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Top Stories from USC News
The latest on how USC research, initiatives and people are shaping the future — in health, tech, policy and beyond. Visit the full USC News website.
‘The work is the joy’: Nicole Kidman shares lessons with USC students
The Academy Award-winning actor and Emmy-winning producer visited the USC School of Dramatic Arts to discuss craft and collaboration
Who should have a say in which species are saved? The California condor offers lessons for a global biodiversity treaty
When conservation affects local people, the question of who pays and who has a voice in decisions can make or break species recovery, two USC Dornsife environmental scientists say.
Exactly who’s at risk for stomach cancer?
A Keck Medicine of USC expert explains the risk factors of stomach cancer and what you can control.
USC Viterbi’s Azad Madni awarded 2026 John Fritz Medal
The award, widely regarded as engineering’s highest honor, is often called the “Nobel Prize of Engineering.”
Trojans celebrate USC Stevens School naming
The USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence pairs more than 50 years of computing history with connections across the university.
Global team launches largest-ever study of brain function across 8 mental illnesses
The five-year, NIH-funded project will analyze more than 94,000 brain scans using a shared method, so researchers can compare schizophrenia, depression, autism and five other conditions.
Featured from USC Trojan Family Magazine
![“I encounter a lot of people [in Los Angeles' cultural space] who have some connection to USC — the university tends to create a nice environment for networking within the culture industries,” Linkof says. (USC Photo/Caleb Griffin)](https://today.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/linkof_crop-768x432.jpg)
At the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Ryan Linkof PhD ’11 is expanding ideas about art that he first explored at USC.
USC offers unique opportunities for students to do hands-on, lifesaving research alongside faculty mentors.
USC researchers are creating immersive, high-tech simulations of ocean waves to better understand the benefits of surfing, the devastation of tsunamis and the dynamics of the ocean itself.
From diagnosing disease to accelerating drug development, USC researchers are using artificial intelligence to tackle urgent real-world challenges — while keeping ethics, empathy and human impact at the center of innovation.
Latest ‘Trojan Talks’ Episodes
Episode 9: Beong-Soo Kim talks with Assal Habibi
The president sits down with Assal Habibi, USC associate research professor of psychology and director of the USC Center for Music, Brain and Society, to discuss how music — something deeply woven into society and the human experience — helps shape the brain.
Episode 8: Beong-Soo Kim and Prem Natarajan
The president sits down with Prem Natarajan — executive vice president, head of enterprise AI and chief scientist at Capital One, as well as a USC computer science professor — to discuss how AI is reshaping organizations and what it means for universities and the future of talent.
Episode 7: Beong-Soo Kim with Peter Mancall
President Beong-Soo Kim sits down with Distinguished Professor Peter Mancall, one of the nation’s leading scholars of early North America, to discuss his forthcoming book Contested Continent, the deeper forces that shaped the nation’s founding, and the lasting value of studying history. With USC serving as the only university host of the National Archives’ traveling exhibition of founding-era documents, they explore deep scholarship, public memory, and the role higher education plays in connecting the past to the present.
Experts on Trending Topics
USC Pressroom is the university’s official hub for journalists and public affairs professionals featuring the latest press releases, expert commentary and source alerts on timely issues.
A leading scholar with a record of innovation and collaboration across disciplines, Madigan will join USC Oct. 13 to lead its academic enterprise.
The veteran communications strategist has led University Communications since January with energy and innovation.
A vibrant hub of interdisciplinary collaboration and community connection, the plaza is named in honor of the global airline chaired by USC alumnus Walter Cho MBA ’06.
The Michigan Democrat will join Republican strategist Mike Murphy in leading the bipartisan center, bringing nearly two decades in Congress and a record of working across party lines. (Photo/Michael Bennett Kress)
A $200 million gift from venture capitalist Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary, will build on USC’s strengths by leveraging AI to accelerate breakthroughs in the health sciences, security, business and the arts.
A USC Dornsife-led study found that the Eaton fire’s daily carbon monoxide emissions far exceeded L.A. County’s average daily emissions from all human activity.
Research That Saves Lives
USC is one of the nation’s premier research institutions, where bold ideas and cross-disciplinary collaboration fuel discovery and innovation. Our researchers tackle society’s most urgent challenges, delivering solutions that save lives and improve communities around the world. We are deeply grateful for the trust the American taxpayer has placed in USC’s research enterprise that advances our nation’s global and economic competitiveness.
Happening Now at USC
