Sustainability: Human Factors
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT
Effective technology is available to move the needle on sustainability. The challenge is to implement these solutions quickly and at scale.
That’s why USC Dornsife is thinking differently. Our researchers explore how to overcome the economic, political, and psychological challenges that stand in the way of a sustainable future.
![Graphic design of a person's head made of puzzle pieces.](https://dornsife.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CESR_Dementia_Grant_Top-1920x1080-1-768x432.webp)
$59M Boost Enhances USC Dornsife’s Understanding America Study and Nationwide Research
National Institute on Aging grants increase study participant diversity, add new data sources and fund new research on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.
Dean Amber Miller Leaves USC Dornsife with Momentum for the Future
The longest serving dean at the College since the 1950s, Miller sparked greater public outreach and partnership with the community.
![Amber Miller](https://dornsife.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Amber-Miller-1800x1800-1-768x768.jpg)
Commencement
Find everything you need to know about USC Dornsife’s 2024 Commencement Ceremonies.
Plus: Read commencement news, watch videos and view photos from the event on Instagram and Facebook.
![Graduates in their caps and gowns at the 2024 USC Dornsife Commencement ceremony.](https://dornsife.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_3263-graduation-ceremony-2-2000x1150-1-900x600.jpg)
Curiosity at Work
Stand Out, Together
At USC Dornsife you’ll study the things you love the most. You’ll explore ideas that you’ve never thought about before. You’ll learn how to make sense of the world from all different angles. And, as part of our community, you will help to define a dynamic academic environment focused on improving lives and the world around us.
Meet the Students
USC Dornsife students demonstrate an impressive combination of academic excellence, accomplishment, creativity, and hard work. Each and every student is hand-selected because they bring something special and unique to our community.
A Brighter Future
Isabella Pangilinan Environmental Studies majorUSC Dornsife student Isabella Pangilinan is passionate about finding solutions to some of our world’s most pressing challenges like climate change and social and economic inequity. The multidisciplinary courses offered through her major are preparing her for a career in environmental law.
The Power of “And”
Joshua Senior Biological Sciences major, East Asian Languages and Cultures minorUSC Dornsife student Joshua Senior is studying to become a neurosurgeon. He explains how his liberal arts education at USC Dornsife prepares him for his career goals – and for life.
A Trojan Family Like No Other
Victoria Quon-Chow Human Biology major, Nutrition and Health Promotion minorAs a student at USC Dornsife, Victoria Quon-Chow is bouyed by the support of the Trojan Family as she prepares to become a doctor.
Unprecedented Access to Academic Expertise
Public Exchange fast-tracks collaboration between academic researchers and the public and private sectors to define, analyze, and solve complex problems that organizations face. Through our first-of-kind model, we amplify social impact by making academic expertise more easily accessible than ever before.
![man in food bank sorting through items with full shelves behind him. Public Exchange Logo in the front of the image](https://dornsife.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/px-homepage-768x768.jpg)
Stand Out With Purpose
Time Lord biology gets a scholarly examination in Scientific American.
@USCDornsife
Meet our five summer 2024 sustainability fellows.
Established in 2023, the Summer Primary Source Research Fellowships on Sustainability encourage student engagement with library collections by supporting public-facing research at the intersection of history, gender studies, and sustainability studies.
The fellows are:
• David de Rozas. A PhD student in the Media Arts + Practice program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, de Rozas is researching the history of urban transformation in downtown Los Angeles in support of a broader investigation into the social and environmental impacts of the Downtown Los Angeles 2040 redevelopment plan.
• Sharon Salgado Martinez. A PhD student in history at USC Dornsife, Martinez is researching the injustices surrounding the dispossession of Indigenous territories and the subsequent degradation of those lands.
• Halo Starling. A PhD student in the Media Arts + Practice at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Starling is consulting the ONE Archives’ Harry Hay papers to investigate how Hay’s communist principles informed his role in establishing the Radical Faeries movement.
• Michelle Salinas Wamungu. A PhD student in the Media Arts + Practice program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Wamungu is researching artistic responses to environmental racism and climate change.
• Celia Wood. An undergraduate majoring in animation and biological sciences, Wood is mining primary source collections for insights into how to promote the public understanding of scientific knowledge through the art of animation.
![A group of five people pose for a photo in front of shelves of books](https://dornsife.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/sustainability-fellows-320x320.jpg)