CESR - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Divisional Dean for the Physical Sciences and Mathematics / Professor of Mathematics
- Professor
As divisional dean, Professor Aaron Lauda provides critical academic leadership, supporting departments, centers, and institutes in recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, advancing innovative research, and helping faculty navigate administrative challenges.
Lauda is a distinguished scholar whose research has advanced the fields of mathematics and theoretical physics. His work has introduced significant new ideas about symmetry that are crucial in both areas. By solving a 15-year-old problem, he helped start the field of higher representation theory and created the first example of a complex type of symmetry called a "categorified" quantum group symmetry. Now, he uses these symmetries and advances in topological quantum field theory to explore new, error-resistant methods for quantum computing.
Since joining the USC Dornsife Department of Mathematics in 2011, Lauda has taken on several key roles, including department chair of Mathematics, Dean's Leadership Fellow in Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and serving on Dornsife's Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure. His leadership has been instrumental in advancing academic excellence and fostering innovation both at USC and within the scientific community. Notably, he has directed a Simons Collaboration in Mathematical Physics, managing an $8 million award uniting a consortium of principal investigators from top research universities worldwide. Lauda's academic career is marked by numerous accolades, including a Sloan Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, and being named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and the Simons Foundation.
Before joining USC Dornsife, Lauda served as Ritt Assistant Professor at Columbia University. He completed his Ph.D. in pure mathematics at Cambridge University and earned his master's degree in Physics from UC Riverside. In 2021, he was awarded a Doctorate of Science from Cambridge University, the highest degree awarded for distinguished research in science.
Divisional Dean for the Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Professor of Mathematics
(213) 740-8170
lauda@usc.edu
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Philosophy, Psychology and Linguistics
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for College Facility Planning, Design, and Operations
As Associate Dean for College Facility Planning, Design, and Operations for Architectural Services at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Science, Alfonso D'Onofrio and his team design, develop and manage the academic, research, and administrative space program within the Dornsife space portfolio. Responsibilities include coordinating with various Dornsife constituents, assessing their needs, and representing them in interactions with USC's Capital Construction & Facilities Management Services to execute relevant capital projects. By both engaging in long term planning and assisting with executing immediate projects, Architectural services help ensure Dornsife facilities are adequately set up to support the academic and research programs of today and tomorrow. He has been at USC since May 2019.
Before joining USC, he has held similar roles at other educational institutions including New York University and Chadwick School, and has worked at architectural firms including Gensler and Richard Meier & Partners on institutional projects at Vassar, NYU, and Yale.
Job Titles:
- Director, Center for Climate Journalism
Job Titles:
- Office Technician Coordinator
We specialize in the spectroscopy of molecules and molecular ions isolated in superfluid helium droplets and the study of quantum fluids on an atomic scale.
Job Titles:
- Academic Program Assistant
Job Titles:
- USC Associates Chair in Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry
The Krylov group develops theoretical methods and state-of-the-art computer codes for treating electronically excited and open-shell species. We apply these tools to study bioimaging, plasma, solar energy, quantum information science, and spectroscopy modeling, often in collaboration with experimentalists.
Job Titles:
- Research Lab Technician II
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Professor of Chemistry - Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences - Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
We develop and use advance computer simulations to elucidate the functions of key biological molecules, with an overarching goal to help alleviate human suffering. Our methods help to elucidate how chemical reactions are catalyzed by enzyme and to progress in enzyme design. We also use our simulations to study the action of very large biological molecules, including molecular motors, ion channels and systems that control signal transduction in the cell. Additionally, we focus a significant effort on computer aided drug design and on fighting drug resistance.
Job Titles:
- Department of Chemistry Chair / Professor of Chemistry
We use organic synthesis and develop new polymerization methods and polymer architectures to address sustainability and materials for alternative energy applications.
Job Titles:
- Computer Services Consultant II
The Melot group works on all aspects of materials design, meaning that we synthesize new compounds, study their atomic structure, and characterize their functional properties. Current topics include photovoltaics, intercalation electrodes for Li-, Na-, or F-ion batteries, and heterogeneous catalysts for sustainable chemistry.
Job Titles:
- Computer Consultant Specialist
Job Titles:
- General Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
Research in the Zhang group focuses on the discovery and mechanistic study of novel small-molecule modulators of diverse proteins using a combination of techniques including structure-based design, organic synthesis, and chemical proteomics.
We are a drug discovery and medicinal chemistry lab using organic synthesis, computer-assisted design modeling, and a network of more than 20 biological collaborators to devise and develop molecules for the treatment of viral, bacterial and fungal infections, as well as cancer. Another area of interest is the creation of novel imaging agents targeting bone diseases.
Job Titles:
- Student Services Advisor II
Our group is focused on formulating rigorous theories and efficient computational strategies to understand the fundamental driving forces that dictate how nucleic acids fold and unfold, and the aberrant functions that result when they misfold.
Job Titles:
- Graduate Student Service Advisor
Job Titles:
- Multimedia and Digital Spaces Manager
Job Titles:
- Director, Facilities and Safety
Our group's research addresses fundamental issues germane to a number of interesting and relevant gaseous and condensed phase (liquid and solid) environments.
We are interested in fundamental and applied questions in quantum information science. Our group explores topics including adiabatic quantum computation and quantum annealing, theory and control of open quantum systems, quantum error correction, quantum algorithms, and physical implementations of quantum computers.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of English
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant II
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean
- Associate Dean, Academic Culture and Well - Being
Dr. Quade French, Associate Dean, Academic Culture and Well-being, at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, is a licensed clinical psychologist who has served in numerous leadership roles at USC. In his current role with USC Dornsife, he is driven by the belief that the full achievement of the academic mission is only possible in the context of an inclusive, cohesive, and effective academic culture.
He assists senior leadership, faculty, and staff in identifying and addressing individual, interpersonal, and systemic barriers to respectful and collaborative engagement. Dr. French centers relationship-building and perspective-taking as foundational to any meaningful change.
He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where his research focused on racial and cultural identity development as well as research within the adoptive family system. He has published on the topics of adoption, adoptive identity, and foster care. He has also served as adjunct faculty in the USC Rossier School of Education graduate programs where he has taught courses on clinical theory, law and ethics in mental health, and social justice in the mental health field.
Job Titles:
- Vice Dean for External Affairs
Vice Dean Sartin leads the senior management team of USC Dornsife's Office of Advancement, overseeing all directors of development and major gifts; corporate foundation and federal relations; and alumni and constituent relations. He is responsible for expanding the individual major gift prospect pool and proactively soliciting transformative gifts to the college. Sartin plays a crucial role in university advancement, working closely with senior vice president Al Checcio and his executive team on USC's overall campaign.
Prior to managing a $400 million campaign for the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Sartin served as the school's chief development officer. Sartin also served as associate dean for alumni affairs and development for Cornell University's Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. There, he grew gift revenue from $7.1 million in 2010 to $13 million in 2011. Before that, Sartin was the executive director of development for the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler School of Business for six years.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Chemistry
The Picazo group is interested in transition metal catalysis, selective catalysis, and synthesis. With a special focus on base metal catalysts, we aim to solve long-standing challenges in synthesis. Lastly, we aim to use the newly developed reactions to synthesize molecules of interest.
Job Titles:
- General Chemistry Course Administrator
Job Titles:
- College Dean of Undergraduate Education / Professor of English
Professor of English Emily Hodgson serves as the USC Dornsife College Dean for Undergraduate Education. She previously served as the Dean's Leadership Fellow for Graduate and Professional Education. This appointment immediately followed a term as the Dean's Leadership Fellow in the Humanities. She has also served for eight years as director of graduate studies for the Department of English, and she previously served for three years on the USC Dornsife Faculty Council.
In her research capacity, she specializes in 18th-century British literature and culture and is the author of two books and numerous academic articles and chapters. Her most recent book, Shakespeare and the Legacy of Loss, examines 18th-century reenactments of Shakespeare.
She has received fellowships from the Huntington Library, the British Academy and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and her work for the popular press has appeared in The Literary Hub, the Los Angeles Review of Books and the new USC Dornsife literary journal Air/Light. She's currently completing a collection of essays titled Shadow Work: Invisible Labor and the Writing Life.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Sociology and Spatial Sciences
Job Titles:
- Systems Administrator III
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Decision Support
Eric's research experience spans more than 18 years in both academic and industry settings. Among his accomplishments is the development and commercialization of medical devices and clinical research software with a focus on improving health outcomes. Eric completed his biomedical engineering degree at the University of Miami and initiated his career designing and commercializing implantable medical devices at Johnson and Johnson.
After seven years, he transitioned into the clinical research sector, working in both operations and informatics (e.g., electronic medical records, clinical research management systems, biorepositories. Most recently, he has run a consulting practice within a clinical research software company. Eric joined USC Dornsife in March 2017.
Job Titles:
- Computer Consultant ( Interim )
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science - George a. and Judith a. Olah Nobel Laureate Chair in Hydrocarbon Chemistry
Our research centers on hydrocarbon, synthetic organic, organosilicon and organofluorine chemistry with special emphasis in areas of energy, catalysis, and greenhouse gas abatement. We are particularly focused on carbon dioxide capture from air and sustainable carbon recycling through a concept called the methanol economy.
Job Titles:
- Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate
Job Titles:
- University Professor, Lloyd Armstrong, Jr. Chair for Science and Engineering and Professor of Chemistry
We study detailed mechanisms of photoinitiated chemical reactions in gas and condensed phases. Our goal is to understand reactive processes at a fundamental level, in particular those important in the atmosphere.
Job Titles:
- Divisional Dean for the Life Sciences
As the divisional dean for the life sciences, Professor of Biological Sciences Ian Ehrenreich provides critical academic leadership to life sciences faculty in the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He supports departments, centers and institutes in recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and advancing innovative research, and helps faculty navigate administrative challenges.
Ehrenreich is a distinguished scholar whose research has advanced the fields of genetics and synthetic biology. He explores the genetic basis of complex traits to understand how genetic variation influences phenotypic diversity. This problem affects nearly all areas of the foundational and applied life sciences, including the prediction, prevention, and treatment of disease, the development of productive crops, the adaptation of organisms to their environments, and the bioengineering of industrially important organisms and cell therapies. Much of his group's current work involves using chromosome synthesis to better understand the fundamental principles of cellular life and its diversity.
Since joining the USC Dornsife Department of Biological Sciences (Molecular and Computational Biology Section) in 2011, he has taken on several key roles, including Vice Chair and Interim Chair. His work has been well-funded by significant grants from organizations including the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the W. M. Keck Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Army Research Office.
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for Human Resources
Jeff and his team of human resource experts provide USC Dornsife with support for all aspects of the employee life cycle. From recruitment through exit strategy, the human resources team guides, coaches and consults with USC Dornsife employees at every stage.
Prior to joining USC, Jeff gained extensive experience leading organizational change and growth. He first joined the university as the human resources manager for USC Libraries before moving to USC Dornsife. Bringing a wealth of experience from private and public institutions of higher education, private industry and government agencies, Jeff uses his insights and professional experience to positively impact the USC Dornsife workforce.
Jeff is a graduate of Illinois State University (B.S.) and Michigan State University with dual master's degrees in adult education and higher education administration. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards and community advisory councils.
Job Titles:
- Director, Organic Laboratories
Job Titles:
- Multimedia and Digital Spaces Architect
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant II
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate Dean for Communication and Marketing
Jim Key is the Senior Associate Dean for Communication and Marketing at USC Dornsife, where he leads strategic initiatives to build the college's reputation and public engagement. In addition to providing strategic communication counsel to the Dean, he oversees media relations, social media, video production, issues management, and the USC Dornsife alumni magazine, ensuring cohesive storytelling that highlights the college's academic excellence, innovative research, and community impact.
Key holds a Master of Science degree in Marketing from the University of Southern California (USC) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with a marketing emphasis from California State University, Fullerton. He also graduated from the Defense Information School and served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve as a print journalist, achieving the rank of sergeant.
Before joining USC Dornsife, Key served as the Chief Marketing Officer of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the world's largest LGBT organization, where he led award-winning public health campaigns and advocacy initiatives during his 17-year tenure.
Job Titles:
- Computer Service Consultant
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean
- Chief Information Officer
- Chief Technology Officer
John has 25 years of experience as an information technology professional. In his current role, John leads the USC Dornsife Technology Services team, which oversees teaching, research and administrative IT support for over 4,000 USC Dornsife faculty, students and staff. John joined USC Dornsife as IT director in 2004 to build a formal and comprehensive IT support team. With a focus on customer service and an entrepreneurial approach, he has built a world-class department supporting help desk operations, research computing, distance learning, technology enhanced learning, application development, web development and infrastructure management.
In 2007, John received the inaugural USC Dornsife Staff Achievement Award. John's management and technical specialties include team building, setting IT vision, leadership, cross-unit collaboration, project management, technology innovation, web development, application development, distance learning, and network and system design.
Prior to USC, John worked for 15 years in the entertainment industry as IT director for Mole-Richardson Company, an 87-year-old Hollywood movie lighting company. He is a graduate of the USC Marshall School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Academic Advisor
- Academic Advisor ( Second Year and Higher )
Job Titles:
- Waterfront Facilities / Maintenance Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean, USC Dornsife Admission and Student Services
Job Titles:
- Gabilan Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Our research aims to help bridge the gap between structural biology and physiology by pioneering new experimental and computational tools for multi-scale structural biology (atomic to cellular scales). A major focus is the multi-scale structure and function of pancreatic β-cells and the chemical environment of insulin vesicles. Our approach to cell mapping utilizes a combination of multi-modal imaging, biophysical approaches, and integrative modeling (metamodeling) to relate multi-scale structure to cell function.
Job Titles:
- Director of Public Exchange
Kate Weber is the Director of Public Exchange™. She brings more than 10 years of federal government experience to USC from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she developed environmental protection, health, civil society and infrastructure development projects across five countries.
She was part of a core team that launched and built the U.S. Global Development Lab - USAID's first innovation lab - in 2014. Kate advised the Lab's leadership on strategic outreach to 8,000 staff in 60+ countries and supported public-private partnerships between USAID and Unilever, Gap, IDEO and others on water and sanitation, Ebola and other global challenges.
She held previous roles at PwC and Ketchum in management and communications consulting. She is a graduate of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and the University of Texas at Austin.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
Job Titles:
- Senior Assistant Director
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for Curriculum and Instruction
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Dean, Director of Faculty Affairs
Lisa Itagaki is currently the associate dean, director of faculty affairs in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Her team of six manages the hiring, onboarding, promotions, retentions, retirements, administrative appointments, endowed appointments, leaves, teaching loads, performance evaluations, annual merit raises, visas, payroll, and records, etc., of the roughly 1,000 tenured, tenure-track, research, teaching, and practice faculty and 100 postdoctoral teaching fellows and visiting scholars across Dornsife. Lisa has worked in USC Dornsife Faculty Affairs for over 13 years, having started in January 2010, and was previously a director of postdoctoral and visiting scholar services at UCLA Graduate Division and a former associate curator of collections at the Japanese American National Museum in Downtown LA. She holds an MA in Asian American Studies from UCLA as well as a BA in American History and African History from the University of California, San Diego.
We are interested in the optical and electronic properties of molecular materials, with an eye toward materials used to create organic LEDs, solar cells, and catalysts for solar fuels.
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrator for Planning & Communications ( Warshel )
We are interested in the biological consequences of protein posttranslational modifications, with a focus on glycosylation. We utilize a combination of organic synthesis, bioorthogonal reactions, and synthetic protein chemistry to accomplish these goals.
Job Titles:
- Computer Services Consultant II
Job Titles:
- Gabilan Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Researchers in the Fieser group are interested in the design of molecular catalysts for the polymerization of degradable polymers and/or the depolymerization of commercial, non-degradable polymers.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Job Titles:
- Home Department Payroll / Personnel Coordinator I
Job Titles:
- Interim Dean, USC Dornsife
Mohamed Y. El-Naggar is Interim Dean of USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, where he holds an appointment as Dean's Professor of Physics and Astronomy and serves in a number of leadership and advisory roles at the university. He previously held the prestigious Robert D. Beyer Early Career Chair in Natural Sciences (2015-2021).
El-Naggar served from 2021 to 2024 as Divisional Dean for the Physical Sciences and Mathematics at USC Dornsife, overseeing strategic planning, faculty appointments and recruiting, and the advancement of research across the physical sciences and mathematics. He has also been pivotal in developing the university's quantum information science strategy, a key part of USC's ambitious Frontiers of Computing initiative.
A distinguished scholar, El-Naggar's research explores biological electron transfer and energy conversion, focusing on the interaction between living and nonliving systems. He led a Department of Defense-funded multi-university research initiative on living electronics. His groundbreaking work has resulted in dozens of peer-reviewed publications and recognition in several prominent media outlets, including PBS NewsHour and NPR Science Friday.
Among his many accolades, El-Naggar was recently elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He also received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers - the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers - and was named one of Popular Science's "Brilliant 10" in 2012.
El-Naggar received his B.S. from Lehigh University and both his M.S. and Ph.D. from Caltech. He has been with USC Dornsife since 2006.
Job Titles:
- Director of Research Administration
Monica Bolden has over 30 years in research and clinical trial administration. She started her research administration career at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio at the early stages of fuel cell research. She has over five years experience in a sponsored programs office similar to the USC DCG dept.
Prior to joining USC, she worked UCLA as the CFO for the Chemistry Biochemistry department processing grants, contracts as well as gifts and endowments.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
We study excited state processes in a broad range of materials and molecules for energy and opto-electronics applications. For this purpose, we develop nonadiabatic molecular dynamics and time-dependent density functional theory.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Letters, Arts and Sciences
We are interested in understanding the mechanisms of specific recognition of nucleic acids that inform genome engineering as well as developments in diagnostics and therapeutics. We use Site-Directed Spin Labeling (SDSL) and other tools to study the relationship between structure, dynamics, and function in nucleic acids and protein-nucleic acid complexes.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Business Operations
- Executive Director of Business Operations at the USC Dornsife College of Letters
Ramiro Euyoque Jr. is the executive director of business operations at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Before joining USC Dornsife, Ramiro was the associate dean for business services at Loyola Marymount University, School of Education (LMU SOE) and was responsible for budget and finance, strategic planning, human resources, risk management, and enrollment management.
Prior to LMU, Ramiro was the director of operations at St. Anne School, a private PK-8 school in Orange County, CA. Ramiro was responsible for capital projects planning, business continuity planning, renovations, maintenance, and campus security.
Ramiro also spent 3+ years at Cisco Systems as a planning analyst and a Financial analyst and, began his working career as a mechanical engineer for a private engineering firm, designing and building machinery for the roll-forming industry.
Ramiro earned an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Loyola Marymount University.
Job Titles:
- Divisional Dean for the Humanities / Professor of English, Comparative Literature and History
Rebecca Lemon joins the Dornsife leadership team as the divisional dean for the Humanities. In this role, she coordinates strategic planning, faculty appointments and research advancement. She supports departments, centers and institutes in recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and advancing innovative research, and helps faculty navigate administrative challenges. She also collaborates with USC Dornsife leadership, and leaders throughout the university, to support and enhance research and education in the Humanities at USC.
Lemon specializes in early modern literature and culture, and her work focuses on thorny issues, including treason, tyranny, and addiction. She has appointments in the Departments of English, Comparative Literature and History. Her award-winning scholarship has received fellowship support from the Mellon Foundation, the ACLS, the Huntington Library, and the Stanford Humanities Center. She currently at work on a book on early modern responses to the emergencies of food scarcity, plague, climate crisis, and political unrest.
Lemon's record of service to the university includes terms on the University Committee on Academic Promotions and Tenure, which she currently co-chairs, the Provost's Strategic Planning Committee, the Provost's search committee, and the Trojans for Excellence pilot training program in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Divisional Dean for the Humanities
Professor of English, Comparative Literature and History
(213) 740-3732
rlemon@usc.edu
Job Titles:
- Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate
Job Titles:
- Vice Dean, Administration and Finance
Renee J. Perez received a Master of Public Administration degree with a concentration in nonprofit management in 2015 from USC. In addition, she completed the prestigious HERS Institute in Higher Education Leadership Development in 2016. She has over 20 years of experience in higher education administration and began her USC career at USC Dornsife in 2011. Before that, she worked at California State University, Long Beach. She also spent many years working in both primary/secondary education and corporate environments.
In her current position, she oversees the Office of Administration and Finance of USC Dornsife. The areas for which she is responsible are Operations, Financial Operations, Business Services, Research Administration, Grant Strategy, Faculty Affairs, Academic Culture and Well-being, Human Resources, Technology Services, and Architectural and Facility Services. She and her team of outstanding individuals have a strong focus on improvements in efficient processes and customer service to ensure USC Dornsife's academic and research mission continually progresses upward.
Researchers in the Brutchey group focus on developing new methods of inorganic material synthesis to address challenges related to catalysis, energy storage and conversion, and sustainability.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Our research involves engineering new peptides and proteins for biology, diagnosis, and therapy using mRNA display.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Institute
Job Titles:
- Computer Services Consultant I
Job Titles:
- Gabilan Distinguished Professor in Science and Engineering and Professor of Mathematics
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean and Director of Its
- Associate Dean, Director of Equity and Engagement
Shakira Holt is a USC Dornsife associate dean and director of its Office of Equity and Engagement. She is committed to leading the office into a new era of excellence based on values-centered support that is thoughtfully tailored to Dornsife's student, faculty, and staff populations. A veteran educator on the secondary level, she gained perspective-shifting experience within the classroom as a teacher, course lead, and department chair, as well as beyond the classroom as a dean of students, program coordinator, and district equity officer. She is a graduate of the USC Coaching Program and holds a level 1 certificate that is recognized by the International Coaching Federation. Shakira earned her MA and PhD in English at USC and is proud to be an active part of the Dornsife community once again.
Job Titles:
- Director of Chemistry Instrumentation Resources
- Facilities and Shops
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrator, Assistant to the Dean
Job Titles:
- Database Administrator, Senior
Job Titles:
- Academic Advisor ( First Year )
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
We are interested in the development of novel catalytic systems for efficient solar-to-fuel technologies. Inspired by biological systems, we design molecular catalysts that involve hydrogen bonding networks capable of small molecule activation through multiple proton and electron transfers.
Job Titles:
- Senior Assistant Director
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice Dean / Professor of Chemistry
- Professor of Chemistry
As executive vice dean, Professor of Chemistry Stephen Bradforth assists with maintaining continuity in academic operations across the college, supporting Interim Dean Moh El-Naggar and Dornsife's faculty and students.
Before serving in his current role, Bradforth was senior advisor to the dean for research strategy and development. He oversaw large collaborative projects, such as those in the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Biosciences, and cultivated new research opportunities at USC Dornsife. Working with divisional deans, he developed and steered proposals for large-center grants; directed faculty-led research initiatives; forged new partnerships with industry, institutions and other USC schools; and shepherded development of new general-use research buildings and equipment. He also worked with USC Dornsife Advancement to pursue funding for large research opportunities and shared oversight for research grant strategy with USC Dornsife research administration.
Previously, Bradforth was the divisional dean for the physical sciences and mathematics, coordinating strategic planning, faculty appointments and research advancement within the USC Dornsife Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Bradforth joined the Department of Chemistry in 1996 and has held numerous leadership positions within the department, including head of the physical and theoretical chemistry section, vice chair and chair. From 2017-20, he served as USC Dornsife's divisional dean for the natural sciences and mathematics. He is active in national efforts, spearheaded by the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement and the Association of American Universities, to reform undergraduate STEM education in research-intensive universities.
As a physical chemist, Bradforth's lab designs experiments to gain a deeper understanding of how the interconnected motions of molecules impact chemical reactions in complex but frequently encountered environments such as the aqueous milieu of cells or in functional molecular materials. His research applies ultrafast laser techniques to address contemporary scientific challenges that span multiple fields.
Bradforth's honors include a Dreyfus New Faculty award and a David and Lucile Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering. He is a Cottrell Scholar of the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement, receiving the organization's STAR award in 2019. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. At USC, he has been recognized with the Raubenheimer junior faculty award as well as the USC Mellon Mentoring award for mentoring faculty.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Dean for Creative Content
Stephen Koenig leads USC Dornsife's creative strategy and messaging to promote schoolwide, public-facing initiatives.
Overseeing the Creative Content team, Stephen develops effective ways to convey the dean's vision for bringing the academy into the public square. Working closely with the Office of Communication and the Office of Advancement, he focuses on bringing big-picture consistency to the ways that USC Dornsife highlights its leadership in research, education, and public service, while ensuring that messages resonate for a wide range of stakeholders. The Creative Content team also manages USC Dornsife's website and brand strategy.
Before joining the Dean's Office, Stephen was an independent communication consultant for colleges and universities, museums, and enrollment marketing firms. Two of his messaging campaigns earned gold Educational Advertising Awards. He also served for five years as communication manager for the USC Provost, and he was part of the literary group at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Stephen earned his bachelor's degree in communication and philosophy from Northwestern University.
Job Titles:
- College Dean of Graduate and Professional Education / Professor of Biological Sciences
Professor of Biological Sciences Steven Finkel serves as the college dean of graduate and professional education, working to enrich and expand both doctoral and master's level graduate studies across USC Dornsife departments and programs.
Job Titles:
- Director of Web, Application and Data Services
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
We are interested in developing novel magnetic resonance techniques for tests of fundamental science in quantum physics, investigations of nanoscale magnetism/spin dynamics, and applications to biological imaging and sensing.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Finance
Taisha Wright has over 10 years of experience in higher education, which includes both the for-profit and not-for-profit education sectors. Taisha has a proven track record of providing in-depth reviews of operations and financial analysis in order to find solutions that improve operational efficiencies, workflow, and morale with a positive budget impact. Taisha has been with the Dornsife Business Office since May 2016 and currently serves as the Executive Director of Finance. Taisha also represents USC Dornsife on many USC-wide committees and workgroups across campus.
Taisha is a first generation college graduate. She received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2007 and an executive MBA in 2021, both from USC Marshall School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate
We are interested in studies of organometallics and catalysis and are applying them in projects ranging from designing new catalytic systems for synthetic fuels and fine chemicals to reclaiming value from waste polymers and materials.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor ( Teaching ) of Writing
Job Titles:
- Divisional Dean for the Social Sciences / Professor of History, Spatial Sciences and Environmental Studies
As the divisional dean for the social sciences, William Deverell helps coordinate strategic planning in research and faculty recruitment and retention across social science departments and programs. He is an American historian with a focus on the nineteenth and twentieth century American West and has appointments in the USC Dornsife Van Hunnick Department of History; Spatial Sciences Institute; and Environmental Studies Program. He has written works on political, social, ethnic, and environmental history. He is the founding director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (please see the Institute's website for more information: website (www.usc.edu/icw). He is one of founding directors of the Los Angeles Service Academy, a high school outreach initiative that teaches high school students about the infrastructural networks of Southern California (LAServiceAcademy.org). He also directs the USC Libraries Collections Convergence Initiative. His graduate students at USC work on a variety of topics on the history of the West, ranging from the region's racial and ethnic history, to the rise of conservative politics in the Southwest, and the western U.S. connections to and across the Pacific Rim. Current projects include the Chinatown History Project and the West on Fire Initiative.
Divisional Dean for the Social Sciences
Professor of History, Spatial Sciences and Environmental Studies
(213) 740-1657
deverell@usc.edu
Job Titles:
- Director, Biochemistry Laboratories