Life Force
Our dramatic cover image , made by the legendary Ansel Adams around 1948, captures the raw majesty and power of water — the life-giving force that sustains our planet and is the subject of this issue of USC Dornsife Magazine.
Water can inspire many emotions, ranging from joy to awe to fear. It has the power to soothe and terrify, amuse and challenge, and to both nourish and harm us. In this issue, we explore water through many lenses, from our scholars’ innovative work to find solutions to global water-related challenges to how water has served as artistic inspiration. We also look at water’s astounding abilities, the history of Los Angeles’ “Water Wars,” and the amusing — and often astonishing — history of plumbing through the ages. We hope you enjoy the issue and that it leaves you with a new appreciation for this truly remarkable element.
The formula is simple, but H2O is one of the most remarkable substances in the universe.
L.A.’s early 20th-century “Water Wars” over access to the precious H2O needed to fuel the city’s growth included a web of corruption and lies that inspired one of the most celebrated noir movies of all time: ‘Chinatown.’
USC Dornsife scholars make a splash as they address challenges — from local to global — centered around water.
Water, simultaneously vital to human life and one of our deadliest foes, has inspired the human imagination in compelling ways since before the written word.
From the communal baths of ancient Rome to the Great Stink of London and the fortuitously named Victorian sanitary engineer Thomas Crapper, USC Dornsife scholars trace the history of plumbing through the ages.
One of USC Dornsife’s most distinguished alumni, Joseph Medicine Crow was a renowned Native American historian, the last war chief of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation and the recipient of a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Contact Us
USC Dornsife Magazine
c/o Crisann Begley-Smith
1150 S. Olive Street, Fl. 24
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Editor-in-Chief
Susan Bell
Art Director/Production Manager
Letty Avila
Senior Director of Marketing and Media Relations
Jim Key
Writers and Editors
Margaret Crable
Darrin S. Joy
Meredith McGroarty
Videographer and Photographer
Mike Glier
Senior Web Specialist
Michael Liu
Social Media SpecialistMichael Silver
Communications Assistant
Deann Webb
Contributors
Andrea Bennett, Michelle Boston, Maddy Davis, Emily Gersema, Magali Gruet, Greg Hardesty,Stephen Koenig, Eric Lindberg, Paul McQuiston, Jenesse Miller, Rhiannon Montelius, Nick Neumann, Gary Polakovic, Kathryn Royster