Thinking Ahead
Leveraging the most advanced methods and our uncommon agility, USC Dornsife researchers and students meet the future with extraordinary creativity. Working at the edge, they define new fields of study — bringing new ways of thinking to society’s most complex problems.
Research Frontiers
By thinking ahead in some of the most promising emerging areas of scholarship, USC Dornsife researchers are redefining how we optimize, heal, and sustain in a rapidly changing world.
Research News
Why forests aren’t coming back after gold mining in the Amazon
While gold mining’s environmental toll is well known, a team led by USC Dornsife researchers has uncovered a hidden culprit behind the Amazon rainforest’s slow recovery: water loss caused by reshaped terrain.
USC launches $12 million Institute on Ethics & Trust in Computing
The institute, supported by funds from the Lord Foundation of California, is the next step in the university’s effort to enhance research and education under the Frontiers of Computing “moonshot.”
Even weak tropical cyclones raise infant mortality in poorer countries, USC-led research finds
A new study finds that even storms below hurricane strength significantly increase infant deaths in low- and middle-income countries, and not just for the reasons experts expected.
The lasting toll of financial strain
A USC Dornsife study finds that growing up with money struggles can lead to symptoms of anxiety and loneliness nearly 20 years earlier than for those who felt financially secure.
A new method for characterizing quantum gate errors
The method, deterministic benchmarking, paves the way toward more reliable quantum simulations and fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Using environmental science to affect policy management: Karla Heidelberg
The USC Sea Grant director brings more than 25 years of experience as a scientist, educator and leader in ocean research, education, policy and public engagement.
Working on a problematic plastic: Megan Fieser
Megan Fieser, the Gabilan Assistant Professor of Chemistry at USC Dornsife, is working to resolve the vexing problem of plastic accumulating in our environment.
USC Dornsife researchers develop tool to break brain circuits with molecular precision
The reversible method targets specific synapses without harming neurons, offering a powerful tool for studying — and potentially treating — conditions such as addiction, epilepsy and PTSD.
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.
The Power and Promise of Quantum Computing
From discovering life-saving drugs, to fortifying cybersecurity, to revealing physical properties of the universe, quantum systems hold potential for solving tremendously complex problems. At USC Dornsife, researchers are creating insights and methods to overcome the challenging obstacle of quantum error correction — the primary obstacle that prevents us from unleashing quantum’s power at scale.
Prediction Science
Responsible Innovation in A.I.
The first question many people ask about artificial intelligence is, “Will it be good or bad?”
The answer is … yes.
While many experts across industry and academia focus on building increasingly sophisticated AI systems, USC Dornsife scholars also explore the ethical implications and safety concerns that are often overlooked in the race to the next big innovation.
The Hidden Risk of Letting AI Decide
Dr. Joe Arvai, an expert in behavioral science, writes about AI’s potential to diminish the human experience — including the threat to our ability to make thoughtful decisions. (Image: Courtesy Pixar.)
How Will AI Shape Humanity’s Future?
Experts believe AI will radically reshape the workplace and impact politics. Regulating this technology appropriately, they say, will likely be essential to avoid upending our world. Find out what USC Dornsife reseachers are adding to the conversation.
What Is Consciousness?
Watch our Dornsife Dialogues event featuring experts exploring the philosophical and scientific approaches to consciousness, the relationship between consciousness and the brain, and the potential implications of recent discoveries on the development of AI. (Image source: iStock.)
Narrative Medicine
At USC, experts are shaping the growing field of narrative medicine to reveal the many ways that an individual’s report of their illness can affect medical interventions. By understanding what a “closer reading” of a patient’s story might reveal — from the characters and cultural traditions they describe to the latent meaning in a moment of silence — clinicians might uncover ways to improve holistic patient care.
Climate Change Communication
Saving the planet isn’t just about technology—it’s also about people, politics, money — and the stories we tell. At USC Dornsife, researchers explore how the communication of climate change can be better leveraged to move the needle in driving sustainable policies, economics, and behaviors.
Repeating Aids Believing
As social media feeds fill up with AI-driven bots, sheer repetition of lies may erode the most essential resource for action on climate change — public support. Traditional media has a different problem — in their commitment to presenting both sides, journalists often platform climate skeptics whose untrue claims add to the repetition of misinformation.
Just Call It Climate Change
A new, Wrigley Institute-funded study on climate communications has found that Americas are not only more familiar with the term “climate change,” but it also generates more concern than newer terms such “climate emergency” or “climate crisis.”
Climate Visuals
Graphics are an important tool for communicating complicated climate information in a digestible way. But as climate science has become more nuanced, the graphics used to portray climate information have also become increasingly complicated. A study led by experts at USC Dornsife Public Exchange, in collaboration with the IPCC, explore what is confusing and how organizations can improve.
Center for the Changing Family
There is no connection more enduring or powerful than family. But the very notion of family is evolving, and we need new approaches to explore the way these relationships affect mental health. The Center for the Changing Family conducts research that informs health interventions and policy reflecting the oversized impact that the modern family — in all its forms — can have on our wellbeing.