Is nuclear power the key to a low-carbon future?
Najm Meshkati contributes on a piece on nuclear power’s potential and what is needed to make it a viable option for clean energy transition.
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Financial Times: US port operators turn to automation
Geraldine Knatz was quoted bout how U.S. ports are adopting automation to handle rising import volumes.
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The Guardian: Disaster Training in LA
Costas Synolakis was quoted in a story highlighting the importance of preparation as emergency services struggle to keep up with the increasing number of climate-intensified events.
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Science News: Toxic dangers lurk in LA, even in homes that didn’t burn
Daniel McCurry was interviwed about his research revealing that fire retardants used to suppress wildfires contain harmful chemicals and heavy metals that pose health and environmental risks.
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Newsweek: Reagan Airport Plane Crash: Experts Warn ‘We’re Ignoring the Real Threat’
Najm Meshkati contributed a piece after the recent crash.
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Newsweek: Reagan Airport Plane Crash: Experts Warn ‘We’re Ignoring the Real Threat’
Najm Meshkati was interviewed and said airport runways are the biggest threat to aviation safety. He was also interviewed by the BBC.
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New York Times: Power lines, involved in previous CA fires will be under scrutiny again
Najm Meshkati was quoted saying power lines should be brought underground.
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The Conversation: A national, nonpartisan study of the Los Angeles fires could improve planning for future disasters
Najm Meshkati contributed a piece calling for a independent investigative commission on the LA fires.
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NY Times: For Those Who Don’t Trust Tap
Daniel McCurry pointed out the problem of this trend and discussed tap water’s safety.
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NY Times: 20 Years Ago a Tsunami Killed 230,000 People. We can do better now.
Costas Synolakis contributed a piece on how we can improve technology and communication to avoid casualties in the face of tsunamis.
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ABC7: How would a tsunami impact the Bay Area? Scientists weigh in
Costas Synolakis and Jose Borrero were interviewed
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Washington Post: Mysterious chemical byproduct in U.S. tap water finally identified
Daniel McCurry commented on a new (non-USC) study that identified a compound in the U.S. drinking supply.
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LA Times: Wildfire retardant is laden with toxic metals, USC study finds
Research by Daniel McCurry and his students was featured.
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NPR: Design considerations for building safety
Burcin Becerik-Gerber was interviewed about design considerations for building safety, focusing on the importance of structural integrity, fire prevention, accessibility, and sustainability in modern construction.
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NPR: Study: Some wildfire suppression products contain ‘surprising’ levels of heavy metals
Research by Daniel McCurry’s lab was highlighted
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The Hill: Some wildfire suppressants may be unleashing heavy metals into the environment: Study
Published on November 3rd, 2024Last updated on November 3rd, 2024
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LAist: New study raises questions about heavy metals in fire retardants
Research by Daniel McCurry’s lab was highlighted
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OC Register: Phillips 66 Quietly Explores Redevelopment of LA Refinery
Najm Meshkati was interviewed about the challenges of remediating soil
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Public News Service: CA facilities could turn sewage into tap water, but public acceptance lags
Professor McCurry Daniel McCurry, was interviewed about speed at which Americans will wastewater recycling.
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Wall Street Journal: Landslides Swallowed Up Houses in California
Amy Rechenmacher was interviewed about the challenges of addressing landslide’s impact on a structure.
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Innovate x LA – CEE’s Das Family Competition 2024
Step into the world of creative problem solving with the second annual Das Family Innovate x LA Competition, presented by USC CEE alums Kelly and Santanu Das
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C-Span: Aviation Safety Specialists Testify on Boeing Safety Culture
Safety expert Najm Meshkati was called to testify in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
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Fortune: White House and Gretchen Whitmer to buy a nuclear power plant
Najm Meshkati was interviewed about changing sentiment towards nuclear energy and the importance of plant safety
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The Wall Street Journal: ‘Saving Michelangelo’s Dome’ Review: Looking Up in Rome
A book review of Saving Michelangelo’s Dome: How Three Mathematicians and a Pope Sparked an Architectural Revolution, noted author Wayne Kalayjian is a civil engineer who lectures at USC.
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Corriere Del Serra/The Evening Standard: Smog, the effects of the war in Ukraine
Research by Constantinos Sioutas and colleagues showing how air pollution increased in Milan increased as a result of the war in Ukraine was featured
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Federal Aviation Administration: Review Panel’s Final Report on Organization Designation Authorizations for the Design and Production of Airplanes
Najm Meshkati served on a panel to inform regulatory oversight, safety culture, safety management systems, and human-systems integration related to aviation.
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LAist: Laurel Canyon Continues To Be A Sore Spot When It Rains
CEE Professor Amy Rechenmacher explains why canyons are vulnerable during storms
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CNN Espanol: Hundreds of mudslides affect the Los Angeles area, how are these phenomena created?
CEE Professor Amy Rechenmacher gave an interview about how landslide occur
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Yahoo!: State aims to outlaw common landscaping tactic
Adam Smith was quoted about PFAS or forever chemicals in synthetic turf and the potential harm to human health.
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USA Today: Repairs to the I-10
Bora Gencturk was interviewed by this outlet and local news about the state of the I-10 infrastructure.
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CalMatters: California moves to restrict synthetic turf over health concerns
Professor Smith discussed how synthetic grass contains chemicals that may be harmful.
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The New York Times: Why Didn’t Hawaii Evacuate Sooner During the Fires?
Professor Synolakis penned a second piece on the tragedy in Hawaii.
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The New York Times: A.I. Can’t Build a High-Rise, but It Can Speed Up the Job
David Gerber was quoted about the technology adoption in the construction industry.
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Wall Street Journal: The Fire in Maui and the Lessons of Greece
Costas Synolakis penned a piece that shows the differences in emergency responses which had tragic consequences.
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CalMatters: Don’t call it ‘toilet to tap’
Daniel McCurry weighed in on the safety of drinking treated water
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CNN: This beer is made from recycled shower water
Daniel McCurry discussed the methods for recycling water for drinking
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Wall Street Journal: How AI Might Change the Way We Supply and Consume Energy
Kelly Sanders offered ideas on how AI could applied to energy markets
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The Daily Breeze: Water is the likely culprit in Rolling Hills Estates landslide
Amy Rechenmacher discussed the warning signs of landslides
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NPR: LA is finding a way to capture water from heavy rains and save it for dry weather
Daniel McCurry was interviewed about the current state of water reclamation in the LA area.
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NY Times: Why One Upscale Apartment Building Became at Death Trap
Bora Gencturk contributed to an interactive article focused on the collapse of an apartment complex in Turkey
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NY Times: Backup Power: A Growing Need
Najm Meshkati was quoted about the vulnerability of power girds
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NPR: For Earth Day, Faculty Talk Sustainability Research on “Academic Minute”
Research by Bistra Dilkina, Thomas Petersen and Essam Heggy was featured.
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LA Times: Discovery of antibiotic-resistant superbugs in L.A. wastewater sparks worry
Adam Smith’s research was highlighted in a front-page article
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LAist: Here’s What You Need To Know About That Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Found In LA Wastewater
Research by Adam Smith with featured.
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Vox: Would better regulations and equipment mandates have prevented the Ohio rail disaster?
Najm Meshkati commented on the role of organizational leadership in changing safety cultures.
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Society of Women Engineers: A pioneer in engineering diplomacy coursework
Najm Meshkati and USC Viterbi’s Engineering Diplomacy minor ,which incorporate environmental engineering, and industrial systems engineering, including climate risks, were highlighted.
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The New Yorker: Can 3-D Printing Help Solve the Housing Crisis?
The article indicates that “the idea of 3D printing a building with concrete originated with Behrokh Khoshnevis”
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NY Times: Ukraine’s energy grid, the target of repeated strikes, is like a network of roads
Najm Meshkati was quoted about the impact one part of an energy grid can have on the whole network
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KCRW: Universal AC access? CA’s power grid likely can’t handle it
Kelly Sanders was interviewed regarding the heat wave’s strain on the region–on health and energy resources
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NY Times: Embattled Nuclear Plant Is Cut Off From Main Power Line After Shelling
Najm Meshkati was interviewed about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine.
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NY Times: The Future of California’s Last Nuclear Power Plant
Najm Meshkati was quoted about the future of Diablo Canyon.
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The Conversation: Imperiled Ukrainian nuclear power plant has the world on edge
Najm Meshkati contributed a piece on the potential dangers around a Ukranian nuclear power plant
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Vox: Western drought is pushing the power grid to the brink
Kelly Sanders was interviewed about how drought and heat waves will affect energy production.
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CNBC: What’s in your drinking water?
Daniel McCurry was interviewed about the use of recycled wastewater to meet water demand.
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Marketplace: Gas prices keep falling, but Americans still feel inflation’s bite
Kelly Sanders was interviewed about energy consumption trends
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Spectrum News 1: Newsom: California must boost water recycling, desalination
Daniel McCurry was interviewed about California’s water conservation and supply
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Deadline: Lives Not Grades Wins LA-Area Emmy
A filmed that featured a USC Viterbi class and was made by Daniel Druhora, Yannis Yortsos, Sonny Astani, Burcin Becerik-Gerber, David Gerber, Brad Cracchiola, Adam Smith, Rommel Villa, and Teodora Totoiu, and distributed by PBS was featured.
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LAist: I Drank Recycled Sewage To Get A Taste Of SoCal’s Water Future
Dan McCurry was interviewed about the viability of recycled water.
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LAist: In The Face of New Water Restrictions, What Else Should Be Done?
Daniel McCurry was interviewed about wastewater reclamation to augment water resources
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LA Times: More water restrictions are coming to Southern California
Kelly Sanders offered tips on how people can conserve water
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LA Times: Inglewood’s proposed $1.4-billion fix for SoFi Stadium’s traffic problems
Jim Moore was quoted about the environmental review process.
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Associated Press: EXPLAINER: How dangerous was Russia’s nuclear plant strike
Najm Meshkati contributed a piece about the dangers surrounding nuclear plants during warfare.
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The Conversation: A safety expert explains how warfare and nuclear power are a volatile combination
Najm Meshkati granted an interview on the dangers of nuclear power plants during war.
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Los Angeles Times: The tsunami that battered Santa Cruz highlights the threat facing California’s coast
Patrick Lynett was quoted about the underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga which caused a tsunami to hit the CA coast
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KABC: How safe is LA’s water?
Daniel McCurry, assistant professor in the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was quoted on thresholds for water regulation
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Dot.LA: Make Flying Simple
Najm Meshkati was interviewed about safety issues surrounding pilot-free helicopters
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dot.LA: How 3D Printing Could Help Tackle Homelessness in LA
dot.LA featured Berok Khoshnevis about the potential of 3D printing to tackle homelessness in LA.
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WIRED: The Grid Isn’t Ready for the Renewable Revolution
Wired featured Kelly Sanders’ research on ‘precooling’ to optimize energy usage.
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WIRED: Heat is Baking Cities
George Ban-Weiss spoke to Wired about methods to cool down cities
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Marketplace: Texas’ efforts to fix electrical grid may not be enough to prevent future blackouts
Marketplace quoted Kelly Sanders on Texas’ efforts to fix electrical grid that may not be enough to prevent future blackouts.
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Los Angeles Times: Ways to Save Water During the Drought
Kelly Sanders suggested that people consider their indirect water footprint to when thinking about saving water.
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CalMatters: How California can prepare our communities and homes for heat waves
Research by Kelly Sanders’ and George Ban Weiss’ labs was cited.
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US EPA: Amy Childress named Charter Member to EPA Science Advisory Board
Childress was also appointed to the EPA Drinking Water Committee.
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Los Angeles Daily News: Unlike Florida, California leaves the safety of aging high-rises largely in owners’ hands
Los Angeles Daily News quoted Henry Koffman on California’s strict building requirements compared to Florida.
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The Washington Post: Champlain Towers parking garage flooded often before collapse, residents and ex-worker say
The Washington Post featured Henry Koffman on what caused the recent collapse of a condo building in Florida.
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The New York Times: China Denies Radiation Leak at Reactor But Admits Fuel Rod Damage
The New York Times quoted Najmedin Meshkati of the USC Viterbi School on possible outcomes at a nuclear reactor in China.
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Los Angeles Times: Opinion: Removing Metro fares will make public transit accessible, but it won’t fix bad service
A piece in the LA Times referenced Jim Moore’s research on L.A. Metro’s funding of rail projects.
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ABC7: California Dreaming: Historic Offshore Wind Project Will help Bolster State’s Economy
ABC7 features Kelly Sanders on the Biden Administration’s effort to open the Pacific Coast for its first offshore wind development project.
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CalTech Weekly: New Research Builds on USC Viterbi Study of Tsunami in Palu, Indonesia
A New Study Building on USC Viterbi Research Shows Strike-Slip Faults Can Generate Large Tsunamis
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USC News: L.A. could be powered entirely by renewable energy in 25 years
The effort could achieve dramatic reductions in greenhouse gases without significant disruption to the economy or people’s lifestyles, according to USC research.
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KCET: USC Students Travel to Greece to Develop Real-World Solutions to Refugee Crisis in World Premiere of New Documentary ‘LIVES NOT GRADES’ Presented by KCET
36 Young Innovators fLearn Lessons Beyond the Classroom Going Up Against “The Greatest Humanitarian Crisis Since World War II”
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Spectrum News: USC Engineering Students Help Refugees Abroad and Homeless in Los Angeles
Students in the Innovation in Engineering Design for Global Challenges class were featured for “Torch Tile,” which helps regulate tent temperature for those experiencing homelessness.
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Los Angeles Times: NOAA’s tsunami sensors went down ahead of 10th anniversary of Japan’s Tohoku disaster
Costas Synolakis was interviewed regarding the importance of the United States’ tsunami detection system
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Vox: Why every state is vulnerable to a Texas-style power crisis
Kelly Sanders was quoted on how outdated infrastructure could lead to blackouts for millions of Americans.
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Wired: The Mantis Shrimp Inspires a New Material—Made by Bacteria
New research by Qiming Wang on the use of bacteria to make materials stronger, was featured
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New Atlas: Photosynthetic Printing Material Gets Stronger with Exposure to Light
3D-printing research by Qiming Wang and colleagues which was inspired by “Popeye the Sailor” was featured.
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US News: Working From Home Brings Its Own Health Perils: Survey
Research from CENTIENTS shows the negative physical and mental health impacts of remote work
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NBC : Research Shows Sewers Could Be Key to Identifying, Stopping COVID-19 Outbreaks
Work by Adam Smith and colleagues to identify COVID early through wastewater was highlighted
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Adobe Spark: How Working from Home Changed Us
After March’s stay-at-home orders took effect, USC researchers studied the impact of widespread work from home on well-being and productivity.
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BBC: The Heat Gap Dividing a Major US city
George Ban-Weiss was interviewed about the disparity in LA as to how people experience excessive heat and are vulnerable as a result of this exposure
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KNX: Working from Home Affects Health
New study from USC Viterbi faculty highlighted the negative impacts of working from home
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Los Angeles Daily News: Should Aliso Canyon Remain Open?
Najm Meshkati commented on whether the Aliso Canyon gas facility should remain open.
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KCRW: Triple Digit Heat in LA
Kelly Sanders was interviewed about how heat in Los Angeles disproportionately impacts low-income and minority residents.
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NBC News: How LA’s Sewers Could Be an Early Warning System for Coronavirus Outbreaks
Researchers believe waste water could serve as a warning sign for coronavirus outbreaks.
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KCRW: Scientists turn to LA wastewater to track coronavirus outbreaks
Published on August 5th, 2020Last updated on August 5th, 2020
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DEN@Viterbi: Going the Distance: USC Viterbi Provides Distance Education During COVID-19
What Happens When All Students Become On-Line Students? Look to the Engineers.
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Memo from Dean Yortsos: Facing the COVID-19 Challenge
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Student Advising Resources during COVID-19
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Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates
Please visit sites.usc.edu/coronavirus for updates
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USC NBSE wins major awards at regional conference
Fresh from its historic win last year when they brought home the trophy for National Chapter of The Year, the USC chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, or NSBE, continues to rake awards and solidify its place as one of the best student-run organizations in the nation