrated over nances; others say they were irritated with von KleinSmid’s comments or his desire to locate the main entrance on what is now known as Trousdale Parkway, contrary to their advice. Someone undoubtedly knows the truth, but they’re not talking. ² anks to USC’s First Book of Lists and Urban Legends (Figueroa Press) for refreshing my memory on this one.

Ask TommyQuestions and answers with Tommy Trojan

Send your questions or memories to Ask Tommy at [email protected]. Include your name, degree, class year and a way to contact you. Questions may be edited for space.

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