Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship
News

How an unexpected finding turned into a kidney disease startup

Apr 08, 2026USC researcher Eunji Chung spent over a decade learning to steer nanoparticles through the body. Now she's using that knowledge to take on one of the most common inherited kidney disorders.

Multi-fingered Robots Could Transform Shipboard Operations and Autonomous Maintenance

Apr 07, 2026USC Viterbi Researcher Received Office of Naval Research’s Young Investigator Program Award With Upcoming Study on Dexterous Robotics

A Forecast of What’s Next for Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Apr 02, 2026The 20th annual Student Symposium and Showcase at the USC Viterbi Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science highlights research in AI-driven materials discovery, energy transition and biomolecular engineering.

In the Clinic Room, an AI Steps In to Fill the Gap Between Patients and HPV Vaccines

Apr 01, 2026A new “Chat-HPV” tool built by USC Viterbi professors with help from USC Keck medicinal professionals saves wait time, avoids harm.

USC Viterbi School of Engineering and its School of Advanced Computing Announce the Keynote Speakers for the 2026 Commencement Ceremonies

Apr 01, 2026CEO of Google Public Sector, Ret. President and CEO of the Aerospace Corporation, President & CEO and Chairman of Rubriq Corporation to keynote

USC Scientists Build a Memory Chip That Survives Temperatures Hotter Than Lava

Mar 30, 2026A discovery using graphene has produced a record-breaking high-temperature memory device, with implications for space exploration, deep-earth drilling, and the future of AI hardware.

Professor Yan Liu Receives Two Top Honors – In One Hour

Mar 27, 2026The multitalented USC Viterbi professor was recognized by both the AAAI and IEEE in late November.

The Long Game: Bill Swartout’s 50-Year Journey from Homework Machines to Lasting Conversations

Mar 27, 2026The ICT pioneer who built systems that made Holocaust survivors immortal and brought museum exhibits to life is stepping back—but not stepping away.

Understanding Humans, Changing Lives: 25 Years of USC SAIL Lab

Mar 25, 202625 years, 1,000+ papers, 20+ Patents and Beyond - Pioneering Human-centered Technologies and Building a Multigenerational Research Family

From Alzheimer’s to PTSD: How a USC Scientist Hopes AI Can Unlock – and One Day Restore – Human Memory

Mar 24, 2026Using AI paired with brain-machine interfaces, Dong Song wants to study how memories form in real life, and eventually help those who have lost the ability to make them.

ISI Achieves Critical Cybersecurity Certification, Positioning Institute at Forefront of Defense Research

Mar 24, 2026Multi-year effort positions ISI among a small number of research institutes certified to handle sensitive government data, ensuring continued access to defense contracts and national security research

Planes, Trains and Air Lanes: The LA28 Transportation Blueprint

Mar 23, 2026In a panel event hosted by the Sonny Astani Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at USC Viterbi, transportation leaders discuss how Los Angeles will move millions during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games - without building an entirely new network.

Game Day: Athletes, Media and the LA28 Stage

Mar 23, 2026As part of The Games Week at USC, a panel convened by USC Viterbi's Sonny Astani Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and USC Annenberg explored how storytelling, technology and access will shape how the world perceives the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Powering LA28: Energy, Infrastructure & the Future of Los Angeles

Mar 23, 2026During The Games Week at USC, leaders from LADWP, Southern California Edison, LA28 and the U.S. Green Building Council outlined how Los Angeles plans to supply reliable, low-carbon power and water to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Imagine Staging Seven Super Bowls per Day: Welcome to LA28

Mar 23, 2026Hosted by the USC Sonny Astani Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at USC Viterbi, the first panel of The Games Week laid out in concrete terms what LA28 will require - and what it’s designed to leave behind.

A USC Doctoral Student Solves a Longstanding Problem in Quantum Cryptography

Mar 19, 2026Miryam Huang is the first USC student to win the prestigious Machtey Award, recognized for solving a cryptographic problem first posed in 1976 and later asked as an open question in the quantum setting, with important implications for quantum cryptography.

Your Company Could be Buying the Wrong Information

Mar 18, 2026A new award-winning paper argues that a decades-old standard for measuring the value of information yields inconsistent results and that companies, hospitals, and government agencies may be systematically misprioritizing how they gather data.

Inge Marcus Survived World War II and an Orphaned Childhood. Her North Star: Education.

Mar 17, 2026Inge and her late husband, Hal Marcus (M.S. ’59) have given back to higher ed across many decades, including USC.

For the First Time, Scientists Have Mapped the Genetics of How the Brain Ages, Region by Region

Mar 16, 2026USC Viterbi senior Nicholas Kim, a biomedical engineering major, led the landmark study with hopes that it could one day help improve the treatment of dementia and other brain disorders.

From Censored Chatbots to Cinematic Visuals: USC Undergraduates Push the Boundaries of AI

Mar 12, 2026The students were recognized for their work across unique computer science studies, but all involving artificial intelligence.

USC Study Finds AI Agents Can Autonomously Coordinate Propaganda Campaigns Without Human Direction

Mar 11, 2026The findings carry stark implications for elections, public health, and anyone who relies on social media for information

Measure Twice, Learn Once: The Class USC’s AME Engineers Can’t Forget

Mar 10, 2026At USC Viterbi's AME department, Mechoptronics is the course students dread taking and spend the rest of their careers grateful they did.

Building Engineers: Inside USC’s Hands-On Mechoptronics Lab

Mar 10, 2026At USC Viterbi's Mechoptronics lab, 190 students learn measurement, troubleshooting, and hands-on engineering skills they'll carry for life. From soldering capacitors to dissecting cameras, students say the course is challenging, time-consuming, and ultimately the most useful class they take.

The AI That Taught Itself: USC Researchers Show How Artificial Intelligence Can Learn What It Never Knew

Mar 09, 2026A USC Viterbi undergraduate and her professor developed a method that allows AI to fix its own knowledge gaps in real time.

Women in Engineering (WiE) Celebrates 20 Years at USC

Mar 06, 2026USC Viterbi’s Women in Engineering marks two decades of milestones and student empowerment.

Where Flow Becomes Science: Inside the Fabulous Fluids Facility

Mar 05, 2026A tour with Paul Ronney, Chair of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, through three laboratories that ask the same fundamental question: how does fluid move, and why?

Love Letter to Humanity

Mar 03, 2026Grand Challenge Scholars gather in Eternal City to address universal challenges at GSCP 2026 Annual Meeting

USC Engineers Offer Solutions to Stop Unsafe AI Behaviors

Mar 03, 2026USC Viterbi Researchers Plan to Develop Mathematical Guardrails for AI Safety in Upcoming Study With Philanthropic Funding

For Users Managing Passwords, Convenience Beats Security

Mar 02, 2026USC study reveals users favor convenience over security, preferring to keep their current password managers even when better tools are free

USC Engineers Prepare to Listen as Orion Heads for the Moon

Feb 27, 2026A 4.5-meter dish antenna on the USC campus will join 33 other ground stations contributing to a study of how spacecraft signals behave at lunar distance.

Get Ready for The Games Week: the Engineering Grand Challenge LA28

Feb 26, 2026From March 2-6, the USC Sonny Astani Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) will bring together researchers, civic leaders and student innovators to brainstorm the energy, mobility, media and infrastructure challenges of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

USC Astronautics PhD Candidate on the Emerging Area of Space Sustainability

Feb 25, 2026At the 7th Summit for Space Sustainability in Paris, USC PhD student José Pedro Ferreira raised awareness of the potential impacts of space activities in the atmosphere and the need for emerging research to be reflected in global governance.

From Man’s Best Friend to Astronauts’ Most Reliable Companion

Feb 24, 2026USC Researchers Find New Approach to Exploring Mars with a Robot dog that Learns "New Tricks" to Support NASA’s Future Missions

USC Maintains a Critical Piece of the Internet’s Phone Book. It Just Got a Boost

Feb 23, 2026Public Interest Registry makes a gift to USC ISI in recognition of its nearly 40 years of operating B-Root and pioneering DNS privacy research.

Where Mechanical Engineers Are Made: Inside the Baum Family Maker Space

Feb 20, 2026A tour with Paul Ronney, Chair of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, through the facility where AME students build, test, compete, and learn that sometimes your best asset isn't speed, it's reliability.

No Time for Trial and Error: How to Speed Up the Discovery of the Next Super-Alloy

Feb 19, 2026A 3D-printing technique co-developed at USC has enabled the rapid discovery of a new alloy that can withstand extreme heat.

USC Professor Elected to Prestigious Academies for AI and Systems Engineering Work

Feb 18, 2026Neil Siegel elected to prestigious academies for research on when artificial intelligence is ready for critical systems.

Construction’s Reckoning: Why America’s Builders Are Racing to Reinvent Their Industry

Feb 12, 2026A recently released report on a NSF-funded workshop led by USC Viterbi presents the importance of collaboration between academia, industry and federal agencies.

Quantum Without the Physics

Feb 11, 2026USC Viterbi Professor Giacomo Nannicini makes quantum optimization accessible in new book

AI for Soldiers, Movies, and Children: USC Engineer Elected to National Academy

Feb 10, 2026Professor Shrikanth Narayanan recognized by the NAE for pioneering contributions to human-centered AI and speech technologies with wide-ranging societal impact

Closing the Gap in Water Reuse: USC Engineer Elected to National Academy

Feb 10, 2026Professor Amy Childress recognized by the NAE for transforming wastewater into clean water and bridging academia with the real world

Cracking the Brain’s Code: Unlocking Neuron Memory to Advance AI

Feb 09, 2026USC researchers discover neurons have memory and use a single neuron's activity to map entire brain networks, first to achieve this "mission impossible" that opens new possibilities for AI and neuroscience.

The End of Academic Writer’s Block? This Tool by USC Scientists Writes Research Papers in Under an Hour

Feb 05, 2026USC researcher launches GRAIL just one day after OpenAI's competing platform, promising to turn rough notes into submission-ready papers in under an hour

AI System Built at USC Helps Investigators Track Down and Convict Sex Traffickers

Feb 05, 2026Mayank Kejriwal's research on fighting sex trafficking with artificial intelligence has earned a spot in Science, one of the world's most prestigious scientific journals.

No Brain, No Problem: What Robots Can Learn from Sea Stars

Feb 03, 2026USC Kanso Bioinspired Motion Lab borrows a trick from nature's toolkit that can be applied to optimize robot locomotion.

How to ‘Fight On,’ But More Efficiently

Jan 29, 2026USC Viterbi alumnus Joseph Erwin developed an algorithm to perfect his own trombone playing - starting with the USC fight song.

From Cancer Research to Smart Cities: USC Builds Platform to Test Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing Technologies

Jan 22, 2026New infrastructure will help evaluate data sharing techniques for healthcare, transportation, and other sectors as part of NSF's $10M privacy initiative

Scientists Propose New Explanation for Quantum “Spookiness” That Einstein Might Actually Like

Jan 20, 2026USC Viterbi researchers suggest mysterious quantum connections may arise from common-sense physics, not supernatural weirdness.

Ever Wondered What Alumnus Neil Armstrong Learned at USC?

Dec 22, 2025How to follow the peak experience of a lunar landing? Earn a graduate degree from USC.

Ambitious Seniors Design and Build Solutions to the Toughest Engineering Problems

Dec 19, 2025The annual Senior Design Showcase at the USC Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering is a chance for students to transform ideas into innovations, tackling some of the most pressing technological challenges facing industry today.

In Memoriam: William H. Steier, Pioneer in Fiber Optics and Photonics

Dec 17, 2025USC Viterbi professor spent nearly five decades advancing optical communications technology.

A USC Viterbi Professor and A USC Librarian Unite in New Course to Fight Misinformation

Dec 17, 2025"Finding information is no problem. Finding accurate information is a little trickier."

Three USC Viterbi Professors Named Fellows of National Academy of Inventors

Dec 11, 2025Shang-Hua Teng, S.K. Gupta and Massoud Pedram receive the prestigious honor in recognition of their contributions to innovation, invention and technology.

USC Students Lead Global Innovation at GSSC 2026

Dec 10, 2025Bringing global student opportunities to life through external funding and international partnerships

Finding Home in Oz: USC Student Helps Transform a Classic With AI

Dec 04, 2025"Experience of a lifetime": Suvaditya Mukherjee helps bring "The Wizard of Oz" to the Las Vegas Sphere using cutting-edge artificial intelligence.

Every Second Counts: Leveraging Data to Streamline Emergency Medical Services

Dec 03, 2025A partnership between USC Sonny Astani Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE), Columbia University, and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) is developing advanced digital tools to speed up emergency services and save lives.

A State-of-the-Art New Home for Industrial and Systems Engineering at USC

Dec 02, 2025The rapidly growing USC Viterbi department will move into modernized facilities in the transformed Salvatori Computer Science Center, thanks to a $25 million cumulative investment by Daniel J. Epstein.

A Gift to Shape the Future

Dec 02, 2025Ron and Valerie Sugar invest in innovation with a new trustee chair at the USC School of Advanced Computing

Azad Madni Honored by ASME with Spirit of St. Louis Medal

Dec 01, 2025Azad Madni to receive ASME’s Spirit of St. Louis Medal at 2026 ASME SSDM

AI as ‘Green Field’ of Opportunity

Nov 24, 2025Conversation with Richard Ho, OpenAI's Head of Hardware offers advice to students, and insights on field as part of Ronald and Valerie Sugar Distinguished Speaker Series in Advanced Computing

The Perfect Gift

Nov 24, 2025Alumnus Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel, former minister of telecommunications and IT, has helped shape modern Saudi Arabia. Now, his family has given back to the school that helped shape him.

USC Researcher Wins Prestigious Computing Award for Scientific Workflow Innovations

Nov 19, 2025USC Viterbi Information Sciences Institute computer scientist Ewa Deelman, whose software has helped detect gravitational waves and map earthquake risks, has been honored with one of the field's most prestigious awards.

AI’s Promise and Peril: USC Experts Navigate the Breakneck Pace of Artificial Intelligence

Nov 18, 2025As artificial intelligence advances at breakneck speed, even the scientists building it admit they're navigating uncharted territory where the line between revolutionary breakthrough and existential risk remains alarmingly unclear.

Tricking Tumors into Marking Themselves for Destruction

Nov 17, 2025New research from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering harnesses focused ultrasound to reprogram solid tumors, making them more effective targets for immune cells.

What Would It Take to Eat Breakfast on the Moon?

Nov 17, 2025At LA Tech Week, a USC Information Sciences Institute panel explores the infrastructure, policies, and partnerships shaping the new space race.

When Self-Driving Trucks Don’t Know What They Don’t Know

Nov 11, 2025At the USC Center for Autonomy and AI's fall workshop, participants grappled with a critical question: Can foundation models power the next generation of autonomous systems?

She’s Taught Tennis to Politicians and Movie Stars. Now, She’s Helped Over 10,000 Kids Learn Coding

Nov 10, 2025Little more than a decade ago: Kathy "Coach" Kemper had a vision for a unique coding camp. She found the perfect doubles partner at USC Viterbi.

USC Viterbi’s ECE Celebrates Innovation at 2025 MHI Research Festival

Nov 10, 2025From live demos and poster sessions to lab tours, the 15th MHI Research Festival highlighted USC ECE's pivotal role in powering the nation's innovation and the value of student research.

Beyond the Hype: Quantum Computers Start Solving Real Problems

Nov 06, 2025At ISI's LA Tech Week panel, researchers explored how the principles of quantum mechanics are becoming real-world technologies, with high hopes for drug discovery

Where Service Meets Storytelling

Nov 06, 2025U.S. veteran David Cobbins, '13, leads cutting-edge virtual training programs at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies.

USC Rocket Propulsion Lab Launches First Payload

Nov 04, 2025The successful launch of USCRPL's latest rocket, Malibu, marks a major turning point for the record-breaking student team: the ability to send a payload up to space.

In Memoriam: Alice Gast 1958 – 2025

Nov 04, 2025USC Viterbi alumna, valedictorian and former president of Imperial College London

AI Is Powering the Search for America’s Critical Minerals

Nov 03, 2025At USC ISI, researchers are using machine learning to unlock data from thousands of maps and build one of the world's largest knowledge bases of global mineral resources.

Maral Mousavi Wins Prestigious International Award in Electroanalytical Sciences

Nov 03, 2025Mousavi, an expert in electrochemical sensors for at-home and point-of-care testing, has been honored with the 2026 Royce W. Murray Young Investigator Award.

What Can Simulate Nature? Aid Blockbuster Drugs? And Get Congress to Agree?

Oct 31, 2025USC, home of the first operational quantum computer in academia, hosted its second quantum technology forum, bringing together leading experts from industry, academia and government.

New ISE Faculty Bring Expertise in Analytics, Optimization, Healthcare and Applied Probability

Oct 30, 2025USC Viterbi welcomes new ISE faculty members Karthyek Murthy, Karmel S. Shehadeh, Alfredo Torrico and Shengbo Wang.

The Hidden Chemistry of Human Survival

Oct 29, 2025Jeremy Alexander, Doug Peacock Scholar, finds innovation in overlooked spaces - from wastewater microbes to aerospace materials - to protect life on Earth and beyond.

Space Robotics at the Edge of the Unknown

Oct 28, 2025The USC Department of Astronautical Engineering (ASTE) is expanding its focus on space robotics, with an emphasis on autonomous systems that can operate in extreme and unmapped environments.

Artificial neurons developed by USC team replicate biological function for improved computer chips

Oct 28, 2025Breakthrough in neuromorphic computing could reduce energy use of chips and advance artificial general intelligence (AGI)

USC Researchers Develop First Wireless, Wearable, Real-Time, Camera-less Motion Tracker

Oct 27, 2025USC ACME lab is reshaping the field of motion tracking with a new technology based on magnetic induction.

Introducing the First Cohort of Astani Graduate Sustainability Scholars

Oct 22, 2025A recently launched program at the USC Sonny Astani Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering provides a launchpad for young scholars to research major environmental challenges.

New NIH Project to Model Breast Tumors for Better Immunotherapy

Oct 21, 2025Stacey Finley will co-lead the five-year $2.6 million project that will harness computational modeling to find effective immunotherapy approaches against devastating metastatic breast tumors.

Researchers Invent New AI Tool to Automate Detection of Cancer in Blood Samples

Oct 15, 2025Innovation detects cancer cells in blood samples (liquid biopsies) in as little as 10 minutes and identifies hard-to-find cells without humans in-the-loop

Space Robotics Platform Astrobee Set for Commercial Transition for ISS Operations

Oct 15, 2025USC/ISI hosted researchers and startups to discuss NASA's Astrobee for next-generation space robotics

Click Here for Confusion: The State of Privacy Settings

Oct 14, 2025Finding a privacy setting on social media should be simple. But a new study from USC's Information Sciences Institute (ISI) shows it's anything but.

USC Secures Hat Trick at Interspeech 2025 with 3 Research Awards

Oct 14, 2025USC SAIL Lab's Best Paper and Dual Grand Challenge Wins Solidify its Leadership in Speech Communication Science and Technology

Serving the Nation with Purpose

Oct 13, 2025U.S. Veteran William Vanderwaal, '17, reflects on his leadership in combat and his appreciation for USC Viterbi.

Creating A Future of Convenient AI Systems

Oct 09, 2025USC students collaborated with the artificial intelligence startup Aurite to develop solutions for job searching, travel planning, and more.

Building a Digital Apprentice

Oct 08, 2025Presented at a DARPA tech demo, ISI’s KNIC system supports complex tasks by learning from those who've done them before.

USC at CORL 2025

Oct 03, 2025From language-driven robot learning to advanced manipulation techniques, USC researchers collaborated across labs and showcased diverse breakthroughs at CORL 2025

4 New Faculty Members Join the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Oct 02, 2025Joining from Yale, UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech and IIITH, these new faculty bring trailblazing AI research to USC that further positions the department as a leader in advanced computing.

Robots, Meet Your New Teacher: Yourselves

Oct 01, 2025A USC Viterbi graduate student team co-developed a new robotic system that adapts and learns every second.

A Sensor Stir Stick to Keep Your Caffeine Hit in Check

Oct 01, 2025USC biomedical engineers have created a low-cost stirrer to precisely measure a drink's caffeine concentration, helping coffee-lovers avoid the pitfalls of over-caffeination.

USC Research Harnesses AI to Predict and Understand Complex Fluid Mixing

Sep 30, 2025Research from the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science has unraveled the mystery of viscous fingering, in work that could be critical to groundwater remediation and oil recovery.

USC Viterbi Team Demonstrates First Optical Device Based on “Optical Thermodynamics”

Sep 30, 2025Innovation could help chips process information more efficiently

Medical Electronics that Match the Stretchability of Human Tissue

Sep 29, 2025Researchers at USC Viterbi School of Engineering have developed a novel method for fabricating highly precise and stretchable electronics that conform seamlessly to the body.

Transforming Buildings Into Intelligent Systems: Workspaces to Improve Your Mood

Sep 26, 2025Researchers at USC Viterbi School of Engineering are reimagining buildings as intelligent engineered systems that adapt to human cognitive states.

USC Viterbi Student Wins Prestigious Astronaut Scholarship

Sep 25, 2025Alara Berkmen, a biomedical engineering student, is recognized for leadership and dedication to cancer research.

Robotaxis Keep Riders Safe, But What About Their Data?

Sep 24, 2025A collaborative research team with USC ISI expertise finds that existing methods for selecting privacy enhancing technologies are inadequate for real-world robotaxis

State of the School 2025: Flourishing in the Age of AI

Sep 24, 2025In his annual address, Dean Yannis Yortsos spoke of the school’s progress and of what he expects will be the role of AI in engineering education and research.

Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship News

Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship
News