James Bullock

This is what the most distant confirmed galaxy looks like. The light we're receiving was emitted when the Universe was ~15x smaller in linear size than today, and right now it's ~30 billion light-years away from us. The light was emitted when the Universe was <300 million years old. Pretty amazing!

USC names Beong-Soo Kim as its 'next generation' president USC on Wednesday said Beong-Soo Kim, the interim campus president since June, would become president.

USC names Beong-Soo Kim as its 'next generation' president

Alice Shapley Wins 2026 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics - AIP.ORG University of California professor honored for pioneering research into early galaxy formation.

The Heineman Foundation, the American Institute of Physics, and the AAS are pleased to announce Alice Shapley as the winner of the 2026 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics. www.aip.org/aip/alice-sh... 🔭

@aip.bsky.social

How hidden factors beneath Istanbul shape earthquake risk Underground heat and sediment patterns control how earthquakes behave along one of the most dangerous faults in the eastern Mediterranean.

New findings from @dornsife.usc.edu Earth sciences Professor Sylvain Barbot could reshape risk assessments for Istanbul, one of the world’s most vulnerable megacities. today.usc.edu/how-hidden-f...

This week we welcome UC Merced Professor Tanya Golash-Boza to our department colloquium!

First paper since moving to @dornsife.usc.edu led by PhD student Jorge Sarrato-Alós along with Valenciano, Di Cintio, Brook, and Maccio'

-> In both FIRE & NIHAO sims: early-forming galaxies have bigger DM cores, while late-forming galaxies are more cuspy
arxiv.org/abs/2601.17113

I can't wait to talk about how cool life is deep beneath our feet! Join us for this fun discussion with Laurie Barge (NASA/JPL) and me!

Discovering Life in Unexpected Places

Join me live on Feb 26 for a conversation with @dornsife.usc.edu researchers & alumni on how Earth’s most extreme environments are shaping where & how scientists search for life beyond our planet.

Register Now:
usc.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Joel Primack, Physicist Who Helped Explain the Cosmos, Dies at 80

We’ll miss Joel and his enthusiasm for the field he greatly impacted. Being his graduate student in the 90s was an amazing experience.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/s...

Great recognition Prof Doug Capone --> 2025 Highly Ranked Scholar status:

#26 globally in the Marine Sciences

This award has places him in the top 0.05% of all scholars worldwide.

scholargps.com/highly-ranke...

USC Dornsife celebrates Tyler Prize winner Toby Kiers Expert on mycorrhizal fungi honored for efforts to map and protect the underground networks that sustain life on Earth

Congratulations to evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers on winning the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. This prize, administered by @dornsife.usc.edu celebrates Kiers’ research is on mycorrhizal fungi connecting plant roots across forest floors.

dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

Po'pay fought for independence before the American Revolution 17th-century Tewa religious leader led the Pueblo Revolt, the most successful Indigenous rebellion in what’s now the United States

Po’pay, a Tewa religious leader, led the Pueblo Revolt, the most successful Indigenous rebellion in what’s now the USA
- By Prof. Peter Mancall, Director of the Early Modern Studies Institute and Professor of History, Anthropology, and Economics @dornsife.usc.edu

dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

Can we prevent AI from acting like a sociopath? Researchers are investigating how to keep artificial intelligence aligned with human values.

If powerful #AI systems can sometimes start behaving like sociopaths, how do we keep them aligned with human values?

We explore what it might take to keep them in check — including a built-in sense of “vulnerability,” so it has something to lose by causing harm. dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

Aerospace Selects National Security Space Executive Blake Bullock as Next EVP | The Aerospace Corporation Former Northrop Grumman Executive to Oversee Aerospace’s Technical Organizations

Congratulations Blake!

aerospace.org/press-releas...

How does Narcan (naloxone) work? New mapping reveals how naloxone reverses opioid overdose, providing a molecular blueprint for more effective drugs.

Definitive evidence of how Narcan works by capturing images of it in action for the first time. May help develop drugs with longer-lasting protection against overdose. Great work and writing by Saif Khan, Ph.D. Candidate in Biology @dornsife.usc.edu

dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

How researchers are learning what makes police stops feel respectful USC Dornsife led effort analyzes bodycam video from 1,000 L.A. traffic stops to train AI tools to improve safety, accountability and respect

How researchers are learning what makes police stops feel respectful dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

Year in Review: Over the past year, CRCC held a powerful series on many different aspects of Economic Empowerment, helping to create economically sustainable organizations, share wealth-building skills and build wealth-building ministries.

crcc.usc.edu/report/wealt...

From community dream to force in contemporary Armenian studies USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies marks 20 years of amplifying the community’s experiences, advancing a globally relevant future

From community dream to academic force in contemporary Armenian studies @dornsife.usc.edu dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

Decoding the chemistry of life, with the aid of AI — USC News USC Nobel laureate Arieh Warshel attempts to predict evolution of viruses.

USC Nobel laureate in Chemistry Arieh Warshel is using AI to predict how HIV and other viruses evolve as a means of overcoming drug resistance.

@dornsife.usc.edu

today.usc.edu/decoding-the...

Year in Review: It's been a challenging year. CRCC worked with mental and physical health experts to help congregations thrive by working with faith leaders to maintain their own wellbeing and helping their teams do so as well.

crcc.usc.edu/wellness-and...

USC Dornsife honors alumnus Paul Ignatius, veteran and former Secretary of the Navy Paul Ignatius, a 1942 USC Dornsife graduate and World War II veteran, leaves a legacy that spans public service, journalism and philanthropy.

A Trojan whose name became part of the U.S. Navy fleet. Paul Ignatius — WWII veteran, former Secretary of the Navy, and namesake of the USS Paul Ignatius — leaves a legacy of service & honor.

Trojan Family Weekend vibes 😎

Why believing in ghosts can make you a better person Why believing in ghosts can make you a better person Ghosts could be offering us important lessons on how to lead moral lives. [4 min read]

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Here’s an interesting short read on the historical popularity of ghosts and by folklore expert Tok Thompson of anthropology at @dornsife.usc.edu

Boo! 👻

dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

2 brain scans are better than 1 in predicting teen anxiety Combined brain imaging methods helps forecast which adolescents are most at risk for anxiety disorders well before symptoms appear

Research led by @dornsife.usc.edu Professor Emilio Valadez shows how combining two types of brain scans significantly improved predictions of future anxiety in teens.

=> One day we may use brain imaging to help teens most at risk for anxiety disorders

dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

Just as an FYI, Father Matthew Wheeler of the USC Caruso Catholic Center assured me that God will be on USC’s side against the Fighting Irish tonight.

Yes that’s a USC Rosary 📿 he’s holding.

Nobel Prize in physics awarded for ultracold electronics research that launched a quantum technology The discovery that superconducting circuits can behave like quantum particles was a revolutionary development in the field of quantum technologies.

Fantastic article on the most recent Nobel prize in physics to Clarke, Devoret and Martinis
written by @dornsife.usc.edu Prof. Eli Levenson-Falk.

Eli's Ph.D. adviser, Irfan Siddiqi, was advised by Devoret, and Clarke was his secondary adviser.

theconversation.com/nobel-prize-...

Great time celebrating new and promoted faculty @dornsife.usc.edu yesterday.

From folks in the writing program helping students communicate, listen, speak, and write… to physicists working on superconducting qubits, it was an amazing celebration of excellence in the liberal arts @usc.edu

#FridayFacts: Ep. 3 Energy Efficiency and Old Buildings - Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability Creating a more sustainable and environmentally just future for our planet and all who live on it

How do you make a century old Los Angeles landmark more sustainable? USC Environmental Studies Professor Victoria Petryshyn has the answers!
dornsife.usc.edu/wrigley/2025...

Such a thrill yesterday to celebrate Percival Everett’s Pulitzer Prize along with a panel of other esteemed @dornsife.usc.edu English Profs Dana Johnson and Aimee Bender. Special thanks to Provost Guzman for hosting the event, which featured questions from some amazing undergraduate students.

USC hosts post-wildfire soil and blood testing event in Altadena - USC Dornsife News Briefs USC Dornsife scientists join health experts and community partners to help neighborhoods impacted by the January wildfires

No ivory tower here: @dornsife.usc.edu scientists and USC heath experts in the community lending a hand in Los Angeles.

dornsife.usc.edu/news-briefs/...