December 15, 2025, Thom Harman / photo by Kim Truett
USC Columbia sophomore Audrey Webb won the 2025 holiday card design contest. A computer science major from Fort Mill, South Carolina, Webb's winning design imagines what the Cocky statue on campus would look like if it snowed. Her design is featured on President Michael Amiridis' and First Lady Ero Aggelopoulou-Amiridis' holiday card, and it earned Webb a $500 gift card.
December 12, 2025, Chris Horn
An environmental chemistry research lab at USC at the forefront of efforts to find and identify disinfection byproducts in U.S. water treatment systems has discovered a new, highly toxic class of byproducts.
December 12, 2025, Chris Horn
USC chemistry professor Linda Shimizu has a long list of accomplishments, including recently being named a fellow of the American Chemical Society, one of only 36 chemistry professors worldwide to receive the honor in 2025 for scientific and professional accomplishments.
December 12, 2025, Thom Harman
Spend any time talking to Robert McCormick, and his love of history and passion for teaching it to others is readily apparent. This year he was recognized for that lifelong passion by being named the 2025 Carolina Trustees Professorship for System Campuses.
December 11, 2025, Chris Horn
Millions of times smaller than a grain of salt, nanocrystals have become extraordinarily useful in electronics, drug delivery, biological imaging and beyond.
December 10, 2025, Marlena Crovatt-Bagwell
Ensembles led by School of Music bassoon professor Michael Harley and guitar assistant professor Mak Grgić are nominees for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards to be presented Feb. 1 in Los Angeles. Theirs are the latest of several Grammy nominations for musicians with USC connections.
December 10, 2025, Dan Cook
Heading into 2025, the field of higher education faced significant challenges. But at the University of South Carolina, all signs point to dynamic growth and institutional strength.
December 09, 2025, Collyn Taylor
Biomedical engineering professor Ehsan Jabbarzadeh became the University of South Carolina's fourth National Academy of Inventors fellow.
December 09, 2025, Chris Horn
Paige Canady planned to write a straightforward honors thesis, the kind that might get read once or twice, then put on a shelf. But after collaborating with an art education student, the project became a cleverly illustrated children’s book, one that Canady hopes will be read by families everywhere.
December 08, 2025, Page Ivey
South Carolina Honors College student Michael Pitre likes to get up around 3 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to make the two-hour drive to Folly Beach to surf at the Washout before heading back to Columbia and his 11:40 a.m. class. It’s a regimen that aligns nicely with the Marshall Scholar finalist’s jam-packed schedule that includes earning his BARSC-MD degree in just three years, working as an emergency medical technician, and researching the circuitry of the brain on his way to becoming a neurosurgeon.
December 05, 2025, Chris Horn
Electrical engineering professor Guoan Wang got his first U.S. patent while in graduate school and now has more than 60 patents and more than 50 additional patents pending. He was elected to the National Academy of Inventors’ 2024 Class of Fellows, the highest professional distinction awarded to inventors.
December 04, 2025, Chris Horn
A common food additive used as a thickener in soups, salad dressings and ice cream has demonstrated high potential for another use — slowing dangerous erosion on overtopped dams and levees.
December 03, 2025, Megan Sexton
As the December Class of 2025 prepares to walk across the commencement stage, graduates leave the University of South Carolina with memories of enduring friendships, newfound passions, supportive mentors and life-changing experiences.
December 02, 2025, Page Ivey
Yana Patel came to the Darla Moore School of Business with one plan, but after talking with mentors and faculty in the business school, she found a path better suited to her career goals. After she graduates from USC in May 2026, she will be part of the selective Operations Leadership Development Program at defense contractor Lockheed Martine.
December 01, 2025, Catherine Pruitt
A campus conversation with Kirstyn Dietrich.
November 26, 2025, Téa Smith
Studying abroad during undergrad at USC helped JD Dawson, a third-year medical student at the School of Medicine Greenville, develop a global perspective on health care that he’s carried into his postgrad education.
November 26, 2025, Alexey A. Petrov
Scientists working with the James Webb Space Telescope discovered three unusual astronomical objects in early 2025, which may be examples of dark stars. Alexey Petrov, a USC endowed chair in physics, writes for The Conversation on how this could alter scientists’ understanding of how ordinary stars form.
November 18, 2025, Golareh Jalilvand
Imagine an electric car that could go 600, 700 or even 1,000 miles on a single charge. Golareh Jalilvand, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at USC's Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing, writes for The Conversation on how battery researchers are seeking options to lithium-ion batteries that have better performance, improved environmental sustainability and lower cost.
November 18, 2025, Laura Erskine
Heart defects affect about 1 percent of all babies born in the United States each year, making the cardiovascular system an important part of the nursing curriculum. To help students master this material, assistant professor Stephanie Schaller invented a new tool that lets students learn heart defects through hands-on activities.
November 14, 2025, Laura Erskine
Six finalists with ties to USC were recognized by the 2025 InnoVision Awards, with three winning top honors. The winning businesses are led by students in the South Carolina Honors College, alumni and graduate students from the Molinaroli College of Engineering, and alumni from the Darla Moore School of Business and the Honors College.
November 13, 2025, Jennifer Springhart
Many Americans who lack or have insufficient health insurance seek health care from a network of safety net clinics called community health centers. Dr. Jennifer Springhart of USC's School of Medicine Greenville writes for The Conversation about how decreasing their capacity could destabilize other elements of local health care delivery systems.
November 12, 2025, Catherine Pruitt and Ainsley Hoffmann
Carolina will take on rivals Clemson on Nov. 29. Check out this guide to experience all the exciting events leading up to the big game.
November 12, 2025, Collyn Taylor
USC has a Rhodes and Marshall finalist in the same cycle for the first time since 2011 with the potential to have a Rhodes recipient for the first time since 2016 and Marshall recipient for the first time since 2009.
November 12, 2025, Dan Cook
It would be a stretch to say that playing the clarinet led to Megan Tran’s career as a pharmacist — but not much of one. In high school, Tran — now a clinical assistant professor at the College of Pharmacy — played the clarinet and the tenor sax. Playing in the marching band was a big reason the Clover, South Carolina, native came to USC, and she considered a career as a band director. But an aunt encouraged her to keep an open mind about career options, and Tran ended up falling in love with pharmacy.
November 12, 2025, Megan Sexton
USC Honors College student and public health major Hannah Brennen, who was a Rhodes scholar finalist, plans to attend medical school to pursue her interest in maternal health.
November 11, 2025, Valerie Weingart
South Carolina Honors College student Michael Pitre has been named a finalist for the 2026 Marshall Scholarships. If selected, he plans to pursue an MPhil in biological sciences to develop novel treatments for Parkinson's disease before returning to USC for medical school.
November 10, 2025, Carol JG Ward
The University of South Carolina’s Rural Occupations Workforce Expansion (ROWE) program trains MSW students to serve in underserved communities, strengthening South Carolina’s rural behavioral health workforce and improving access to mental health care.
November 06, 2025, Craig Brandhorst
Associate professor Brett Sherman fell in love with philosophy as a teenager, before he even understood what he was reading. Now, the 2025 Mungo J. Mungo Undergraduate Teaching Award winner inspires a similar curiosity in his students at the University of South Carolina.
November 05, 2025, Page Ivey
Nikki Wooten was a soldier before she was a scholar — a fact that helps drive and inform her research dedicated to helping American’s military members and veterans access the resources they need for better mental health.
November 04, 2025, Kristine Hartvigsen
Wounds may take years to fester before a war-weathered veteran seeks help, and often service-related injuries are not visible. Opened in 2018 the University of South Carolina Veterans Legal Clinic has provided legal services to more than 550 clients and experiential learning to community-minded students.
October 31, 2025, Megan Sexton
As the university marks the celebration of First-Gen College Celebration Week, we caught up with first-generation students, alumni, faculty and staff who are thriving in the classroom and beyond.
October 28, 2025, Kristine Hartvigsen
USC professor Chester DePratter has been sorting through archaeological evidence gathered over nearly four decades of investigation at the 16th century Spanish settlement of Santa Elena on present-day Parris Island. Here's what he and his team found.
October 24, 2025, Jewel Scott
Emerging adulthood is a life stage where behaviors that diminish heart health—such as spending more time sitting, consuming more fast food and using more tobacco and alcohol—become more common. Jewel Scott, assistant professor of nursing science in USC's College of Nursing, writes for The Conversation about the power of habits on our behavior.
October 22, 2025, Collyn Taylor
The University of South Carolina had 140 total faculty members across 11 different colleges or schools honored on a recent list of the world’s top-cited researchers.
October 21, 2025, Michael Watson
While people’s actual feet are rounded on the end, women’s dress shoes often come to a sharp point at the toe. Many people find these pointy shoes uncomfortable. So why do shoe designers keep making them this way? Retailing professor Mike Watson, who researches and teaches fashion design, weighs in.
October 21, 2025, Thom Harman
A golf-themed program open to high-achieving caddies with limited financial means, the Evans Scholars program covers full tuition and housing costs. USC’s Evans Scholars will live together in the McCausland Scholarship House.
October 20, 2025, Laura Morris
The University of South Carolina opened its seventh Brain Health clinic during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 20 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. In partnership with HopeHealth, the clinic will bridge critical gaps in early diagnosis, education and family support.
October 16, 2025, Collyn Taylor
The University of South Carolina community banded together to raise almost $30,000 for food pantries across campus and defeat LSU in the SEC Food Fight.
October 15, 2025, Téa Smith
Associate professor of sociology Susan Cruise was awarded the John J. Duffy Excellence in Teaching Award for Palmetto College Campuses. Her teaching philosophy focuses on creating an atmosphere where students can broaden their world view and learn from each other.
October 14, 2025, Allen Wallace
USC announces the newly named David and Nicole Tepper Department of Sport and Entertainment Management in honor of its visionary partners. A new $5 million investment extends their longstanding support for high-achieving students and adds funding for elite practitioner-educators.
October 10, 2025, Rebekah Friedman
Today’s engineering students are flooded with information, and the answer to any question is in their pockets. But the role of an educator, says associate professor Nikolaos Vitzilaios, isn’t teaching students how to find those answers — it is teaching them to solve problems.
October 08, 2025, Rebekah Friedman
From improving outcomes for premature babies to nurturing research advancements in chronic illness to strengthening the next generation of nursing leadership, University of South Carolina faculty members Robin Dail, Cindy Corbett and Jeanne Cavanaugh have had careers worth celebrating. While these three center directors are retiring this year, their legacies will endure through their centers’ continued impact at USC and beyond.
October 07, 2025, Megan Sexton
James E. Bowers was an undergraduate student at USC in the early days of desegregation and the first full-time African American law school professor. He will cement his legacy with an endowed professorship in his name at the Joseph F. Rice School of Law, the first named for a Black law school professor, and an endowed lectureship series that will share knowledge about democracy and the rule of law.
October 07, 2025, Megan Sexton
Tremayne Ansani had big plans before he even set foot on campus, but he had one overarching goal: to create and support community. Four years and a double major later, the Honors College graduate sat on the commencement stage as the recipient of the university’s highest student honor, the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.
October 06, 2025, USC Social Media Team
The Russell House University Union has been at the center of student life for the last 70 years. Celebrate the platinum jubilee on October 16 and share your favorite Russell House memories.
October 03, 2025, Dan Cook
Julie Hubbert, recipient of the Michael J. Mungo Graduate Teaching Award, is particularly adept at teaching in the context of forging one's own path. That’s because her interests have always extended beyond music to include film, film music and the social, cultural and economic contexts in which music and film are created. With this broad outlook as a starting point, she helps students understand the wider context in which they operate and to develop the mindset they’ll need to thrive.
October 03, 2025, Kristine Hartvigsen
Little-known ocean fungi are microscopic in size but make a gargantuan impact on subterranean life. Their superpower? They are the heavy lifters of carbon and nitrogen cycling, processes essential for life on earth. Nick Peng, assistant professor in the School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment, would like unsung ocean fungi finally to get the recognition they deserve.
October 03, 2025, Amanda Rebar, co-author
A new study shows that the majority of actions people take in a day are carried out on autopilot. Habitual behavior is made up of the things that we do without thinking, prompted by our environment and learned through repeated enactment. Public Health professor Amanda Rebar writes for The Conversation about the power of habits on our behavior.
October 01, 2025, Kristine Hartvigsen
USC philosophy professor Leah McClimans cares about how health care professionals gauge the quality of patient outcomes beyond traditional clinical metrics. Her research has helped improve survey instruments so they are more inclusive of the patient’s entire experience.
September 30, 2025, Chris Horn
It happened a decade ago, but lessons learned from the catastrophic flooding of Oct. 1-5, 2015, in the Midlands of South Carolina are still being reckoned by University of South Carolina researchers and former students who were involved in the flood’s aftermath.