USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

09/09/2026

Congratulations, Prof. El-Naggar!

We look forward to seeing you thrive in this new role and to building an even stronger partnership with Carnegie Science.

Biophysicist and microbiologist will lead Carnegie’s Biosphere Sciences and Engineering, maintains appointment and research at USC Dornsife

09/08/2026

Who’s doing work the rest of us should know about?

USC Dornsife’s 10 to Watch recognizes recent graduates making a meaningful impact in their professions, communities, and the world around them.

If someone comes to mind, tell us about them. And if that someone is you, we want to hear from you, too.

Nominate a USC Dornsife alum — or yourself — for the 2027 10 to Watch. All who graduated within the last 10 years are eligible. https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bknyX1h5vWmyPmC

09/03/2026

In 1862, flooding turned California’s Sacramento Valley into a 300-mile inland sea. The Los Angeles River burst its banks, sweeping away much of the city.

Natural evidence of that disaster may offer important clues about the climate risks that lie ahead.

And California is just one place USC Dornsife researchers are looking for answers. From Alaska’s thawing permafrost to Florida’s threatened coral reefs, they’re uncovering how a changing climate is reshaping America.

From California floods and wildfires to thawing Arctic permafrost and dying coral reefs, researchers track a nation under environmental pressure

09/01/2026

How much of the America we know today would its founders recognize, and how much would surprise them?

As the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary, historians Peter Mancall and Nathan Perl-Rosenthal join Dean James Bullock to look beyond familiar founding stories and explore how the nation took shape, including how ideas about freedom, citizenship, and democracy evolved along the way.

Join us Sept. 10 for this free Dornsife Dialogue, open to all.

Register: https://usc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WOnMdfPSQLeFpvHYCbsDYg #/registration

08/25/2026

Congratulations to Prof. Karen Lloyd, whose project has been selected for the U.S. Department of Energy’s GENESIS Mission. It's one of several USC-led efforts receiving support to accelerate AI-driven scientific discovery.

Prof. Lloyd’s team will use AI to better understand how critical minerals become concentrated beneath Earth’s surface, helping strengthen the nation’s supply of materials essential to clean energy and other advanced technologies.

Seven projects involving USC researchers — including three led by USC — were selected for the U.S. Department of Energy initiative to harness artificial intelligence for scientific discovery and innovation.

08/24/2026

Can AI see a city the way people do? Can electricity control magnetism to make computers faster? And what can understudied languages reveal about how human language works?

USC Dornsife scholars pursued questions like these around the world this summer. Swipe to explore some of their work → then discover all 21 featured projects: https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/global-summer-research/

08/19/2026

When it comes to protecting your brain, not all physical activity may be equal.

A USC Dornsife-led study found that leisure-time exercise is associated with a lower risk of dementia, while physical activity on the job is linked with higher risk.

Researchers say the difference may have less to do with movement itself than with the conditions surrounding it — including stress, workplace hazards and limited recovery time.

USC research finds strenuous work may not offer same brain protection as voluntary leisure-time exercise, may increase dementia risk.

08/13/2026

Not everyone gets to witness a total solar eclipse. Even fewer capture the moment in images like these by USC Dornsife professor of physics and astronomy Vahe Peroomian. He shot them from Ibiza, Spain.

Thank you, Prof. Peroomian, for sharing them with us.

All images are copyrighted by Vahé Peroomian (www.vahep.com)

08/12/2026

With tonight’s Powerball jackpot at $1 billion, buying your ticket at a “lucky” store won’t improve your chances. But choosing less-popular numbers could matter if you actually win.

A USC Dornsife mathematics professor explains how you may be able to reduce the odds of having to share the prize.

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08/06/2026

Los Angeles wants more trees and shade, but some of its decades-old rules may be standing in the way.

Research from our Spatial Sciences Institute and Public Exchange found that more flexible tree-spacing standards could create substantially more opportunities to plant trees in shade-deprived neighborhoods.

Citing that research, an LA City Council member is calling for a closer look at those rules. https://patch.com/california/los-angeles/decades-old-la-tree-rules-may-be-blocking-shade-where-its-needed-most.