Home

Programs

View all of our programs

Events

See all events, talks, and networking opportunities

People

Meet our community

Apply

Submit your application to one of our programs

Give

Women in Science and Engineering

The WiSE program is a groundbreaking effort to increase the representation and success of women in science and engineering at USC through a series of creative programs that enable women to thrive at every stage of their careers.

Committed to developing fresh approaches to policies and to building a supportive environment for both women and men, the WiSE program is driving USC to the leading edge of diversity in science and engineering.

Learn more about WiSE

Our Programs

WiSE administers a variety of grant programs aimed at faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students.

Faculty

Postdoctoral Scholars & PhD Students

Undergraduate Research

Programs & Series

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events.

There are no upcoming events.

Latest Past Events

April 2 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon

SSL 210

March 11 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

STEM Bytes Seminar

zoom

March 5 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

WiSE Alumni Lecture Series: Leena Mathur

Zoom Webinar CA

Recent News

Niloufar Izadinia Receives the SWE-LA Outstanding Faculty Leadership Award from the Society of Women Engineers
April 8, 2025
Congratulations to Niloufar Izadinia on receiving the SWE-LA Outstanding Faculty Leadership Award from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

Eun Ji Chung Elected 2025 AIMBE Fellow
April 1, 2025
Congratulations to Eun Ji Chung on being elected a 2025 AIMBE Fellow!
Jiachen Zhang Receives the 2025 Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Award from The Engineers Council
April 1, 2025
Congratulations to Jiachen Zhang on receiving the 2025 Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Award from The Engineers Council!
Rosa Di Felice Recognized as One of the Winning Teams at the Airbus and BMW Group’s Quantum Computing Challenge
March 21, 2025
Congratulations to Rosa Di Felice on being one of the five winning teams at the Airbus and BMW Group’s Quantum Computing Challenge!
Emily Liman Named to National Geographic’s “33” List of Global Changemakers
March 21, 2025
Congratulations to Emily Liman on being named to National Geographic’s “33” List of Global Changemakers!

uscwise

We've reached the end of Fall 2024 STEM Bytes! Joi

We've reached the end of Fall 2024 STEM Bytes! Join us for the final seminar on Wednesday, November 20 from 11am -12pm PT on Zoom!

To register, visit tinyurl.com/STEMB11-20 (link in bio)

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗢𝘇𝗴𝗲 𝗢𝘇𝗯𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗺
Talk: Gaussian Process Models for Characterizing Microstructure-Property-Performance Relationships

Gaussian Process Models offer a powerful approach for bridging complex relationships between material microstructures, properties, and performance. This talk will explore how these models can be leveraged to predict and optimize material behavior, enabling more efficient design and development of advanced materials with tailored characteristics.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗥𝘂𝗺𝗲𝘆𝘀𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝗴𝘀𝗼𝘆
Talk: Analyzing Homelessness through Local and National Indicators

Homelessness is a growing problem that impacts the national economy, and the increases in social divide. Furthermore, homelessness is influenced by a multitude of economic and social factors, including both national and local indicators such as GDP, crime rate, and unemployment. This analysis is focused to show a relationship between factors associated with the economy and crime rates, and homelessness.

Join us for our next alumna talk with Dr. Kristin

Join us for our next alumna talk with Dr. Kristin Sahyouni on Friday, November 15, from 12:00 to 1:00 PM via Zoom!

To register for this webinar, visit tinyurl.com/WiSEKristinS (link in bio)

🎤 Talk - How My Engineering Education Prepared Me for a Fulfilling Life

About Kristin:

Dr. Kristin Sahyouni graduated from the Daniel J Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering with a BS degree in 2003. She attended Northwestern University where she earned a MS and PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences in 2007; at Northwestern her research focused on optimizing design and operational decision making for closed-loop supply chain systems. Since graduation she has worked at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, McKinsey and Co, Butterfly Network, and Apple. She joined Apple in 2011 and has had roles in Manufacturing Design, iPad Product Design and Mac Product Design.

Her current role at Apple is focused on system performance architecture and enabling the company's most demanding professional users across hardware and software. She joined the USC faculty in Fall 2023 and currently teaches ISE 220. She loves that a successful Industrial Engineer is capable of structuring ambiguity and identifying opportunities to optimize systems to enable teams to achieve their best performance.

𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙎𝘾 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮

#uscwise #womeninstem #wisealumnilecture

Snapshots from our monthly WiSE Networking Meeting

Snapshots from our monthly WiSE Networking Meeting! Adding some Halloween spirit to today’s get-together 👻 🎃

Happy Halloween from our Goldilocks Scientist, Rosie the Riveter and everyone at WiSE! #USCWiSE

📷: Professor Jill McNitt-Gray, WiSE Program Manager Mallory Redel and Professor Megan Fieser

Our next seminar for STEM Bytes is on Wednesday, N

Our next seminar for STEM Bytes is on Wednesday, November 6 from 11am -12pm PT on Zoom!

To register, visit tinyurl.com/STEMBytes11-6 (link in bio)

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆
Talk: Understanding Carbon Flux Dynamics in Concrete and Their Implications for Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Concrete production is responsible for 7-8% of all historical greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but little is known about the potential GHG emissions from concrete during its functional lifetime. Here, we show that emplaced concrete has a complex and dynamic relationship with atmospheric carbon dioxide that may obscure a significant source of GHG emissions.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗻
Talk: Unfamiliar Familiarity: Resilient Behavioral Patterns Despite Conflicting Incentives in Games

Studying behavior in online social networks often faces challenges like self-selection bias and the inability to track user behavior across multiple platforms; we address this by using online virtual environments -- in particular, we focus on online multiplayer games. In this talk, I will discuss how our study of 4,840 players in League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics reveals that individuals tend to maintain consistent behaviors across different games, suggesting personal agency outweighs environmental influence despite each game rewarding different playstyles.

Congratulations to Yolanda Gil on being appointed

Congratulations to Yolanda Gil on being appointed to the National Science Board 👏

Read more about this announcement linked in our bio!

Join us for our upcoming STEM Bytes Seminar on Wed

Join us for our upcoming STEM Bytes Seminar on Wednesday, October 23 from 11 - 11:30 am PT on Zoom!

To register for this seminar, please visit: tinyurl.com/STEMBytes10-23 (link in bio)

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗮 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗴
🎤 Talk: Population Genomics and Illegal Trade of Critically Endangered Asian Pangolins

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, yet much of their basic biology and ecology is unknown, which greatly hinders efforts to conserve them. This work attempts to use DNA-based methods on seized pangolin materials to answer population, trade, and evolutionary questions of Asian pangolins in order to facilitate efforts to combat their illegal trade and conserve the animal.

Throwback to an insightful session on crafting ele

Throwback to an insightful session on crafting elevator pitches with Drs. Helen Choi and Elizabeth Fife from the Viterbi Communications Hub!

Didn’t catch the first workshop? Don’t worry—join us this Friday @ 12pm for a deep dive into navigating imposter syndrome with Professor Sabrina Pasztor in DRB 232!

Lunch will be provided, but space is limited! To RSVP, click the link in our bio.

Our first alumna talk this semester is with Angeli

Our first alumna talk this semester is with Angelica Cobo on Monday, October 28 from 2 - 3pm PT on Zoom!

To register for this webinar, visit tinyurl.com/WiSEAngelicaC (link in bio)

🎤 Talk - Beyond Graduation: Advancing in The Medical Device Industry

About Angelica:

Angelica Cobo has over 11 years of experience as a project lead, Research & Development engineer, and researcher in the Medical Device Industry/Academia-. She has a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD in Biomedical Engineering. During her PhD, she focused on the development of implantable medical devices using Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) technologies. Angelica was born and raised in Cali, Colombia and now lives in Miami, FL where she loves spending time with her family. She also enjoys traveling, hosting her friends at home, and is a foodie.

𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙎𝘾 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮

#uscwise #womeninstem #wisealumnilecture

Join WiSE for a workshop on Navigating Imposter Sy

Join WiSE for a workshop on Navigating Imposter Syndrome on Friday, October 18 from 12:00 - 1:00 PM in Denney Research Center (DRB), Room 232.

USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Faculty Lecturer Dr. Pasztor will share techniques for recognizing and navigating imposter syndrome throughout your career.

Open to all USC students. Lunch will be provided, but space is limited! To RSVP, click the link in our bio!

🍁 New season, new seminars! 🍁 This Fall 20

🍁 New season, new seminars! 🍁

This Fall 2024, join us for STEM Bytes on Zoom from 𝟭𝟭:𝟬𝟬 𝗔𝗠 – 𝟭𝟮:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠 and hear from our amazing Ph.D. students sharing their latest research! 🧠✨

🗓️ Mark your calendars:

🔸 Oct 9
🔸 Oct 23
🔸 Nov 6
🔸 Nov 20

To register for any of these seminar dates, head to linktr.ee/uscwise 🔗🧑‍🔬

Congratulations to Professor Heather Culbertson on

Congratulations to Professor Heather Culbertson on receiving the MassRobotics Rising Star in Robotics Medal 👏💫

Read more about the award at the link in our bio!

Repost @massroboticsboston

・・・
We are excited to announce the recipients of this year's 2nd Annual MassRobotics Robotics Medal—an award recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of women in robotics, proudly sponsored by @amazon Fulfillment Technologies & Robotics.

🌟 Congratulations to Dr. Cynthia Breazeal of @mit, who will receive the Robotics Medal for her pioneering work in social robotics and human-robot interaction! Her contributions continue to shape the future of robotics and our relationship with intelligent machines.

And congratulations to our Rising Star recipients:
🌟 Dr. Heather Culbertson from @uscedu for her innovative work in haptics, developing virtual touch interactions that are indistinguishable from real life.
🌟 Dr. Josie Hughes from @epflcampus for her key contributions to soft robotics design and fabrication, leading the way toward robots with enhanced functionality and distributed intelligence.

Thank you to all the inspiring women driving innovation and leadership in the robotics field! We look forward to celebrating these incredible achievements at the Women in Robotics Gala on October 26, 2024.

@ieeeorg #icra40 #icra #Robotics #stem

Our next talk for STEM Bytes is on Wednesday, Octo

Our next talk for STEM Bytes is on Wednesday, October 9 from 11 - 12:00 pm PT on Zoom!

To register, visit tinyurl.com/STEMBytes10-9 (link in bio)

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝘂𝗼 𝗭𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴
🎤 Talk: Can AI Understand Art? Recent Research Using VLMs on Chinese Arts

In this paper, we offer the Pun Rebus Art Dataset, a multimodal dataset for art understanding deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture. We focus on three primary tasks: identifying salient visual elements, matching elements with their symbolic meanings, and explanations for the conveyed messages.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗥𝘆𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝗯𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘀
🎤 Talk: Hot Till It’s Not: How Appalachian Mountain Building and Pangea Breakup Changed the Temperature of Earth’s Crust

(U-Th)/He dating and thermal history modeling of 500 million year old rocks from the Newfoundland Appalachian Mountains reveal when and how the temperature of the Earth’s crust evolved during the formation and breakup of our planet’s last supercontinent, Pangea, and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean.

Load More... Follow on Instagram