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USC Viterbi School of Engineering

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USC Viterbi School of Engineering
TypePrivate
Established1905[1]
Parent institution
University of Southern California
DeanYannis C. Yortsos
Academic staff
188[1]
Undergraduates2700[1]
Postgraduates5900[1]
Location
Los Angeles
,
California
,
United States

34°1′12″N 118°17′20″W / 34.02000°N 118.28889°W / 34.02000; -118.28889
CampusUrban
Websiteviterbischool.usc.edu
Biegler Hall, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Main academic complex at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering (formerly the USC School of Engineering) is the engineering school of the University of Southern California. It was renamed following a $52 million donation by Andrew J. Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm.[2]

The school is headed by Dean Yannis Yortsos. Its research centers have played a major role in development of multiple technologies, including early development of the Internet when USC researcher Jonathan Postel was an editor of communications-protocol for the fledgling internet, also known as ARPANET.[3] The school's faculty has included Irving Reed, Leonard Adleman, Solomon W. Golomb, Barry Boehm, Clifford Newman, Richard Bellman, Lloyd Welch, Alexander Sawchuk, Maja Matarić, and George V. Chilingar.

Major research centers

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Specific contributions

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Student organizations

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AeroDesign Team of USC

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The AeroDesign Team (ADT) is a student-led design team within the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. Founded in 1991, ADT's purpose is to help students gain industry-like experience by competing in early design competitions that simulate typical design cycles in the Aerospace field. The team started out competing in the SAE AeroDesign contest but then switched its participation to the AIAA Design/Build/Fly (DBF) contest in 1997. The DBF contest has rules that change yearly, requiring students to come up with a completely new design each year. ADT won the DBF contest in 1998, 2009, 2014, and 2017. This is the second most first-place finish ever out of the 100+ universities from around the world that participate yearly.

Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering

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Among the many organizations on campus, the Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering (ASBME) is an undergraduate student organization for biomedical engineering students at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. ASBME is a student-run undergraduate and graduate biomedical engineering organization at USC that serves the engineering student body through academic, social, and corporate events. Students gain clarity in their chosen field of study and the opportunities that being a BME major brings. Students are also able to get a foot in the corporate door at the annual ASBME corporate dinner, attended by USC alumni as well as other corporate representatives.

Activities consist of regular meetings with guest speakers and panels, the BIOMED Research Symposium, the annual Corporate Dinner and Networking Nights designed to foster relationships between graduating students and industry, and many other social, community, and corporate events.

ASBME serves as USC's chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and sends some of its students to the annual BMES Conference each year.

Pi Tau Sigma (Tau Beta Chapter)

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Pi Tau Sigma is an international mechanical engineering honor society that strives to "create better engineers through a commitment to academic excellence and dedication to service." The USC Tau Beta Chapter is composed of the top mechanical engineers at the University of Southern California. USC's Pi Tau Sigma engages in social, industry and community service-related events in the USC neighborhood and beyond. Paul Ronney serves as an advisor for the USC chapter of Pi Tau Sigma.

USC Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence

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USC has a student chapter of Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. AAAI organizes speaker events and information sessions in the field of Artificial Intelligence to increase students' interest in AI.

USC Rocket Propulsion Lab (USCRPL)

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USCRPL was founded in 2005 with the goal of putting a student-designed and -built rocket into space.[4]

In 2019, USCRPL became the world’s first student organization to successfully launch and recover an entirely student-designed and student-fabricated rocket (Traveler IV) past the Karman line with a confidence of 90%.[5]

Viterbi Graduate Students Association (VGSA)

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The Viterbi Graduate Students Association (VGSA) is the student government for the graduate students of the Viterbi School. It consists of representatives from all departments and several student organizations, as well as the Viterbi Graduate Student Liaison (VGSL).[6]

Notable alumni

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Historical accomplishments

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In 1970, Neil Armstrong, who was the first person to set foot on the Moon, during the 1969 NASA Apollo mission, graduated USC with a master of science degree in aerospace engineering.

Equipped with the ability to adapt to arbitrary shapes without any external control, pioneering roboticist George Bekey co-created the world’s first five-fingered robot in 1977—the first able to give a true handshake.

In 1983, the internet's pivotal Domain Name System (DNS) was invented by ISI researcher Paul Mockapetris. The DNS works as a phone book directory for the internet, automatically translating text addresses, which humans can understand and remember, to numerical addresses that computers can understand.

Fundraising

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Previously known as the USC School of Engineering, it was renamed on March 2, 2004, as the Andrew and Erna Viterbi School of Engineering in honor of Qualcomm co-founder Andrew Viterbi and his wife Erna, who had donated $52 million to the school. The Viterbi School received other major gifts including gifts from Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mark Stevens who created the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation in 2004;[7] real estate developer Daniel J. Epstein who named the Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering with an $11 million gift in 2002;[8] Energy Corporation of America CEO John Mork who named the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science with a $15 million gift in 2005;[9] Ken Klein, CEO and president of Wind River Systems, who established the Klein Institute for Undergraduate Engineering Life with an $11 million gift, also in 2005;[10] Ming Hsieh, founder of Cogent Inc., who named the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering in 2006 with a $35 million gift;[11] and Los Angeles real estate developer Sonny Astani, who named the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering with a $17 million gift in 2007.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Engineering | Academics | USC". academics.usc.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  2. ^ "Qualcomm Co-Founder, Wife Give $52 Million to USC Engineering School". 2 March 2004. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  3. ^ "The History of ISI". Information Sciences Institute (USC). Archived from the original on 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
  4. ^ "USCRPL". The world’s premier undergraduate research group for experimental rocket technologies. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  5. ^ "USCRPL". Traveler IV. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Council Members". VGSA Current Council. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  7. ^ Green, Angie (March 29, 2007). "USC innovation institute reinventing itself". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ Annette Moore, Epstein Gives $4M for New Alumni Center, USC News, March 20, 2008, Accessed June 16, 2008.
  9. ^ Diane Ainsworth, Engineering Dept. Gets Alum’s Name, USC News, September 20, 2005, Accessed June 16, 2008.
  10. ^ Diane Ainsworth, Alum Establishes Institute for Engineers, USC News, November 10, 2005, Accessed June 16, 2008.
  11. ^ Diane Ainsworth, Alumnus Makes Record Donation to USC, USC News, October 23, 2006, Accessed June 16, 2008.
  12. ^ Eric Mankin, Alum Gives $17M to USC Viterbi Dept. Archived 2011-12-10 at the Wayback Machine, USC News, November 29, 2007, Accessed June 16, 2008.
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