In this issue, discover what the recent wildfires in L.A. can teach us about tempering future disasters, learn how our researchers developed an eco-friendly method to repurpose discarded vehicle and airplane parts and uncover how we’re identifying Holocaust victims from recently found photographs.

What practical skills can an ancient game teach us today? Jack Peters of Slavic languages and literatures uses chess to teach valuable life skills like strategy, patience and reasoning.

An interdisciplinary, nonpartisan study of the Los Angeles wildfires could better prepare communities for future disasters.

Why it matters: Natural disasters — including hurricanes, wildfires and floods — are becoming more severe and frequent due to climate change, endangering lives and infrastructure at an unprecedented scale.

Backstory: Human-made and organizational failures have exacerbated the impact of past natural disasters due to issues like poor training, inadequate inspections and lax regulations.

Problem: Finding ways to better handle disasters requires independent investigators who are free from government jurisdictional and bureaucratic constraints.

Solution: The president and Congress can direct the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and the National Research Council to establish an independent commission.

Bonus: The academies were created by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 to provide the nation with independent, objective advice on complex problems.

Key takeaway: A thorough investigation into the L.A. fires could help communities across the country reframe their thinking about emergency planning.

Newly discovered photographs capture Jewish victims being deported by the Nazis. Now, USC Dornsife researchers are working to identify the names of those pictured.

Why it matters: The photos provide a rare glimpse of Nazi mass deportations from a victim’s perspective, says Wolf Gruner, founding director of USC Dornsife’s Center for Advanced Genocide Research (CAGR).

What’s new: The #LastSeen project, co-directed by Gruner, uncovered the images from a German archive in an envelope titled “miscellaneous.”

Descendants of survivors played a crucial role in identifying individuals in the photographs, sometimes providing family photos for reference.

In his words: “As descendants of survivors help our researchers identify the deportees in these images and tell their stories, we give previously faceless victims a voice,” says Gruner.

What’s next: Artificial intelligence may one day help researchers identify even more holocaust victims from photos, ensuring their stories are not lost.

Imagine turning old car parts, airplane wings, or sports gear into high-quality, reusable materials. A new method developed by USC Dornsife Professor of Chemistry Travis Williams and his team makes it possible — without any loss in quality.

Why it matters: Carbon fiber composites are durable but difficult to recycle, creating tons of waste. The method developed by Prof. Williams’ team offers an eco-friendly fix, reducing landfill use and boosting sustainability.

How it works: Researchers use a mild chemical solution that breaks down the epoxy resin binding the composite.

By the numbers: The scale of carbon fiber usage highlights the urgent need for effective recycling solutions.

What’s next: The USC team plans to optimize the process for large-scale applications and collaborate with industry leaders.

The bottom line: This method has the potential to revolutionize how industries manage composite waste, making recycling efficient and sustainable.

Dornsife is now on Bluesky. Find us posting the latest research, news and events at @dornsife.usc.edu. Drop us a DM if we can add you to our faculty starter pack!

Of course, we’re still active on Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook and YouTube.

More than 151,000 people joined USC Dornsife’s first Reddit “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) session, when habit expert Wendy Wood professor emerita of psychology answered questions ranging from “what’s your most surprising research finding?” to “how do I stop biting my nails?”

Explore quantum computing’s power and potential in this live, online discussion featuring professors Rosa Di Felice and Daniel Lidar and moderated by Interim Dean Moh El-Naggar. See the promo video >>

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“Whoever controls language, controls everything. If someone has no voice, they cannot get what they want or what they need.”

TIME magazine interviewed Percival Everett of English for the article ”Percival Everett Is Challenging the American Literary Canon.”

“I train graduate students and undergrads who want to pursue science careers. It’s hard for me to think about how to encourage them when it seems like the very work that we do is so vulnerable to partisan attack.”

NPR quoted Darby Saxbe of psychology for the article “‘Unprecedented’: White House moves to control science funding worry researchers.”

“The U.S. is now more unpredictable and bizarre than ever. The Trump administration has been very hostile to [Latin America], and China has never shown that kind of hostility, ever.”

The Los Angeles Times quoted Carol Wise of political science and international relations for the article “How Trump could pave the way for China in Latin America.”

USC faculty and staff are eligible for a discount on membership to USC Recreational Sports fitness facilities, including access to the Lyon Center, an 80,000-square-foot facility with indoor athletic courts and a wide collection of cardio, cross-training and strength equipment.