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Home > Giving > Giving Priorities > Research


GIVING PRIORITIES
Research

  
  • Research Centers and Institutes
  • Laboratory Equipment
  • Energy & Environment
  • Games Technology
  • Nanotechnology
  • Information Technology
    • Communications
    • Multi-Media
  
Viterbi Engineering research has resulted in scientific discoveries of enormous impact. For example, everyday items such as the compact disc, fax machine and cell phone all use technology stemming from discoveries at USC Engineering.
 
The exciting work undertaken by our diverse research centers reverberates throughout the Viterbi School and the University. Viterbi faculty consistently rank in the nation’s top three in acquiring federal and state funding awards per tenured faculty member. Our stature as a research powerhouse attracts international attention.
 
USC is one of only a handful of universities, and the only one in California, to have two active National Science Foundationfunded Engineering Research Centers: the Integrated Media Systems Center and the Biomimetic MicroElectronic Systems Engineering Center. We are also home to the first University Center of Excellence selected by the Department of Homeland Security— CREATE — the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.
 
A prime example of our research prowess can be found at our Information Sciences Institute (ISI), a world leader in computer science and information technology and our biggest research engine. ISI is credited with the development of the Internet’s Domain Name System, TCP/IP protocols, and the Globus Grid Computing architecture, among hundreds of other research achievements. Your support can help accelerate the proud Trojan tradition of outstanding contributions to science and industry.
 

Industry and Academia in Partnership

The Center for Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies (CiSoft), a USC-Chevron Center of Excellence for Research and Academic Training in Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies, was established in 2003 with funding from Chevron. CiSoft is a good example of collaboration between industry and academia. It depends on the expertise of Viterbi engineers and Chevron units to pursue crossdisciplinary research. In addition to its funded research, the center offers a new master’s degree in petroleum engineering with an emphasis on Smart Oilfield Technologies. “It’s been a refreshing change from our short-term production world to be able to interact in a venue where we can think more innovatively. USC has more than met our expectations,” says Mike Hauser, CiSoft’s co-executive director and program manager for Chevron. The CiSoft collaboration is an example of how the Viterbi School’s corporate relationships have been fundamental in pursuing ground-breaking research beneficial to our students and the marketplace.
 
 
Research funds are crucial to our scientists because they provide necessary resources to pursue new knowledge. Supporting research at the Viterbi School, either through endowing a center or supporting a specific area, is not only a way to enhance the School’s prestige, but also a generous way to advance strategic research areas that will make a difference to our lives.
 
Steve Nutt
SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH

If we look at all the technological innovations during the last 100 years, whether it was from civil engineering to petroleum, oil, and energy, to chemical engineering, to aerospace
and communications, to computers, to multimedia and information technology, to mechanical and industrial engineering, to materials and composites; if we look at all these important areas, the USC Viterbi School has truly made a difference in every one. Not only by educating the workforce, but also by doing cutting edge research that stimulated the growth of these industries.
 
C. L. Max Nikias
USC Provost
USC Viterbi School of Engineering (2001-2005)

It is refreshing that the Viterbi School would leverage its strong legacy of leadership in multimedia technologies to pave the way for an original program in games development. The program is well positioned, with industrial partners like Motorola, to provide international academic leadership. We are very pleased to support this exciting new program.”
 
Frederick L. Kitson, Ph.D.
Vice President & Director
APPLICATIONS RESEARCH CENTER MOTOROLA LABS