Stories for Alumni

Neon pink and purple waves on black background depict how particles at the quantum level behave.

100 years ago, Schrödinger's equation shed light on quantum physics

October 09, 2026, Sophya Garashchuk

Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger developed the wave equation that allowed him to calculate the probability that a particle exhibited a certain property from its wave functions. Even though the human eye can’t parse what’s happening at the quantum scale, the way particles behave influences how you experience the world. Sophya Garashchuk, associate chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, writes for The Conversation about how scientists are leveraging Schrodinger's theory at the quantum level.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing, The Conversation

Walter Edgar sits in a red chair and holds his book 'South Carolina A History.'

Alumni awards 2026

October 09, 2026, Marketing and Communications

Each year, USC celebrates exemplary alumni and friends with awards bestowed by the Alumni Association. Honorees include Walter Edgar, winner of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, and E. Scott Moïse, winner of the biannual Bethea Volunteer Service Award. All seven award winners reflect the values that define the Gamecock community: service, integrity, character and leadership.

Topics: Alumni, Recognition, Service, Leadership, Careers, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Information and Communications, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, School of Music, South Carolina Honors College

Ada B. Thomas with two other women at a table.

These remarkable women changed USC for the better

September 29, 2026, Rebekah Friedman and Craig Brandhorst

USC has been home to countless highly successful women since the university opened its doors to them in the 1890s. These seven changed the institution from within.

Topics: Faculty, History, Recognition, Service, Leadership, Careers, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, Darla Moore School of Business, College of Education, Joseph F. Rice School of Law, College of Nursing, Arnold School of Public Health, Carolinian

An archival image of housing on the USC Horseshoe.

Inside 225 years of on-campus housing at USC

September 15, 2026, Craig Brandhorst

On-campus living has been a rite of passage at the University of South Carolina since before it was actually a university. But the campus housing experience has changed pretty dramatically since the first nine students arrived at South Carolina College in 1805.

Topics: History

sign reading 'university of south carolina' seen through a patio with trees and tables

USC researchers land major AI-driven grants from Department of Energy

September 09, 2026, Collyn Taylor

Two University of South Carolina faculty were recently awarded significant grants as part of the first wave projects selected for the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission. Designed to bring together a national consortium of researchers and pair them with Department of Energy resources, the Genesis Mission will help build AI-enabled workflows to expedite discoveries in energy, national security and more.

Topics: Faculty, Academics, Research, Recognition, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing

students walking past a university of south carolina sign

USC welcomes new and returning students to Columbia

September 01, 2026, Jeff Stensland

The University of South Carolina’s Columbia campus is welcoming thousands of new college students from across South Carolina, the nation and the world. With an increase of overall enrollment, now approaching 42,000, USC is serving more students today than at other time in its 225-year history.

Topics: Students

Signage of the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing under a garnet University of South Carolina sign

2026 nuclear faculty experts list

August 26, 2026, Gregory Hardy

Nuclear energy is drawing renewed attention as the nation considers reliable power, advanced reactors, safety and its energy future. This list connects journalists with faculty experts from the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing who study how nuclear reactors work, how to make them safer and how new technologies are shaping the field’s future.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, Experts List, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing

Icon of how an artificial intelligence brain connects to concepts of technology, transportation, vision, the brain, ideas and health care.

2026 artificial intelligence faculty experts list

August 24, 2026, Gregory Hardy

University of South Carolina researchers explore how artificial intelligence can be used for advancements in health care, education, manufacturing, energy, disaster management and transportation. They are also helping shape and inform the ethics and policies surrounding these emergent solutions.

Topics: Faculty, Research, Health Sciences, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing, Joseph F. Rice School of Law

Amy Gerald smiles while standing outside on the USC Lancaster campus

Garnet Apple Award for Teaching Innovation: Amy Gerald

August 20, 2026, Thom Harman

Amy Gerald, an assistant professor of English at USC Lancaster, uses community-connected projects and experiential learning to prepare her students for whatever career they choose. Whether it’s partnering with local nonprofits to solve real-world business problems or assigning observational writing assignments at USC Lancaster’s Native American Studies Center, Gerald’s innovative approaches to teaching stand out both in and beyond the classroom.

Topics: Faculty, Experiential Learning, Recognition, University System

Multicolored brain scan on computer screen

USC researchers work to better understand the human brain

August 14, 2026, Communications and Marketing

Understanding how the brain works and improving outcomes for patients are major priorities for USC researchers. That work gained momentum this year with the opening of the new Brain Health Center, which is just one of the ways the university is concentrating on the brain.

Topics: Faculty, University Leadership, Research, Graduate Studies, Health Sciences, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing, Floyd School of Medicine, Arnold School of Public Health

Chris Rorden smiles for the camera with the MRI machine in the background.

A Sharper Image: At USC, better brain health outcomes begin with cutting-edge neuroimaging equipment

August 10, 2026, Rebekah Friedman

The McCausland Center’s MRI scanner is a 3 Tesla, twice the strength of typical MRIs. Access to equipment of that caliber has enabled the center to bring in tens of millions in grant funding and has led to an explosion in research studies that have advanced our understanding of aphasia, stroke treatment and brain aging.

Topics: Faculty, Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, Carolinian, Breakthrough Research

Author Julia Elliott, brown shoulder-length hair and wearing a brown suit, sits in a chair holding her book surrounded by group of onlookers

USC professor Julia Elliott wins one of fiction's most prestigious prizes

July 23, 2026, Kristine Hartvigsen

Known for her fluid, label-defying prose, author Julia Elliott found herself in excellent company last month among a literary cadre of distinct, even unconventional voices. She read the work of her fellow finalists with awe, never thinking she would win. But it was her name announced over the sound system as the winner of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction for her critically acclaimed, genre-bending short-story collection "Hellions."

Topics: Faculty, Academics, South Carolina Honors College

portion of an early version of the American flag

After 1776, the founders designed a government that accounts for 'a degree of depravity in mankind'

July 20, 2026, Donovan Fifield

The Declaration of Independence was only the first step in making a unified country. A competing set of state and local interests required a defense of the U.S. Constitution (the Federalist Papers), which sought to define the role of government to keep basic human impulses toward political abuse, self-interest and even violence in check.

Topics: Faculty, Research, History, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

Braden Guliano stands next to a rack of computer equipment

Braden Guliano builds technology career with internships, mentors and entrepreneurial spirit

July 10, 2026, Chris Horn

Braden Guliano has been a man on a mission at USC. In just three years, he completed a bachelor’s degree in integrated information technology at the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing while completing multiple internships and launching his own tech consulting business on the side.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Research, Experiential Learning, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing, South Carolina Honors College, Meant To Be USC

USC student Aquiles Agreda helps clean up rubble at night after two massive earthquakes struck Venezuela.

Recent graduate rises to the challenge of Venezuelan earthquakes

July 02, 2026, Zoe Nicholson

Like much of the world, Aquiles Agreda was watching the World Cup on June 24 with friends. But two massive earthquakes — a 7.2 magnitude followed by a 7.5 less than a minute later — shook Agreda’s native country that evening. He and his friends were unharmed, but within a day, he was helping with rescue and cleanup operations. Agreda plans to return to USC in August to begin the Master of International Business program. His only plan right now, though, is to help others.

Topics: Students, Darla Moore School of Business

An African American adult male in black t-shirt and ballcap looks into the camera

30 years after 'Reasonable Doubt,' Jay-Z's career embodies hip-hop's biggest contradictions

June 25, 2026, Jabari Evans

The cinematic complexity of Jay-Z’s first rap album “Reasonable Doubt” explains why it still matters 30 years later. Today, hip-hop powers advertising campaigns, luxury branding and streaming platforms. Jay-Z has played an outsized role in that transformation. Writing for The Conversation, USC assistant professor Jabari Evans explores the complicated history of hip-hop’s rise in a capitalist society.

Topics: Research, Entrepreneurship, College of Information and Communications, The Conversation

view of Russell House with pink flowers blooming in the foreground

USC board approves freezing tuition, expanding Russell House, building Civil Rights Center

June 18, 2026, Andy Shain

University of South Carolina trustees approved a 2026-27 fiscal year budget that freezes in-state tuition systemwide and advanced key projects tied to the Columbia campus’s USC Next master plan.

Topics: Students, Alumni, Faculty, University Leadership, University President, Academics, Research, Undergraduate Admissions, Economic Engagement, Campus Construction, SC Impact, Leadership, Careers, Student Voices, McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing

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