USC has long embraced the importance of innovation in information technology, and has created an environment where progress in the space thrives. The faculty and students at USC conducting research in information technology are changing how we connect with one another, now and in the future. Below is a small sampling of exciting spinouts, labs, and projects in information technology at USC:

Box.net, started by USC alumAaron Levie is the first online file system that enables users to share, store, and access files of any type from anywhere. Box.net is a leader in this space with more than 1.4 million users, over 1 million files served every day, and more than 1000 developers in the Box Enabled Network. Box.net is the first web-native system for access and collaboration which allows a broad array of functionality. The system is used by individuals, small businesses and Fortune 1000 companies. Box.net was the first internet storage provider to launch an open API in late 2005.

USC students Shahzad Tiwana and Sean Rad had a vision for organizing multiple email accounts into a single location. What they invented was a sophisticated, yet simple application that integrates email, instant messaging, and social networking accounts with one log-in from any web browser or cell phone. Born Orgoo Inc., it's a company with a funny name and serious business investors who appreciate the impact this innovation will have on social lives in the digital world.

USC alumnus Andrew J. Viterbi was one of the first students to earn a doctorate in electrical engineering from USC in 1962 and continued to be a pioneer throughout his career. Through the creation of a groundbreaking algorithm that eliminated signal interference, called the Viterbi Algorithm, he moved society from the world of analog to the age of digital communication. He co-founded QUALCOMM in 1985 and today the company has 1,700 U.S. patents issued for its breakthrough technologies.

Business and government alike are seeking more efficient ways to communicate in a global economy. Launched from USC's Information Sciences Institute by USC faculty members Kevin Knight and Daniel Marcu, Language Weaver, Inc. has emerged as a state-of-the-art translation software system that crosses the language barrier. Using a statistical approach to translation that allows computers to learn from existing human work, Language Weaver has pioneered a quicker and more accurate method to automated translation. Language Weaver has more than 50 patents pending worldwide on its proprietary technology.

Audyssey Laboratories was conceived at USC's Immersive Audio Laboratory under the direction of Sunil Bharitkar, Philip Hilmes, Chris Kyriakakis, and Tomlinson Holman – the latter of whom won an Academy Award for his work in developing LucasFilm Ltd's THX Sound System. The company has revolutionized how sound is heard, correcting sound distortion through a system which accurately measures a room and corrects time and frequency problems. The result is a clear and natural sound, unheard of before in the home theater.

Information Sciences Institute - Over the last 30 years, the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute (ISI) has emerged as one of the world's leading research centers in the fields of computer science and information technology. ISI has long been 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 being heavily involved in the development of advanced computer and communication technologies. ISI currently has more than 300 researchers, graduate students, and staff.