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FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF USC DANA AND DAVID DORNSIFE COLLEGE OF LETTERS, ARTS AND SCIENCES

SPRING / SUMMER 2013 MAGAZINE

The Creativity Issue IMAGINATIONFREE YOUR Experience the originality and flair of USC Dornsife’s masters of ingenuity. 2 CONTRIBUTOR REID LIDOW ’14 International Relations and Political Science Major

“While we were in Russia, we first learned this quote: ‘Don’t dig a hole for others to fall into,’ ” said Reid Lidow at the March 9, 2013, celebration launching USC Dornsife’s $750 million fundraising initiative. “This program dropped us right into the middle of this hole and asked us to begin to think about how we stop the digging,” Lidow continued. While participating in the Problems Without Passports program, Lidow described how he and 17 other students traveled to Finland, Russia and Sweden to meet with diplomatic, energy and environmental experts. Led by professors Steven Lamy and Robert English, they explored not only how long the Earth’s Arctic ice can be sustained, but also how governance and the forging of transnational partnerships can endure after the ice disappears. Celebrants also heard presentations by two other students: sociology major Jasmine Torres ’14, whose goal is to be an advocate for foster youth, and neuroscience doctoral student Glenn Fox, who uses functional brain imaging to research the emotion of gratitude. Together with Lidow, they demonstrated how USC Dornsife is prepar- ing its students to be the next generation of leaders who will make critical ad- vances in the areas of sus- tainability, human health and our communities.

PHOTO BY STEVE COHN PAINTINGS BY BRITTANY LALA ------This spring, when we sponsored an “I am In her first-place essay describinghow What each these of entries reinforced for buildWe academic enterprises that While the dreams our of students and fac No Bounds No major penned a A physics a painting. major created relations An international a song. major wrote science and health An environmental short story. USC Dornsife” contest, which for we invited students use to their creativity define to how they embody the spirit and mission USC of Dornsife,the submissions were fascinating. In addition paintings, to short stories and a song, we received essays, poems and videos from students across the College. her undergraduate experience has led her thisto pinnacle moment, Rebecca Braun, an international relations major and French minor, writes, “USC Dornsife has helped make unlimited, me unable be to bound by national frontiers, stereotypes academic or assumptions.” Second-place winner Brittany Lala, a neuroscience and biological sciences createddouble major, two paintings one — a humanof mother swaddling her child and the other a chimpanzee of mother hugging her baby reflect — to the innatebiological connection among all species. Sociology ma Johnjor Ingram placed thirdhis for poem “Composingcollectiona USC,” three of works written form to U-S-C in large letters. isme the critical USC role Dornsife plays as an engine discovery. for There are quite sim limitsply no what to we can create. transform we how think about and conduct research. imagine We new worlds where characters explore the depths our of human push the boundaries We ity. our of fields by combining disparate disciplines such as his tory and accounting. investigate We how formto organizations that can do the most good the for greatest number individuals. of ulty members are each unique, there is one common be thread. realized, To these vi sions require financialTo ensure resources. that discovery does have not wait, to I invite you join to USC Dornsife’s million $750 fundraisinginitiative as part The Campaignof for University the of SouthernCalifornia, themost ambitious fundraising Together,effort with in USC’s yourhistory. support, we can create a future that knows bounds. no Steve Kay Dean of USC Dornsife Anna Chair H. Dean’s Bing

or USC Dornsife Magazine, • Ted Budge, • Ted Chief Financial Officer & Senior • Dani Byrd, Vice Dean for Institutional Affairs • • Kathleen Speer, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty & • Robert Beyer D. • Gregory Brakovich • Susan Casden • • Glenn A. “Suri” Sonnenberg • Kumarakulasingam • Rosemary Tomich Dean • Yossie Hollander • Janice Bryant Howroyd • Suzanne Nora • Stephen G. Johnson • Samuel King • David Lee Y. • Mitchell • Andrew Littlefair • Robert Osher • Gerald Papazian • Lawrence • Kelly Porter • Michael Reilly • Harry Robinson • Alicia Citigroup Center 8206, 41st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90089-8206 USC DORNSIFE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE DORNSIFE USC Published twice a year by the USC Dornsife Office of Communication at the University of Southern California. © 2013 USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. The diverse opinions expressed in USC Dornsife Magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the editors, USC Dornsife administration or USC. USC Dornsife Magazine welcomes comments from its readers. Send letters to [email protected] • Steven Lamy, Vice Dean for Academic Programs • Donal Manahan, Vice Dean for Students • George Sanchez, Vice Dean for College Diversity & Initiatives Strategic Dean Associate Research COUNCILORS OF BOARD DORNSIFE USC Jana Waring Greer, Chair • Joan Abrahamson • William Barkett • Leslie Berger Richard Cook • Diane Dixon • Richard S. Flores • Shane Foley • Lisa Goldman Johnson Lew Piro Smotherman Suriyakumar Charles McKenna, Vice Dean for Natural Sciences • Peter C. Mancall, Vice Dean for the Humanities • Wendy Wood, Sciences Social for Dean Vice USC DORNSIFE ADMINISTRATION DORNSIFE USC Steve Kay, COORDINATOR Franklin Letitia WRITER CONTRIBUTING Robert Perkins Laura Paisley WRITER STAFF Susan Bell SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST COMMUNICATIONS SENIOR Michelle Salzman WEB EDITOR AND WRITER GRAPHIC DESIGNER GRAPHIC Letty Avila PRODUCER VIDEO SENIOR Mira Zimet PamelaJ. Johnson PRODUCTION OF DIRECTOR Dan Knapp EXECUTIVE DIRECTOREXECUTIVE Emily Cavalcanti EDITOR SENIOR SPRING / SUMMER 2013 2 From the Dean Contents 4 What Life happened Line to the end of the world?; Professor honored at White House; USC Dornsife kicks off fundraising initiative

5 SOCIAL DORNSIFE Follow USC Dornsife Dean Steve Kay on Twitter

6 FROM THE HEART OF USC USC Dornsife graduate debunks theory about L.A.; New center for economic and social research launched; Dinosaurs take flight

7 Curriculum 8 Archive 10 Profile 13 Lexicon 16 In the Field 18 THE CREATIVITY ISSUE Our World 50 DORNSIFE FAMILY Thirteen faculty honored as AAAS 20 fellows; Alumnus receives top Castle in the Clouds science award; New USC Dornsife In a stratospheric leap for neuroscience, researchers at the Brain and Creativity Institute are limited only advancement leader by their imaginations. By Pamela J. Johnson 50 Legacy 28 Crood Awakening 51 Faculty News In The Croods, the new box-office hit from DreamWorks Animation, Kirk DeMicco ’91 has created an 52 endearingly dysfunctional prehistoric family who must learn to evolve … or die. By Susan Bell Faculty Canon 54 32 Alumni News 58 FindingHire USC DornsifePurpose a destination for entrepreneurial thinking, these newest faculty members are Alumni Canon heading in exciting and novel directions. By Pamela J. Johnson 62 Remembering 64 IN MY OPINION 42 Big City Ways WritingThe fiction givesDark Deborah Harknessof licenseHarkness to explore where her inner historian would not dare to PHOTO BY JOHN LIVZEY JOHN BY PHOTO tread. By Michelle Salzman ON THE COVER USC Dornsife students, faculty 46 and alumni are always thinking out of the box. InPositive a university-wide effort, Change USC Dornsife undergraduates teach civic engagement and entrepreneurship to Illustration by John Hersey elementary schoolchildren — who learn that every penny counts. By Laura Paisley Life Line NEWS AND EVENTS NOVEMBER NSF ILLUSTRATION BY CANDY HWANG; SCHINDLER’S LIST PHOTO BY DAVID JAMES AND COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND AMBLIN ENTERTAINMENT; AND AMBLIN PHOTO BY JEFF MCEVOY, FRANKEN PICTURES U.S. SENATE OF UNIVERSAL PHOTOGRAPHER PHOTO BY DAVID LIST BY AND COURTESY HWANG; CANDY JAMES SCHINDLER’S ILLUSTRATION NSF 11.9.12–11.10.12

12.5.12

USC Dornsife alumni cheer the Trojans to victory over the Arizona DECEMBER 12.21.12 State Sun Devils during ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND. “The so-called ‘end of the calendar’ is only the end of a particular count in a particular calendar — known as the ‘long- Doctoral student CANDY HWANG wins two top National Science count calendar.’ ” G. ALEXANDER MOORE, professor of Foundation awards for a video that 1.22.13 anthropology, notes the prediction of dissects the chemistry behind the nitrogenase enzyme that produces A panel of experts, including the world’s demise on Dec. 21, 2012, was JANUARY based on a misunderstanding of the ammonia from nitrogen in the Professor of Chemistry STEPHEN Maya calendar. atmosphere. BRADFORTH, discuss with alumni and supporters what solar energy means for USC, the community and individuals.

2.1.13 2.12.13 President Barack Obama presents As the keynote speakers for the SOLOMON GOLOMB, University HERBERT G. KLEIN LECTURE ON and Distinguished Professor of Elec- FEBRUARY CIVIC AND COMMUNITY LEADER- trical Engineering and Mathematics, SHIP, USC Trustee David Dornsife with the National Medal of Science and his wife, Dana, discuss their during a White House ceremony. work to provide clean drinking water access in Africa.

3.1.13 3.5.13

3.9.13 3.12.13 Professors DAVID HUTCHINS and DOUGLAS CAPONE lead a workshop MARCH M. HASHEM PESARAN, professor “To dream widely, to use focusing on ocean health and human dimensions in a changing climate. of economics, speaks to alumni resources at hand wisely, to and supporters in New York City about market factors that have make those dreams a reality, impacted recent bubbles and that’s what USC Dornsife is crashes, and how one might profit all about.” A 20th-anniversary edition of from these fluctuations. DEAN STEVE KAY helps kick off USC Trustee Steven Spielberg’s USC Dornsife’s $750 million fun- acclaimed film Schindler’s List is draising initiative as part of THE released. His experience making CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY the film inspired Spielberg to

OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. APRIL establish what is now the USC SHOAH FOUNDATION — THE 4.3.13 INSTITUTE FOR VISUAL HISTORY 4.17.13 Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) delivers AND EDUCATION. Diana H. Wall of Colorado State Uni- the CARMEN AND LOUIS WARSCHAW versity receives the 2013 DISTINGUISHED LECTURE for USC TYLER PRIZE Dornsife’s Casden Institute for the Study FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT, of the Jewish Role in American Life. administered through USC Dornsife.

4 SOCIAL DORNSIFE

Twitter @DeanSteveKay Facebook

This spring, students, alumni and faculty shared how they have made a difference in the areas of health, sustainabil- ity and the community as a result of their experiences at USC Dornsife. (View all of the responses at storify.com/ uscdornsife/health-sustain- ability-community.)

I have used my training and passion for health by teaching health workshops in L.A.-area high schools, as well as working with communities in Honduras to build a clean water system and provide information about nutrition. —Mansi Shah ’11

Thanks to Dornsife’s Student Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF), I had the ability to independently research undocumented immigration in Arizona and Mexico over the summer in order to write a book of short stories on the subject. —Eric Weintraub ’13

USC Dornsife has taught me the skills necessary to combat #KOOLSCIENCE global health issues by enabling This spring, USC Dornsife Dean Steve Kay joined Twitter with the handle @DeanSteveKay. Followers can find out more about what the me to think critically, globally, by dean is up to, along with campus events and news. Using the #koolscience hashtag, Kay will also be sharing media interviews about his connecting me with some of the best research professors in the own work on genes and circadian rhythms as well as interesting research by other experts in the sciences. world. —Ting Lye ’13

I was a founding member of the ARC Smart program, in which USC undergraduates teach local 6th grade students Augmented Reality Extras Include: about archaeology using games, technology and hands-on artifact The world of letters, arts and sciences goes sessions (the program is still beyond the pages you’re holding in your MAGNETIC ATTRACTION going strong today!). —Sarah Hawley ’10 hands. We invite you to use your smartphone Experience an fMRI scan or tablet to view inspiring multimedia vicariously through a study content about our community of scholars. participant. CONNECT WITH USC DORNSIFE 1. Check us out on your favorite Page 26 social media sites. We welcome Download the USC Dornsife AR (Augmented Reality) your posts and tweets for pos- App on your smartphone or tablet via your mobile app store. CROOD AWAKENING sible inclusion in the next issue The app is available for Android and iOS (iPhone/iPad). of USC Dornsife Magazine. 2. Listen to the USC Marching Band perform the opening dornsife.usc.edu/facebook Look for the Scan for Extras button throughout the track to the animated feature, Become a fan and get updates magazine to find out which pages have more to discover. The Croods. in your newsfeed. 3. Page 28 dornsife.usc.edu/twitter Open the USC Dornsife AR (Augmented Reality) App, Follow our tweets for the hold your phone 8–12” from the page and enjoy the videos. latest USC Dornsife news. THE DARK OF HARKNESS No mobile device? Watch professor Deborah Hark- dornsife.usc.edu/youtube ness read from her novel during Watch the latest videos from Relax — videos are also at dornsife.usc.edu the USC Dornsife community. a Visions and Voices event. Page 42

Spring / Summer 2013 5 FROM THE HEART OF USC

Numbers

THE USC DORNSIFE/ LOS ANGELES TIMES POLL

The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll is a series of statewide public opinion polls of registered L.A. Has a Heart voters in California designed to Many dismiss the structure of Los Angeles as urban sprawl. But Samuel Krueger, a graduate of USC Dornsife’s survey voter attitudes on a wide GIST master’s program, disproves this notion by showing L.A.’s distinctive heart. range of political, policy, social by Michelle Salzman and cultural issues. Conducted throughout the year, the widely focus on employment centers cited poll helps to inform the public and encourage discourse or commuting patterns, he on key political and policy issues. focused on the location of urban amenities in the L.A. metropolitan area. These urban amenities fell into five categories: entertainment, 51% full-service restaurants, of voters said it is more im- hotels and motels, trendy portant to protect people hangouts, and high culture. from gun violence than “To me, what makes a city protect Americans’ right to special is the culture that’s own guns. maintained in the center of it,” Krueger said. “Each city center is unique and has a unique culture that people 2/3 can recognize, and I used urban amenities as an indi- of young voters ages 18 to 29 said they voted for cator of that cultural center.” Proposition 30, which He then mapped those increases the state sales amenities and used them to tax by a quarter cent and Writer Dorothy Parker once haughtily dis- calculate centrality scores, a method of scoring he developed personal income tax on people earning more than missed Los Angeles as “72 suburbs in search to quantify the density of amenities in clusters throughout $250,000 a year to fund of a city.” But USC Dornsife alumnus Sam- L.A. As a control, Krueger also calculated — and validated — public education, public uel Krueger’s research shows that the City how his methodology applied to Chicago and New York City. safety and other state of Angels actually does have a focal point. “I wanted to analyze those two cities because everyone government programs. Krueger set out to analyze how L.A. fares as a structur- agrees they have really strong centers,” Krueger said. “I ally cohesive city from a scientific point of view for his thesis wanted to show that this works in Chicago and New York in the Geographic Information Science and Technology and then apply it to L.A.” (GIST) master’s program in USC Dornsife. John Wilson, director of the Spatial Sciences Institute in 2-to-1 “On an emotional level, I get tired of people saying that USC Dornsife, was a member of Krueger’s thesis committee. voters supported Califor- L.A. is not a real city, so I wanted to show that it has a center “Samuel’s work demonstrates perfectly the enabling as- nia’s new cap-and-trade just like any other city does,” Krueger said. pect of what we’re trying to do in the GIST program,” said program, which creates His thesis, “Delimiting the Postmodern Urban Center: Wilson, professor of sociology, civil and environmental en- financial incentives to An Analysis of Urban Amenity Clusters in Los Angeles,” gineering, computer science and architecture. “We want encourage companies to produce alternative en- found that, indeed, a strong core center runs from Santa our students to learn the fundamental science and then the ergy and sets limits on the Monica to downtown L.A. The path, which he dubs “The technology, which is the implementation of that science, and amount of pollution they Wilshire/Santa Monica Corridor,” is named for the two apply it to knowledge discovery and synthesis.” can emit into the air. main arteries along which the city’s center is concentrated. Krueger, who now works in the Los Angeles Department Earning his bachelor’s degree in geography in 2003 and of Water and Power’s water geographic information systems master’s in geographic information science in 2012, both group, wasn’t surprised by his findings. from USC Dornsife, Krueger has been captivated by cities “To me, geography is kind of like noting the obvious and 72% as far back as he can remember. writing it down. I think we can all see the center that I of California voters “I’ve always been fascinated with the way cities work — identified.” LIVZEY JOHN BY PHOTO favored comprehensive the spatial and constructed layout,” he said. “They’re made Plus, major cities like New York and Paris have their own changes to the immigra- piece-by-piece by individuals making small decisions one unique definitions of cityhood, Krueger said. tion system including a at a time, but it ends up being this coherent unit with an “The center of Paris isn’t anything like Manhattan or path to citizenship. identifiable structure. That’s really interesting to me.” Tokyo,” he said for example. “I don’t think Los Angeles has For his thesis, Krueger took a new approach to identi- to look like Manhattan to be a real city. We have our own dornsife.usc.edu/poll fying a city’s center. Where many similar types of studies way of doing things.”

6 Curriculum IR 101XG JAMES PHOTO BY PHIL CHANNING; HOBBIT PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES BROS. WARNER OF COURTESY PHOTO HOBBIT CHANNING; PHIL BY PHOTO JAMES

THE INTERNATIONAL Can Gandalf the wizard and of Middle-earth: Learning Journey, then draw connec- Dean’s Professor of Internation- RELATIONS OF MIDDLE-EARTH Frodo Baggins the hobbit really From The Lord of the Rings tions between incidents in the al Relations Patrick James’ new Instructor: Patrick James, explain how balances of power (University of Michigan, 2012) storyline and theory surround- textbook, The International Dean’s Professor of Internation- serve to shift nations from is based on a popular course ing real-world conflicts such as Relations of Middle-earth: al Relations and director, Center cooperation to conflict? of the same name that James World War I and the Iraq War. Learning From The Lord of for International Studies As elf Galadriel said, “It all designed and began teaching in “With our use of characters the Rings, was inspired by began with the forging of the 2007. The textbook is already and storylines in the War of the a popular introductory-level, Great Rings.” slated for use at the University Ring, you can look at the inter- international relations course A new book, coauthored by of Glasgow, Scotland, and Hei- section points so the depth of James developed and began Patrick James analyzes the delberg College, Germany. understanding of the causes of teaching in 2007. causes of war through the In the 101-level course, war is at a maximum,” James prism of characters and power students view The Lord of the said. “It serves as a bridge dynamics from J.R.R. Tolkein’s Rings movies and prequels between things that are often popular trilogy. including the newest release, just hard to compare to each The International Relations The Hobbit: An Unexpected other.” —L.P.

Spring / Summer 2013 7 Archive EARLY MODERN STUDIES

MONSTER OF RAVENNA The Monster of An oft-consulted refer- “The more scientific among Florence, Italy Ravenna was included ence source on sexuality and them sought explanations for 1512 in Fortunio Liceti’s 1616 embryology well into the 19th these apparent aberrations What has two large wings, a book, De Monstrorum century, the book remains a and many simply accepted the horn, an eye set in its knee and Natura, Caussis, et Dif- valuable research tool for the existence of the monstrous — an eagle claw for a foot? ferentiis Libri Duo (On the USC-Huntington Early Modern though they tended to believe ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF USC SPECIAL COLLECTIONS In 1512, word of a deformed Nature, Causes and Dif- Studies Institute (EMSI). that such entities could be mystical being rearing its ferences of Monsters), “Scholars of early modern found in proliferation only be- ugly head quickly circulated which detailed physical Europe often encounter yond the margins of Europe,” throughout Florence, Italy. De- aberrations — both real images and descriptions of said Mancall, Andrew W. Mel- tails of the so-called Monster and imaginary — and monsters, forcing us to ask: lon Professor of the Humani- of Ravenna’s disfigurement attempted to explain the Did those who circulated such ties and professor of history spread and became more gro- causes for the conditions. texts and pictures believe and anthropology. —D.K. tesque with each retelling. Liceti argued that such physi- that these creatures were Modern scientists believe cal abnormalities were real?” said Peter Man- The Monster of Ravenna was that the exaggerated figure examples of nature’s call, EMSI director and considered by many to be an was based on a child born with pliability and that vice dean for the hu- omen of God’s displeasure. an extremely rare autosomal they should be manities in USC Dorn- Even Pope Julius II expressed disorder known as Roberts viewed with wonder sife, who is authoring a concern over the creature he syndrome. instead of horror. book on monsters. believed to be demonic.

8 FROM THE HEART OF USC

Recognition

MAYA PHOTO BY EDWIN ROMÁN, REPRODUCED COURTESY OF PROYECTO ARQUEOLOGICO EL ZOTZ; EARTH PHOTO COURTESY OF NASA/JPL; ROHS AND FULLMAN PHOTOS BY DIETMAR QUISTORF; EPSTEIN PHOTO COURTESY OF USC GOULD USC OF COURTESY PHOTO EPSTEIN QUISTORF; DIETMAR BY PHOTOS FULLMAN AND ROHS NASA/JPL; OF COURTESY PHOTO EARTH ZOTZ; EL ARQUEOLOGICO PROYECTO OF COURTESY REPRODUCED ROMÁN, EDWIN BY MAYA PHOTO Spatial Sciences Institute, hopes that geographic information systems and remote sensing equipment will reveal de- Digging for Knowledge tails of an ancient sacred landscape and that this second ex- USC Dornsife’s very own Indiana Jones, Thomas cavation will shed light on a grand overall plan for art and Garrison, is heading up an international team to architecture at El Zotz. excavate two unique Maya temples in Guatemala. Funding for 2013 comes from The National Geographic REMO ROHS Conservation Trust and the Foundation of Cultural and Sloan Research Fellow Natural Maya Patrimony in conjunction with the U.S. De- Rohs, assistant professor of partment of the Interior. —S.B. biological sciences, chemistry, physics and astronomy, and computer science, has been selected as a research fellow by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The prestigious, two-year, fel- Detecting Life lowship recognizes promising young scientists and their potential to become leaders in Beyond Earth the scientific community. Led by Jan Amend of earth and biological sciences, a team of USC Dornsife researchers will study life in Earth’s subsurface biosphere with a $6 million grant from the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

A team of researchers led by Jan Amend, professor of earth sciences and biological sciences in USC Dornsife, has been selected to join the prestigious NASA Astrobiology Institute, LEE EPSTEIN an organization of competitively selected teams that integrate Guggenheim Fellow Evening falls on the ancient Maya kingdom of El Zotz deep astrobiology research and training programs in concert with Epstein, USC Provost Professor of Law and Political Science, has in the dense undergrowth of the Guatemalan jungle. A dark the national and international science communities. has been awarded a fellowship tide of bats flows out of a large cave as the last rays of the As part of the institute, the team will receive a five-year, by the John Simon Guggenheim setting sun illuminate a dramatic series of giant blood-red $6.7 million grant to investigate micro-organisms that live Memorial Foundation for her masks decorating an ancient temple set atop Diablo Pyra- in Earth’s subsurface biosphere, the habitable area below the scholarship assessing diversity on the federal bench and the mid. Beneath the 40-foot high pyramid lies a burial tomb planet’s surface. effect of gender, race and containing the remains of a Maya king, found with a sacrifi- The team will be making inroads into a relatively new area religion on judging. Recognized cial blade lying where his right hand would have been. of research. for “achievement and excep- Pure Indiana Jones, the archaeological dig at the recently ex- “We don’t know what organisms are living there, how far tional promise,” she is one of 175 cavated Temple of the Night Sun at El Zotz has been headed down the biosphere extends or how active the community is scholars, artists and scientists honored with the mid-career by USC Dornsife anthropologist Thomas Garrison since April that’s down there,” Amend said. “Our research is very ex- Guggenheim Fellowship. 2012. Garrison began working on the El Zotz dig in 2009. ploratory.” Describing El Zotz — one of the smaller Maya kingdoms The team’s research could become a template for collecting — as “an archaeological gem,” Garrison said, “The most im- evidence of life, or past life, on extraterrestrial planetary bod- portant thing that El Zotz has shown us is that size doesn’t ies such as Mars. This meets the mission of NASA’s astrobi- matter. The architecture we are seeing at El Zotz is not only ology program, which seeks to understand how life begins aesthetically beautiful, it’s also incredibly innovative in terms and evolves, if there is life beyond Earth and, if so, how it can of its unprecedented decoration.” be detected. —M.S. The 4-foot tall, vibrantly painted stucco masks that decorate the 1,600-year-old temple depict the different faces of the Sun ALEXANDER FULLMAN God. Archaeologists believe this solar imagery was designed to Marshall Scholar link the deceased ruler of El Zotz with the sun’s power, thus Fullman, a political science venerating his memory as the founder of a royal dynasty. major, has been awarded a Marshall Scholarship, one of the Accompanied by three USC Dornsife archaeology under- most coveted honors an Ameri- graduates, Garrison returned in May 2013 to lead an inter- can undergraduate can receive. national team of 75 in excavating a second temple at the site. Recognized for his outstanding “We are fortunate that when the Maya wanted to expand academic accomplishments, leadership ability and demon- a pyramid, rather than building another one, they simply strated commitment to public built over it, rather like Russian Matryoshka dolls,” Garri- service, Fullman plans to attend son said. “The further we tunnel in, the further back we are the University of Oxford to traveling in time.” earn a master’s in comparative Garrison, who works closely with the USC Dornsife government.

Spring / Summer 2013 9 Profile ERICA BERGER ’09

International relations alumna Erica Berger ’09 was named among Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30” people to watch.

10 FROM THE HEART OF USC

BUILDING A BUZZ a space that felt very safe for benefits of citizen journalism Nothing takes the edge off a Mon- people to share their ideas. and (expertly vetted) user- day morning like learning that Everyone who worked there had generated content from the Going for the Goal Forbes Magazine is celebrating great ideas, but there was no- open Web. Whether it’s helping them to ace an exam or break you as a young media maven. where they could present them At USC Dornsife, Berger into the fashion industry, USC Dornsife students Although Forbes had re- and know they would actually arrived wanting to study the teach local middle schoolers how to accomplish quested alumna Erica Berger’s be heard and evaluated.” sciences. For years, her passion what they set out to do. photograph, she didn’t yet This seemingly simple idea had been marine biology and know the elite magazine had quickly led to prototyping and while at New Trier High School selected her among its “30 launching of products. The first in Winnetka, Ill., she traveled Under 30” people to watch. was an HTML5 Web applica- to California to participate in Forbes describes this excep- tion they called Electionism. It Catalina Island Marine Insti- tional group of twenty-some- pulled in 2012 election content tute’s summer camp. things as “the young disruptors, from Economist.com, the Her future changed as a soph- innovators and entrepreneurs Economist-owned Congres- omore when a friend recom- [who] are impatient to change sional Quarterly and Twitter. mended IR 210, an introductory the world. … [T]hey represent A video component drew in course taught by Dan Lynch, the entrepreneurial, creative content from Storyful. associate professor of interna- and intellectual best of their After two years at The Econo- tional relations. “I loved how generation.” mist, Berger began thinking the class applied frameworks to “I woke up on a Monday morn- about her next move. Job offers international negotiations and ing in December and had all were filtering in from other pub- crises, wars and storytelling. It these congratulatory tweets on lishers, startups, advertising was like a scientific application my phone,” said Berger, a strik- agencies and even a big environ- of history, and I’d never really ingly self-possessed 26-year- mental nonprofit, but nothing thought about it that way. old originally from Chicago. felt quite right. “I fell in love — it felt right “I thought, ‘Wait, really?’ In “I felt like I was trying to mold to me, I could still tailor my Soft-spoken and shy, sixth grader Emily Cervantes plans retrospect, I hadn’t thought myself to the roles that were major toward environmental to be a fashion designer. She practices drawing and visits a the impact I was making in the posted as opposed to finding issues and I could focus my design school in downtown Los Angeles in anticipation of media and journalism world had a company that would build a case studies on environmental the steps she must take to achieve her desired profession. been that recognizable. Achiev- role around what I stood for negotiations.” Emily and her classmates at Saint Vincent School in ing the ‘30 Under 30’ distinction and was good at. So, I waited.” Her coursework with Lynch L.A. are learning how to set themselves up to successfully made my work a reality — One day Storyful CEO and and eventually with Steven achieve their goals. They are participants in Going for the probably most importantly for founder Mark Little, with whom Lamy, now vice dean for aca- Goal, a research-based curriculum that teaches life skills myself.” she had been working for a demic programs, energized her to sixth and seventh graders and is run by USC Dornsife BERGER PHOTO BY ASHLEY N. STEFAN; GOING FOR THE GOAL PHOTO BY MICHELLE SALZMAN MICHELLE BY PHOTO GOAL THE FOR GOING STEFAN; N. ASHLEY BY PHOTO BERGER Berger is director of product few months on the HTML5 Web passion for international rela- students. partnerships at Storyful, application, came to her office tions, strategy and negotiation. The middle schoolers start by identifying one goal they an international video and for a meeting. As Berger was When it comes to what’s next, would like to accomplish during the program’s duration. social media newswire service walking him out, he told her, Berger has big plans. Her roots “They learn how to set goals, break them down into headquartered in Dublin, “I follow you on Twitter. You in international relations are manageable parts and assemble people around them to help Ireland, with offices in Hong tweet a lot about technology never far from her mind. them toward their goals,” said Margaret Gatz, professor Kong and New York City, where and social enterprise and social “Through the lens of media of psychology, gerontology and preventive medicine, and she is based. She used the very good and the future of journal- and journalism, I’d like to start chair of the Department of Psychology in USC Dornsife. qualities called out by Forbes ism. … Are you looking for a job, my own company or project Going for the Goal, which Gatz implemented at USC to land the job. perchance? Tell me what you that combines the power of sto- in 1994, is a tiered mentorship program. USC Dornsife un- Berger was cutting her want to do and let’s do it.” rytelling through professional dergraduates lead Going for the Goal workshops one hour professional teeth at The Finally, inspiration hit. At outlets with some kind of tech/ a week for 10 weeks in local middle schools, including Saint Economist, writing science and Storyful since April 2012, she’s software that helps advance Vincent School and Foshay Learning Center. Undergradu- technology columns and work- been helping big-name clients international negotiation.” ate co-directors of the student organization oversee USC ing on research, when one of the — The New York Times, The Her aim is to find solutions to student recruitment and training, and coordinate program- magazine’s vice president asked Wall Street Journal, Reuters, world problems through story- ming with the middle schools. Graduate students in the her to join his effort to develop ABC News, Bloomberg, BBC, telling and technology. USC Dornsife psychology department coach the under- a media and innovation labora- YouTube, Google, Microsoft “Whether it’s related to busi- graduate students, by observing them in the middle school tory. Berger began by establish- and Amnesty International — ness, international policy or classrooms and providing feedback. ing a “lab room” equipped with feature the most relevant social environmental issues, I want to At the close of the program, the middle school students books, Slinkies, bean bag chairs media and video content. make the world better through must write an essay about what they learned. They also visit and whiteboard walls. Her content gives special a more deeply connected and the USC campus for lunch and a tour to help them visualize “The intention was to create focus to social good and the intelligent society.” —L.P. achieving another goal: attending college. —M.S.

Spring / Summer 2013 11 FROM THE HEART OF USC

Word

IN THE NEWS QUOTABLES

“We face a 21st century biodiversity crisis and the possible loss of our A Formula for Ambition genetic next of kin. Arie Kapteyn was a senior economist and director of RAND Labor and Population. Newly appointed in USC Allowing them to die Dornsife, he has founded a center for economic and social research. by Pamela J. Johnson would be like allowing your extended Although he arrived only in November 2012, Professor of for Financial Decisionmaking and associate director of family to die.” Economics Arie Kapteyn has already founded a new center the Financial Literacy Center, a joint center of RAND, and is rolling up his sleeves to get it off the ground. Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and the Wharton CRAIG STANFORD, professor of biological sciences and The Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) School at the University of Pennsylvania. anthropology, in a Jan. 22 will be staffed with about 25 researchers who will cover a Additionally, he was a professor at the Pardee RAND Inside Higher Ed audio com- wide spectrum of topics. Their early work will likely con- Graduate School and thesis adviser for approximately 25 Ph.D. mentary on the world’s great centrate on health, aging and the modeling of economic students. His research expertise covers microeconomics, pub- apes and their possible extinc- behavior in the United States and throughout the globe. lic finance and econometrics. The RAND Corporation is a tion, which he says could take place within our lifetime. The new center positions USC as the world’s leading nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision- institution for health policy research. making through research and analysis. Kapteyn worked at “The name of the center has been chosen on purpose to the global corporation’s headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif. “Human trafficking be broad,” said Kapteyn, center director. “We don’t want to Kapteyn is a fellow of the Econometric Society, past is an extensive prob- be hampered in our choice of research topics by a narrowly president of the European Society for Population Econom- chosen name. You can pronounce it Caesar if you like.” ics, and corresponding member of the Royal Netherlands lem that many people Kapteyn arrived from the RAND Corporation, where Academy of Arts and Sciences. talk about but they he was a senior economist and director of RAND Labor Before joining RAND, Kapteyn held a chair in economet- actually know very and Population. He was also director of the Roybal Center rics at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, where he was little about it.” dean of the Faculty of Eco- Professor and Chair of Sociol- nomics and Business Ad- ogy and Professor of Gender ministration. He held other Studies RHACEL SALAZAR posts at Tilburg, among PARREÑAS in a Feb. 3 KPCC- them founder and director of FM interview highlighting an CentER, a research institute international conference on and graduate school. human trafficking organized by USC Dornsife. At RAND, he led dozens of research projects analyzing topics such as successful “Exposure to people financial planning to com- with disabilities is ac- paring life satisfaction in the United States and the tually quite important Netherlands. because the more you Kapteyn said ambition become exposed and drew him to USC Dornsife. see people with dis- “I saw ambition at the abilities the more you top down from every level,” start to process them Kapteyn said. “The provost, the executive vice provost, the same as you do the dean, department chairs, other people who don’t faculty members. Everyone have disabilities.” had a sense that this place is LISA AZIZ-ZADEH, assistant really going somewhere and professor of neuroscience in there is an ambition to make the Brain and Creativity In- it work. stitute, in a Jan. 25 Southern “Not only is it what people PHOTO BY SNIDER ROGER California Public Radio interview on findings from a recent say, but it’s how they behave. study that suggests people If they say they are going to who spend more time looking do something, they do it. at people with disabilities are This really is an environ- more likely to engender a better understanding of them. ment in which I can realize my ambitions.”

12 115˚ 120˚ 125˚ 130˚ 135˚ Lexicon EARTH SCIENCES

-5˚

-10˚ PHOTO AND ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF MEGHAN MILLER ARC arcs. a. oceanic arcs consist the context of volcanoes was by which one tectonic plate arc \ärk\ noun \ [From Anglo- of islands or submarine struc- first used by William Lowthian moves under another tec- French arc bow; From Latin ar- tures formed by volcanism. Green in his 1887 book Vestiges tonic plate — is essential to cus bow, arch, arc] 1. an unbro- These volcanic island arcs are of the Molten Globe. understanding the evolution of ken part of the circumference the result of subduction of an Usage: “One of the intrigu- the planet.” of a circle or other curved line oceanic plate beneath another ing features of plate tecton- 2. the apparent path described oceanic plate, and are often ics is that many active and A birds-eye view of an island above and below the horizon by parallel to a deep trench. b. ancient subduction zones have chain making up the Banda arc a celestial body 3. a continuous continental arcs are arcuate- a pronounced arc-shaped in Indonesia. Miller is leading Meghan S. Miller, assistant progression or line of develop- shaped mountain belts that morphology, with their topo- an international research team professor of earth sciences, ment 4. a chain of volcanoes form when an oceanic plate graphic expressions stretching who are studying the tectonic studies earthquakes, tectonic positioned in a curved line. subducts beneath a continen- over hundreds to thousands of history of the Banda arc with processes and plate motions to Volcanic arcs can be either tal plate. kilometers in length. Studying support from a National Science reconstruct the evolution of the oceanic arcs or continental Origin: The term “arc” in subduction — the process Foundation grant. dynamic Earth.

Spring / Summer 2013 13 FROM THE HEART OF USC

Spotlight

Look!The mystery of how dinosaurs Up first beganin to fly the may have finally Sky! been cracked by a USC Dornsife-led team of scientists. by Susan Bell

The mystery of how dinosaurs first began to fly may have worse at flying and gliding than if it had used its front finally been cracked by a USC Dornsife-led team of scien- wings alone.” tists in a groundbreaking study. Instead, Hall and Habib raised a new common sense The pioneering research by Justin T. Hall, Ph.D. student model which keeps the legs directly under the body, con- in integrated and evolutionary biology in USC Dornsife and sistent with all known dinosaurs, birds and the original JOHNNY STRANGE Michael B. Habib, assistant professor in cellular and neural specimen of this animal type. “What is revolutionary is Adventurer biology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, solves the that we combined our knowledge of anatomy with an un- long-standing puzzle of how the crow-sized, four-winged derstanding of the aerodynamics of how animals actually dinosaur used its feathered hind legs to perform complex fly,” Hall said. “When I meet airborne maneuvers, allowing it to hunt prey or dodge ob- Their research shows M. gui would have been highly people from Africa stacles some 130 million years ago. agile, turning twice as fast as a two-winged animal. By who have survived “This study provides a plausible mechanism by which deploying its hind-wings it could exercise deft control over genocide, hearing dinosaurs that otherwise have strongly Velociraptor-like tight turns needed to dodge branches and other obstacles stories from their bodies could take to the air and control themselves while and hunt prey while it glided through prehistoric forests. perspectives makes in flight,” Hall said, referring to the genus of dinosaur fa- “For the first time, we appear to have a solid answer to miliar to many from Jurassic Park. “Obviously crashing is the mystery of dinosaur hind-wings, as well as the func- me passionate about bad for the long-term health of the animal, but until now tion of the tail feather fan,” said Habib, who also teaches making a difference. we had little idea how the earliest flying dinosaurs avoided anatomy to USC Dornsife students. “In the process, we I’d be irresponsible such catastrophes given their rather simple wing structure.” have solved a major problem in the evolution of dinosaur if I didn’t try to raise Hall and Habib’s research overturns previous contro- flight — the problem of control.” awareness.” versial theories on how the small, meat-eating drom- At age 17, Johnny Strange climbed the world’s highest aeosaurid dinosaur Mi- mountain, Mount Everest. The croraptor gui deployed its international relations major, wings — a hotly debated now 21, has reached the high- topic among paleontolo- est summits on each of the gists for nearly a decade. seven continents and visited the North and South Poles — Until Hall and Habib’s STRANGE PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHNNY STRANGE; DINOSAUR ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID KRENTZ DAVID BY ILLUSTRATION DINOSAUR STRANGE; JOHNNY OF COURTESY PHOTO STRANGE and was the youngest person study, the prevalent, albeit to do so. much-disputed, theory During his adventures, maintained that the forest- Strange raises awareness for causes close to his heart by dwelling dinosaur glided displaying signs that read between trees like a bi- “Stop Genocide” and “Cure plane. However, as critics Parkinson’s.” He hopes to pointed out, to do this the inspire middle-school and creature would have had to high-school age youths who follow his expeditions to seek be a contortionist, possess- out more information about ing the ability to hold its these issues. Harnessing the hind legs out at a 90-degree power of media, he sees every angle to its body. photo he appears in as an opportunity for education. “The anatomical prob- “It might plant a seed,” lem with the previous Strange said. “A kid watching model is that essentially the my skydiving video might say, animal was doing the splits that’s cool, but what does and would have nearly had genocide mean?” to dislocate its hips to get its legs into that position,” Hall said. “As anatomy instructors, Mike and I both knew it was physi- cally impossible and would also have made the animal

14 Numbers

CALIFORNIA IMMIGRANT look at the whole picture by using a sediment core taken in the INTEGRATION SCORECARD Gulf of Aden, where winds funnel and deposit sediment from the entire region. She then cross-referenced her findings with In September 2012, USC Dorn- a colleague at Johns Hopkins University, who compiled data sife’s Center for the Study of Im- from ancient soil samples collected throughout eastern Africa. migrant Integration, released its first report identifying which re- “The combination of marine and terrestrial data enable gions in California are generally us to link the environmental record at specific fossil sites open to receiving immigrants, to regional ecological and climate change,” Levin said. to improving their economic Funding for the research was provided by the U.S. National mobility and to enhancing their civic participation. Using a scale Science Foundation HOMINID and from USC. —R.P. of one to five in which five is considered good, the scorecard looks at the four indicators below for successful integration across 10 regions in California Mutant Cells Dig including the East Bay, Fresno, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, in Their Heels San Francisco, San Joaquin and Bipedaling Toward Using state-of-the-art tools, USC Dornsife researchers Santa Clara. The report also have found that some cancer cells continue to repli- offers policies and actions for Truth cate even after treatment. regions seeking better collabo- A study led by Sarah Feakins of earth sciences raises ration with immigrants. questions about the environment in which our ancestors Certain mutated cells keep trying to replicate CURRENT ECONOMIC STATUS took shape and developed bipedalism. their DNA — with disastrous results — even Highest: after medications rob them of the raw mate- Santa Clara What came first: the bipedal human ancestor or the grassland rials to do so, according to new research from 3.8 encroaching on the forest? A new analysis of vegetation change USC Dornsife. Lowest: in the cradle of humanity over the past 12 million years is chal- New imaging techniques allowed scientists to see for the Los Angeles lenging long-held beliefs about the world in which our ances- first time that while chemotherapy drugs shut down the DNA 1.9 tors took shape — and, by extension, the impact it had on them. replication process of most cancer cells, so-called “checkpoint ECONOMIC TRAJECTORY The research combined sediment core studies of the waxy mutants” just keep chugging along, unwinding the DNA and How economic status has molecules from plant leaves with pollen analysis, yielding data creating damaged DNA strands that can result in the kind of improved over time of unprecedented scope and detail on what types of vegetation abnormalities seen in cancer cells. Highest: dominated the landscape surrounding the African Rift Valley, “Older methods suggested that these checkpoint mutants San Joaquin

including present-day Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, where stopped replicating and that the replication machinery sim- 4.0 early hominin fossils trace the history of human evolution. ply fell apart to cause DNA damage,” said Susan Forsburg, Lowest: “It is the combination of molecular and pollen evidence professor of molecular biology in USC Dornsife. “Our new San Francisco1.7 that allows us to say just how long we’ve seen Serengeti- technique suggests that replication processes continue and type open grasslands,” said Sarah Feakins, assistant profes- actively contribute to the damage.” WARMTH OF WELCOME sor of earth sciences and lead author of the study, published Forsburg is the corresponding author on a paper about the Region’s openness to newcomers in Geology in January 2013. discovery that was published online in Molecular and Cellular Highest: San Francisco Feakins worked with USC Dornsife graduate student Biology in October 2012. She collaborated with lead author 4.4 Hannah Liddy and undergraduate Alexa Sieracki; Naomi Sarah Sabatinos, a postdoctoral molecular biology research Lowest: Levin of Johns Hopkins University; Timothy Eglinton associate and Marc Green, a research technician. Fresno of the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule and Ray- “We predict that this is a source of increased cancer risk in 2.0 monde Bonnefille of the Université d’Aix-Marseille. human cells that harbor checkpoint mutations,” Sabatinos said. CIVIC ENGAGEMENT The role that the environment played in the evolution of The next step will be to determine what happens to the small Immigrants’ ability to participate

MUTANT CELLS PHOTO BY SUSAN FORSBURG SUSAN BY PHOTO CELLS MUTANT hominins — the tribe of human and ape ancestors whose fraction of mutant cells that survive this treatment. —R.P. in civic and electoral matters family tree split from the ancestors of chimpanzees and Highest: bonobos about 6 million years ago — has been the subject Santa Clara of a century-long debate. 5.0 While the shift to bipedalism appears to have occurred Lowest: between 6 million and 4 million years ago, Feakins’ study Fresno finds that thick rainforests had already disappeared by that 1.0 point — replaced by grasslands and seasonally dry forests Read the full report at some time before 12 million years ago. csii.usc.edu While earlier studies on vegetation change during this period relied on the analysis of individual sites throughout the Rift Valley — offering narrow snapshots — Feakins took a

Spring / Summer 2013 15 In the Field RELIGION PERFUME MADE VISIBLE Distilled modern perfumes are mostly invisible, their visual appeal limited to the design of bottles and packaging. Although bottled perfumes existed in premodern India, garlands of fresh flowers and expen- sive aromatic pastes made from exotic materials from 43,680 distant lands were highly POTENTIAL PERFUMES valued for their colors and Citing probably the earliest major text on perfumery, which thus their decorative value. is contained in Varāhamihira’s The Great Compendium or “People would smear these Brhatsamhitā, McHugh shows how ingredients for perfume thick pastes on their bodies formulae are placed in a grid from which numerous combina- like a cosmetic so even if tions can be derived, with the possibility of creating a vast you couldn’t get close to a number of different scents. Varāhamihira also provided a wealthy person to smell their complex algorithm to calculate how many perfumes can be costly perfumes, you could created from a given number of ingredients — up to 43,680 see they were wearing them in one case. from a distance,” said James In one formula which takes the form of a pandiagonal McHugh, professor of religion magic square, aromatics are placed in cells of the grid in and author of Sandalwood proportions such that, when combining any four ingredients and Carrion: Smell in Indian in a row (including the diagonals, hence “pandiagonal”), they Religion and Culture (Oxford always produce 18 parts of the desired aromatic mixture. The University Press, 2012). quantities in the grid range from one part to eight parts.

Stealing Others’ Wealth → thief (= kacora/cora) → zedoary (= kacora) ORIGINS “During the premodern RIDDLES, PUNS AND RECIPES period, India was the hub of Later perfumery texts also included sophisticated word the aromatic world,” McHugh puzzles. Some perfume formulae took the form of clever said. Not only did the coun- riddles peppered with often risqué puns. Thus a seemingly try produce many of its own innocent list of ingredients for incense — cloves, fragrant basic ingredients, including shell operculum, zedoary, costus root, spikenard, the sandalwood, saffron, carda- incense named Fracas — has a double meaning and can be mom and guggulu (myrrh), it translated as a moral aphorism: “Decoration is the shame of was also at the crossroads of a respectable woman, stealing others’ wealth is produced the international trade in rare from evil, incense is not right in the doctrine of the Jina, and exotic aromatics. These indeed it is a fracas.” were used to make costly “I suggest that pleasures of perfume were not entirely ol- perfumes, with cloves and factory,” McHugh said, “but also included the clever delights nutmeg from Indonesia and of combinatorics and word games. It seems more than likely camphor from Borneo and that manipulating the clever features of these formulae also Sumatra in southeast Asia, constituted a pastime for the highly educated.” frankincense from Yemen and Oman, myrrh from the Persian Gulf and musk from Tibet, Nepal and China via the Silk Route to the north.

16 FROM THE HEART OF USC

CRUCIAL ROLE Uproar, Moon Juice, “The class isn’t just about food, but the whole community Outrage and Who’s He? that forms and supports that culinary culture,” said Portnoy, Despite their deceptively Chicken Necks and who encourages students to step outside their comfort zones avant-garde names, these and broaden their horizons. “We consider ourselves culinary intriguingly titled fragrances anthropologists.” —S.B. are in fact medieval Indian Chili Queens perfumes, created almost In a course taught by Sarah Portnoy, students learn a thousand years ago at a time when the sense of Spanish via the lens of L.A.’s food truck revolution smell played a crucial role — including a gastronomic tour through the Boyle in daily life and religious Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles. Archives Go Digital ritual. Nearly 52,000 video interviews have been archived During that period in India, the complex and cre- digitally. ative use of aromatics was considered vitally important

CHICKEN NECKS AND CHILI QUEENS PHOTO BY SUSAN BELL; ARCHIVE IMAGES COURTESY OF THE USC SHOAH FOUNDATION — THE INSTITUTE FOR VISUAL HISTORY AND EDUCATION AND HISTORY VISUAL FOR INSTITUTE — THE FOUNDATION SHOAH USC THE OF COURTESY IMAGES ARCHIVE BELL; SUSAN BY PHOTO QUEENS CHILI AND NECKS CHICKEN The USC Shoah Foundation — The Institute for Visual History in enhancing pleasure to achieve an ideal love life. and Education has completed a multiyear, multimillion-dollar And both kings and gods project to digitally preserve the video interviews in its visual were honored by adornment history archive. The archive contains testimony from nearly with costly and exotic per- 52,000 Holocaust survivors and other witnesses. fumes, pastes and garlands in well-defined ritual prac- “The completion of this effort is one of the most signifi- tices believed to encourage cant milestones in our 18-year history,” said USC Shoah an auspicious ambience for Foundation Executive Director Stephen D. Smith. “It helps the granting of political and guarantee that survivors’ voices will be heard, that their faces divine favor. will be seen, and that their memories will endure for genera- “Given the diverse nature of smells and their powerful tions to come.” affective potencies, it is only USC Dornsife Spanish major Daniel Arellano picks morsels The institute recorded the testimonies on 235,005 Betacam natural that people sought of sizzling meat from the delicate bones of a fried chicken SP videotapes between 1994 and 1999. All physical media- to exploit them to please neck and stuffs them into a warm tortilla, garnishing the storage formats experience data rot at some point in time; gods, placate kings and arouse lovers,” explained resulting taco with freshly chopped onion and cilantro and conservative estimates give shelf lives of 50 years for film, 20 McHugh. spicy red salsa. years for videotape, and five years for hard drives before visual His study is the first Clearly savoring the moment, he takes a large bite. content shows signs of age-related damage. In 2008, with to offer a comprehensive Nearby, several of his classmates observe his culinary dar- funding from Oracle and the USC Office of the Provost, the examination of the impor- ing with expressions ranging from anxiety to admiration. A institute began processing the tapes to generate copies in a tance of the concepts and practices related to the short distance away, the rest of the class is eagerly lining up digital format called Motion JPEG 2000, which captures the material world of perfumes outside an unpretentious food truck emblazoned with the picture and sound quality of the master recordings. and aromatic raw materi- words Santa Rita, Jalisco, Pescuesos de Pollo. USC Dornsife’s In addition to generating Motion JPEG 2000 duplicates of als as well as the abstract, Sarah Portnoy, a lecturer in Spanish and Portuguese, has the testimonies for preservation, the institute generated other philosophical notions of smell portrayed in literary brought her students here to sample the chicken neck tacos. copies in commonly used formats such as MPEG, Quick- texts of the period. This was undoubtedly the most unusual — and for some, Time, Flash and Windows Media Player so that more people A knowledge of aromat- the most challenging — recipe students encountered on can access the visual history archive. ics was essential in order their gastronomic tour through the Boyle Heights neighbor- to be ranked among the hood of East Los Angeles as part of Portnoy’s Spanish lan- cultivated, just as today it is considered important in the guage class “The Culture of Food in Hispanic Los Angeles.” upper echelons of society This dynamic, interactive course teaches students to de- to be something of a wine velop their oral and written Spanish language skills in au- connoisseur. “Educated thentic settings by exploring L.A.’s diverse neighborhoods people appear to have been far more interested in and via food trucks, markets, restaurants, street vendors and articulate about smells than community gardens. Students then document and analyze we are,” McHugh com- their experiences and interviews in blogs and short videos mented. “Anyone who was that are written and presented in Spanish and posted online anyone in premodern India at losangelesculinaryculture.wordpress.com. had to have a fairly sophisticated knowledge about the Portnoy expects students to pay close attention to the art of perfumery and how to city’s food trucks and with good reason. In recent years, combine scents in a pleas- L.A.’s burgeoning food truck scene evolved into a phenome- ing and correct manner non that has come to define the city’s gastronomic landscape. that took into account the season and the occasion.” When Portnoy first came up with the idea to teach language through food culture, she knew she had hit on a winning combination. Now in its third semester, her class has proved to be hugely popular.

Spring / Summer 2013 17 Our World

FACULTY AND STUDENTS Kazakhstan FACULTY STUDENTS Los Angeles and El Salvador Uganda

In September 2012, Ph.D. The Silk Road Today student Maureen McCarthy History majors travel to Kazakhstan to research the building of national identity. traveled from Los Angeles to Hoima, Uganda, to begin a year Although it is larger than all of Western Europe, Kazakhstan remained virtually devoted to collecting chimpan- unknown to much of the world for the first 15 years of its newfound inde- zee poop. While that may seem pendence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. That was until like an unusual way to spend British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen decided to exploit that ignorance to create his a year, McCarthy is building a satirical mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America to Make Benefit Glorious specimen collection that will Nation of Kazakhstan. form the foundation for new When the irreverent film research on the endangered hit movie screens in 2006, primates. its success put the for- A doctoral student in the mer Soviet state firm- Thomas Ward of anthropol- Integrative and Evolutionary ly on the map, but at ogy spent the better part of Biology graduate program, what cost to its na- 16 years interviewing more McCarthy hopes to help un- tional identity? than 150 gang members from lock urgent mysteries about Students in the Prob- eight different cliques during how chimpanzees cope with lems Without Passports the course of his fieldwork in their dwindling habitat. She course “The Silk Road To- Los Angeles, California state is tracking genetic patterns day: Focus on Kazakhstan” ex- prisons, Salvadoran prisons within and between the scat- amined the country’s multiethnic and the homes of retired gang tered forest fragments that and multicultural society, which members in El Salvador. these chimps now call home. presents its people and govern- His research culminated in Collecting stool samples ment with significant challenges his recent book, Gangsters and later analyzing their DNA in creating and maintaining a Without Borders: An Ethnog- to match the samples with harmonious balance between a raphy of a Salvadoran Street particular chimps will enable national Kazakhstani identity and Gang (Oxford University McCarthy to determine how ethnic identities. Some of the stu- Press, 2012), which examines chimps migrate through forest dents’ research projects focused on Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, fragments and, more impor- issues such as identity construc- considered one of the world’s tantly, whether they migrate tion, cultural retrieval and the largest gangs. between them at all. political and economic challeng- “The overarching goal of “I’m excited to test hy- es of nation building. this research was to get into potheses that will help us “These projects helped stu- the heads and hearts of these better understand the lives of WARD PHOTO BY EDDIE NORTH-HAGER EDDIE BY PHOTO WARD dents not only to discover a new Salvadoran immigrants, to chimpanzees in fragmented culture, a new landscape, but understand the motives for forests, and to find solutions also in sharpening their critical- their behaviors and to docu- that will aid their conserva- thinking skills and enhancing ment the complexity of their tion,” she said. their abilities to use the same gangster lives,” Ward said. McCarthy’s year in Uganda kind of skills in addressing the “Without an understanding of will be followed by a year at problems and issues they will the context of their behavior, the Max Planck Institute for be facing,” said Azade-Ayse we will not be able to solve Evolutionary Anthropology in Rorlich, professor of history and the problems created by Leipzig, Germany, where she Slavic languages and literatures. street gang members.” will process her samples.

18 FROM THE HEART OF USC

ALUMNI India, Honduras, Mali STUDENTS Brazil FACULTY AND STUDENTS Cuba Michael Morando, a doctoral candidate in the Marine Envi- ronmental Biology program, took a rare research trip to the Contradicting Cuba Amazon River in Brazil to study In a Problems Without Passports course, USC students how nutrients and organisms in find Cuba to be a country of contradictions. the river influence the ocean. Where the milky, brown wa- In a joint effort between USC Dornsife and the USC An- ter of the Amazon plunges into nenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 20 USC the Atlantic Ocean, two very students traveled to Havana, Cuba, to study the island’s po- different ecosystems converge: litical, economic and social conditions. The river’s fresh waters, high in Led by Pamela Starr of USC Dornsife’s School of In- nutrients and organisms, mix ternational Relations, and USC Annenberg professor Ro- with the salty ocean, relatively berto Suro, the course began with two weeks of classroom America Ferrera (far right) traveled to Honduras to listen and learn about the ways women low in marine life. This conver- in the country are working to improve their lives and communities. sessions at USC, where students were given an overview gence, called the Amazon River of the history of Cuba and its relations with the United When she’s not appearing in films or on television, Emmy Award-win- plume, extends off Brazil’s States. The group then traveled to Washington, D.C., ning actress America Ferrera is a passionate social activist. coast for more than 100 miles. where students met with senior government and political Recently, Ferrera, who earned her B.A. in international rela- Morando sailed to the think tank officials. From the nation’s capital, the group tions in 2013, traveled to Honduras with the grassroots advocacy mouth of the Amazon while flew to Miami for meetings with anti-Castro groups and organization ONE, cofounded by U2’s Bono. She listened and gathering samples along the departed for Cuba the following day. learned about the ways women in the country are working to im- research vessel’s course. He While in Cuba, students attended lectures at the Uni- prove their lives and communities. ONE, in turn, inspires people is investigating how different versity of Havana followed by culturally immersive excur-

FERRERA PHOTO BY RYAN PIERS WILLIAMS/ONE; CUBA PHOTO BY KAREN GRACIELA CALDERON GRACIELA KAREN BY PHOTO CUBA WILLIAMS/ONE; PIERS RYAN BY PHOTO FERRERA to take action by relaying these stories. organisms fix nitrogen — a sions throughout the city. Students spoke with officials Some of the women Ferrera met were mothers participating in pro- process that converts nitro- from the National Center for Sexual Education and wit- grams showing them how to provide better nutrition to their children. gen gas into ammonium, a nessing the convergence of capitalism and communism Others Ferrera met with sought to increase economic opportunity for chemical that is playing an im- through a tour of the city’s food markets. women farmers. portant role in the metabolic “I was interested in the ONE campaign because they are about process. leveraging your voice, not your money,” Ferrera said in an interview By studying nitrogen cycling, with CNN. She spoke about seeing firsthand how investing in Morando is learning the dynam- women and girls can change a community. “Giving mothers the ics of the environment, how sus- tools to fortify tortillas with better vitamins made the children’s ceptible it is to change and how development stronger,” she said. “Giving women the tools to farm much potential it has to grow. new crops helped their land — it helped their boys and their girls.” “If you have an idea of what’s Ferrera also teamed with New York Times columnist Nicholas happening with nitrogen,” Kristof to shed light on human trafficking in India as part of the PBS Morando said, “you can use documentary series Half the Sky. In the documentary, Ferrera ac- that to figure out what’s hap- companies Kristof through the gritty red-light districts of Kolkata, pening with carbon and you can allowing the audience to learn about intergenerational prostitution. link that back to problems like Ferrera, who has been active in the Joint Educational Project and climate change.” the Teaching International Relations Program, both housed in USC Dornsife, also partnered with independent organization Save the Children in 2010. She traveled to the village of Diassadeni, Mali, to help the organization raise funds to build a school. On her work in Honduras, Ferrera reflected: “It wasn’t just helping This street art near Callejón de Hamel in Havana is part of the “Wrinkles in Time” project from the photographer and street artist known as JR. The project features images of the women and the girls, it was lifting up their entire community.” elders from the region.

Spring / Summer 2013 19 20 In a stratospheric leap for neuroscience, researchers at the Brain and Creativity Institute are limited only by their imaginations.

By Pamela J. Johnson

What if the components of architecture — walls, windows, NIRVANA OF NEUROSCIENCE ceilings and everything in-between — were used to con- In recent years, neuroscience at all levels has developed struct the human mind? enormously. How might the physical space integrate the mind’s two In particular, the level of the mind concerned with higher perspectives: the logical, analytical, objective left brain and behavior, the higher mind, has been significantly strength- the intuitive, holistic, emotional right brain? ened, Damasio said. “As a result, we have become, for the Enter the 20,000-square-foot, three-story Dornsife first time, able to join the world of investigating human be- Neuroscience Pavilion, which opened November 2012. havior and human mind, which has been traditionally car- It encompasses the Dornsife Neuroimaging Center and ried out through the arts and humanities.” the Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI), with its Joyce J. Arts and sciences speak to one another, he said. Cammilleri Hall. “We built it this way to make people go back and forth Walk in and your eyes follow the stark white diagonal across these worlds,” said Damasio, David Dornsife Chair walls way up to the atrium windows shining down bright in Neuroscience and professor of psychology and neurology, MERGING TWO WORLDS sunlight. Immediately, there’s a feeling of something sig- “and to allow students and young investigators to see quite Features inside the new nificant happening inside. clearly how these worlds naturally interconnect with each Dornsife Neuroscience Pavilion To the left — or south — you will find a world-class other. How the world of, say, theatre or music is not sepa- give researchers the space auditorium designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, the acoustician rate from the world of science. And vice versa.” to investigate the human also responsible for the concert hall portion at Walt Disney Damasio and his wife, University Professor Hanna Dam- mind with the highest qual- Concert Hall and the New World Center, among other top asio, BCI codirector, said calling the building the Brain and ity equipment available, and performance spaces around the globe. Creativity Institute brings to the fore the fact that the brain then walk across the lobby This is where musical performances, theatre, poetry research conducted under its roof is fused with the realm of and catch a concert, poetry readings and lectures take place. arts and creation. recital or lecture in Joyce J. Directly across to the right — or north — are the mod- The Damasios founded the BCI in 2006. The lead gift Cammilleri Hall. ern ways of investigating the human brain in operation: a for the expanded building came from longtime university 3-tesla magnetic resonance scanner and a laboratory of elec- supporters Dana Dornsife and USC Trustee David Dorn- troencephalography (EEG). sife. Both sit on the BCI Board of Directors, which David “So you have these two giant creatures opposite each Dornsife chairs. The Los Angeles-based architectural firm other — the brain scanning devices on one side,” said Uni- Perkins+Will fashioned the new BCI out of space between versity Professor Antonio Damasio, BCI director. “Then on existing structures. the other, you have the traditional way of investigating hu- “Creativity is a very distinctive human ability,” Antonio man mind and behavior that goes all the way back to the Damasio said. “Human beings are creative and that’s one Greeks: an amphitheater where you can hear a human being feature that makes them special. The idea was to have a reciting poetry or playing music or reflecting on the state of building that would manifest very clearly these two strands humankind in a lecture. of inquiry. The one that has to do with science and the tra- “All of these endeavors are possible under one roof.” ditional one that has to do with philosophy or the arts.”

P HOTOS BY JOHN LIVZEY Spring / Summer 2013 21 22 MUSICAL BRAIN the person was imagining in that circumstance and which One new study taking place at the BCI is connected to the video they were watching. arts. It seeks to understand what happens to the brains of This brings scientists closer to knowing where sight, sound young children learning music using the El Sistema method and touch come together or are synthesized in the brain. — sometimes referred to as “passion first, refinement sec- “Some parts of the brain appear to integrate sound and ond.” Developed in Venezuela, the method teaches children touch,” Kaplan said. “And there are other parts that inte- with few resources to overcome adversity by first strength- grate touch and vision. And there may be parts that inte- ening their spirit through music. grate all three. We want to map out these systems.” Led by Antonio and Hanna Damasio, Dana Dornsife They are also looking at where the sources of imagination Chair in Neuroscience and professor of psychology and are in the brain. neurology, and neuroscientist Assal Habibi, herself a clas- “Using the patterns of activity in those parts of the brain, sical pianist, researchers are following children for five we were able to determine what people were imagining, consecutive years from the start of their musical education, which then gives us evidence that this part of the brain is using standard psychological assessments and advanced involved in imagining, the contents of imagination.” brain imaging to track their brain, emotional and social The Zen-like feeling of the new pavilion follows the re- developments. An expert on musical education from the searchers as they walk upstairs. They pass walls where the USC Thornton School of Music, Beatriz Illari completes works of contemporary artists are displayed and dispersed the research team, which includes several graduate students between offices in spaces for interaction or quiet reflection. of music and neuroscience. Most of the offices have open ceilings and glass walls. The The team is collaborating with the Los Angeles Philhar- openness creates a sense of community and promotes col- monic Association and the Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) laboration. on the project that will offer new insights and data about the Always, what strikes you most is the brightness from the role of early music engagement in learning and brain func- windows of the atrium, positioned in the center so that the tion. Study advisers include American cellist and virtuoso light emanates outward like a star. Yo-Yo Ma, a member of the BCI board; the renowned con- “The building is fundamentally designed to support our ductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim; and USC Thornton’s intellectual endeavors,” said Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Midori Gotō, a USC Distinguished Professor and the Jas- assistant professor of education, psychology and neuroscience. cha Heifetz Professor of Strings. “So as you walk into the building, unlike most traditional of- “We should not be studying music without musicians,” fice spaces, you experience a confluence of arts and science.” Antonio Damasio said, “and we treasure the advice we get Immordino-Yang is perfecting her research on human from these giants of music.” experience to an art form. In one recent cross-cultural study, she shed light on how individuals feel and show emotions. CLAIRVOYANT COMPUTERS? On the pavilion’s first floor, Jonas Kaplan, research assistant STILL WATERS professor of psychology, is among the BCI researchers who In extensive studies, Immordino-Yang presented partici- use the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) pants with stories about compassion and inspiration in- scanner to study the human mind. ducing, real-world events — such as the story of Malala In the past, scientists at the BCI have programmed com- Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head puters to predict what a person is seeing, hearing or simply and neck while returning home on a schoolbus. The Tali- touching. They discovered that as you look at an object, your ban wanted to punish Yousafzai for being a girl seeking an brain not only processes what the object looks like, but re- education. As Immordino-Yang’s team related Yousafzai’s members what it feels like to touch. A computer examining story to each participant, the researchers studied the par- UTOPIA activity from the part of the brain processing touch could ticipants’ natural behavior — for instance, were they wav- University Professor Hanna predict the object participants were looking at and holding ing their hands or unexpressive while discussing Yousafzai’s Damasio (top), Jonas Kaplan, — a fluffy sponge, a ball of yarn, a light bulb. miraculous recovery and heroic activism? research assistant professor “We’re now actually moving beyond just looking at stim- Immordino-Yang compared those interviews with the of psychology (center), and uli, hearing and touching things, into the realm of imagina- neurobiological correlates in the same participants. At the University Professor Antonio tion,” Kaplan said. BCI’s fMRI scanner, she recorded their neural activity Damasio (bottom), and all In the experiments, participants inside the scanner watch while they reviewed the same stories. As the participants researchers at the Brain and silent videos, of say, a rooster crowing. reacted to the stories while inside the scanner, they indi- Creativity Institute experi- “They don’t hear anything,” he said. “But when they see cated their range of feeling, from weak to being emotionally ence a confluence of arts and the video they have an imaginative experience. They hear the overwhelmed. science inside the building. sound of crowing in their mind’s ear going along with the She found that the brain activity underlying emotional video.” feelings differed depending on how expressive a person was Or they watch someone playing the piano or a glass shat- in the interview, although everyone in the experiment, ex- tering or coins falling onto the floor — all with no sound. pressive or not, reported feeling strong emotions. By analyzing the patterns that are evoked in the auditory “The people who were weeping and grabbing tissues and parts of the brain, the computer can determine what sound openly expressive did not report that they felt more strongly

Spring / Summer 2013 23 “People learn from their culture how to experience their own emotions; they learn how to conceptualize their feelings.”

than the people who were sitting there calmly deliberating on what the story meant to them and how they felt about it,” Immordino-Yang said. “There were also no differences in the magnitude of the signal in the anterior insula — a brain region that’s important for the experience of emotional states or for feeling. There were no differences in the magnitude of the BOLD (blood oxygen level-dependent) signal there.” However, more expressive people showed a tighter cor- relation between brain activity in the anterior insula and the strength of the feeling they reported. In other words, individuals’ behavior predicted the way in which their anterior insula supported feelings, even though more expressive people did not report feeling more strongly and did not show bigger neural responses. When participants said they felt strongly and were also emotional, those two events were moving together to create a more tightly correlated pattern. Conversely, those who expressed their emotion more calmly but said they felt strongly showed a looser correla- tion between how they felt and their brain activity in the anterior insula. “What we think is going on is that people learn from their culture how to experience their own emotions; they learn how to conceptualize their feelings,” Immordino- Yang said. “Expressiveness seems to be shaped by your own culture and by your own biology, acting additively.” Shaping your behavior over time may indirectly teach “So, your culture appears to shift the way in which your you how much attention you should pay to your body’s reac- emotions result in body reactions, which in turn may shape tion to know how you feel, she said, and future experiments how emotions are experienced. Cultural shaping of behav- are set to test this interpretation. ior may actually change the experience of emotions — not “So if you’re a person like me who’s super Italian-like the strength of feelings, but potentially the process by which and waving my arms around and crying and doing all individuals become aware of and evaluate their feelings.” these things — when I want to know, how do I feel about that young woman who fought the Taliban? — I may be SPIRITUAL SCIENCE more likely to pay attention to my own bodily response,” John Monterosso, associate professor of psychology at the Immordino-Yang said. “I might think to myself, ‘Well, my BCI, is an expert on decision-making, impulsivity and heart’s pounding, my throat is dry, so I must be really upset self-control. He’s interested in this key step in Alcoholics about this.’ ” Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step programs: recognizing “Whereas I think if you’re a person who’s been taught a higher power that can give strength. over time not to show a big bodily response then you would “If you ask people who overcome addictions in the 12- be attending to something else in order to decide. When step approach, if you ask them what they think happened, you’re expressive, there are more prominent cues from your many feel very sure that personally for them, spirituality body to tell you, ‘Wow, I really am feeling emotional.’ But was critical,” Monterosso said. “It’s sometimes explicitly when you’re less expressive, the cues may be subtler. religious, but it isn’t always. It is sometimes a very vague

24 sense of spirituality.” The recovery process is often considered related to recon- For example, recovering addicts in AA believe in a connecting, or for the first time connecting, to some kind of nection to something larger, or nature, or the circle of life, spiritual perspective. he said. Social scientists can’t assume they are right; The ad- “OK, so I’m a psychologist,” Monterosso said. “We want dicts who say a belief in a higher power helped them recover to think about that in psychological terms. What is their ex- may be flat wrong. perience psychologically? There’s a ton of research, mainly “But it seems a greater possibility given the amount of questionnaires, about people’s spirituality. But there’s little PLAYING A KEY ROLE time and attention from people who spend their lives think- so far that can give us a handle on what these spiritual expe- Designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, ing about this, that these psychological experiences are im- riences are about emotionally and physiologically.” also responsible for the con- portant for overcoming the addiction,” he said. Through interviews coupled with tests on the participants’ cert hall at Walt Disney Con- “As you become addicted you lose connection with other brains in the BCI’s fMRI scanner, Monterosso hopes to dis- cert Hall and the New World things in your world. Everything begins to fall away, recover how these spiritual experiences shift people’s behaviors. Center, the Joyce J. Cammil- lationships suffer. Eventually work suffers. Life becomes “How do they go from a place where they’re responding to leri Hall’s acoustics are peer- more concrete and specific around the substance.” only immediate gratification to seeing things more globally, less. Each plank of the hollow People in the 12-step community often say that even be- or responding to bigger themes, to bigger considerations?” stage floor was hand-selected fore their breakdown of connections to larger things, some Still in the planning stages, the study involves Homeless by Toyota to create the perfect kind of lacking in their life was the starting point. A feeling Health Care Los Angeles’ needle exchange program. swell of sound. of disconnection was often key to their problem. STORY CONTINUES ON PAGE 27.

Spring / Summer 2013 25 Magnetic Attraction by Pamela J. Johnson EXPERIENCE AN FMRI SCAN WITH A USC DORNSIFE UNDER- Narrative Framing.” The study brings together University Profes- GRADUATE AS SHE PARTICIPATES IN A PROJECT STUDYING sor Antonio Damasio, BCI director; University Professor Hanna PEOPLE’S NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL Damasio, BCI codirector; Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, assistant REACTIONS TO NARRATIVES IN CROSS-CULTURAL SETTINGS. professor of education, psychology and neuroscience; Kaplan; Gimbel; Tipper; BCI researcher Andrew Gordon and others from “Danger! This magnet is always on!” reads a sign on the door to the the USC Institute for Creative Technologies. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine. These researchers are studying people’s neuropsychological A list of what not to bring or do near the apparatus warns against reactions to personal narratives. They’re investigating how people pacemakers, metal implants, metal fire extinguishers, watches, are influenced by the way in which events are framed by a narra- keys, cell phones and, of course, smoking. tor and appeal to the listener’s own values, knowledge “Be careful to remove your glasses, hairpins or any- and experiences. thing metal at all,” Sarah Gimbel, a postdoctoral While Driscoll’s brain activity is being scanned research associate at USC Dornsife’s Brain and monitored, she reads a set of stories in and Creativity Institute (BCI), cautions a which people talk about a personal moral young woman who has agreed to be dilemma or transgression. scanned for a research project. For example, there might Weighing several tons, the mag- have been a writers’ strike at a net in this scanner has a strength major newspaper. The person of 3 tesla. It is the most powerful in the story, a writer, broke an “We’re getting a handle scanner available for clinical use unofficial societal code to never on how the brain is today. Compare 3 tesla with mag- cross a picket line. The writer did nets having half the strength that so because she thought of the big- processing these narra- can lift a tractor. The 3-tesla magnet ger picture: The First Amendment tives and relating how is 60,000 times more powerful than guarantee of free speech must be participants respond to Earth's magnetic field. upheld. the stories with their Near the machine, metal items After reading the narratives, own values.” become dangerous projectiles that Driscoll is asked whether she thinks CHRISTINE TIPPER, a postdoc- will abruptly and with great force the person in the story would have toral research associate at USC be pulled out of your pocket or hair, acted differently for any amount of Dornsife’s Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI), who is helping to or fly off your wrist. Artificial heart money. This shows researchers how conduct the BCI’s study called valves are forbidden. You have a bul- deeply felt the beliefs of the narra- “Neurobiology of Narrative let fragment in your body from an old war tor came across to Driscoll. Framing.” wound? You can’t be scanned. Later, Driscoll will answer a question- “Anything in your pockets?” Gimbel asks Laura Driscoll, an naire revealing her own beliefs about the issues discussed in the sto- international relations senior who will undergo the test for the ries. The researchers will compare her brain activity while each issue experience and the $20-an-hour pay. “Hair clips, coins, anything?” was discussed with her written responses to see how they match up. “I have a belt,” Driscoll realizes. “We’re getting a handle on how the brain is processing these “Let’s go ahead and take that off,” Gimbel says. “OK, perfect. narratives and relating how participants respond to the stories Leave your shoes at the door and we’ll get you all set up.” with their own values,” Tipper said. “With all of these stories, Metal free, Driscoll slips off her sneakers, enters the scanning every person who gets scanned responds differently. For some room and sits on the scanner bed, where the BCI’s Jonas Kaplan, people, crossing the picket line is absolutely reprehensible. And research assistant professor of psychology, and Christine Tipper, others would say freedom of speech is more important.” a postdoctoral research associate, begin connecting electrodes “So there are these polarizing issues that they’re watching. and a belt to her chest to monitor her heart and breathing rates. We’re really utilizing the differences between individuals to get at They attach electrodes to her foot to measure skin conductance. what it is that makes these sacred values tick in people’s brains.” When scanning, the machine sounds like the motor of a water In part, quantitative analyses of cross-cultural sacred narrative pick gone awry — only many times louder. Driscoll is given ear- framing can be used to predict effective framing. The research- plugs and headphones, which muffle the deafening noise of the ers will determine how narratives can be most effective given fMRI but still allow her to hear instructions from researchers. particulars of the situation, the narrator’s goals and the culture Driscoll reclines on a long table extending from the machine and of the listeners. The analysis can be validated through behavioral Tipper places a USC comforter over her. and neurobiological measurements. “She’s going to be in there for a little over an hour and she can’t “How are you doing in there, Laura?” Gimbel asks Driscoll. move the whole time,” Gimbel says. “So we try to make them as “OK,” Driscoll replies. comfortable as possible.” “Excellent,” Gimbel says. “This is going to be the very last round A loud whir begins and Driscoll disappears into the doughnut of stories.” hole of what looks like a stark white spacecraft. It is 4-feet deep While Driscoll reads the last group of stories, Gimbel adds, “We and 8-feet in diameter. always check on them from time to time. People are known to fall Driscoll is participating in a study called “Neurobiology of asleep in there. It gets pretty cozy.”

26 Located in the downtown Skid Row area, the program is meant to decrease the number of drug users sharing con- taminated syringes. Monterosso is planning with the L.A. organization to test participants who can help shed light “There is something very real on how their behavior and physiology changes when hearing compelling stories that may bring out a feeling of spirituality. about the phrase, ‘pay it forward.’ “We’re hoping to get some idea about how complex emotions related to spirituality are relevant in self-control and recovery from addiction.” Gratitude is a powerful emotion.”

DO ME A KINDNESS the beneficiary of good human conduct, one experiences For the past three decades, researchers studying gratitude a concert of positive emotions ranging from relief to ela- believed the emotion was a result of two catalysts: 1) a gift tion, Fox said. These emotions can in turn motivate people was given at great effort by the giver and 2) the gift fulfilled to expend great sums of energy to reward those near the a serious need for the recipient. source of the good conduct, creating, literally, a virtuous Not so, said Glenn Fox, a Ph.D. candidate in neurosci- cycle. ence at the BCI. While gifts that come at great effort and “There is something very real about the phrase, ‘pay it fulfill a serious need are indeed capable of eliciting high forward,’ ” Fox said. “Gratitude is a powerful emotion.” levels of gratitude, one or the other is enough, Fox found. “High effort or high need alone is sufficient for high NO SMELL WONDER gratitude.” Neuroscience Ph.D. student Kingson Man was inspired by In his research, Fox is relying on the USC Shoah Foun- Antonio Damasio’s The Feeling of What Happens: Body and dation — The Institute for Visual History and Education Emotion in the Making of Consciousness (Houghton Mifflin and its archive of videotaped testimonies of survivors and Harcourt, 1999) when he read the book as a high school other witnesses of the Holocaust. student in New York City. He chose USC Dornsife specifi- Fox and his team spent hundreds of hours watching and cally to work with the Damasios at the BCI. listening to many of the archive’s more than 52,000 testi- Man is interested in how the human senses of sound, monials. They collected scenarios in which a survivor re- sight, touch, smell and taste are merged together. The soci- ceives some sort of gift. A gift of peanuts to a starving sur- etal impact of his research could benefit people with brain vivor allergic to peanuts might elicit mixed feelings. Other damage, including semantic dementia, which inhibits one’s gifts — for example when a prisoner whispers “stay left” to ability to distinguish the difference among objects. someone exiting a train at Auschwitz, saving his life when “They can’t tell the difference between apples or oranges all those on the right are sent to a gas chamber — would or, say, different tools,” Man said. “They don’t know how certainly bring out deep gratitude. to use a wrench versus a screwdriver anymore. They’ve lost In Fox’s study, participants were asked to take the per- that conception and knowledge.” spective of the survivor and read about his or her personal Man is investigating how conceptual knowledge is orga- THANKSGIVING EVERYDAY experiences while connected to a brain scanner. Participants nized and how people might be rehabilitated when they've One research project at the also filled out questionnaires describing their emotions. lost that capacity. Brain and Creativity Insti- “Our preliminary data shows that gifts eliciting near un- “I think a promising strategy is to use yet another sense tute studies the emotion of speakable gratitude — for example, being given shelter and to try to learn new associations,” he said. “So if you’re trying gratitude. Glenn Fox, a Ph.D. food when there is a great personal risk to the giver for do- to tell the difference between a wrench and a screwdriver by candidate in neuroscience, ing so — activate brain regions associated with happiness, looking and touching, what could you do? You could try to has found that when one is social bonding and joy,” Fox said. recruit a third sense. So these are very manual objects. the beneficiary of good human In the preliminary findings, Fox has discovered that a “Maybe, to be far-fetched, you could paint a different conduct, one experiences gift drawing the greatest amount of gratitude is one that scent onto each tool. Then you learn that the association of positive emotions ranging helps restore the recipient’s dignity. Using real scenarios strawberries means wrenches, which are for doing a certain from relief to elation. These from the USC Shoah Foundation, the opportunity to speak thing. If you just smell it, then you can activate it and you emotions can in turn motivate one’s own language meant a great deal to survivors taken can reach that knowledge through a different route.” people to reward those out of their country. Not far-fetched at the BCI. Researchers under its roof near the source of the good “If they were taken from France to a concentration camp know something is happening here. These scientists are be- conduct, creating, literally, a in Austria, for instance, being able to speak French was re- yond teetering at the cusp. virtuous cycle. ally a welcome experience,” Fox said, “even though it didn’t “Intellect and emotions are not separate,” Immordino necessarily feed them. Just being able to speak in one’s own -Yang said. “They’re completely feeding off one another and language was dignity-restoring and the recipients were integrated to each other. It’s the ideas themselves that are grateful for it.” inspirational to me — and the dynamic culture created here Fox’s studies indicate that gratitude lives at the cen- of intellectual exchange and debate.” ter of good human conduct and serves as a fulcrum by The researchers are all, individually and collectively, fol- which people seek to do right by others. When one is lowing the light.

Spring / Summer 2013 27 In The Croods, the new box-office hit from DreamWorks Animation, Kirk DeMicco ’91 has created an endearingly dysfunctional prehistoric family who must learn to evolve … or die.

By Susan Bell

As the drum rhythm and stirring horns build in intensity, the high adrenaline chase gathers momentum as the Crood family hunts down and steals a giant, blue-and-orange-speckled egg from a ramu — a hybrid of ram and emu with the strength and rushing power of a linebacker. You know a Trojan is at the helm of this new, animated 3-D comedy adventure, The Croods, when you learn the drumming and horns were provided by the USC marching band. In the opening scene, parents Grug and Ugga, rebellious teenage daughter, Eep, dutiful but dim-witted son, Thunk, ferocious baby girl, Sandy, and ancient but indomitable grand- mother, “Gran,” are attempting to bring home their prehistoric breakfast. The family members pass the fragile egg back and forth among them like a football in a succession of breathtaking maneuvers as they tackle, scramble and block a variety of strange, ferocious or mischievous beasts, all intent on capturing their own breakfast. DREAM-WORKS The Croods are definitely not at the top of this particular food chain. Devoting mornings to what he “It’s so rare that you get the chance to do that,” the film’s director and writer, Kirk calls “the carpentry” of writ- DeMicco, said with obvious relish. “It’s so fun watching a family working together, strug- ing, in which he frames and gling, playing this full contact sport, just to get breakfast. It’s like a Saturday football game, builds on ideas, Kirk DeMicco and it just keeps on going. It’s choreographed and there’s character, character, character and ’91 admits that creativity it’s telling you about their world. That’s something we can do very well with animation.” is hard work. However, The Billed as “the world’s first-ever family road trip,” The Croods, DeMicco said, was inspired Croods director also relies on by comedies such as the 1983 Chevy Chase hit, National Lampoon’s Vacation, the sweeping his subconscious to find unex- landscapes of a number of westerns, and John Ford’s 1940 epic drama, The Grapes of Wrath. pected solutions to creative “That was the Dust Bowl and these are cavemen,” DeMicco said of his film’s similarities challenges. with the Depression-era film based on John Steinbeck’s classic novel. “But the Croods are a very poor family. They’ve lost their home and they’re looking for a promised land. It’s the myth of going West, going toward the sun and reaching into new frontiers.” Setting the movie in an imaginary period dubbed the “Croodacious Era” gave the filmmakers creative freedom to invent stunning landscapes and a menagerie of fantastically comical and frightening creatures. The macawnivore has the body of a sabre-tooth tiger, an over-sized head and the coloring of a macaw. The mousephant is a tiny elephant with the ears and tail of a mouse. And terrifying flocks of swarming piranhakeets — a cross between a parakeet and a piranha — swoop down to devour any creature in their path. The film’s prehistoric setting also served as an interesting philosophical device because

28 PHOTOS BY MAX S. GERBER Spring / Summer 2013 29 — as DeMicco and co-director and writer Chris Sanders said. “We would say they had ‘beginners’ minds.’ That al- quickly realized — once the external trappings, obligations lows them to see things anew, and that is the fresh, engaging and rules of modern society are stripped away, the charac- part of the film, seeing all the wonder of the world through ters have nothing left to talk about but life’s big questions. their eyes.” “When that became clear,” DeMicco said, “we realized this The road-trip theme brings back memories of a compara- movie can speak to an audience on a far deeper emotional tive literature course on Western civilization DeMicco took level than we had first anticipated.” from then-USC professor Nancy Vickers more than two During the film’s opening titles, a single glowing ember decades ago. drifts out from the screen, appearing to hover tantalizingly “That class was great because it was all about journeys. in mid-air, so close and so real you feel that if you reached We watched Apocalypse Now then read Dante’s Inferno; the out and touched it, it might burn your fingers. It foreshadows great epic poems, The Iliad, The Odyssey, then saw movies the prehistoric heroes’ introduction to fire (“Try hiding from with the same structure.” it in the tall, dry grass,” Grug advises Thunk with predict- Familiarizing himself with concepts such as Joseph ably disastrous results), but it is also a reference to the spark Campbell’s monomyth and learning about the shared struc- of imagination that illuminates this whole film. While The ture that runs through all great literature was invaluable in Croods is about family and overcoming fear of change, it is shaping DeMicco’s storytelling skills. “I realized there are also about creativity, and how if we trust and use it wisely steps that happen. That was eye-opening.” we can shape our destiny and better our world. These lessons helped pave the way for the writing and “Creativity definitely takes work,” DeMicco said. He re- structuring of The Croods. “Our movie is a journey film,” serves mornings for “the carpentry” of writing, in which he DeMicco said. “The steps are the resurrection, crossing the frames his ideas. “In the mornings I am a lot clearer and I can first threshold, the journey into the new world.” build on my thoughts. But the actual thinking comes at other The movie begins by showing the strained relationship times. It’s like people say, ‘It comes to you in the shower.’ ” between Grug (voiced by Nicholas Cage), the archetyp- If he gets stuck, DeMicco goes for a walk. al over-protective father whose mission in life is to keep “If you just sit there and try to drum up a solution, you’ll his family safe by any means necessary, and Eep (voiced probably come up with an answer,” he said. “But it’s probably by Emma Stone), Grug’s rebellious teenage daughter who going to be the logical answer that everyone else would come feels trapped inside the family cave. Then along comes Guy up with. The gap in the logic is where the comedy comes (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), a handsome young caveman from — the surprise.” graced with a superior intellect. Guy’s innovative ideas pique The resulting movie opened to a box office win. Part of Eep’s curiosity, but challenge Grug’s traditional ways. the universal appeal of the Croods, whom DeMicco has By swapping a fear of technology, which had been the described as “timelessly dysfunctional,” is that they exhibit creators’ original focus of the story, for a more universal many of the same struggles and triumphs of a modern-day fear — the fear of change — the writers hit upon a way to family. At the same time, they are on a perpetual voyage transcend cultural and generational barriers. of discovery, as they realize if they don’t evolve … they’re “You can understand the fear of technology intellectually, history. but no one really believes it. Everyone seems to love their “We never referred to the Croods as stupid,” DeMicco iPhones, so it’s kind of a false argument. But no father in

30 CROODS PHOTO COURTESY OF DREAMWORKS ANIMATION the world is going to say, ‘I in New York City. He was soon promoted to agent’s as- look forward to the day my sistant in the motion picture department and transferred to daughter brings home her the company’s Los Angeles office in 1994. Just six months first boyfriend,’ ” DeMicco later he sold his first spec screenplay, A Day in November, to said. “Everyone fears that. Warner Bros., after a bidding war. It’s the emotional part of change, and no matter what their age, everyone can iden- “I THINK A LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION GIVES tify with that.” DeMicco admits to hav- YOU A BASE TO REFLECT CRITICALLY AND ing a particularly soft spot for Grug, whose motto in CREATIVELY ON THE WORLD AROUND YOU.” the movie is, “Never not be afraid.” “That’s not just a line in Since then, DeMicco has worked with some of his child- the film, it’s pretty much my hood heroes and adapted his favorite works to film. In addi- lifestyle choice, especially tion to collaborating with Cleese on an adaptation of Dahl’s where emergency prepared- novel The Twits, he worked on a Hanna-Barbera cartoon and ness is concerned,” the film- a Looney Tunes movie for Warner Bros., adapted the Jack maker confessed. Kirby comic New Gods, and collaborated with filmmaker So how does he cope Barry Sonnenfield on an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard with the universal fear that novel. He also joined forces with Sonnenfield as a first-time all writers face, the terror of director on the animated film Space Chimps. He was writer the blank page? and co-producer of Racing Stripes for Warner Bros., Sherlock DeMicco credits iconic Homeboy for Universal Family, Hong Kong Phooey for Warner British comedian John Bros. and Alcon Entertainment, and Casper: Scare School for Cleese, with whom he wrote Classic Media. early Croods scripts, and who lectures on creativity at Cornell DeMicco believes an important part of being a direc- University, with showing him the foolproof method of creat- tor is building a creative environment where everyone — ing a “mind map” by writing down all ideas on a huge piece actors and artists — feels comfortable experimenting and of blotter paper. “The good thing about that system is that suggesting ideas. Keen to share kudos with the 385-strong you have the terror of the blank page only once, and then you DreamWorks Animation team that worked on The Croods, never have it again. When you come back each day, you’ve he related how at times the artists drove the creative process. got a big piece of paper and there’s something on it. Then In possibly the movie’s most moving scene, Grug, at that when it comes to structure, you already have this quarry of point separated from his family and unsure he will ever see ideas to mine.” them again, lovingly paints their portraits on a cave wall. As a 7-year-old growing up in late 1970s suburbia in “Chris and I were looking at a cave painting one of the Franklin Lakes, N.J., DeMicco made Super-8 movies with artists had drawn and we said, ‘That’s it, this is the iconic his Star Wars figures. He loved Roald Dahl’s novels and image.’ We wrote toward there. We strove to get that in. watching Cleese’s British TV comedy, Monty Python’s Flying That’s totally different from any other way of working — it Circus and was a fan of all things Hanna-Barbera, as well as was inspired by the visuals.” the physical comedy style of Looney Tunes, particularly the “The coolest part of writing and working in animation INNOCENCE FOUND Road Runner cartoons. “I was always messing around with is that the visuals inspire the writing and the writing drives “The cavemen are the only stories,” DeMicco said. “I knew I wanted to make movies the visuals,” DeMicco said. characters we’ve ever worked even when I was a kid. That’s why I came to USC.” Coming from a director who shares Grug’s mantra of fear, with who are without guile,” Bitten by the travel bug, the USC Dornsife undergradu- The Croods has a remarkably upbeat ending. said Kirk DeMicco, paying ate spent his junior year at the University of Canterbury in “I wouldn’t have worked on this movie for as long as I did tribute to the inherent Kent, England, where he joined a film club, before returning had I not felt like I was emotionally connected to this story of sweetness of his prehistoric to USC to double major in economics and political science, a guy who cares about his family in every frame of the film,” heroes. “They’re innocent, like the two subjects — along with film — that he remains pas- DeMicco said. “Grug learns the biggest lesson of all is just babies. I love that they don’t sionate about today. to accept other people’s changes.” have ulterior motives.” Reflecting on his decision to pursue a liberal arts degree In the movie’s most dramatic scene, Grug has to liter- rather than go to film school, DeMicco said: “I was con- ally throw what he values most — his family — into the vinced by a couple of professors, including professor Vick- unknown, and simply trust. By making that leap of faith, ers, that a broad-based liberal arts undergraduate education he embraces optimism and hope. And his mantra finally would serve me well. I think a liberal arts education gives changes to reflect that personal transformation. you a base to reflect critically and creatively on the world “That’s what I’m working toward,” said DeMicco of his around you. And in my dreams, I’d really like to be the host pessimistic alter ego’s cosmic shift in outlook. “Making of a political comedy show.” this movie has been a long therapy session for me.” It’s said However, once he graduated DeMicco returned to his lightly, with a laugh, but there is clearly more than a grain first love, spending three years in Rome as a journalist on the of truth in his words. Italian film publication Foreign Sales. “You have to believe there is an answer and the solution is Returning to the United States, he landed a coveted job out there and be patient,” he said. “You have to be optimistic in the mailroom of the legendary William Morris Agency to be creative.”

Spring / Summer 2013 31 HIRE PURPOSE

Finding USC Dornsife a destination for entrepreneurial thinking, these newest faculty members are heading in exciting and novel directions.

By Pamela J. Johnson

These nine intellectual innovators are some of our newest professors and assistant professors. They selected USC Dornsife for the freedom it provides them to think creatively and explore unchartered territory. Take Jacob Soll, who took a deep breath before telling his now USC Dornsife colleagues, “I really want to do this funky thing where I do research in accounting, but see it as a part of history.” He was thrilled when they replied, “We get it.” Or Scott Fraser, who came to USC from Caltech for the opportunity to expand the imaging technologies he is developing for the heart and eyes that will become crucial devices in treating diseases such as cancer. Or Kate Flint, whose research gives us insight into why we have become so interested in sharing with the world that we just fed the cat. Read how these enterprising educators are implementing their power to transform.

32 CATCHING THE HATCHING

“We build new microscopes that let us watch as a heart beats and takes shape from a simple tube to a simple double-chambered heart to something that has the four chambers that we’re more used to.” Scott Fraser, founder of iny brown eggs dotted with what looks like speck- works toward crucial biomedical devices and treatments in the Biological Imaging les of liquid dark chocolate rest atop nests, while areas from eye disease to cancer. Center at Caltech, joined fuzzy, baby quails chirp and waddle inside the glass “We build new microscopes that let us watch as a heart the faculty in Summer Tincubator. beats and takes shape from a simple tube to a simple dou- 2012. The USC Provost Hanging above a laser-scanning confocal microscope, a ble-chambered heart to something that has the four cham- Professor of Biological poster quotes developmental biologist Lewis Wolpert: “It is bers that we’re more used to,” Fraser said, pointing to the Sciences and Biomedical not birth, marriage, or death, but gastrulation which is truly beating quail heart image on the screen. Engineering, and direc- the most important time in your life.” Observing in real time is a critical first step to under- tor of science initiatives At a microscope inside his laboratory, Scott Fraser con- standing how heart defects evolve, he noted. has a joint appointment centrates on the moving image of a red, veiny quail heart “When people write about the way embryos develop at the USC Viterbi School beating inside an egg: thump thump-thump thump. The image they often compare it to a ballet dance that’s been cho- of Engineering. fills a large computer screen. reographed.” Fraser’s lab develops the technologies that allow his team But Fraser disagrees. to image biological structure and molecular signals. He and “It’s more like watching a football game. The rules are his researchers use those technologies to better understand the same but whether or not somebody gets a penalty or complex events like embryonic development or the changes that one touchdown is different in each game. We’re watch- that take place as diseases progress. ing the game from beginning to end, so we are able to see Fraser has expanded into the biomedical realm, where he how the whole development progresses.”

ILLUSTRATIONS BY BILL SANDERSON FOR USC DORNSIFE MAGAZINE Spring / Summer 2013 33 orn to an Austrian Jewish father and American Indi- “We don’t look a certain way, don’t act or talk a certain an mother, David Treuer is an Ojibwe Indian from way,” Treuer said. “We refuse to live in a teepee and actu- Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. ally live in a house with running water. In English class, B His siblings range from a brother who has straight, we read Macbeth. And we wear shoes and use cell phones. jet black hair and dark skin, to a blond, blue-eyed sister. “Some people can’t quite figure that out. That we, in “I get to hear lots of things people probably wouldn’t say fact, are contemporary people, not just people of the past.” GREAT SPIRIT if I looked like my brother,” said Treuer, who has light skin, In the introduction to Rez Life, Treuer writes that Indian brown hair and dark watchful eyes. “I hear how people really reservations, and those who live on them, are as American feel when they don’t know there’s an Indian in the room.” as apple pie, baseball and muscle cars. “Some people can’t Treuer’s most recent book, Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey The Oneida were allies of the Revolutionary Army who quite figure that out. Through Reservation Life (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2012), fed troops at Valley Forge and helped defeat the British in enlightens on Native American issues from sovereignty to New York, and the Iroquois Confederacy served as one of That we, in fact, are treaty rights. the many models for the American constitution, he writes He said no Native American should go through life feel- in Rez Life. contemporary peo- ing he or she must apologize for not reflecting the backward “Unlike apple pie, however, Indians contributed to the ple, not just people image of an Indian on horseback living a pre-reservation life. birth of America itself.” of the past.” David Treuer, professor of English in the Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Literature program, joined the faculty in Fall 2011. A Pushcart Prize winner, he has written five books of fiction and nonfiction. He’s interested in Native American literature, the 20th-century novel, modernism and creative writing.

34 EXTRAORDINARY

“Not just materially, not what shifts in the street, but how have ideas of what is ordinary changed? Do we only think about conceptions of ordinariness when we can set it against something?”

ou wake up in the morning, make toast then tweet a flash of artificial light in photography could be seen as Kate Flint is Provost about it. Later, you tell your followers about stand- something remarkable — something used to immortalize Professor of English and ing in line at Starbucks and feeding the cat. a moment. Art History, and chair of Y Kate Flint is interested in the concept of the ev- Yet conversely, flash photography serves to illuminate art history. She arrived eryday and ordinary. What is ordinary? How do people and make record of the ordinary. Fall 2011 from Rutgers, represent the ordinary? The book shows how flash has gone from the miraculous the State University of “Why do people come to care about unremarkable, or- to an inconvenience. New Jersey, and before dinary experiences?” asked Flint, whose book, now in its “I’m interested in the whole movement from thinking that taught at Oxford early stages, will focus on how views of ordinariness have about flash in terms of something almost magical — pro- and Bristol universities changed from the 19th century to now. viding a revelation like a flash of inspiration — to a rela- in England, from which “Not just materially, not what shifts in the street, but tive flashing away at Thanksgiving, or something downright how have ideas of what is ordinary changed? Do we only intrusive like the work of paparazzi. The book goes beyond she hails. think about conceptions of ordinariness when we can set photography. It’s more about a culture that uses photography.” it against something? Are we setting it against heroic or Flint doesn’t think conventionally. Even as a young child theological ideas — ideas about God, about the transcen- living in Naworth Castle, in Cumbria, England, where her dental?” father managed a missile construction site, the little girl This new project could be considered the antithesis of a didn’t dream of being a princess. book she’s now finishing about flash photography. Using “I wanted to be a truck driver. Because I wanted to travel.”

Spring / Summer 2013 35 ami Assaf sometimes uses a Rubik’s cube to dem- right?” she said. “Now each face is a different color, so when onstrate symmetry, among the most crucial ideas in I flip the cube, the top changes from red to orange, so it mathematics. doesn’t look the same. Most of my projects have this prop- S Twist the face of a Rubik’s cube and the cube erty at their root: Add more features, like colored faces, and keeps its symmetry — all sides are the mirror image of there is less symmetry.” one another. Assaf applied symmetric functions toward a fundamen- FEARLESS Try any arbitrary sequence of turns and the result does tal problem in representation theory that experts have tried SYMMETRY not alter the shape of the cube or disturb its symmetry. to solve for hundreds of years. The problem is to understand “I’m looking for symmetries of objects and spaces,” Assaf the irreducible decomposition of the tensor product of rep- said, holding up a Rubik’s cube. “So if you take this cube resentations of the symmetric group. “Previously, people and flip it around, it still looks the same. I can rotate it, flip Her approach took creativity with a dash of moxie. it and it’s still the same cube. So what I look at is how many “In order to make any progress you can’t just do what thought you couldn’t ways you can change it yet it stays the same.” everyone else has done,” Assaf said. “You have to come up But when you consider the colors of the nine squares on with an original approach. Previously, people thought you apply symmetric each of the cube’s six sides, everything changes. couldn’t apply symmetric functions to the problem for many functions to the “Once you take the colors into account it looks different, good reasons. But we found a way.” problem for many good reasons. But we found a way.” Arriving from a C.L.E. Moore instructorship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by a year at Berkeley Quantitative, Sami Assaf became Gabi- lan Assistant Professor of Mathematics in Fall 2012. She specializes in algebraic combinatorics and combinatorial representation theory.

36 COUNT HIM IN

“There is nothing in history books about this. Who would ever explain the great history of industrialization, the West and modern government through accounting?” Jacob Soll, professor of history who arrived Sum- ou’re at a dinner party and the vichyssoise is a mere money to a full-fledged financial plan by the 19th century, mer of 2012, has a joint memory, the smoked velouté of partridge is gone and and what this means today. appointment with the you’re deep into the butterscotch budino. What’s the Studying at the French National Library, Soll learned USC Leventhal School of Yone subject that has not been broached? Accounting. that 17th-century officials handled state functions, from Accounting. A MacAr- “Accounting freaks people out,” Soll said. “It makes the royal household to new public buildings, with serious thur fellow in 2011 and them nervous. It reminds you of getting audited, of facing accounting. Guggenheim fellow from your books.” Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who served as France’s minister 2009 to 2010, Soll was And facing your books has proven to be of upmost im- of finances from 1661 to 1683 under King Louis XIV, was recruited from Rutgers, portance considering the recent brink of economic collapse. an accountant first and foremost. Colbert used libraries, ac- the State University of The understanding of accounting, or lack thereof, is respon- counting, classical scholarship and national science to create sible for our nation’s financial woes, Soll said. an information network and build a modern state. New Jersey. “Here we have a country with a disastrous mortgage “First of all: Wow,” Soll said. “There, in the archives, bubble we are not out of yet. Household debt is enormous, this is all accounting talk. There is nothing in history books and debates are carried out in accounting numbers that about this. Who would ever explain the great history of in- no one understands and couldn’t verify if they wanted to.” dustrialization, the West and modern government through Soll is blazing the trail by combining the history of poli- accounting?” tics and accounting — from a leather pouch filled with Soll decided he would be the first.

Spring / Summer 2013 37 s a 5-year-old growing up in Stockholm, Sweden, ted on napkins. He did the same for written decisions that Anna Krakus learned English by watching The came down from censors over the years, along with his Sound of Music. responses. A “I became obsessed with the film,” said Krakus, “In some instances he was so forceful and just said, ‘No, who has Polish parents and spoke Swedish and Polish at I will not cut that scene, end of story,’ in a way we don’t home. “I watched it over and over and over again. I memo- tend to imagine artists of that era taking a stand against CLIMB EV’RY rized it and somehow English just stuck. politicians or censors.” MOUNTAIN “I sing really well in English,” she said with a laugh. Krakus read letters to Wajda from Ingmar Bergman Her love of film grew with her interest in literature. to Steven Spielberg and Wajda’s personal diaries, which She’s currently turning her dissertation into a book about contain entries from nearly every day of his adult life. This Polish cinema and literature during late communism. For gave her direct insight into the conditions under which he “In some instances the book, she nabbed a rare series of interviews with Polish lived and worked during tumultuous years in Polish history. he was so force- film director Andrzej Wajda. She found secret reviews that filmmakers and film critics Wajda was the most prominent member of the famous wrote of movies before they were sent to censors. ful and just said, Polish Film School of 1955 to 1963, and the recipient of an “Those were an amazing treat,” Krakus said. “They -of ‘No, I will not cut honorary Oscar. He gave Krakus unlimited access to his fered some of the best film writing I have ever read, and personal archive spanning 60-something years. these documents were never published, just collecting dust that scene, end of He saved everything. He dated and filed quotes he jot- in archives.” story,’ in a way we don’t tend to imagine artists of that era taking a stand against politicians or censors.” Anna Krakus became assistant professor of Slavic languages and literatures in Fall 2012. Interested in law and literature, she graduated from law school at Stockholm University before moving to New York to study literature as a Fulbright Scholar.

38 A ROLE MODAL

“You have to say that there is some infinite cardinal number — although you know not which — so that there can be that many angels, but there cannot be any more than that many angels.” Professor of Philosophy ountless have asked, but Gabriel Uzquiano sought cannot be any more than that many angels.” Gabriel Uzquiano ar- to answer: How many angels can dance on the A recent paper he coauthored in Mind, a tongue-in- rived in Fall 2011 from point of a needle? cheek discussion of Thomas Aquinas, the 13th-century Oxford University. Born C The question asks not what is the case, but rath- Italian philosopher and theologian, leads to a predicament in Majorca, Spain, he er what can be the case. Some philosophers take what can for modal metaphysicists who believe the possible existence grew up in Tarragona. be the case to be the same as what is the case in alternate of angels boils down to the existence of merely possible His expertise spans from universes, which they call possible worlds. For them, the angels in alternate universes. philosophical logic and actual world is only one of a plurality of concrete universes. Uzquiano likes to approach his research and teaching the philosophy of math- The angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin question is often used in new ways. to parody medieval scholastics, but it turns out to pose a “I think what makes my research distinctive is the way ematics to metaphysics. problem for that view. in which I use formal methods in my approach to certain “When you combine various tools from logic and set problems in metaphysics.” theory with a certain picture of modality, you find yourself And how many angels can dance on the point of a needle? in trouble,” Uzquiano said. “You have to say that there is According to Uzquiano, no matter how large an infinite some infinite cardinal number — although you know not cardinal number may be, there can be at least that many which — so that there can be that many angels, but there angels.

Spring / Summer 2013 39 ennifer Hook decided to compare fatherhood in vari- time fathers are spending with their children.” ous countries after reading a study that found fathers Hook found that in Norway, father-child time is similar in Norway spend about the same amount of time across families. This is because in that country, there is Jwith their children as do fathers in the United States. more full-time employment among mothers, shorter work The study concluded that if fathers in two-parent house- weeks and more support for paid paternal leave. holds use about the same amount of child care in very dif- In the U.S., many fathers are responsive to household TRENDSETTER ferent contexts, policy must not matter. conditions, such as the mother’s employment and spend “Whoa, hold the phone,” Hook said, recalling her reac- more time with their children. At the same, in the U.S., tion. “You have to look at the national context in which there appears to be more inequality in father-child time “Most American these fathers live.” across households, which affects the average. A quantitative sociologist, Hook designs and analyzes “Most American families do not have access to the gen- families do not have research questions to thoroughly explore context. In this erous policy supports available in Norway, so they have to access to the gener- case, in these two countries, what are the regulations on come up with individualized solutions, which often means working hours? What role does the mother’s employment dad has no choice but to pick up the slack.” ous policy supports play? How does government child care differ? What are the Her published studies can help to inform policymakers as in Norway, so laws on paternal leave? who are looking for ways to encourage fathers to become they have to come “All of these things combine to impact the amount of more involved in raising their children. up with individualized solutions, which often means dad has no choice but to pick up the slack.” Assistant Professor of Sociology Jennifer Hook arrived in Fall 2012. A Fulbright scholar, Hook co-authored Gendered Tradeoffs: Family, Social Policy and Economic In- equality in 21 Countries (Russell Sage, 2011). She focuses on how social contexts, particularly social policies and work opportunities, impact individuals and families.

40 SPEAKING ON TONGUES

“Some dialects differ from one another by a couple millimeters here and there of the movement of the tongue. You can tell when a person is from Chicago or Pittsburgh. We need this kind of flexibility that the tongue gives us.” An assistant professor he strongest muscle in the human body, the tongue systems serve purposes other than communication, of linguistics since Fall is our sole muscle connected only on one end. Like Iskarous hopes to gain insight into the way language differs 2011, Khalil Iskarous an octopus arm, the tongue contains no skeletal sup- from other skills in tongue usage. spent a decade as a Tport and uses its many muscle groups to contract, “Some dialects differ from one another by a couple mil- research scientist at lengthen, bend and twist. limeters here and there of the movement of the tongue,” said Haskins Laboratories Khalil Iskarous is putting that comparison to good use. Iskarous, who also studies endangered languages. “You can in New Haven, Conn. Iskarous, who studies how the tongue’s motion is orga- tell when a person is from Chicago or Pittsburgh. We need A Fulbright scholar, nized while speaking, recently received a $1 million National this kind of flexibility that the tongue gives us.” Iskarous was born and Science Foundation grant to compare the tongue during Iskarous is also interested in the effect of Parkinson’s dis- raised in Cairo, Egypt. speech to a moving octopus arm and the wriggling of the ease on speech. Scientists have started using the worm C. While in middle school, worm Caenorhabditis elegans. By studying communication, elegans as a model for studying this disease. he and his family moved locomotion and manipulation, his team will learn the basic “We can gain a deeper understanding of higher organisms principles of animal movement. by studying the simpler ones that have the same principles to New York. The project takes him to USC Dornsife’s Philip K. of movement,” he said. Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, where Iskarous and his team will build on this work, analyzing he photographs octopus arm movements and compares them similarities and differences in how the disease affects move- with ultrasound images of tongues in motion. ment in organisms as different as worm versus human. By investigating how the tongue behaves in swallowing “It’s a truly fascinating thing that we take for granted, versus speech, and determining how similar muscular the tongue. We just wake up, open our mouths and talk.”

Spring / Summer 2013 41 Writing fiction gives Deborah Harkness license to explore where her inner historian would not dare to tread.

By Michelle Salzman

Deborah Harkness believes the pages of centuries-old man- hind their adventures. uscripts are enchanted. In a Discovery of Witches, Bishop, a historian and witch Like clues to a mystery, they hold the key to unraveling who has rejected her deep, Salem, Mass., roots, encounters the chronology, ambitions, failures and successes of those the enchanted manuscript during the course of her research who lived before us. And where records of their pursuits into alchemy texts: sometimes lead to dead ends, Harkness finds fuel for fiction. … I reached out, touching the brown leather. A mild shock Take Ashmole 782, the enigmatic manuscript that be- made me withdraw my fingers quickly, but not quickly enough. came the jumping off point for A Discovery of Witches (Viking The tingling traveled up my arms, lifting my skin into tiny Adult, 2011) and Shadow of Night (Viking Adult, 2012), the goose pimples … Shaken by my response, I stepped away from first two installments of her uber-successful All Souls Trilogy. the library table. Even at a safe distance, this manuscript was Ashmole 782 does in fact exist outside of Harkness’ fictional challenging me — threatening the walls I’d erected to sepa- UNDER HER SPELL world, though its whereabouts are currently unknown. rate my career as a scholar from my birthright as the last of the Historian Deborah Harkness Ashmole 782 was originally donated to the Bodleian Li- Bishop witches. breathes life into the myster- brary at Oxford University in 1858 as part of chemist and In Bishop’s world, witches, vampires and daemons ies of the past by embroider- bibliophile Elias Ashmole’s extensive book, coin and natural (spelled as such in allusion to the Greek word for genius) ing fiction onto gaps in the object collection. It was designated “Object 782” in the col- walk among the oblivious regular folk, and the reemergence historical record. At the cen- lection and bore the description: “Anthropologia, or a treatis of Ashmole 782 — previously lost for centuries — sets the terpiece of her All Souls Tril- containing a short description of Man in two parts: the first supernatural world into an uproar. ogy of books is the perplexing, Anatomical, the second Psychological.” Harkness surmises However, Bishop — unaware of the manuscript’s signifi- real-life manuscript Ashmole that the manuscript was lost due to an incorrect catalogue cance and upset because she knows it is magical — uncer- 782, originally donated to the entry or shelving error. emoniously returns it to the stacks. Then the frightening but Bodleian Library at Oxford Harkness, professor of history in USC Dornsife, breathes handsome 1,500-year-old vampire, Clairmont, appears and University in 1858. life into the mysterious text by filling in gaps in the historical clues her in: Ashmole 782 may hold the key to explaining record through the magic of fiction — one of the great perks of why supernatural creatures exist — and why they are dying being a writer, she said. “I get to go where the historian’s craft out. So begins their search to reclaim the elusive manuscript, would force me to stop because there’s no evidence. As a novel- which has once again disappeared. ist I get to say, ‘OK, imagine this is what’s happening.’ ” Harkness clearly has fun fusing history and storytelling. In the series, Harkness casts Ashmole 782 in a central Peppered throughout the two books are plot points and role, imagining what magic it may contain. Set in the pres- characters with true historical origins. ent day, the manuscript brings together researchers Diana For instance, the Clairmont character in the trilogy is Bishop and Matthew Clairmont in the majestic, gothic based on Matthew Roydon, a real-life, 16th-century Eng- Bodleian Library. The manuscript is the main impetus be- lish poet and friend of playwright Christopher Marlowe.

42 P HOTOS BY JOHN LIVZEY Spring / Summer 2013 43 could write a fairytale for grown-ups that was about these “WHAT INSPIRED ME WAS TO TRY AND THINK fantastic creatures living among us,” Harkness said. “I explain the world from inside their communities. I think in that way it’s an approach that would make sense to ABOUT HOW I COULD WRITE A FAIRY TALE other historians of science because what we do is study the systematic ways the people in the past looked at the world and their place in it.” FOR GROWN-UPS THAT WAS ABOUT THESE Harkness is currently on sabbatical to complete the final installment of the All Souls Trilogy. Though she works mainly at her Los Angeles-area home, she will write any- FANTASTIC CREATURES LIVING AMONG US.” where and everywhere: “I’ve written on the Doheny Li- brary steps with my laptop; I’ve written in the library café, in my office, at home, hotel rooms, on the train between London and Paris — you name it.” Harkness studied Roydon while researching her thesis as a In case the muse strikes, she always carries with her a master’s student at Northwestern University on the poem laptop and small notebook. However, sometimes she’s not “Shadow of Night” by George Chapman. Chapman dedi- in the position to use them. During a long car ride on In- cated the poem to Roydon, whom Harkness described as a terstate 5 she was caught off guard. “Driving is wonderful very strange, mysterious character. because your mind floats. I had to pull off to get a cof- “He was a spy for the queen, yet we don’t have firm in- fee, and I ended up with this stack of McDonald’s napkins formation on where or when he died. He was mentioned with bits and pieces of ideas for Shadow of Night on them.” in Marlowe’s accidental death inquest, but nobody knows Harkness doesn’t usually go through an intense research where he was buried. It was as if he vanished.” phase prior to writing each book since much of the his- Resurrecting Roydon in her trilogy, the reference is un- torical information exists in her head. However, she made veiled for good when — spoiler alert — Clairmont goes by special trips to visit the cities she writes about in her books. the name Roydon in Shadow of Night. “I lived in a tiny, tiny village in the Auvergne in France,” “At the very beginning, when I was thinking about what Harkness said. “There were about 25 residents and goats. I vampires would be like in my world, I thought they would really got as close as I could get to what it would be like to be a total pain like Matthew Roydon,” Harkness said. live in a village in the Auvergne in the 16th century.” “Spotlight-adjacent, but never actually in the spotlight She also spent time in Prague, a central location in long enough that you could get to know them.” Shadow of Night. A historian of science and magic in Early Modern Eu- “I had never been to Prague and there was no way I could rope, the period from 1400 to 1700, Harkness has made actually write about somebody’s experience without visit- the remarkable leap to bestselling fiction writer. O Maga- ing it myself,” she said. “Walking, listening to the sounds, zine included A Discovery of Witches on its “15 Books to feeling the air, the wind as it comes off of the river. It’s Watch for in February 2011” list, and it landed at the num- that intangible experience, the sensory detail, that I hope ber two spot on The New York Times bestseller list. The sec- is what makes the book feel real for my readers.” ond installment, Shadow of Night, did even better, hitting She was already familiar with Oxford and London — The New York Times bestseller list at number one. Together, two cities she lived in as an undergraduate studying abroad the books have been translated into more than three dozen and later as a Fulbright fellow. Harkness, who grew up in languages. suburban Philadelphia, is the older of two children born to WRITER’S BEST FRIEND As a historian, Harkness’ research focuses on how an American father, a sales manager in a paint shop, and an When the muse strikes, scholars studied the natural world from the Middle Ages English mother, a secretary. Deborah Harkness is ready. through the Enlightenment and Renaissance, up to the Her books have garnered her swarms of dedicated fans, The historian and bestselling 18th century. This was the time of witch hunts, when there whom she personally interacts with on social media. And author carries her laptop and was no distinction between magic and science. as creativity breeds creativity, her fans have produced their a small notebook with her Her fictional work fittingly mirrors that dynamic. own All Souls items: jewelry with story-inspired charms, wherever she goes to capture “People in the Early Modern Period genuinely believed knitting patterns incorporating the book jacket design and ideas for her novels. Once that supernatural creatures lived among them because they Pinterest boards collecting images of narrative details and caught unprepared, a stack had different ideas about the world and how it worked,” locales. “It’s amazing to inspire not just people’s curiosity of napkins sufficed for pen- Harkness said. “Very educated people believed it was com- and their empathy, but also their creativity,” Harkness said. ning plot points for her book pletely possible to have supernatural powers.” On her Facebook discussion forum, fans have begun Shadow of Night. Her two previous works of nonfiction examine 16th- formulating dream casts for the All Souls Trilogy mov- century scientists in-depth. The first, John Dee’s Conver- ies in the works. Warner Bros., picked up the film rights sations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy and the End of Nature to A Discovery of Witches in 2011. Pulitzer Prize-winning (Cambridge University Press, 1999) features a title charac- playwright David Auburn is currently adapting the novel ter who makes an appearance in Shadow of Night. Harkness for the silver screen. One musician fan wrote a suggested followed that up with The Jewel House: Elizabethan London theme song for the film. and the Scientific Revolution (Yale University Press, 2007). Even amidst this adventure, Harkness is excited to re- But it was the recent explosion of vampire and witch lore turn to teaching at USC Dornsife in the Fall and get her in pop culture that got Harkness thinking: What if super- students fired up about history. “I really want to continue natural creatures do, in fact, exist as her research subjects to find ways to make my students’ learning historically rig- believed, and if they did, what would they do for a living? orous and sound, but also inspiring and exciting.” “What inspired me was to try and think about how I We know she’ll deliver. There’s magic in her storytelling.

44 Spring / Summer 2013 45 46 In a university-wide effort, USC Dornsife undergraduates teach civic engagement and entrepreneurship to elementary schoolchildren — who learn that every penny counts.

By Laura Paisley

Fifth grader Gillian Morgan explained why her class decided The largest child philanthropy program in the United to raise money to help the homeless. States, Penny Harvest teaches 4- to 14-year olds the prin- “First we were talking about our own families and what ciples of civic engagement and empowerment as vehicles for they mean to us, then we talked about people living on the positive change. Developed by nonprofit organization Com- streets that don’t have anything,” said the animated little girl mon Cents, Penny Harvest features a fundraising compo- who aspires to become an actress or politician. nent in which students collect money from neighbors, friends GETTING ENGAGED “They carry signs saying ‘please help me.’ And we don’t and families to grant to an organization of their choosing. Through Ann Crigler’s “Civic want that in our community. We want people to have homes.” Program participant Ana Arce, a USC Dornsife junior Engagement and Leadership” Fifth grader Jada McKnight also voted to fundraise for and political science major, said her immediate goal going course, USC Dornsife students the homeless. into a school is to get the children to relax and open up, teach children how to “The community needs help and we need to start caring especially the shier students. raise funds for community for it,” she said. “It helps when we start talking about what issues in their organizations benefiting Located south of USC’s University Park campus, the community the students might want to address,” she said. homeless shelters, animal girls’ class at Lou Dantzler Preparatory Charter Elemen- “One girl talked about how she’d had a beloved dog that rescue groups, community tary School had been discussing the concept of community passed away, and now she wanted to help the stray dogs she gardens, senior centers and engagement with USC Dornsife students, who were there to saw wandering the streets. Everyone had their own individ- other causes. introduce the Penny Harvest program at the school. ual story and it was so interesting to see how their personal

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROGER CHOUINARD FOR USC DORNSIFE MAGAZINE Spring / Summer 2013 47 experiences allowed them to connect to this project.” schools and finding support staff available at each school, These children are growing up in the era of Facebook, the Fall class received approval for only Sacred Heart in online media and omnipresent smartphones — none requir- the Lincoln Heights neighborhood, near the USC Health ing face-to-face contact. One could argue that teaching civic Sciences campus. engagement to today’s children is more important than ever. Although thrilled to get permission to work at Sacred Heart, the undergraduates learned that things don’t always go according to plan, despite best efforts. They learned how to adapt to changes on the fly. Following guidelines set forth by Penny Harvest, USC student participants visit classrooms in small groups and teach children about civic engagement and the program through a “Wheel of Caring” lesson. In this exercise, children discuss what community is and how anyone can be part of a community in order to become a change agent. Then the children decide what issues they want to address. After each classroom discussion, the USC students help the school as a whole to develop a “Wheel of Caring” pie chart, composed of different wedges displaying each classroom’s chosen philanthropic cause. Learning to engage with one’s community has the po- Deng recalled visiting a sixth grade classroom at Sacred tential to shape the next generation in a positive way and Heart. reinforce the kind of meaningful connections that enrich the “We asked the kids questions to get them to think in a human experience, said Ann Crigler, professor of political big way about their community and how to make decisions science in USC Dornsife. independently,” Deng said. “That’s the beauty of the program Crigler believes that civic engagement begins with ac- — where the money goes is up to the kids. They did all the tions as simple as collecting stray pennies for a good cause. research. We were there to help them out, but they ultimately She came up with the idea for the program while on sab- make the decisions.” batical last year, when she was inspired by her brother-in- On Feb. 1, 2013, Lou Dantzler Preparatory Charter El- law who sits on the board of Common Cents. ementary School, a newly participating school for the Spring “I thought, ‘I have some time here to come up with some- 2013 semester, organized a pep rally to launch the program thing hands-on, to create an opportunity to get multiple and kick off its two-week penny collection period. Children professors from USC to work together on a project and to from each classroom presented their philanthropic ideas. combine research with teaching,’ ” said Crigler, who quickly As part of the event, a group of girls choreographed a began assembling a group of interested collaborators. dance routine and a cheer, performing in line with pennies Crigler then developed and launched her new course, taped to their shirts in the shape of letters, collectively spell- “Applied Politics: Civic Engagement and Leadership,” in ing out P-E-N-N-I-E-S. A fifth-grade boy contributed to Fall 2012. Its goal is to introduce and implement the Penny the performance by drumming rhythmically on two over- Harvest program in Los Angeles schools and at USC. In turned plastic buckets. The excitement was contagious. The the process, her students learn some of the complex entre- students couldn’t wait to begin. preneurial lessons associated with starting up a nonprofit They went on to raise more than $1,000 for charity. organization. In Crigler’s course, students are divided into four ac- One of Crigler’s students, political science senior and Joint tivity committees to manage the various tasks associated Educational Project (JEP) veteran Eric Deng, explained why with building a nonprofit from the ground up. Each group he found those lessons valuable. He enrolled in the inaugural develops an action plan and timeline. A communication class to engage in something he felt would yield real results, committee focuses on messaging and promotion of the pro- beyond papers, test scores and grades. gram. Another team researches community businesses and “I’d been taking a lot of theory classes, and as a senior I networks that could help develop the program. Still another suddenly realized, I’m about to go out into the real world researches funding opportunities. An evaluation commit- and I’m actually going to have to do things and apply all this tee tracks the progress and effectiveness of the program in theory,” Deng said. “I thought this class would be a great schools and the community. opportunity to make an impact in the community.” The Fall 2012 class held a “mini Penny Harvest” at USC Deng spoke of the complexities of starting a nonprofit and presented the funds raised to the students of Sacred Heart. from scratch. He recounted why the class was able to visit “Executing [the mini Penny Harvest] definitely sharp- only one school during the first semester of the program, ened our leadership skills,” said Nikki Pujji, a junior double- Sacred Heart Elementary School. majoring in economics and political science, who helped to “We would have liked to do more, but that was part of organize the event. “We had to communicate very effectively the challenge — dealing with the bureaucracy of the Los to make it all work.” Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). But, once in the Crigler’s course has come to fruition through a collabora- school, it was a really cool experience.” tion of several academic units in addition to local elementary The program’s outreach was initially intended to focus schools and Common Cents. Also involved are the USC on Boyle Heights, a working-class Latino neighborhood Office of Community Partnerships, USC Dornsife faculty east of downtown that the class explored during field trips and staff, USC Dornsife’s Office of the Dean, JEP, Jesse M. early in the semester. But due to complications with procur- Unruh Institute of Politics, the Department of Political Sci- ing formal school district approval, training participating ence, USC Office of the Provost, USC Annenberg School

48 for Communication and Journalism, USC Price School for advise them on how to find people and organizations who are Public Policy, USC Viterbi School’s Division of Engineering working on these issues, then show them how to conduct in- and Education, and USC Rossier School of Education. In an terviews with advocates and officials. With that information effort to develop the program, all are contributing expertise and the interests of the neighborhood and fellow students on everything from public relations to program evaluation in mind, the children form a “philanthropy roundtable,” to a sustainable business plan. through which they learn to deliberate. They also learn how “We’ve been building all kinds of partnerships,” Crigler to represent others’ interests and to reach decisions that can said. “It’s very exciting.” make a difference in their community. After each Fall course, during which undergraduates in- By the end of the second semester, much has been ac- troduce to children the concepts of civic engagement and complished. how to address community issues through fundraising, Cri- For the Fall 2013 section of Crigler’s course, participation gler has developed a follow-up course that builds on those is being secured for seven schools, concentrated in the Boyle efforts. Heights neighborhood. In the Spring course, undergraduates teach children in “Professor Crigler is an inspiration,” Pujji said. “This class greater depth about public and private agencies in their com- is hands down the most interactive course I have taken so munity, and the issues the youngsters have identified. They far at USC.”

IN CHILDREN WE TRUST The Penny Harvest program teaches local elementary school children about philanthropy and civic engagement while introducing USC Dornsife undergraduates to hands-on, entrepreneurial learning as they set up a nonprofit organization from the ground up.

Spring / Summer 2013 49 Legacy ALBERT B. ULREY, 1901

Throw trash into the Santa dumping refuse in the bay had USC’s Marine Biological establish a marine research ter, and its affiliated faculty Monica Bay and you’re subject on its inhabitants. Station afforded then-revolu- and teaching facility on Santa continue to refine and expand to a $1,000 fine. At the turn Less than a decade later, Ul- tionary research opportuni- Catalina Island. The campus is many of the research prin- of the 20th century, however, rey established — and become ties to students, including now known as the USC Philip ciples Ulrey pioneered. —D.K. littering was sanctioned in the director of — USC’s Marine the chance to sail on the sta- K. Wrigley Marine Science pursuit of science. Biological Station in Venice, tion’s large sloop, the Anton Center on Catalina Island. Albert B. Ulrey takes time from In 1901, USC hired its first Calif. A half-hour trip from Dohrn, to investigate deep sea It includes eight faculty and his aquatic research in 1907 to PHOTO COURTESY OF USC ARCHIVES UNIVERSITY marine biologist, Albert B. USC’s University Park campus conditions. teaching laboratories, a pose for a photo. A Paraguayan Ulrey. A noted freshwater by automobile or Pacific Just days before Christ- full-service waterfront for tropical aquarium fish from the expert from Indiana, Ulrey Electric “Red Car” trollies, this mas 1920, a fire ravaged the research and education, Characidae family, Hyphesso- headed west with his new facility — housed in a public pier, destroying almost every conference facilities and brycon ulreyi (better known as bride and future USC alumna aquarium on the Venice pier structure, including the Ma- housing. Ulrey’s tetra) is named after the Florence Katherine Speicher, — provided cutting-edge re- rine Biological Station. Today, dozens of faculty professor of botany and zoology. to study saltwater marine search resources to scholars. From these humble members conduct research ecology and aquatic life forms In cooperation with the Abbot beginnings, USC’s scientific on environmental topics in SEND YOUR MEMORIES TO ranging from snails and abalo- Kinney Company, the facility research into environmental USC Dornsife. The USC Wrigley USC Dornsife Magazine, nes to dune plants and algae. had eight research laborato- studies has grown tremen- Institute for Environmental Citigroup Center 8206, 41st Floor, One of his first experiments ries and a lecture space large dously. In 1965, the Wrigley Studies, which includes the Los Angeles, CA 90089-8206 or was determining what effect enough for 40 students. family donated land to USC to Wrigley Marine Science Cen- [email protected]

50 DORNSIFE FAMILY

HONORS

Faculty News JED FUHRMAN, McCulloch- pology section of the American Crosby Chair of Marine Biology, Anthropological Association for IRVING BIEDERMAN, Harold was honored with a prestigious her book The Paradox of Hope: Lucky Thirteen Dornsife Chair in Neurosci- Marine Microbiology Initiative In- Journeys through a Clinical Bor- Chosen by their peers in recognition of research that significantly ences and professor of vestigator Award from the Gordon derland (University of California raises the bar of our understanding of science worldwide, an psychology and computer and Betty Moore Foundation. Press, 2010). unprecedented 13 USC Dornsife professors have been selected science, delivered the Provost’s fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci- Annual Lecture at Kansas State SOLOMON GOLOMB, Univer- SRI R. NARAYAN, profes- ence (AAAS). This brings the total number of USC Dornsife AAAS University. sity Professor and Distin- sor (research) of chemistry, fellows to 47. The organization seeks to advance science and guished Professor of Electrical was selected by the U.S. Energy engineering innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all FRANK CORSETTI, associate Engineering and Mathematics, Department’s Advanced Research people. The new fellows are: professor of earth sciences, received the National Medal of Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has been appointed a fellow of the Science from President Barack to receive funding through its NORMAN ARNHEIM is Distinguished Professor of Biological Sci- Geological Society of America. Obama at a White House cer- “OPEN 2012” program. ences, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and Ester Dornsife Chair emony. Golomb also received a in Biological Sciences, who has joint appointments in USC Dornsife University Professor ANTONIO commendation from the city of KENNETH NEALSON, Wrigley and the Keck School of Medicine of USC. DAMASIO, David Dornsife Los Angeles in recognition of this Chair in Environmental Stud- Chair in Neuroscience, profes- national accolade. ies and professor of earth sci- SUSAN FRIEDLANDER is professor of mathematics and director sor of psychology and neurol- ences and biological sciences, of the USC Center for Applied Mathematical Sciences. ogy, and director of the Brain DEBORAH HARKNESS, pro- has been appointed a fellow of the and Creativity Institute, received fessor of history, was named a American Geophysical Union. MARGARET GATZ is professor and chair of psychology, professor an honorary doctorate from the “Woman of Influence” by Mount of gerontology and preventive medicine, and director of the Educa- University of Leuven in Belgium. Holyoke College. MANUEL PASTOR, professor tion Core at the USC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. of sociology and American University Professor HANNA TERENCE G. LANGDON, studies and ethnicity, was THOMAS JORDAN is University Professor, W. M. Keck Foundation DAMASIO, Dana Dornsife William E. Leonard Professor selected by Poder Hispanic Maga- Chair in Geological Sciences and Professor of Earth Sciences, and Chair in Neuroscience and in Engineering and professor zine as one of “The Green 100: La- director of the Southern California Earthquake Center, housed in professor of psychology and of aerospace and mechanical tinos Fighting for the Planet” for his USC Dornsife. neurology, received a doctora engineering, materials science work as director of USC Dornsife’s honoris causa from the Open Univer- and earth sciences, received Program for Environmental and ANNA KRYLOV is professor of chemistry. sity of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. the 2012 Acta Materialia Gold Regional Equity. Medal from the European Materials DANIEL LIDAR, professor of electrical engineering and chemistry, BILL DEVERELL, professor Research Society. DARBY SAXBE, assistant pro- with joint appointments in USC Dornsife and USC Viterbi School of and interim chair of history, fessor of psychology, has been Engineering. He is the scientific director of the new USC Lockheed has been named a distinguished ALWYN LIM, assistant profes- named a “Rising Star” by the Asso- Martin Quantum Computing Center, and cofounder of the USC Cen- lecturer of the Western Historical sor of sociology, received the ciation of Psychological Science. ter for Quantum Information Science and Technology. Association. 2012 ProQuest Distinguished Dis- sertation Award. University Professor KEVIN JOHN MCARDLE, is professor of psychology and gerontology, KATRINA EDWARDS, profes- STARR, professor of history, with joint appointments in USC Dornsife and USC Davis School of sor of biological sciences, VALTER LONGO, professor and policy, planning and devel- Gerontology. earth sciences and environ- of gerontology and biologi- opment, received the Los Angeles mental studies, was awarded cal sciences, has received the Times’ Robert Kirsch Award. SUSAN MONTGOMERY is professor of mathematics. the 2012 A.G. Huntsman Award for American Federation for Aging Re- Excellence in Marine Science. search’s Vincent Cristofalo Rising VERONICA TERRIQUEZ, as- HANNA REISLER is Lloyd Armstrong Jr. Chair for Science and Star Award in Aging Research. sistant professor of sociology, Engineering and professor of chemistry. MOH EL-NAGGAR, assistant received a 2013–14 Ford Postdoc- professor of physics, was se- M.G. LORD of the Master of toral Fellowship from the National FENGZHU SUN is professor of molecular and computational biology. lected as one of Popular Science’s Professional Writing Program Academies’ National Research 2012 Brilliant 10, the magazine’s has been selected as a judge for Council. MARK THOMPSON is professor of chemistry, materials science annual honor roll of the 10 most the 2013 National Book Awards. and environmental studies, with joint appointments in USC Dornsife promising young scientists. NICK WARNER, professor of and USC Viterbi. CHERYL MATTINGLY, profes- physics and astronomy and LEE EPSTEIN, Provost Profes- sor of anthropology and occu- mathematics, was named a Si- ARIEH WARSHEL is Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and sor of Law and Political Science, pational science and therapy, mons Fellow in Theoretical Physics Biochemistry. has been selected to serve as a Phi received the 2012 Stirling Prize by the Simons Foundation. Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar for the for Best Published Work in Psy- ALAN WATTS is professor of biological sciences, physiology and 2013–14 academic year. chological Anthropology from the biophysics. Society for Psychological Anthro- Continued on page 54.

Spring / Summer 2013 51 FACULTY CANON

novel is a surreal coming-of-age tale featuring a cast of characters A Thing of Beauty ranging from Little Lord Fauntle- By an expert on Russian language, art and theatre, John E. Bowlt’s latest book roy to H. P. Lovecraft to O (from highlights the Russian cultural renaissance of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Story of O).

When the first students of the newly established USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance matriculate in Fall 2015, their education will extend beyond learning to gracefully perform a plié, pirouette and rond de jambe; they’ll also be taught the business and history of dance. Fortunately, John E. Bowlt, professor of Slavic languages and literatures in USC Dornsife, has recently coauthored an authoritative volume on one of the most impor- THE BODY | OF SPACE | IN THE tant interludes in the Russian cultural renaissance of the early 20th century. SHAPE OF THE HUMAN New Masterpieces of Russian Stage Design, 1880–1930 (Antique Collectors’ Club Ltd., 2012) Issues Press / Thematic Op- focuses on the sets, costumes, promotional materials and art direction crafted by Russian tion Program lecturer Andrew artisans for the theatre, opera and ballet productions in the Eastern European cultural mecca. Allport’s debut collection of Bowlt and his coauthors, Nina and Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky and Olga Shaymyan, guide poetry contains a series of the reader through the variety of movements, styles, productions and projects found in the elegies for his father as well as PERCIVAL EVERETT BY VIRGIL theatre during this period, particularly those of the Ballets Russes, rivaled only by the Bolshoi. more abstract and philosophical RUSSELL: A Novel Graywolf Using the extensive world-renowned Lobanov-Rostovsky collection as a guide, the authors meditations on being and time. Press / Distinguished Professor of documented the history of modern Russian art. English Percival Everett’s 25th “The era witnessed an unprecedented creative symbiosis of artists, musicians, directors, and novel is a story inside a story performers, which left an indelible impression upon the very notion of the theatre in its widest inside a story in which an aging sense,” said Bowlt, director of the Institute of Modern Russian Culture, housed in USC Dornsife. father in a nursing home writes “New dramas by Anton Chekhov, new ballet productions by Sergei Diaghilev, new films by the novel he imagines his son Sergei Eisenstein demanded innovative and often radical solutions — prompting a bold generation would write. Or is it the novel that of painters such as Léon Bakst, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, and Kazimir Malevich to turn the son imagines his father would their sights to stage design and to regard it not as a mere craft, but as a medium equal to studio imagine, if he were to imagine the painting.” kind of novel the son would write? “Also important is the fact that major women artists such as Aleksandra Exter, Natalia Goncharova, and Lyubov Pop- SINOPHONE STUDIES: ova came to the fore, constitut- A Critical Reader Columbia Uni- ing the ‘Amazons’ of the Russia versity Press / Brian Bernards, avant-garde,” Bowlt added. assistant professor of East Asian With more than 200 color languages and cultures, coedited illustrations of selected designs this anthology that examines the — plus indices to artists, theatre place-based cultural and social companies and primary pro- practices of Sinitic-language com- ductions, and a comprehensive munities in their historical contexts bibliography for the visual and beyond “China proper.” THE FOUNDLING WHEEL performing arts in Russia — Four Way / Centered on the Masterpieces provides a “sense adoption of English lecturer Blas of the rich variety, experimental Falconer’s son, the collection energy, interdisciplinary nature of poems — in their exploration and international influence of of relationships, solitude and Russian culture just before and the self — creates an emotional after the Bolshevik Revolution mosaic that explores the decision of October 1917,” Bowlt said. to become a parent. A companion volume, Ency- clopedia of Russian Stage Design, 1880-1930 (Antique Collectors’ Club Ltd.), will be published in THE MEMOIRS OF JONBENET October 2013. —D.K. BY KATHY ACKNER Les Figues / Associate professor (teaching) of Poster design for the film The Knot comparative literature and Eng- (1927) by Petr Galadzhev. lish Michael du Plessis’ debut

52 DORNSIFE FAMILY

Rings University of Michigan works and traditions ranging from exceptionalism,” designed to sup- Press / Patrick James, USC Dornsife coins to statues and reliefs. He port U.S. economic, political, military Dean’s Professor of International considers the realistic traditions and cultural expansion around the Relations and director of the Center of sculptural portraiture and the world in the past two decades. for International Studies, coauthored ways Roman leaders from the late a guide that provides an introduction Republic through the Imperial to international relations using J. R. period were represented in relation R. Tolkien’s fantastically popular tril- to the divine. ogy as a foundation due to its major themes of good versus evil and human agency versus determinism. THE ORACLE OF HOLLYWOOD 10 PRINT The MIT Press / Mark BOULEVARD W. W. Norton & C. Marino, associate professor Company / Master of Professional (teaching) in the Writing Program, Writing Program senior lecturer and and his coauthors, take a single line of The New Yorker staff writer Dana code — the extremely concise BASIC Goodyear’s second collection of program for the Commodore 64 — CURIOUS SUBJECTS: Women poetry draws on the scenery of Los and use it as a lens through which to and the Trials of Realism Angeles — the teenagers, vagrants, consider the phenomenon of creative Oxford University Press / Hilary pornographers — and the beautiful computing and the way computer M. Schor, professor of English, decay that serves as an insistent programs exist in culture. PRINTING A MEDITERRANEAN comparative literature, gender reminder to them all. WORLD: Florence, Constan- studies and law, and co-director of tinople, and the Renaissance the USC Center for Law, History and SINEWS OF THE NATION: of Geography Harvard University Culture, provides thought-provoking Constructing Irish and Zionist Press / Assistant Professor of Art new readings of the most canonical Bonds in the United States History Sean Roberts demon- novels of the 19th century — Hard Polity Books / Assistant Professor of strates that Florentine humanist and Times, Bleak House, Vanity Fair and Sociology Dan Lainer-Vos treats statesman Francesco Berlinghieri’s Daniel Deronda among them — and nation-building as a practical or- Geographia represents the moment pushes well beyond commonplace ganizational accomplishment and of transition between printing and historicist accounts of British culture examines how the Irish republicans manuscript culture, while forming a in the period as a monolithic ideo- and the Zionist movement secured critical base for the rise of modern logical formation. financial support in the United cartography. States during the first half of the SANDALWOOD AND CARRION: LARGE WHITE HOUSE 20th century. Smell in Indian Religion and SPEAKING New Issues Press / In Culture Oxford University Press / his new volume of poetry, associate James McHugh, assistant profes- professor of English Mark Irwin sor of religion, explores the deeply balances precision — each line significant religious and cultural has been carved into being with role of smell in India throughout consummate care — against an the first millennium CE. enchanting and tonic strangeness, an adventurous commitment to the depths and reaches of metaphor. THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF LABYRINTH THE NEW AMERICAN STUDIES GemmaMedia / The central MPublishing, University of character in Master of Professional EX-CINEMA: From a Theory of Michigan Library / USC Associates Writing Program lecturer and Los Experimental Film and Video Chair in Humanities and Professor Angeles Times book critic David University of California Press / of English and American Studies Ulin’s fictive novel takes a journey Akira Mizuta Lippit, professor and Ethnicity John Carlos Rowe of the spirit, which leads him to of cinematic arts, comparative describes how neoliberal ideology reflect on who he is and who he literature, and East Asian languages FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE: has used the issues of feminism, gay used to be, and on the relation- and cultures, explores the aes- Rhetoric, Religion, and Power rights, multiculturalism, transna- ships between distance and thetic, technical and theoretical in the Visual Culture of Ancient tionalism and globalization, class belonging and between memory THE INTERNATIONAL RELA- reverberations of avant-garde film Rome University of Oklahoma mobility, religious freedom, and and identity. TIONS OF MIDDLE-EARTH: and video. Press / Professor of Art History and freedom of speech and cultural Learning from The Lord of the History John Pollini examines expression to justify a new “American

Spring / Summer 2013 53 TROJANALITY

MOHAMMED ZIANE, professor The Collaborator, about an Israeli PAT NOLAN (B.A., political of mathematics, received the accused of conspiring with the science, ’72), president of the 2012 Algerian Scholar award. Nazis, was among the first novels Justice Fellowship, received the chosen by Amazon to introduce its Advocacy Award from the Justice Assistant Professors of Math- audiobook program. Roundtable for “tireless work cham- OutRangaswamy Srinivasan of ’56 hasSight been awarded the ematics ARAVIND ASOK and pioning criminal justice reform.” nation’s top honor for technological advancement. AARON LAUDA and Assistant 1950s Professor of Education and ALAN BRUSH (B.A., zool- RAYMUND A. PAREDES (M.A., Rangaswamy Srinivasan (Ph.D., chemistry, ’56) of the Psychology MARY HELEN ogy, ’56), professor emeritus, American studies, ’70), com- IBM Corporation has been presented with the National IMMORDINO-YANG received physiology and neurobiology at missioner of higher education at Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation’s high- CAREER awards from the National the University of Connecticut, the Texas Higher Education Coor- est honor for technological achievement. Science Foundation. was honored with the Marion dinating Board, was appointed to President Barack Obama awarded Srinivasan — who Jenkinson Service Award of The the board of directors of Big Broth- set the groundwork for laser eye surgery — the medal A People’s Guide to Los Angeles, by American Ornithologists’ Union. ers, Big Sisters of America. during a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C., LAURA PULIDO, professor of in February 2013. The award recognizes those who have American studies and ethnic- LUN W. HOM M.D. (B.S., zool- LEONARD PITTS, JR. (B.A., made lasting contributions to America’s competitive- ity (ASE), and ASE Ph.D. alumni ogy, ’58), a cancer surgeon who English, ’77), won the fiction cat- ness, standard of living and quality of life through tech- Laura Barraclough and Wendy was appointed clinical assistant egory of the 2013 BCALA Literary nological innovation, and who have made substantial Cheng, won the Globe Prize from professor of surgery at USC in Awards, given by the Black Caucus contributions to strengthening the nation’s technologi- the Association of American 1980, retired at age 79 after 45 of the American Library Associa- cal workforce. Geographers. years of practice and instruction in tion, for his novel Freeman. Srinivasan is credited with inventing an interaction Long Beach, CA. between pulses of ultraviolet laser radiation and organic Seven USC Dornsife mathemati- GREGORY L. PROBERT (B.A., solid matter such as polymer (plastics) and living tissue, cians have been named inaugural CARL R. TERZIAN (B.A., his- psychology, ’79) was named under controlled conditions. He named his 1980 inven- fellows of the American Math- tory, ’57) was honored with the executive chairman of the board of tion ablative photodecomposition (APD). ematical Society. Honored are Community Champion Award by directors by Nature’s Sunshine Prod- A direct outcome of his invention came along more FRANCIS BONAHON, professor the Los Angeles Opportunities ucts, a leading natural health and than two decades later with laser eye surgery, or LASIK, and chair of the mathematics Industrialization Center at the wellness company based in Lehi, UT. to correct visual impairments. department; ERIC FRIEDLAND- Breakfast of Champions Gala. Srinivasan said it was gratifying to know that the ER, Dean’s Professor of Mathe- ROBERT ROSENTHAL (B.A., work he did in USC Dornsife on the chemistry of pro- matics; SUSAN FRIEDLANDER, 1970s ’74; M.S., geology, ’77) was ap- teins would inspire him 25 years later to study the inter- professor of mathematics and JULIET DE CAMPOS (B.A., in- pointed president and chief execu- action of animal tissue with the pulsed radiation from an director of USC’s Center for Ap- terdivisional studies, ’78; M.S. tive officer, secretary and chairman ultraviolet, excimer laser. Srinivasan did the work for his plied Mathematical Sciences; ’80; M.D., ’84), an orthopaedic of the board of directors of North Ph.D. thesis under the supervision of the late professor University Professor SOLOMON surgeon, joined the Andrews Insti- American Oil and Gas Corporation. Sidney W. Benson. GOLOMB, Distinguished Profes- tute for Orthopaedics and Sports sor of Electrical Engineering Medicine and Baptist Medical GRACE KADNER WICKER- “On that day in November 1981, I was amazed to find FOUNDATION MEDALS & TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE MORRIS/NATIONAL K. RYAN BY PHOTO that the tissue was not ‘zapped’ as was the expectation and Mathematics, and Andrew Group in Pensacola, FL. SHAM (M.A., economics, ’76), among the laser scientists, but smoothly etched away, layer- and Erna Viterbi Professor of senior vice president and senior by-layer, to leave a Communications; and math- JOHN MEARSHEIMER (M.A., economic and financial analyst for microscopic chan- ematics professors ROBERT international relations, ’74) Carpenter and Company and the nel,” Srinivasan GURALNICK, KO HONDA and was added to the Hall of Distin- Carpenter Community BancFund, said. “It took anoth- SUSAN MONTGOMERY. guished Graduates at Croton- joined the board of directors of er 15 years before Harmon High School, Croton- Plaza Bank. these observations on-Hudson, NY. He is R. Wendell would be developed Alumni News Harrison Distinguished Service MICHAEL WILLIAMS (B.A., as a medically ac- Professor of Political Science political science, ’75; J.D., ceptable surgical 1940s and co-director of the Program ’80) was appointed Texas’ top technique for the ARTHUR L. ALARCÓN (B.A., on International Security at the education official by Gov. Rick reshaping of the political science, ’49; LLB. ’51), University of Chicago. Perry, becoming the first African human cornea. This a federal judge, was honored as American to be named state is the process that is Hispanic of the Year by the San JOHN NABER (B.A., psychol- education commissioner. known today in all Bernardino/Riverside County ogy, ’77), USC swimming great developed countries chapter of the National Latino and Olympic gold medalist, was 1980s as LASIK eye sur- Police Officers Association. inducted into the Capital One Aca- CAREN CATY (B.A., English, demic All-America Hall of Fame, ’83) was named a senior fellow at gery.” —P.J.J. Rangaswamy Srinivasan receives the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama dur- S.L. (SID) STEBEL’s (B.A., Eng- selected by the College Sports Humane Research Institutes by the ing a White House ceremony in February 2013. lish, ’49) post-Holocaust thriller, Information Directors of America. American Humane Association.

54 DORNSIFE FAMILY

TROJAN TRAVEL HAVE TEACHER WILL TRAVEL curious travelers whose dream faculty hosts. of Professor of International Rela- USC faculty hosts put the USC vacations combine leisure and These faculty hosts hail from tions and frequent Trojan Travel Alumni Association’s Trojan learning, these opportunities are the full range of USC schools, host Laurie Brand, these faculty- Travel at the head of the class. available through Trojan Travel, with the majority representing led excursions are like “living the USC Alumni Association’s USC Dornsife, where professors classrooms” — without tests or Imagine learning about Charles affinity travel organization. with multiple disciplines are the term papers. Darwin’s theories of evolu- For the past 35 years, Trojan norm. A total of eight Dornsife tion while observing the giant Travel has been dedicated to faculty are scheduled for trips For more information on Trojan tortoises, finches and seals of promoting lifelong learning and this year; most are longtime Travel’s faculty-led trips and the Galápagos Islands, which intellectual enrichment through supporters of the travel program. other excursions, including inspired the English naturalist’s travel, and to strengthening the They enhance the travel experi- adventure and young alumni revolutionary text The Origin of bond between Trojans and USC. ence by spotlighting a destina- travel, call (213) 821-6005 or Species. Or studying the ruins Every year, the program offers tion’s culture and history and by visit alumni.usc.edu/travel. of an ancient Roman settlement USC alumni, family and friends sharing their expertise to deepen in Jordan, whose rich history approximately 40 trips all over the traveler’s understanding of spans millennia. For intellectually the globe, many featuring USC the places they visit. In the words

RUSS JONES (B.A., sociology, joined the Ada County Highway Dis- officer of Assurant Health of Other Populations by the U.S. Cen- S.I. (STACIE) STRONG (MPW, ’89), an attorney in North Platte, trict in Idaho as deputy director of Milwaukee, Wis., has moved to the sus Bureau. She received the 2012 ’90), associate professor of law at NE, announced plans to seek elec- the Planning and Projects Division. post of senior vice president, new Distinguished Scholar of Ethnic the University of Missouri School tion to Nebraska’s 42nd senate business development. Geography Award from the Asso- of Law in Columbia, Mo., was seat in 2014. GRAEME WILSON (M.A., ciation of American Geographers’ selected the 2012–13 Supreme international relations, ’81) MARK E. FORSTER (B.A., Ethnic Geography Specialty Group. Court Fellow assigned to the ESTHER KIA’AINA (B.A., in- became Australia’s High Com- political science and interna- Federal Judicial Center. She will ternational relations, ’85) was missioner to South Africa, the tional relations, ’95; J.D., ’98) KIMBERLEY LOVATO (B.A., spend her fellowship year in the appointed deputy director of the country’s largest African trading was appointed general counsel by international relations, ’90) Office of Judicial Relations. Department of Land and Natural partner with two-way investment Sabal Financial Group, Newport was awarded two Lowell Thomas Resources by Hawaii Gov. Neil totaling $5 billion in 2011. Beach, Calif. awards in September 2012, from CAROL TANG (M.S., geology, Abercrombie. the Society of American Travel ’93; Ph.D., ’96) was honored 1990s ZSA ZSA GERSHICK (MPW, Writers, including a gold for her as one of 12 women in Califor- ANNA MARIA LOPEZ (B.A., AMY BRANDT (B.A., political ’96), author and playwright, book Walnut Wine and Truffle nia chosen as “exemplary role physical education, ’82) was science, ’93) joined Prospect Mort- debuted her second play, Coming Groves (Running Press, 2010). models for California women inducted into the Hall of Fame by gage, LLC in Sherman Oaks, CA, as Attractions, at San Diego’s Moxie and girls” in the fields of science, the Catholic Youth Organization/ president of correspondent lending. Theatre in June and, in October, CHARLES MENZIES (B.A., in- technology, engineering and Camp Howard. wrote and directed Letters to ternational relations, ’95) was math (STEM) at the California CAROL CARPENTER (MPW, ONE: From Fringe to Forefront, voted to the board of Drinks Ameri- STEM Summit in San Diego. Tang DENISE O’ROURKE (B.A., ’98) debuted her play Sweet, a dramatic reading of material cas Holdings, Ltd. of Delaware. is director of the Coalition for Sci- political science, ’88) has been Sweet Spirit, winner of the High from The ONE National Gay & ence After School. sworn in as a prosecutor with the Desert Play Festival, at New Lesbian Archive at USC to honor KEVIN OLIVER (B.A., political Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Mexico State University, where it the archive’s 60th anniversary. science and broadcast jour- 2000s opened the fall season. A stage adaptation of her book nalism, ’94), an award-winning MATHEW ARSULICH (B.A., READ TAYLOR (M.S., geol- Gay Old Girls (Alyson Books, 1998) news reporter, has joined Sacra- English, ’05) was appointed ogy, ’88) has been appointed SONYA CHRISTIAN (M.S., ap- has been commissioned by San mento television station KCRA. brand manager at Paramount to the boards of directors of Rio plied mathematics, ’90) joined Diego’s Diversionary Theatre. Pictures in the Home Media Distri- Grande Mining Corp. and Acadia California’s Bakersfield College as GILBERT RIBONI (B.A., reli- bution Department. Resources Group. its 10th president. Christian served JON HARTMERE (B.A., inter- gion, ’94), a major in the U.S. Air

TROJAN TRAVEL PHOTO COURTESY OF CHERYL COLLIER most recently as vice president national relations, economics Force, was appointed assistant CHRISTINA ALMEIDA CAS- LAURA SKANDERA TROMB- and chief academic officer at Lane and creative writing, ’97) saw air attaché to the U.S. Embassy in SIDY (B.A., political science LEY (Ph.D., English, ’89), presi- Community College in Eugene, OR. his rock musical, Bare, debut Moscow, Russia. and journalism, ’01), AP’s news dent of Pitzer College, was appointed off-Broadway at New York’s New editor for Georgia, has been to the J. William Fullbright Foreign STEPHEN CONROY (Ph.D., World Stages in December 2012. STEVE ROKOSZEWSKI (B.A., named lead Statehouse reporter Scholarship Board by President economics, ’98), professor of He developed the idea for the international relations, ’98) for the state. She will focus on Barack Obama, becoming the only economics at the University of San coming-of-age story while at USC. was promoted to executive vice education and other coverage current board member to represent Diego, has been appointed direc- president of American Realty related to state agencies, with an the western United States. tor of USD’s Center for Peace and WEI LI (Ph.D., geography, ’97), Capital Global Trust, Inc. emphasis on exploring how tax Commerce. professor of Asian Pacific American dollars are spent. DAVID G. WALLACE (M.A., studies and geography at Arizona JENNIFER SABOVIK (B.A., international relations, ’81), STEVE DZIEDZIC (B.A., math- State University, was appointed a English/Creative Writing, ’96) Continued on page 56. a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and ematics, ’92), formerly senior member of the National Advisory was made a partner at Bullard former aerospace executive, has vice president and chief financial Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Smith Jernstedt Wilson law firm.

Spring / Summer 2013 55 BARBARA DUFFEY (B.A., Eng- 2010s Engagements, In Memoriam MARCELLA JEANNE lish, ’02) was appointed assistant LAURENCE CLERFEUILLE Weddings, NEAL F. AMSDEN (B.A., ’49, CURTRIGHT (B.A., German, professor of English at Dakota (Ph.D., French, ’10) was named Anniversaries and M.D., ’53) South Laguna, CA ’51) Los Angeles, CA (1/7/2013) at Wesleyan University, Mitchell, SD. assistant professor of modern lan- Births (6/13/2012) at age 84; board certi- age 82; ran an editing, writing and guages, French, by Saint Michael’s fied in internal medicine; moved to typing business for 30 years; fin- SEAN FITZPATRICK (B.A., his- College in Colchester, VT. JESSICA BROMMELHOFF Laguna Beach in 1959 and remained ished her career as a lead technical tory, ’08) joined the office of Sen. (Ph.D., psychology, ’10) is en- in practice there until retiring in writer at Hughes Aircraft. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) as press MARY COYNE (B.A., art histo- gaged to Lucas Seibert. She is a 1986; served as attending physician secretary. ry, ’10) presented the multi-artist fellow in psychology at the West at South Coast Community Hospital MURPHY LEON “SANDY” exhibitions Searchin’: Los Angeles Los Angeles Veteran’s Admin- and chief of staff on two occasions; DALTON JR. (M.S., physics, GLEN GONZALEZ (B.A., po- and the Quest for the Sublime and istration. She holds a master of also served on staff at Hoag Memo- ’62) Dallas, TX (12/8/2012) at litical science, ’02), CEO of The Into the Wilderness: The Journey public health from Yale Univer- rial Hospital and as attending physi- age 81; served in the U.S. Navy Tierra Companies, has been ap- Within at Angels Gate Cultural sity and a bachelor’s degree in cian at LAC+USC Medical Center. during Korean War; invented the pointed to the board of trustees for Center in San Pedro, CA. psychobiology from Wellesley Lieb-Hazet Proton Magnetometer, the Contemporary Arts Museum in College. The couple is planning a EGBERT DUKE BUNIFF (M.A., a two-sensor metal detector ca- Houston, TX. GRAHAM FINK (B.A., psychol- May 25, 2013, wedding. Spanish, ’51) West Hills, CA pable of finding metallic objects at ogy, ’10) has been touring with (9/11/2012) at age 95; a veteran of sea or on land and popular among PAUL HEROUX (B.A., psychol- chart-topping band Milo Greene, JEROME COSTE (B.A., psy- WWII Battle of the Bulge, history archaeologists and treasure seek- ogy, ’01) was elected State Rep- of which he is a member. Fink, who chology, ’97; B.S., business and mathematics teacher, and ers; worked for the space program resentative for the Second Bristol shares vocals and plays a variety administration, ’97) welcomed accomplished artist and crafts- in Southern California, specializing District, MA. of instruments, performed with the birth of his first child, a son man; joined Masonic Brother- in fiber optics. the group on the Late Show with named Adrien, on Nov. 8, 2012. hood at age 89, completed 33rd JI HAO (M.A., East Asian David Letterman, Conan, Last Call degree of the Scottish Rite. CHRISTOPHER G. DECKER language and culture, ’06) with Carson Daly and The Tonight BARBARA DUFFEY (B.A., Eng- (B.A., math and economics, has joined the College of the Holy Show with Jay Leno. The group lish, ’02) and her husband, An- STANLEY RUSSELL CALDWELL ’94; M.A., economics, ’00) Cross in Worcester, MA, as an also released a short film, Mod- drew Breitenbach, welcomed their (B.A., history, ’62) Los Angeles, Ashburn, VA (11/3/12) at age 40; assistant professor of modern dison, to accompany their debut son Theodore Duffey Breitenbach CA (11/3/2012) at age 72; worked as an employee of the Central Intel- languages and literatures. album. into the world on Aug. 22, 2012. a history and government teacher ligence Agency since 2000; was for LAUSD at Manual Arts and Ban- responsible for building out the SANDRA IRWIN (MPW, ’09) CHARISSE L’PREE (Ph.D, psy- JASON ALEXANDER RAEDE ning high schools. global health security portfolio for has been nominated for a Push- chology, ’12) will join Syracuse (B.A., international relations, the entire intelligence community cart Prize for her poem Loss. University in Fall 2013 as assistant ’10) and Frances Abby Shechter CLAUDENE CHRISTIAN (B.A., during the past decade; was critical professor, with a specialty in group were married Jan. 25, 2013, at social sciences and commu- in helping to guide the focus of that SHARNA JEFFERS (B.A., Eng- representation and diversity, in the Woodbury Jewish Center in nication, ’92) Atlantic Ocean, field to examining the geopolitical lish, ’05) launched her own fashion the Newhouse School of Public Woodbury, NY. off Cape Hatteras, NC (10/29/12) implications of health issues. company, Elect Fashion House, Communications. She taught at age 42; was swept overboard and is planning a new line of Trojan psychology of interactive media when Hurricane Sandy engulfed RISE (“RISA”) CARROLL women’s activewear to debut at in the Master’s of Human Behavior the replica tall ship H.M.S. Bounty, POCH DITTMAR (B.A., homecoming. Program in USC Dornsife. on which she was serving as a psychology, ’65) Honolulu, SEND ALUMNI NEWS TO crew member; was said to be a HI (12/17/2013) at age 69; was ALPHA MULUGETA (B.A., MARTIN REIMANN (Ph.D., USC Dornsife Magazine, Citigroup direct descendant of Fletcher a member of the Gamma Phi psychology, ’06) (aka Honey psychology, ’13) will join the Center 8206, 41st Floor, Christian, who led the infamous sorority; served on the board of Los Angeles, CA 90089-8206 or Mahogany) was a contestant on the University of Arizona Eller College of submit online at dornsife.usc.edu/ 1789 mutiny on the Bounty; won directors of the Honolulu Adver- fifth season of Rupaul’s Drag Race. Management as assistant profes- alumni-news. Information may be Miss Teen Alaska in 1986 and Miss tising Federation; was active in Art sor of marketing in Fall 2013. He edited for space. Alaska National Teen in 1987; was Academy of Honolulu, Honolulu

NICHOLAS SCURICH (B.A., has published numerous scholarly Listings for the “Alumni News” and “In a member of Gamma Phi Beta so- Symphony Guild and Friends of psychology, ’07) was named articles on topics of emotion and Memoriam” sections are compiled based on rority and USC’s Song Girls cheer- Hawaii Kai Public Library. submissions from alumni and USC Dornsife among the “Rising Stars” of 2013 consumption in leading academic departments as well as published notices from ing squad; founded Collegiate Doll by the Association for Psychologi- journals and is the recipient of sev- various media outlets. Company. LAWRENCE EBER (“BUD”) cal Science Observer. He holds a eral prestigious awards and honors. DRUMM (B.A., pre-law, joint appointment in psychology SHELLEY S. CROOK (B.A., ’30; LLB, ’32) Los Angeles, CA and social behavior and criminol- DAVID RANDS (Ph.D., history, sociology, ’73) Phoenix, AZ (2/12/2013) at age 104; was the ogy, law and society at the Univer- ’11) joined Austin Peay State (2/5/2013) at age 62; attended oldest living California lawyer and sity of California, Irvine. University as assistant professor Arcadia High School and was an judge (retired); active in Delta Chi dornsife.usc.edu/alumni-news of history. active member of Kappa Kappa fraternity at USC; practiced civil and Gamma Sorority at USC. commercial law in downtown L.A. until 1966; then appointed to the California Municipal Court, where

56 DORNSIFE FAMILY

TROJANALITY

he served as a judge until retiring PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Ph.D., speech pathology and in 1978; worked as an arbitrator Fellowship; served as director of the communications, ’56) La Quinta, until age 95; an avid hybridizer, he education department at Union Res- CA (1/20/2013) at age 88; served was the grower and international cue Mission; developed a GED and as Governors State University’s judge of cymbidium orchids; won tutoring program for the Delancey president from 1977 to 1992; prior prestigious Hudlow Medal at 1983 Street Foundation, which gives ex- to his presidentship, he taught A Rising Star Santa Barbara Orchid Show. convicts and drug addicts a second speech at several universities in Brittany Berns ’08 has led an effort in Benin, Africa, chance; founded PREP Solutions, California, including California State to fund and construct a school in the village of JURI EENMAA (B.S., physics, Inc., in Boston, for which she was an University, Long Beach. Toucountouna. She’s just getting started. ’63; M.A., physics, ’66) Lake Bu- Echoing Green Fellow in 1999; worked chanan, TX (9/27/12) at age 71; was as operations manager at Harvard HERBERT J. GUTHMANN born in Estonia and emigrated to Business School and served as a (M.A., English, ’62; Ph.D. the U.S. in 1950; was an associate criminal justice research assistant at English, ‘70) Los Angeles, CA professor of physics at University the Kennedy School of Government. (8/12/2012) at age 80; served in of Washington; joined Swedish U.S. Marine Corps in Korea; was Cancer Institute in Seattle in 1989, JAMES ARTHUR GAYLE (B.S., professor of English at Fullerton working in medical physics and naval science, ’46) Salinas, CA College from 1964 to 1998. prostate seed implant program. (12/13/12) at age 91; served in U.S. Navy during WWII; worked in trans- GEORGE CARDER HADLEY GEORGE M. FERRIER (B.A., portation and supply for 30 years; (B.A., political science, ’49) psychology, ’52) Los Angeles, CA served as a private consultant and Lompoc, CA (11/10/2012) at age (12/21/2012) at age 84; an accom- built a successful trucking/trans- 87; served in U.S. Marine Corps plished athlete and member of USC portation business, Coast Counties in South Pacific; proclaimed 1995 gymnastics team, was All-League Express; served in the Naval Re- Lompoc Valley Chamber of Com- and All-City in gymnastics and AAU serves for 35 years before retiring in merce “Man of the Year” for his state vault champion in 1945 and 1981 with rank of commander. involvement with American Cancer When Brittany Berns (B.A., international relations, ’08) 1946; served in U.S. Army Counter Society, United Way and other arrived as a Peace Corps volunteer in Toucountouna, Intelligence in Europe from 1952 to NEWSON JAMES “CHIEF” charitable organizations. Benin, in 2010 to teach English to seventh- and eighth- 1954; managed Harbor Laundry GIBSON JR. (B.A., psychology, grade students, she quickly realized that the school was and Dry Cleaners then operated ’50) Baker City, OR ( 2/17/13) at age WHITNEY HALLIGAN (B.A., in desperate need of additional classrooms. own business for 54 years; was 88; was a World War II veteran and History, ’81) Manchester Center, Instructors often had to teach their lessons outdoors. twice elected master councilor, San served in the Aleutians area and VT (1/20/2013) at age 53; a success- On occasion, Berns would have to teach at night because Pedro chapter, Order of DeMolay. the Pacific Theater, most notably ful executive chef in the Boston there weren’t enough classrooms available during the day Okinawa, before attaining the rank area; served as board president to accommodate her 60 students. RORY FITZPATRICK (B.A., of sergeant; enrolled at USC after of Zion Preschool and a leader in Working in collaboration with the school’s leader- political science, ’69) Los his stint in the military and gradu- school lunch program at Manches- ship, Berns launched a fundraising campaign. The school Angeles, CA (11/25/2012) at age ated cum laude; had a 35-year law ter Elementary Middle School. pitched in to raise funds, and donations were also col- 66; worked for the Automobile enforcement career working for the lected through the Peace Corps Partnership Program, Club of Southern California for 30 police departments of Palo Alto, Fre- NORMAN HOWARD HARRIS which allows volunteers to post projects online to collect years then served as chief of field mont and Arcata, CA, and Auburn, Newhall, CA (1/7/2013) at age 71; contributions. In all, the efforts raised $21,500 to con- operations for the 4th Council WA; served as police chief in Arcata donor to USC Dornsife; worked in struct three new classrooms — no small feat. District for almost a decade. and Auburn; awarded the J. Edgar high-temperature ceramic lab at “That’s a large amount for such a rural community,” Hoover Medal of Excellence in the McDonnell Douglas and Hughes Berns said. “The community leaders were great partners BERNARD FORMAN (M.S., ’47, Study of Law Enforcement; served Raytheon; invented high-temper- and were fiercely committed to improving the school Ph.D., psychology, ’60) Los Ga- on the task force of the National ature material to help stabilize

RISING STAR PHOTO COURTESY OF BRITTANY BERNS BRITTANY OF COURTESY PHOTO STAR RISING environment.” tos, CA (9/4/2012) at age 91; was Advisory Commission on Criminal telescopes to prevent distortions Berns is also committed to helping young women in awarded six bronze stars after Judicial Standards and Goals. and developed high-temperature Toucountouna pursue an education. Many young women serving as lieutenant in naval tiles to coat space shuttles; was a in the village are deterred from continuing their educa- combat operations in South Pa- VEDA MAE RAUCH “GABBY” past president of National Institute tion because they lack funding or familial support. Berns cific during World War II; worked GLESBY (B.A., history, ’43) of Ceramic Engineers and the founded the Rising Stars scholarship program, which, as California parole officer; was Houston, TX (7/25/12) at age 89; a life- Southern California branch of the so far, has provided a year’s school tuition to 17 girls. promoted to regional director of long resident of Houston, she was a American Ceramic Society; found- Working from her Brooklyn, N.Y., home, Berns over- paroles; served as hearing officer member of Congregation Beth Israel ing member and president of the sees the program with help from a Benin-based supervi- for California Adult Authority. and Congregation Beth Yeshurun. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Soci- sor. She established the program as a nongovernmental ety; son Howard Wayne Harris, is a organization with the Beninese government and is now ROBBIE FRANDSEN (B.A., LEO GOODMAN-MALAMUTH research scientist in USC Dornsife. going through the steps to launch it as a nonprofit orga- study of the city, ’95) Los Angeles, II (B.A., Spanish/planning and nization in the United States. —M.S. CA (2/16/2013) at age 60; won a urban studies, ’47; M.S., ’49; Continued on page 60.

Spring / Summer 2013 57 ALUMNI AND STUDENT CANON McIllwain (B.S., international relations, history, social science, ’91) deconstructs the “mafia mystique” that has dominated scholarly, political and legal discourse about organized crime.

THE POLITICAL THOUGHT WOMEN AS POLITICAL THE SAUSAGE MAKER’S THE INSCRUTABLE MR. OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS: LEADERS: Studies in DAUGHTERS Bibliophile ELIZABETH Spinsters Ink / In Pursuit of American Gender and Governing Rout- Press / A.G.S. Johnson (MPW, Marlene Leach (MPW, ’10) Liberty NYU Press / Nicholas ledge / Michael Genovese ’01) set this novel in the 1960s, weaves a thriller about a Robert Buccola (Ph.D., (M.A., political science, ’75; taking readers on a wild ride former spy trained in psychic- political science, ’07) argues Ph.D., political science, ’79) through the past and present controlled remote viewing who that beyond his role as an abo- and coeditor Janie S. Steck- predicament of 24-year-old Kip is on a quest to find a mysteri- litionist, Douglass was a politi- enrider provide a critical look Czermanski, who is being held ous and disturbing female se- ELDERS Hogarth / Creative cal thinker who provided deep at how women are defined as in a jail cell in her Wisconsin rial killer, with whom she forms Writing and Literature doctoral insights into the challenge of leaders based on gender and hometown as she awaits a an unlikely alliance as the two candidate Ryan McIlvain, achieving and maintaining the ask why America has not yet court appearance in con- plot their escape. who was born in Salt Lake City liberal promise of freedom. produced a female president. nection with the death of her and left the Mormon Church in Also by Michael Genovese ex-lover, who also happened to his mid-20s, tells the story of WATERGATE REMEM- be her brother-in-law. Elder McLeod and Elder Pas- BERED: The Legacy for sos, two young missionaries American Politics edited in Brazil, each struggling with with Iwan Morgan Palgrave specific aspects of their faith Macmillan and whose friendship is tested A PRESIDENTIAL NATION: by the simmering tensions. Causes, Consequences, and Cures Westview Press LEADERSHIP MATTERS: MY IMAGINERY FRIEND Paradoxes and Possibilities WAS TOO COOL TO HANG edited with Thomas Cronin THE SHAKESPEARE DRUG OUT WITH ME Aberdeen Bay / Paradigm Publishers Kerrera House Press / K. Scot Charles Freericks’ (MPW, A VARIORUM COMMEN- Macdonald’s (Ph.D., inter- ’86) collection of true comedic TARY ON THE POEMS OF national relations, ’97) first stories about one boy’s path JOHN MILTON: Volume novel is about a Los Angeles from “loserdom” to popularity 5, Part 8 (Paradise Lost, neurosurgeon who discovers offers a nostalgic glimpse into Books 11-12) Duquesne Uni- a drug that allows her to write THE INTERROGATOR’S the 1970s and ’80s. versity Press / Jameela Lares like Shakespeare but may also NOTEBOOK Story Merchant / (Ph.D., English, ’79) surveys all cause her to die. Martin Ott (MPW, ’97) uses important and influential line- his real-world experience as by-line commentary published a former U.S. Army interroga- between 1667 and 1970 on tor to create the character of CASTING NORMA JEANE the impressive conclusion to Norman Kross, a master inter- The Woodbine Press / James Paradise Lost in books 11-12, rogator skilled at unlocking Glaeg (James Cornelius challenging the longstanding others’ secrets but blind to the Gloege) (B.A., comparative idea that the last two books truth of his relationship with literature, ’60; M.A., cinema, of Paradise Lost are inferior his family and friends. ’68) recaptures the late summer or unrelated to the rest of the Also by Martin Ott THE LAST NIGHT King’s Men of 1946 as a “pretty but plain” epic. CAPTIVE C&R Press Press / Daniel Gardina (B.A., model and starlet steps into a POET’S GUIDE TO AMERICA, English and philosophy, ’05; role that will make her the most DECONSTRUCTING co-written by John F. Buckley MPW, ’07) tells the story of photographed, talked about, ORGANIZED CRIME: An Brooklyn Arts Press Alex, who wants to kill himself. and written about woman of the Historical and Theoretical His best friend, Ed, bargains 20th century: Marilyn Monroe. Study McFarland / Cowriting for a week to change his mind. with Joseph L. Albini, Jeffrey

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cart. As residents of this dry-creek town prepare to bury their own, it becomes clear that Glorette’s life and death are deeply entangled with the city’s dark history and the untouchable beauty that, finally, killed her.

THE SKIN REGIME: Boot Camp SECRET SEX LIVES: A Year for Beautiful Skin Verve / Dana on the Fringes of American Ramos (MPW, ’90) demystifies Sexuality Berkeley Books / Suzy how to create a personalized skin Spencer (MBA, ’81; MPW, ’87) has care regime based on dermatolo- penned an intimate account of gist recommendations. a journalist who sets out to look behind closed doors but ends up on a personal, revealing journey to find herself. GRAFFITI SIGNATURES Main Street Rag / Literature and creative writing doctoral candidate Cody Todd explores the world through the lens of graffiti and urban blight — the imperma- Reconstructing Love nence and provocative messages How far would you go for love? of graffiti in an ever-changing and For Sam, the protagonist in Leonard Pitt Jr.’s (B.A., ever-gentrifying urban landscape. English, ’77) sweeping historical novel, Freeman (Agate MICHAEL CONNELLY: A Bolden, 2012), the journey is nearly 1,000 miles from ur- Reader’s Guide Anaphora Liter- ban Philadelphia to rural Mississippi. But the course of true ary Press / Stan Schatt (Ph.D., love is not measured in time or distance. English, ’70) offers the definitive PALEOISTA: Gain Energy, Get It’s 1865. The “War Between the States” is over, Presi- guide to the best-selling novelist, Lean, and Feel Fabulous with dent Abraham Lincoln has been assassinated, and former discussing his novels and short the Diet You Were Born to slave Sam Freeman sets off on foot to find and reconnect stories, articles he published as Eat Touchstone / Nell (Buck- with the woman he’d been forced to leave behind 15 years a crime reporter and even movie ner) Stephenson (B.S., exercise earlier. treatments of his novels. science, ’97) explains how to Now a self-educated employee of the Philadelphia Free incorporate the Paleo diet into Library and former Union soldier, Sam soon realizes that day-to-day life by sticking to the many of the horrors of slavery will not end with the Recon- foods that human beings originally DRIVING THE BIRDS Shadwell struction period. ate, and excluding those devel- Publishing / Russell Traughber Sam is beaten and stomped within an inch of his life. He oped later. (B.A., economics, ’82) cap- loses his arm along the way and is forced to beg for sustenance tures the spirit and courage of — all for the sake of reuniting with the woman he would have Jabonkah Sackey, a bush girl who made his bride had slaves been allowed to marry. As Sam grew up in mid-1950s Liberia and winds his way South, his love, Tilda, is being forced at gun- overcame cruelty, oppression and point to accompany her former owner to find a haven where he a lifetime of hardship to achieve won’t have to “kowtow to Yankee domination.” her dreams and finally find free- Pitts, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and commen- A NEW ALGORITHM FOR dom in America. tator, conceived the idea for Freeman in the 1980s, inspired STUDYING ROUTES IN A by Leon F. Litwack’s book Been in the Storm So Long. CONNECTED GRAPH Telecom “What tugged at my heart,” Pitts has said, “was all the Network Science / Roshan L. things the slaves did to reconstruct their families, which Sharma (M.S., physics, ’55) de- had been torn apart by slavery. This was 1865; no comput- scribes an efficient new algorithm BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HERE ers, no telephones, no records of any use. Against all these for enumerating all types of routes McSweeney’s / Susan Straight’s odds, these people go through Herculean efforts to get back between a starting node, s, and all (B.A., English, ’82) final novel in to brothers, sisters, fathers, sons, loved ones.” —D.K. other nodes of a connected graph. her acclaimed Rio Seco trilogy TELL US ABOUT YOUR BOOK Write to USC Dornsife Magazine, finds Glorette Picard murdered, Citigroup Center 8206, 41st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90089-8206 or her body dumped in a shopping [email protected]

Spring / Summer 2013 59 TROJANALITY

JOHN JAMES HARTER (B.A., CAROLYN (“CJ”) JONES and Connecticut General; ended history, ’48; M.S. library (B.A., creative writing, ’09; career as private management science, ’53) Richmond, VA MPW student) Santa Monica, CA consultant; was active in the sail- (1/5/2013) at age 86; a WWII vet- (12/28/12) at age 65; an accom- ing venue for the 1984 Olympic eran, worked as a career Foreign plished classical and jazz musi- Games; served on the Marine Service Officer from 1954 to 1983, cian; became an activist for the Advisory Council and was com- serving as a consul in South preservation and performance of modore of the Long Beach Yacht Africa, an administrative officer in grassroots music, literature and Club; served as president of Chile, a financial policy adviser in art; cofounded the Azz Izz Culture World Match Racing Conference. Thailand, a trade policy negotiator Center, Inc.; received a grant from in Geneva and an expert on U.N. the National Endowment for the SAMUEL LEVINE (student in economic and social affairs at Arts to complete her children’s psychology) Cabo San Lucas, the Department of State; was dis- play, Journey to Rattlegancer. Mexico (3/19/13) at age 22; the patched on special missions to Sri junior and student marketer for Lanka, the Philippines, Kenya, India, DOROTHY E. KAPLAN (B.A., the USC Trojan baseball team was [Bio]diversityEverett Salas ’08 sees a work-in-progress of diversity in Argentina and Colombia. psychology, ’49) Beverly Hills, a member of Sigma Chi. the sciences. CA (10/15/12) at age 84; worked GLORIA HEER (B.A., sociology, as a personal assistant to USC CANON TERRY ELLSWORTH When it comes to their son’s prospects for success in the ’50) Mission Viejo, CA (1/13/2013) research endocrinologist Jessie LYNBERG (B.A., humanities/ nebulous field of “science,” the parents ofEverett Salas ’08 at age 85; a self-described “profes- Marmorston and to Academy religion, ’61; EDD, education/ are finally resting easy. Everardo and Rosamaria, who came sional volunteer” who was active Award-winning producer Leonard leadership, ’03) Los Angeles, CA to the United States from Mexico, wanted their son to study in parks and recreation in Los Weingarten; was the first law (2/2/2013) at age 74; served as medicine or business. Angeles County and Mission Viejo; student appointed to the State Bar chaplain in the U.S. Navy during the But the first-generation college student eventually found in 1984, Los Angeles County Board Ethics Commission in California; Vietnam War; served as Archdea- his passion and pursued a Ph.D. in geology in USC Dornsife. of Supervisors named Gloria Heer was active for more than 25 years con of the Episcopal Diocese of He recently landed a plum gig at Photon Systems, a small, Park in Rowland Heights after as a docent at the Museum of Sci- Los Angeles from 1980 to 1989; cutting-edge scientific research company in Covina, Calif. her; received many awards and ence and Industry Hall of Health; served many years as chaplain The company develops hand-held, laser-based sensors for recognitions from cities of Downey, served as president of Cedars at USC, UCSD and UCLA; taught detecting and classifying explosives, and chemical and bio- Santa Fe Springs, Commerce and Medical Wives and Bay Area Physi- communications at San Diego Mesa logical threats. Mission Viejo. cians’ Wives Auxilliaries. College, Mira Costa College and the During his years as a graduate student, Salas was a key U.S. Navy College Afloat program figure in helping promote diversity in the sciences through ALAN B. (“BARRY,” “BAN- EVELYN THOMPSON through Central Texas College. the national Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Na- JO”) HOMAN (B.A., ’53) KIEFFER (Ph.D., English, ’64) tive Americans in Science (SACNAS), helping to establish Glendale, AZ (10/21/12) at age 81; Los Angeles, CA (12/2/2012) at age CHARLES BARTLEY MASON a chapter at USC. served as a dentist in the West 93; served on the English faculty (Ph.D., history, ’74) Apple Valley, Now established in the “real world,” he has yet to see a Valley area of Pheonix; major and of Occidental College; served CA (2/21/13) at age 88; was an en- full manifestation of his former efforts. Salas, who grew up chief dental officer in the 197th as director of alumni relations, sign in the Navy during WWII and in southeast Los Angeles, is the only Latino at his company. Fighter Interceptor Squadron of public affairs and development for was stationed in Hawaii as a com- Salas attributes this to the fact that relatively few Latinos the Arizona National Air Guard; USC School of Education; later co- munication officer; founded two with advanced degrees apply. was a recognized trainer of Labra- sponsored a faculty chair at USC. insurance agencies in the San Fer- “Kids who grew up in an inner city — I don’t see that a dor retrievers and an accom- nando Valley after Naval discharge; lot,” he said. “My sense is that for those hiring, there’s an plished horseman, owning and PAUL T. KINNEY (Ph.D., enrolled at USC years later and, awareness of diversity but it’s not a priority.” training his own trail horses. economics, ’57) Chico, CA after obtaining his doctorate, was The way to remedy this situation is to increase the number (11/14/2012) at age 87; was the asked to stay on at the university, of Latino candidates with Ph.D.s, which is what SACNAS LEVILLA JEAN “LEE” JACOBS recipient of two Purple Hearts where he worked in the develop- does through mentorship and networking, he said. (BUZEK) (B.A. English, ’49) during the Battle of the Bulge ment department under President While there is clearly more work to be done, the num- Pasadena, CA (11/7/2012) at age 84; in WWII; worked as assistant John R. Hubbard; raised $11 million ber of underrepresented graduate students in the sciences at a lifelong Pasadena resident and professor of finance at University for the USC Norris Comprehensive USC has more than tripled since Salas’ graduation in 2008. Trojan fan who loved animals. of Illinois; later taught finance at Cancer Center; wrote a book, Im- Salas’ job at Photon Systems came as a result of relation- California State University, Ful- perial Valley to the World (Imperial ships he forged while conducting collaborative research as JANET MARIE JIMINEZ (B.A., lerton and served as director of its Oil & Grease Company, 1981); cre- ANDERSON LOUISE BY PHOTO a postdoctoral researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory social Sciences, ’48) Long Beach, computer center. ated USC’s History Media Institute, (JPL), a federally funded NASA research center. CA (10/29/2012) at age 84; worked which recorded present-day audio His postdoc work at JPL was the result of connections as a social worker for Los Angeles HAROLD A. LANE (B.A.,’49) and video historical leaders in he made working in the laboratory of Ken Nealson of earth County public assistance. Long Beach, CA (8/26/2012) at age California and Arizona; founded and biological sciences in USC Dornsife. While working in 86; awarded a Purple Heart for ser- and was president of Town and Nealson’s lab, Salas conducted research at JPL. vice in WWII; worked for Delta and Gown America; retired from USC “My connections at USC opened many doors.” —L.P. Slick Airways, Air Space Devices and became the curator and CEO

60 DORNSIFE FAMILY

TROJANALITY

of the Victor Valley Museum & Art Beach, UCLA and USC; an expert as a building contractor, then bank Gallery until 2006. on Europe between the wars; his vice president; served as a member book, The Revolutionary Left in of Covina City Council, director of MARYLU MATTSON (Ph.D., Spain: 1914–1923 (Stanford Uni- Covina Family YMCA, and president English, ’69) Sebastopol, CA versity Press, 1974), was a finalist of East San Gabriel Valley Bar Asso- (12/30/2012) at age 79; lectured at for the National Book Award; re- ciation, the Citrus Estate Planning Welcomed Cal State L.A. from 1968 to 1970 ceived a Guggenheim Fellowship Council and the Lions Club. then became one of the original in 1976 for the study of Iberian professors — and later provost and Latin American History. THEODORE PRICE (B.A., — at Hutchins School for Liberal English, ’55; M.A., music, ’66) ReturnAs senior associate dean for advancement, Neil Studies, Sonoma State University; RON L. MILLER (Ph.D., history, Omaha, NE (9/13/12) at age 79; Macready ’81 plays a key role in the university and served on the academic senate ’71) Turlock, CA (12/6/2012) at served as a signal officer in the USC Dornsife’s fundraising efforts. and vice president’s council and as age 77; became one of first blind U.S. Naval Reserve; awarded a campus coordinator of computer- teachers in California; served in Rockefeller Foundation Fellow- Steve Kay, dean of USC assisted instruction; was elected the U.S. Marine Corps.; joined the ship for post-graduate studies in Dornsife, appointed Neil chair of the Division of Cluster Department of Labor in Sacra- music criticism; taught at Kent Macready senior associate Schools; authored Help Yourself: mento, ensuring veterans received State University School of Jour- dean for advancement in A Guide to Writing and Rewriting fair treatment when applying for nalism; founded Greater Akron December 2012. Macready (Merrill, 1983). jobs; became executive director Arts Federation; wrote TV scripts is playing a key role in USC of Blinded Veterans Affairs; asked for Nebraska Department of Edu- Dornsife’s $750 million ini- JANE COULTER MATYAS (B.S., by the Clinton administration to cation; was executive director of tiative, which launched in business administration, ’47) become advocate for blinded vets. the Metropolitan Arts Council in March 2013 as part of The Pasadena, CA (9/13/2012) at age Omaha and classical programmer Campaign for the Univer- 88; born in Maghull, England; her LLOYD OAKLEY MILLER, JR. at KIOS-FM. Neil Macready began his appointment sity of Southern California. family immigrated to Califor- (B.A.,’51; D.D.S., ’51) Los Ange- as USC Dornsife’s senior associate Macready develops, nia shortly after her birth; was les, CA (12/15/2012) at age 87; flew JEAN MAY RAWLINS (B.A., dean for advancement in December 2012. implements and evaluates a elected president of Delta Gamma B-29 bombers during WWII; had a Spanish, ’47) Newport Beach, comprehensive fundraising sorority; worked as a retail buyer successful dental practice for 39 CA (2/17/2013) at age 86; affiliated program for USC Dornsife that generates support for for Bullocks department store; years in Redondo Beach, CA. with both Kappa Alpha Theta and faculty and research endowments, student scholarships, became associate food editor at Phi Beta Kappa; ended long career academic priorities and capital projects. Bon Appetit magazine; created MILTON COURTNEY PAGE as Spanish teacher at Crossroads “With more than 30 departments and programs, and own food product line, Perfect (B.A., psychology, ’50) Los School in Santa Monica, CA. dozens of research centers and institutes, USC Dornsife Addition. Angeles, CA (2/11/2013) at age requires a broad range of fundraising skills and experi- 88; served as a pilot in the U.S. JACK ROSS (B.A., zoology, ence,” Kay said. “As a USC Dornsife alumnus and a 27- THOMAS HARRY McKINNEY Air Force during WWII; a true ’50) Phoenix, AZ (1/13/13) at age 85; year advancement professional, Neil is perfectly suited (B.A., ’45) Tucson, AZ (10/7/2012) “renaissance man,” he worked as after serving in the military and get- to lead our Office of Advancement toward exciting new at age 86; part of U.S. Navy V-12 a rancher, landlord, bookstore ting a degree from USC, recruited heights.” program during WWII; played owner, computer analyst, and to be the youngest vice president at Macready was previously vice president for university on USC football team; became security expert. Packard Motor Company; opened relations at the University of Redlands. From 1995 to senior fellow in higher education his own business, Jack Ross Lincoln 1999, he was director of development in USC Dornsife, at the Academy for Education RICHARD L. PEARLMAN (B.A. Mercury in Scottsdale, AZ. where he assisted in the establishment of the USC Wrig- Development in Washington, psychology, ’49) Northridge, ley Institute for Environmental Studies and USC Dorn- D.C. and taught accounting at the CA (8/4/12) at age 84; served two JOSEPH CHARLES SACHS sife Board of Councilors. University of Michigan-Flint, the years in the U.S. Navy; taught (B.A., geography, ’66) Ventura, “It is such an honor to be asked to return to USC and University of Oklahoma and the junior high school math and mu- CA (10/26/2012) at age 73; served work with Dean Kay and a talented advancement team to University of Arizona; retired as sic; band and orchestra leader at in U.S. Air Force Reserves; worked move forward USC Dornsife’s mission,” Macready said. professor emeritus at Michigan several schools; retired as head in human resources at Huebline “The energy and excitement within USC Dornsife, and State University in 1985; served counselor/assistant principal at Foods in Ventura. throughout the entire university, has never been higher.” PHOTO COURTESY OF NEIL MACREADY NEIL OF COURTESY PHOTO on Accreditation Commission for Walter Reed Junior High School in Macready holds bachelor’s degrees in political science National Association of Trade and North Hollywood, CA. PETER JAMES SKRUMBIS and geography from USC Dornsife and a master’s degree Technical Schools. (B.A., history, ’55) Los Angeles, in sport management from the University of Massachu- VERNE E. PECKHAM (B.A. CA (11/29/2012) at age 79; taught setts, Amherst. As a walk-on athlete at USC, he was GERALD H. MEAKER (Ph.D., political science, ’40) Lake San history at Westchester High elected captain of the men’s swim team his senior year history, ’67) Long Beach, CA Marcos, CA (1/30/2013) at age 96; School; after retiring in 1987, be- and was a world-ranked swimmer in 1980. (12/20/2012) at age 86; served in served in the U.S. Navy as a blimp came co-owner of the Sandwich Macready and his wife, Anita West, have two chil- U.S. Air Force during WWII; taught pilot, then a naval air navigator; Saloon in San Pedro, CA. dren: a daughter, Margo, a sophomore at the Univer- at Los Angeles Valley College, Cal was discharged following WWII as sity of Redlands, and a son, Shea, a sophomore in high State Northridge, Cal State Long a lieutenant commander; worked Continued on page 62. school.

Spring / Summer 2013 61 REMEMBERING

ROBERT W. STUDER (Ph.D., chaired the Department of For- Wash. He was 92. Koenker was on The author of 200-plus publica- BUSS PHOTO BY LUIS SIMCO/LOS ANGELES TIMES; KOENKER PHOTO COURTESY OF USC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES; VAN CLEAVE PHOTO COURTESY OF CYNTHIA VAN CLEAVE; WARSCHAW PHOTO BY USC DORNSIFE OFFICE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE DORNSIFE USC BY PHOTO WARSCHAW CLEAVE; VAN CYNTHIA OF COURTESY PHOTO CLEAVE VAN ARCHIVES; UNIVERSITY USC OF COURTESY PHOTO KOENKER TIMES; ANGELES SIMCO/LOS LUIS BY PHOTO BUSS political science, ’75) Thousand eign Languages and Literatures the faculty from 1965 to 1990, first tions, Van Cleave helped to place Oaks, CA (8/24/12) at age 97; on the AU Texas campus before in the USC Graduate School of many of his graduate students graduated from United States retiring in 1996. Religion, then from 1967 on in the in important executive-branch, Military Academy at West Point in Department of History. Congressional staff and think- 1939; served under Gen. MacAr- JOHN WILSON WALLACE A respected scholar of the tank posts. He stirred controver- thur in the Philippines as a signal (M.A., philosophy, ’53) Monro- Christian tradition with his roots sy with hardline positions favoring officer; awarded the silver star for via, CA (2/22/13) at age 86; a native in Lutheranism, he received his a large U.S. military build-up, one gallantry in action; was a POW in of Butler, PA; worked as a market- doctorate from the University that some credit with accelerat- Japan and the Philippines; retired ing representative in the insurance of Chicago Divinity School, and ing the USSR’s global retreat in from military in 1968; remained business for many years. taught at Valparaiso University. the late 1980s and ultimately active in volunteer service and In the USC Dornsife history de- ending the Cold War. the retired military community. MARY VIDOS WELSH (B.A., partment, Koenker was one of the economics, ’54) Los Angeles, CA JERRY BUSS, the real estate creators of a core introductory STEVEN H. SWANDER (B.A., (7/20/12) at age 80; was a mem- mogul who enjoyed extraordinary graduate course for new students philosophy, ’73) Fort Worth, ber of Kappa Alpha Theta and the NBA success as the longtime in all fields. TX (11/24/2012) at age 61; was recipient of Phi Beta Kappa Key; Lakers owner, died Feb. 18, 2013, admitted to the bars of the United was active in the Juniors of the at age 80. States Supreme Court, U.S. Fifth Social Service Auxilliary; elected Buss earned an M.S. and doctor- Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. president of the USC Alumni ate in physical chemistry from USC Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Coordinating Council and the USC Dornsife in 1957 at age 24 and then and the Northern District of Texas Trojan League of Los Angeles; taught in the chemistry depart- Federal; was a board-certified served as a member of the USC ment. He was a lifelong USC sup- criminal law attorney in Texas. Board of Governors; was honored porter. An inaugural member of the with USC Alumni Service Award USC Dornsife Board of Councilors, DORIS CHIN TOM (B.A., chem- for her dedicated service to USC. Buss gave $7.5 million to USC Dorn- istry, ’48; M.S., chemistry, ’50) sife for two endowed chairs honor- CARMEN H. WARSCHAW, Los Angeles, CA (1/27/2013) at age LAUREN A. WRIGHT (B.A., ge- ing his mentors, former chemistry a USC honorary trustee, alumna, 84; served as chemist at Lawrence ology and physics, ’40; M.S., professors Sidney Benson and leading philanthropist and com- Livermore Laboratory (Berkeley, geology, ’43) State College, PA David Dows. mitted community activist, died CA) then with the U.S. Navy in Pasa- (2/6/2013) at age 94; served in After graduating from USC, Buss WILLIAM VAN CLEAVE, former Nov. 6, 2012, in Los Angeles, Calif. dena; taught chemistry at John the U.S. Army Air Forces during worked briefly in the aerospace senior adviser to President She was 95. Marshall High School in Los Angeles WWII as an arctic survival trainer; industry before he and a colleague Ronald Reagan, the United Warschaw was a close friend from 1972 to 1993, when she retired taught geology at Penn State for began investing in real estate. He States Department of Defense, and loyal supporter of Jesse M. as science department chair. 24 years and was a recognized amassed a fortune and turned his Department of State, and former Unruh, former California State expert on geology of Death Valley. attention to sports, buying the Lak- professor of international rela- Assembly speaker and state MIKHAIL VINAYKIN (Ph.D. ers, the Forum, the NHL Kings and a tions in USC Dornsife, died at treasurer. Warschaw and her late student in chemistry) Los JOHN WESLEY YALE (B.A., large ranch for $67 million in 1979. his home in Idyllwild, Calif., on husband, Louis, helped to create Angeles, CA (9/25/12) at age 24; botany, ’49; M.S., botany, ’50) Under his legendary stewardship, March 15, 2013. He was 77. the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Russian born; received under- Porterville, CA (11/10/2012) at age the Lakers won 10 championships Professor of international Politics, housed in USC Dornsife. graduate physics degree from St. 88; served in U.S. Navy at end of in three-plus decades. relations and director of the In 2008, Warschaw pledged $3 Petersburg State University; be- WWII; an interest in natural plant Strategic Studies Program in USC million for the endowment of the gan graduate chemistry program products led to the creation of Dornsife from 1967 to 1987, Van Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw at USC in 2009; was recognized a product from yucca used to Cleave had vast experience in, Chair in Practical Politics in USC by international scientific com- promote fertilization, control odor and influence upon, U.S. defense Dornsife. Ten years earlier, the munity for his research on ultra- and benefit livestock; started policy. Warschaws helped found USC fast nonlinear spectroscopy. several small businesses to manu- He served in numerous Dornsife’s Casden Institute for facture and sell products, the last policy-advisory positions. For the Study of the Jewish Role in DAVID PRIESTLEY being Cellu-Con in Strathmore, example, he was a delegate to American Life, the first academic WAINWRIGHT (Ph.D., French, CA. the U.S.-Soviet Strategic Arms research center of its kind. ’85) Vacaville, CA (9/15/2012) Limitation Talks (SALT) and a The following year, in 1999, the at age 76; a native of Maccles- RUDY ARTHUR YBARRA member of the “Team B” review couple established the Carmen field, England; attended Oxford (B.A., geology, ’53) Riverside, of intelligence estimates on the and Louis Warschaw Distin- University; served in teaching, CA (9/29/12) at age 88; a veteran Soviet military, both in the 1970s. guished Lecture Series, which ministerial and administra- of World War II, served as com- From 1979 to 1981, he was senior attracts prominent elected of- tive posts on Ambassador mander of the Veteran’s American ERNEST B. KOENKER, profes- adviser to Reagan and director of ficials to speak to students about University’s British and American Legion in Mesa, AZ. sor emeritus of history, died on the defense transition team for how their Jewish heritage has campuses from 1960 to 1996; Oct. 20, 2012, in Bellingham, Reagan’s new administration. influenced their political life.

62 DORNSIFE FAMILY

The Warrior Scholar Acclaimed professor emeritus of comparative literature Moshe Lazar taught at USC Dornsife for 34 years.

Moshe Lazar, professor emeritus of comparative literature Hebrew poetry, medieval and modern drama, the paintings of and former chair, died on Dec. 13, 2012, at his home in Los Hieronymus Bosch, and at least a dozen other research topics.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SONIA LAZAR SONIA OF COURTESY PHOTO Angeles, Calif. He was 84. Before he died, he was working on a major study of 1,800 years Described by those who knew him best as “a warrior of anti-Semitic propaganda imagery. scholar,” Lazar devoted his life to his “intellectual rescue William Thalmann, professor and chair of the Depart- Professor Emeritus of mission” saving Sephardic literature and culture, including ment of Comparative Literature, remembers Lazar: “A Comparive Literature rare medieval texts in Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) — the spoken chance hallway conversation, on whatever Moshe happened Moshe Lazar examines a and written language developed by Spanish Jews before their to be thinking about, was very often an education in itself,” Sephardic manuscript in expulsion from Spain in 1492. Thalmann said. “He was devoted to his students, and they the 1980s. Lazar devoted Lazar counted among his areas of expertise courtly love, to him. The notion of ‘office hours’ meant little in his case; his life to saving rare medi- Sephardic and Hebrew literature, works in Ladino, Pro- his door was always open, no matter how busy he was, he eval Judeo-Spanish — or vençal literature, Spanish and Judeo-Spanish biblical texts, always had time for his students.” Ladino — texts.

Spring / Summer 2013 63 IN MY OPINION

My daydreams about a rich trove of recordings persisted. I imagined Guthrie making one of those mammoth 16-inch radio transcription disc recordings that were common for radio performers before and during World War II. I pictured it sitting undiscovered in an attic somewhere. Glendale? The Westside? East L.A.? Then, doubt set in. There was evidence that Guthrie wrote columns in at least three separate political newspapers, but it seemed likely that, if he had recorded something here, it would have surfaced by then. Still I pressed on. Professor Ross suggested I check out the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research, not too far from campus, which holds a rich archive of material related to progressive politics in L.A. I contacted the library, viewed some of its materials, but didn’t uncover anything solid. But through a librarian there, I met Harry Hay. The one-time labor activist had known Guthrie and had later gone on to help found a major and early gay rights organization. I interviewed Hay at his home in West Hollywood. He had some recollection of a friendship among Guthrie, actor Will Geer and himself, but his memories were fuzzy. No dice, I thought. And then I threw out the question: “Do you know if Woody Guthrie ever recorded anything while he was here in Los Angeles?” Hay drew a deep breath. “Yes,” he said. Guthrie had made a set of demonstration recordings on two 10-inch discs while in L.A. Hay had donated two discs among a larger of collection of commercial 78-rpm phonographs to the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research some years ago. I made a beeline to South Central and spent a few hours looking through stacks of dusty records. Lo and behold, I found the recordings. The library staff was unaware that LIVZEY JOHN BY PHOTO USC ARCHIVES; GUTHRIE WOODY THE OF COURTESY AUMULLER. AL BY PHOTOGRAPH Guthrie’s music had been originally donated with Hay’s record collection. With this new discovery, the library was ready to Big CityPeter LaWays Chapelle ’02 takes a cue from Woody preserve the two lacquer-aluminum discs in a special archive. Guthrie and finds his own way to persevere. The recordings by Guthrie were made in L.A., most likely in 1939. The four songs on these two discs —Skid Row Ser- Most historians start off not with a rich vein of sources, but enade, Big City Ways, Ain’t Got No Home and Do-Re-Mi — have with some basic information and a hunch. That is where proved to be Guthrie’s oldest known recordings. historical imagination makes its entrance. This past summer, the four tracks were released during what R.G. Collingwood’s turn of phrase “historical imagina- would have been Guthrie’s 100th birthday as part of a book tion” means not fabricating, not exaggerating, but thinking and boxed set collection of Guthrie material, Woody at 100: The creatively through what a historical figure or group might Centennial Collection (Smithsonian Folkways). Not only did that have thought or done. collection receive a Grammy nomination for Best Historical In order to form a hypothesis about any event, we must Album and win a Grammy for Best Packaging, but the set and first imagine what might have happened and what kinds the four early recordings I found were discussed on numerous of sources were left behind as evidence. In a way, my own national and regional media outlets ranging from National recent 15 minutes of fame were a product of just such a Public Radio to the Los Angeles Times. flight of historical fancy. They were not the huge discs of entire radio programs I en- It began when I was a Ph.D. student in USC Dornsife in the visioned sitting mysteriously in some grand attic. But, these late 1990s taking Professor of History Steven Ross’ seminar. I smaller and nonetheless rare Guthrie recordings were redis- was formulating my plan for dissertation research and had de- covered only after I used my historical imagination. cided that it would include examining Woody Guthrie’s time in Los Angeles back in the 1930s. I wondered whether the po- Peter La Chapelle graduated from USC Dornsife with a Ph.D. in history litical folksinger had left behind a phonograph or two while in in 2002. An associate professor of history at Nevada State College in L.A. I knew Guthrie had had a short-lived radio program and Henderson, Nev., he authored Proud to Be an Okie: Country Music, that he had most likely become politically active while in L.A. Cultural Politics and Migration to Southern California (University Could Guthrie have left something behind? of California Press, 2007), based on his dissertation research.

64 USC Dornsife Initiative

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