USC Iovine and Young Academy students (Photo/Chris Shinn)
USC Iovine and Young Hall Fosters Disruption By Design
USC Iovine and Young Hall brings together students pursuing a combination of design, technology and business.
These students create startups and design apps. They shoot photos and build prototypes. With the new Iovine and Young Hall opening on the University Park Campus Oct. 2, students are buzzing. They’re hard at work in the home of the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation.
The USC Iovine and Young Academy started in 2013 as a training ground for innovative creators, thinkers and leaders. Six years later, with the Iovine and Young Hall opening, students have 40,000 square feet of space for making their ideas come true. Iovine and Young Hall includes studio and workshop classrooms, as well as makerspaces and fabrication labs for metal, wood, plastic, electronics and large-scale 3D printing. Students can use multimedia labs for photo, video, audio capture and editing. An alumni incubator lab and evolving materials library include everything from ceramics to plastics. Even the building itself is a tool for the creative process: Its walls and surfaces invite writing and sketching.
MAKING THEIR MARK
Sustainability Solutions
Ben Stanfield ’19, Landon Brand ’19 and senior Mimi Tran Zambetti launched Project Wren, a Y Combinator-backed startup. It lets users calculate their carbon footprints and offset them by supporting real-world projects such as reforestation programs.
Senior Services
For seniors with limited mobility, staying active can be a challenge. A virtual reality-based startup led by graduate student Max Orozco uses 360-degree video to offer immersive experiences — like surfing — to help seniors feel engaged and stimulated.
Fashion Forward
Macki Alvarez-Mena ’18 designed the Macki x USC Bookstores collection this year. Its USC–themed clothing, decals and accessories are sold through the university’s bookstores.
Fancy Footwork
A team of eight students won a global Adidas competition to design an experiential marketing campaign for the Los Angeles launch of its signature shoe, the Copa. Their project’s interactive digital displays, mini soccer pitch and more were inspired by L.A.’s passionate soccer communities. Adidas flew students to Germany for a five-day celebration at the company’s headquarters.
