Celebrating a year of achievements for USC Dornsife
When John Jumper was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry in October, he made sure to say a special thanks in his acceptance speech to Helen Berman, professor (research) of quantitative and computational biology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Her pioneering work developing the Protein Data Bank paved the way for Jumper’s own research.
It was just one of many highlights for the College this year, which included a National Book Award, Fulbright Awards, Olympic gold medals for alumni and an exceptional graduating class.
Faculty received major awards and honors
Percival Everett, Distinguished Professor of English, began 2024 amid Oscar buzz — American Fiction, based on his novel Erasure, won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He ended the year with a National Book Award in Fiction for his novel James, which also was a finalist for a Booker Award.
In February, Travis Williams, professor of chemistry, and Peter Kuhn, Dean’s Professor of Biological Sciences, were both named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors.
Jessica Marglin, professor of religion, law and history, PhD students Jordan Chancellor and Katie Googe, and Nina Kang, USC Dornsife master lecturer at the American Language Institute, received Fulbright Awards in August.
Outstanding graduates in the Class of 2025
On May 9, thousands of students walked the commencement stage as part of the class of 2024. Among the group were Sibo “Carl” Zhou, who completed four undergraduate degrees at once, Army veteran and father Jamie Gomez, who finished his bachelor’s degree at age 43, and , Sophia Perez, who overcame homelessness and the loss of her father to earn her degree — and an acceptance letter to Yale law school.
Faculty and PhD students produced newsworthy research
Faculty from across the college produced groundbreaking research this year, work that also grabbed news headlines.
Tadjea Gracer, senior economist at USC Dornsife’s Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR), published a study in Science which found that restricting sugar before birth and in early childhood reduced risk of chronic disease later in life. Gracer’s work was covered by Good Morning America, BBC News and Nature, among many other outlets.
Professor of Earth Sciences and Environmental Studies Josh West and doctoral student Isabel Smith drilled down on the problem of mercury release from Arctic permafrost. Their findings were shared widely, including by ABC News and Newsweek.
Darby Saxbe, professor of psychology and director of the Center for the Changing Family based at USC Dornsife, and PhD student Lizzie Aviv revealed that moms take on most of the cognitive labor for households, work covered in The Washington Post. Saxbe also published a study on the impacts of caregiving on fathers’ brains, also covered by the Post.
Falling for financial scams could be an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease in older adults, according to research by Professor of Psychology and Family Medicine Duke Han. His work was featured by CNN, U.S. News & World Report and other outlets.
Centers and institutes hit major anniversaries
USC Dornsife’s LABarometer, which tracks the sentiments of Angelenos, celebrated its fifth anniversary. The survey in October on attitudes around housing costs and homelessness received substantial coverage, including a Los Angeles Times exclusive.
The Center for Advanced Genocide Research reached its 10th anniversary.
Trojans took home Olympic medals
Nearly 70 Trojans competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including 25 USC Dornsife alumni and students who collected nine medals. Rai Benjamin ’16, who graduated with a degree in sociology, Croix Bethune ’23, a health and human sciences graduate, and a slew of others put added meaning to “cardinal and gold” with their medal-winning feats
A USC Dornsife Trojan even played a less athletic though no less impressive role at the games — Cheryl Russell ’85 served as judge for artistic swimming.
A big year for USC Dornsife-authored books
USC Dornsife authors received major kudos this year, with The New York Times listing books by Everett, Maggie Nelson, professor of English, and Viet Tanh Nguyen, University Professor, Aerol Arnold Chair of English, and professor of English, American studies and ethnicity, and comparative literature, as some of the best of the century.
Everett’s James and Professor of English Danzy Senna’s Colored Television were included in The New York Times’ list of notable books of the year. Colored Television was also a Good Morning America Book Club read in September and on Time’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2024.
Brandon Som, who received a PhD in literature and creative writing from USC Dornsife in 2014, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for Tripas: Poemas.
USC Dornsife contributes to the community
USC Dornsife scholars also worked with the public this year, helping to launch a new portal for food entrepreneurs in L.A. County and hosting the first California Senate debate.
In November, the first trees in Public Exchange’s Urban Trees Initiative were planted in L.A.’s West Adams neighborhood. And students from Vermont Avenue Elementary School recently learned about neurobiology, thanks to USC Dornsife’s Joint Educational Project.