The Academy in the Public Square
Our Doors Are Open
The world needs new ways of thinking about complex problems. Yet, the unmatched potential for university researchers to generate solutions is often overlooked.
The Academy in the Public Square initiative encourages engagement between USC Dornsife faculty and communities beyond our institution. We’re swinging open our doors — becoming the go-to source for expertise. We’re offering new ways of thinking about complex issues affecting people and communities today. We’re communicating scholarship in ways that non-experts can actually understand. And, working with leaders across the public and private sectors, we are emphasizing the enormous value of research universities as society’s most productive and prolific driver of innovation.
Public Exchange
If your organization had a dedicated research arm with experts in just about any subject you could imagine, what problems would you be able to solve?
As the centerpiece of the Academy in the Public Square, Public Exchange amplifies social impact by making academic expertise more easily accessible than ever before. The first-of-its-kind hub connects leaders in the public and private sectors with the right team of USC researchers and streamlines the collaborative process, providing project management from start to finish.
Shaping the Conversation
USC Dornsife experts provide insights that shape and expand public discourse on complex issues of the day.
USC Dornsife Research in the News
Breakthrough procedure opens new opportunities in quantum research
A new USC-developed technique enhances quantum sensing by counteracting the limitation of decoherence, unpredictable behavior caused by environmental noise.
What’s in a book? Often, a good friend
Reading offers unexpected forms of connection, as English professor Emily Anderson uncovers in her latest, Shadow Work: Loneliness and Literary Life.
In talking with Tehran, Trump is reversing course on Iran – could a new nuclear deal be next?
Nuclear experts from the US and Iran are due to meet in Oman. The turn to diplomacy indicates Trump is erring against reviving a maximum pressure strategy with Tehran.
Attempt to conquer Greenland at your peril
President Donald Trump is interested in purchasing Greenland and annexing Canada, but would-be expansionists should consider the North’s past before making a costly mistake.
Q&A with Andrew Lakoff: Why planetary health is the first step to a sustainable future
An expert on how societies prepare for and respond to emergencies — from pandemics to climate change — USC’s Andrew Lakoff explores how our well-being depends on the health of Earth’s ecosystems.
Economist explains impact of Trump’s tariff plans
After recent tariff news from President Donald Trump’s administration, USC Dornsife economist Monica Morlacco discusses who the import taxes will affect and when — and what the long-term effects may be.
USC scientists find a gut-brain link that may affect behavior in children with autism
An imbalance in the microbiome disrupts neurotransmitter production and may manifest as social difficulties and repetitive behaviors.
Wildfires hit L.A.’s housing-insecure residents hardest, USC Dornsife survey finds
From displacement to respiratory illness, Angelenos without stable housing suffered disproportionately — and most residents support smarter rebuilding.
Expert on Arctic politics explains Greenland’s strategic appeal
Why is President Trump likely interested in the island nation? International relations professor Steve Lamy explains.
A new path to understanding black holes
New insights could lead to a deeper understanding of black-hole microstructure in theoretical physics. USC Dornsife’s Nicholas Warner explains.
$4M gift launches USC Dornsife endowment campaign for its Institute on California and the West
Investment from WHH Foundation helps secure ICW’s future and expand its reach.
‘Solar canals’: A bright solution for California’s water and energy needs?
Organized by USC Dornsife’s Public Exchange, the USC-led California Solar Canal Initiative could transform major portions of the state’s 4,000 miles of canals into a powerful source of clean energy and water conservation.
USC Dornsife professors join prestigious ranks of AAAS Fellows
Election by their peers recognizes four scholars for pioneering research on microbial systems, nanoscale physics and chemistry, and sensory neurobiology.
How changing L.A.’s tree rules could cool more neighborhoods
A new USC Dornsife study finds that outdated guidelines are limiting tree growth — especially in lower-income neighborhoods — and offers a path forward.
Free lead soil testing by USC Dornsife researchers helps L.A. residents after wildfires
Anyone affected by the L.A. fires can drop off or mail in soil samples for testing as part of Public Exchange’s community-focused project to assess post-fire lead contamination.
USC Dornsife cellular physiologist Emily Liman named to National Geographic’s “33” list of global changemakers
The annual list honors innovators and visionaries tackling the world’s most pressing challenges.
The 2,300-year-old philosophy of Stoicism finds a foothold in modern times
The Ancient Greek philosophy has acquired a new generation of acolytes. USC Dornsife philosophy professor Ralph Wedgwood explains its appeal.
Dornsife Dialogues
Check out our series of stimulating online forums in which leading experts and distinguished alumni from USC Dornsife share new perspectives and research-based findings on timely topics. Now available in podcast form!
Complex Insights into Identity
USC Dornsife’s Viet Thanh Nguyen, the Pulitzer-winning author of The Sympathizer, contributes frequently to the public discourse about American culture — including pieces for The Atlantic, Time, The New York Times, and more. With his bestselling novel recently adapted into an HBO series, whole new audiences are engaging with his distinct voice.
The MacArthur Fellow Shaping the Public Discourse
In any given year, Natalia Molina can be seen in dozens of national media outlets making her expertise accessible to a wide audience. The Distinguished Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity and Dean’s Professor of American Study and Ethnicity’s expertise explores current issues affecting communities representing many different backgrounds.
Molina’s work has earned her a MacArthur “genius” grant in 2020. The Los Angeles Times called her recent book, A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community — which chronicles how immigrant workers shaped the neighborhood of Echo Park — an “essential Los Angeles book.” She was also part of the L.A. Civic Memory Working Group, a group convened by the mayor of Los Angeles’s mayor to make recommendations on how to preserve the city’s history.
Sought-Out Source
Ian Anderson, who recently earned his doctorate in psychology, explains how to navigate information on social media in published news articles and as a speaker at the Nobel Prize Summit. It’s work that earned him a USC Dornsife Communicator of the Year award.
Contact Us
USC Dornsife Office of Communication
1150 S. Olive St, 24th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Phone: (213) 821-6797
Fax: (213) 821-6057
communication@dornsife.usc.edu