USC spearheads new initiative ‘Frontiers of Computing’ – Annenberg Media

For the first time in more than a decade, USC President Carol Folt announced the launch of a new school within the USC Viterbi School of Engineering —  The USC School of Advanced Computing.

According to Folt, the initiative will focus on building “groundbreaking programs” in areas of computer literacy and aims to provide interdisciplinary opportunities to learn about the ethical uses of computer technology.

Gaurav Sukhatme, whose background is in computer science, electrical and computer engineering, was appointed inaugural director of the school.

“Our work will be firmly rooted in solving important societal problems that address issues of sustainability, global health, society and governance, and many others,” Sukhatme said in a USC release announcing his appointment.

The opening of this school falls under Folt’s new initiative, “Frontiers of Computing,” a $1 billion initiative that focuses on three key areas: advancing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning software, improving hardware efficiency and scalability and expanding quantum computing.

“It’s not just computing, it is that full embedding of the future of computing for what it means in every field, in every endeavor, and really for our students,” Folt said in an interview with Annenberg Media.

Both Folt and Sukhatme were clear that the school, while part of Viterbi, is meant to be used by students across majors and disciplines.

“We already have a rich set of courses and minors in computing, which are taken by students across the university,” Sukhatme said in a Q&A published by the university. “We plan to build on these to create new programs and courses, many of which will be the result of cross-school collaborations.”

The new project dubbed, a “school within a school” will feature the Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science, the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Division of Computing Education, which will incorporate the Information Technology Program.

The new program is currently funded by a $260 million donation from the Lord Foundation of California, received in 2019. The funding, along with future donations to the program, will be used to extend USC’s reach into Los Angeles County’s growing tech corridor, which has been coined “Silicon Beach.”

The area, which encompasses Marina del Rey, is already home to two USC Viterbi institutes: the Information Sciences Institute and the Institute for Creative Technologies, which together provide the largest quantity of “tech talent” in the country, according to the information sciences institute website.

“I think we’re the best in California, without any doubt,” Folt said. “We’re certainly the largest. We produce more [computer information systems (CIS)] students than any other research university in America.”

Folt went on to demonstrate the school’s commitment to representation in the industry.

“We produce more women, more engineers of color in that CIS space,” she said.

USC’s long-standing dedication to computer innovation has been well documented with more than 10,000 computer science degrees conferred between 2012-2021 — the most on the West Coast. Yannis C. Yortsos, dean of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, which will oversee the new school said he believes the number is indicative of the need for people with these skills.

“The world needs engineers and computer scientists to solve the grand challenges we face,” Yortsos said in a statement on the school’s webpage.

According to the university, 30 new faculty members will be added in priority areas by 2025, with another 60 recruited by 2030 to support the needs of the new school.

The new building for the computing school, the Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Human-Centered Computation Hall, is projected to open this summer.