USC Research Labs and Centers

Covers a wide range of academic and professional endeavors concerning

Armenia

and Armenians in the fields of architecture, education, business, technology, science, medicine, law, history, religion, politics, literature, media, theater, cinema, dance, music and the arts.

Moreover, the Institute provides professional guidance and solutions on issues and problems confronting the Armenian community of California, the global Armenian Diaspora and the Republic of Armenia.

A center for scholarly investigation of the history and culture of California and the American West.

Draws on the resources of the University of Southern California and the Huntington Library to build an innovative collaboration between a research university and a research library.

Supports research that aims to spur dialogue and achieve greater understanding not only about what its means to be Jewish in America but what it means to be American in a pluralistic society.

Supports advanced research and scholarship on human societies between 1450 and 1850.

Provides dedicated leadership, coordination and support for the growing interdisciplinary education, research activity, and community outreach concerning East Asia.

Recognized as one of the nation's leading centers for the development of East Asian area studies and is among a small group of elite colleges and universities to be designated a National Resource Center for East Asian studies by the U.S. Department of Education.

Provides the University of Southern California's feminist community with research opportunities for the study of women, gender, and feminism.

Devoted to encouraging the study of law as an historical and cultural institution.

Sponsors a wide range of scholarly and cultural activities, including faculty workshops, book talks, seminars, and conferences, as well as programs designed to support students and emerging scholars.

Devoted to the promotion of interdisciplinary scholarship in legal, moral, and political philosophy.

Concerned with the cultural history of Russia-especially the visual arts and literature during the 19th and 20th centuries.

An organized research unit at the University of Southern California, facilitating the research collaboration, dissemination and professional development activities of faculty, students, and others across School of Education, university and outside organizational lines.

An organized research unit dedicated to developing educational programs and conducting research on the changing nature of literacy in a networked culture.

Promotes effective and expressive communication and scholarly production through the use of multiple media applications and tools.

A research and information center devoted to gathering and disseminating knowledge about all aspects of Polish music to researchers, students, and music lovers.

Houses the largest collection of Polish music in the

U.S.

and is the only center at an American university devoted solely to Polish music.

Investigates the civic role of religion and collaborates with congregations, scholars, funders, and faith-based organizations.

Houses an archive of nearly 52,000 videotaped testimonies from Holocaust survivors and other witnesses.

Works with a global network of partners to provide an array of valuable educational services that reach educators, students, and the general public around the world.

Uses advanced photographic and computer imaging techniques to document objects and texts from the ancient world.

The most important principle that governs the work of the WSRP is the combining of good photography with knowledge of the scripts and languages.

Aims to enhance understanding of the 21st century’s definitive and multidimensional relationship through cutting-edge social science research, innovative graduate and undergraduate training, extensive and influential public events, and professional development efforts.

Back to top

Conducts and analyzes interdisciplinary research on the role of new technology in the development of advanced expertise and performance motivation.

The Communication Sciences Institute (CSI) was formed in 1982 as an organized research unit within the Department of Electrical Engineering. CSI provides an environment for faculty, students, research sponsors, and practicing engineers to interact. The primary goal of CSI is to impact engineering practice through basic research and education. To achieve this goal, we look to our research sponsors and industrial affiliates for the most challenging and relevant problems. These problems are addressed by CSI faculty and student researchers who are among the best in the world.

Specific topics include image and scene segmentation, stereo and motion analysis, range analysis, perceptual grouping, shape analysis and object recognition.

The leaders in producing virtual humans, computer training simulations and immersive experiences for decision-making, cultural awareness, leadership and health.

An organization within the USC School of Cinematic Arts which brings together the top entertainment, technology and CE companies to explore opportunities for new consumer entertainment offerings today and into the future.

Conducts basic and applied research in geographic information science by bringing together faculty, professionals, and aspiring graduate students from a range of academic disciplines, and provides a focus for GIS education and training at USC.

Self-funded through a variety of projects from various external sources including the National Science Foundation, California Department of Boating and Waterways, San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, and others.

A major contributor to the nation's information technology knowledge base, and is actively engaged in a broad spectrum of information processing research, as well as the development of advanced computer and communication technologies.

Carries out a pioneering, cross-disciplinary program of research, education, outreach, industry collaboration and technology transfer.

Leading the way in advancing the software and hardware framework to create immersive environments in which people can interact, communicate and collaborate naturally in a shared virtual space.

For the past nine years, the USC Institute for Multimedia Literacy (IML) has developed strategies for building on traditional textual literacy, to expand the notion of literacy to include learning how to author and analyze visual, aural, dynamic, and interactive media. Since the founding of the Institute in 1998, more than 50 professors and 2,500 students from a wide variety of disciplines have integrated the IML’s methodology into their teaching, learning, and research.

Joint scholarly research, policy analysis and professional training organization dedicated to furthering the study and practice of public diplomacy as it is practiced internationally.

Has become the definitive go-to destination for practitioners and worldwide international leaders in public diplomacy, while pursuing an innovative and cutting-edge research agenda.

Serves as a focus for broad fundamental research in signal and image processing techniques at USC.

Provides an excellent environment for research and teaching (especially in the areas of large-scale software design and development processes, generic and domain-specific software architectures, software engineering tools and environments, cooperative systems design, and the economics of software engineering) because of the excellent faculty and staff and the partnerships it has created with leading public and private sector organizations.

Offers a unique resource of ideas, people, and knowledge to advance the emerging business ecosystem created by the convergence of new digital technologies, products, services and content distributed over broadband and wireless networks.

Seeks to apply capabilities and expertise in the digital world to the enrichment of the global community and involved businesses through ongoing research, education, and networking opportunities.

Back to top

The focal point for transportation research at the University of Southern California, the CATT performs high-impact research on urgent transportation issues in cooperation with industry and government.

A non-profit organization that supports research, development and commercialization of biomedical devices and other technologies.

Devoted to accelerating the commercialization of biomedical devices by nurturing promising biomedical technologies.

Develops the science and engineering of novel biomimetic microelectronic systems (BMES) based on fundamental principles of biology that will allow bi-directional communication with tissue and by doing so enable implantable/portable microelectronic devices to treat presently incurable human diseases such as blindness, paralysis, and memory loss.

Dedicated to the advancement of the state-of-the-art in biomedical modeling and simulation through core and collaborative cesearch projects, as well as the dissemination of this knowledge and related software through service, training and dissemination activities aimed at the biomedical community at large.

Consists of four core research projects: Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic, Modeling of Autonomic, Metabolic and Vascular Control Interactions, Nonlinear Modeling of Complex Biomedical Systems, and Nonlinear Modeling of the Hippocampus.

Committed to quality research to improve the way we currently extract, transform, and use fossil fuels and reducing global reliance on them.

Currently developing a cross-disciplinary research program that both advances the science of alternative fuels and energy conversions and addresses the economic, social, environment and policy issues associated with transitioning to a new energy/fuel paradigm.

Has developed a number of products and services designed to help water utilities, health agencies, plumbing inspectors, private contractors and the general public in the cross-connection control efforts.

Seeks to actively address the economic policy, financial, demographic and other dimensions of public infrastructure development in California.

Undertakes research, outreach, and education activities to further understanding and awareness of infrastructure challenges facing the state and country.

The first and largest UTC in Southern California, home to nearly 2/3 of the state's population, and in GNP equivalent the 10th largest economy in the world.

METRANS' mission is to solve transportation problems of large metropolitan regions through interdisciplinary research, education and outreach.

An organized research unit (ORU) in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering that focuses on the science and technology of microsatellites: in research, design and applications. It has close links with USC’s degree program in Astronautics and Space Technology.

Involved with microdisk lasers, high speed polymer modulators, microdisk optical resonators, and electron cyclotron resonance etchers.

An emerging interdisciplinary academic discipline concerned with the study of the new possibilities quantum mechanics offers for the acquisition, transmission, and processing of information.

Seeks to advance fundamental experimental and theoretical knowledge in relevant areas of Engineering and Physical Science.

An interdisciplinary organized research unit (ORU) that focuses on the science and technology of effective, robust, and scalable robotic systems, with broad and far-reaching applications.

Dedicated to space engineering, research, and the build, test and flight demonstration of spacecraft and satellites.

Back to top

Gathers new knowledge about the human emotions, decision-making, memory, and communication, from a neurological perspective, and to apply this knowledge to the solution of problems in the biomedical and sociocultural arenas.

Awarded $18.7 million by the National Human Genome Institute to establish a center that will develop faster ways to identify genes that cause disease.

Dedicated to the biomechanical investigation of movement and musculoskeletal disorders, interventions and adaptations.

Fosters an interdisciplinary approach to addressing a variety of research questions.

Using state of the art technology, investigators are able to test hypotheses related to the kinematics, kinetics, and motor control strategies associated with both normal and pathological human movement.

Funds research, transfers results to government agencies and user groups, and provides information about marine resources, recreation and education to the public.

Fosters research, education and partnerships to address sustainability challenges facing metropolitan regions, and generates innovative solutions that enhance the natural environment, economic vitality, and social equity of cities worldwide.

Research in the Lab is primarily geared toward understanding the cognitive and neural underpinnings of human object recognition.

Currently involved in various psychophysical and fMRI experiments dealing with face recognition, visual preference, the role of spatial frequencies in human vision, perceptual grouping, invariance to rotation in depth, scene perception, visual priming and memory, and visual attention.

Encourages responsible and creative decisions in society by providing an objective source of marine and environmental science and fostering an understanding of the natural world among people of all ages.

At this world-class center for research excellence, USC faculty, fellows, and graduate students study the brain from a range of perspectives, from the molecular to the systems level — applying their backgrounds in cell and molecular biology, physiology and biophysics, genetics, neural engineering, and cognitive neuroscience to influence and engage each other's views on neurogenetic disease.

Back to top

A collaborative effort among the leaders in the study of alcoholic liver and pancreatic diseases in the Los Angeles area.

Seeks to elucidate the mechanisms by which ethanol sensitizes and primes the liver and pancreas to diseases.

Is a non-profit organization that supports research, development and commercialization of biomedical devices and other technologies.

Conducts interdisciplinary projects in neurobiology, molecular biology, cognitive psychology, biodemography, family studies, long term care, and other topics.

Serves as the center of the Keck School's broad research efforts into the dynamics of atherosclerosis, the thickening and narrowing of the arteries that significantly increases an individual's risk of heart attack and stroke.

Conducts research through a clinical core of imaging studies, pathology research, and a Spanish-speaking satellite. The center seeks to serve the surrounding community by our contributions to research and related patient care.They also work to define mechanisms on aging and the development of memory disorders at the molecular and genetic level that advance our understanding of the causes of dementia.

The Biomedical Simulations Resource (BMSR) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California is dedicated to the advancement of the state-of-the-art in biomedical modeling and simulation through Core and Collaborative Research projects, as well as the dissemination of this knowledge and related software through Service, Training and Dissemination activities aimed at the biomedical community at large.

Our vision is to develop the science and engineering of novel biomimetic microelectronic systems (BMES) based on fundamental principles of biology. The newly developed systems will allow bi-directional communication with tissue and by doing so enable implantable/portable micr oelectronic devices to treat presently incurable human diseases such as blindness, paralysis, and memory loss. The overall technical merit of this proposal lies in developing disruptive rather than incremental advancement in technology.

Routinely collects and analyzes information on all new cancer diagnoses made among residents of the County.

Conducts research and disseminates practical information in an effort to improve the respiratory health of our children.

An international center of excellence dedicated to innovative interdisciplinary research, education and service, directed toward molecular solutions to human disease.

Established to emphasize clinical research and to speed the process of moving research findings to clinical care.

Has a record of success with the innovative “retina chip” designed to restore sight to patients with blinding retinal disorders.

Brings together investigators from the from the biological, behavioral, computational and engineering sciences with expertise in methods encompassing molecular and cell biology, behavioral neuroscience, bioinformatics, computational modeling, virtual environment technology, haptics, biostatistics and physical therapy to gain a better understanding of how critical factors such the focus of therapy (skilled learning vs. motor activity), the intensity and timing of therapy, patient motivation, mental practice and the neural mechanisms that underlie the recovery process interact to impact the effectiveness of rehabilitation therapy.

Provides clinical research infrastructure for USC investigators with peer-reviewed protocols to study normal human function, as well as the mechanisms treatment and prevention of human disease.

Focused on the application of genetic and molecular technology to the study and treatment of human disease.

Provides evaluation, diagnosis and treatment recommendations, referrals to caregiver services and support groups, and the opportunity to participate in clinical drug trials with the most recent advances in medications for memory problems.

Dedicated to the advancement of interdisciplinary research and education to improve the health and well-being of individuals and whole communities at the local and global levels.

Offers continuous screening opportunities for patients for treatment trials using new drug therapies for hepatitis B and C.

Facilitates and attracts young and established scientists to digestive disease-related research through the provision of needed laboratory core facilities, educational enrichment programs and support of pilot/feasibility projects.

A leader in cancer research, with nearly 200 members investigating the complex origins and progression of cancer, developing prevention strategies and searching for cures.

Provides “bench-to-bedside” research and treatment of neurological motor system disorders like Parkinson’s disease and other brain disorders.

The overarching mission of the DRCYF is to conduct, coordinate, facilitate, and disseminate research intended to: 1) prevent childhood and lifelong health problems; 2) promote healthy development; 3) reduce disparities in children’s health that may be associated with socioeconomic status, health coverage and insurance, access to care, and race/ethnicity and immigration status; 4) restore function and prevent disability among children with special needs; and 5) ensure the delivery of quality care through health outcomes research.

Promotes the health and well-being of children, adolescents, and families through prevention, health promotion, health services and health outcomes research.

Improve health by investigating environmental exposures, studying who might be most susceptible, and linking our research efforts with the communities the center serves.

Center scientists study cancer, respiratory disease and adverse reproductive outcomes, as well as develop new methods for designing studies and evaluate exposures.

Applies basic research from multiple disciplines to the study of drug abuse and its prevention.

Seeks to develop a better understanding of the causes of drug abuse and the mechanisms through which interventions have effects.

Develops and tests new prevention strategies and modalities that emerge from this application of basic research.

Focuses on the US and China’s culturally diverse youth as it examines genetic, environmental, social, and cultural factors influencing tobacco and alcohol use behavior in order to develop more effective prevention programs.

The Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute was designed to foster interactions among the best and brightest. At this world-class center for research excellence, USC faculty, fellows, and graduate students study the brain from a range of perspectives, from the molecular to the systems level — applying their backgrounds in cell and molecular biology, physiology and biophysics, genetics, neural engineering, and cognitive neuroscience to influence and engage each other's views on neurogenetic disease.

Back to top

encompasses many research projects, groups, and programs including fundamental applied mathematical research related to stochastic systems, statistics, and computation.

Committed to quality research to improve the way we currently extract, transform, and use fossil fuels and reducing global reliance on them

Developing a cross-disciplinary research program that both advances the science of alternative fuels and energy conversions and addresses the economic, social, environment and policy issues associated with transitioning to a new energy/fuel paradigm

Seeks to advance fundamental experimental and theoretical knowledge in relevant areas of Engineering and Physical Science.

Develops and maintains a variety of publications, software, databases, visualizations, and other resources useful for earth scientists, engineers, government agencies, news media, teachers, students, and the general public.

Work at SSC involves both laboratory and space based investigations of photoabsorption and emission processes in atomic and molecular gases in the spectral region from the extreme ultraviolet through the infrared.

Missions include rocket launches at White Sands Missile Range (usually during the summer) as well as experiments aboard the Space Shuttle.

Back to top

The USC Davis School and its research and services component, the USC Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, are improving the quality of life for older persons through research and education.

This Center is multidisciplinary linking demographers, biologists, economists, psychologists, epidemiologists, health policy specialists, medical researchers and clinical geriatricians in a Center devoted to understanding population health.

The mission of the Brain and Creativity Institute is to gather new knowledge about the human emotions, decision-making, memory, and communication, from a neurological perspective, and to apply this knowledge to the solution of problems in the biomedical and sociocultural arenas.

The Institute was founded by Antonio Damasio and Hanna Damasio in 2006 and is a unit of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California.
The Institute uses state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques (e.g. advanced magnetic resonance scanning), and cognitive, psychophysiological, and psychophysical techniques as well as techniques developed in interaction with filmmakers and social scientists, among others.
Although the ultimate goals of the Institute’s research feature biomedical and sociocultural applications prominently, all of its projects hinge on the interaction of neurocognitive, sociocultural, and biomedical phenomena.

Develops and supports research on the economic, technological, and institutional changes in society.

Emphasizes multidisciplinary, applied research on complex social problems that involve the interaction between the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

The staff of the Center for Cognitive Technology conducts and analyzes interdisciplinary research on the role of new technology in the development of advanced expertise and performance motivation.

Undertakes and supports rigorous academic research on issues related to communications law and regulation, and technology policy.

The mission of the CCLP is to examine the role communications law and regulations and technology policy have in this process.

Conducts a long-term longitudinal study on the impact over time of computers, the Internet and related technologies on families and society.

Based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and being conducted in Singapore, Italy, Sweden, Britain, Germany, France, Hungary, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India, Iran, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and a growing list of additional countries.

Established to provide dedicated leadership, coordination and support for the growing interdisciplinary education, research activity, and community outreach concerning East Asia. EASC has been recognized as one of the nation's leading centers for the development of East Asian area studies and is among a small group of elite colleges and universities to be designated a National Resource Center for East Asian studies by the U.S. Department of Education.

A US Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) funded University Center providing information and technical assistance to public and private organizations throughout the Southern California area.

Focuses on the linkages between policy, educational governance, and the improvement of urban schools and systems.

The main activities of the center are: (1) engaging in rigorous quantitative and qualitative research studies of policy problems; (2) building a knowledge base to provide researchers, educators, parents and policy makers with new tools and strategies for improvement; and, (3) working in partnership with educators and policy makers to use research to improve policy and practice.

Works with companies to research and develop new knowledge on cutting-edge issues of organization design and effectiveness. The center has developed methodologies to link research to practitioner concerns, and regularly assesses their success in this area. In addition, CEO periodically conducts systematic research projects that examine the conditions that make research useful to participating companies.

The Energy Institute (EI) is committed to quality research to improve the way we currently extract, transform, and use fossil fuels and reducing global reliance on them. We are developing a cross-disciplinary research program that both advances the science of alternative fuels and energy conversions and addresses the economic, social, environment and policy issues associated with transitioning to a new energy/fuel paradigm.

Facilitates the work of faculty representing social work, psychology, sociology, nursing, biostatistics, anthropology and other disciplines.

Conducts theoretically informed research with real-world applicability, the Center has a broad focus on three areas of higher education—improving urban postsecondary education, strengthening school-university partnerships, and understanding international education, with a particular focus on the Pacific Rim

The nation's most prominent educational and research organization focused on direct democracy.

CIPPAD's goal is to broaden and deepen USC's contributions to social, economic, and political advancement of societies in developing and transitional countries by directing multilateral and bilateral resources to these countries and working collaboratively with government agencies, universities, for-profit and non-profit organizations throughout the world.

Supports the research of faculty and students; hosts scholars from the United States and abroad; organizes public seminars, workshops and conferences; promotes collaborative research projects; and contributes to public understanding of international affairs.

Aims to assist the Marshall School in producing graduates equipped with the necessary financial analytical skills required for succeeding in global commerce.

Supports faculty research in developing a better understanding of how financial markets work.

Anticipates serving as a central platform for leading investment scholarship and stimulating dialogue between academia and the professional investment community.

Motivate students to become active in the world of politics and encourage public officials to participate in the daily life of USC.

The Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy seeks to actively address the economic policy, financial, demographic and other dimensions of public infrastructure development in California.

The Institute's purpose is the identification, research and dissemination of the most imaginative infrastructure strategies for the range of infrastructure challenges facing California as we enter the 21st century. Specifically:

USC Center in Law, Economics and Organization (CLEO) is a research center that works to understand the interaction of economics, law and organization.

Seeks to advance real estate knowledge, inform business practice, and address timely issues that affect the real estate industry, the urban economy, and public policy.

Produces relevant and timely real estate research, supports educational programs for students and executives, and convenes professional forums that bring together academics, students, business executives, and community leaders.

METRANS is a U.S. Department of Transportation University Transportation Center. It is a joint partnership of USC and California State University, Long Beach. Its mission is to solve transportation problems in large metropolitan regions through interdisciplinary research, education, and outreach. Its four areas of focus are goods movement and international trade; urban mobility; transportation infrastructure and finance; and safety, security, and vulnerability.

A multidisciplinary research and public policy center exploring implications of the convergence of entertainment, commerce, and society.

It bridges the gap between the entertainment industry and academia, and between them and the public.

Brings an interdisciplinary as well as inter-institutional perspective to the study of ethical problems and health policy development.

Brings together experts form a wide range of fields at USC with representatives from healthcare providers, consumer groups, government, insurers, and other ethics centers.

The Pacific Council on International Policy confronts several global transformations through giving more effective voice to West Coast perspectives on them, by:

Promotes more effective philanthropy and strengthens the nonprofit sector through research that informs philanthropic decision making and public policy to advance public problem solving.

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School was established in August 2003 as a partnership between the USC Annenberg School for Communication and USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences' School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. It is a joint scholarly research, policy analysis and professional training organization dedicated to furthering the study and practice of public diplomacy as it is practiced internationally.

CREATE's mission is to improve our nation's security through the development of advanced models and tools for the evaluation of the risks, costs and consequences of terrorism and to guide economically viable investments in homeland security.

Aims to become the world's leading academic program for modeling the risks and vulnerabilities of terrorism, assessing the direct and indirect consequences, gauging their economic impacts, and evaluating the effectiveness of countermeasures.

A unique network of inter-connected scholars, drawn from diverse disciplines such as law, political science, economics, public administration, psychology, and communications.

This center has ombined law and the social sciences to study voters, democratic institutions, the political process and the law.

The USCCenter for Sustainable Cities fosters research, education and partnerships to address sustainability challenges facing metropolitan regions, and generates innovative solutions that enhance the natural environment, economic vitality, and social equity of cities worldwide.

Advances informed policy on key issues affecting Latino communities through objective and timely research contributing to the betterment of the nation.

This freestanding, nonprofit, policy research organization, helps shape public policy by providing elected officials and community leaders with non-partisan research.

Has published 200 research reports and policy briefs addressing a wide range of topics – from immigration and education to technology and employment.

A research and action center whose mission is to conduct research that will result in the creation of enabling institutional environments for children, youth, and adults from socially and economically disenfranchised groups residing in urban settings.

CUE is uniquely positioned to explore the complex interplay between education and an urban environment similar to that found in most of the world's cities.

The USC U.S. - China Institute aims to enhance understanding of the 21st century’s definitive and multidimensional relationship through cutting-edge social science research, innovative graduate and undergraduate training, extensive and influential public events, and professional development efforts.

Back to top