Love and Marriage?
June 06, 2025, Page Ivey
Professor Marcia Zug explores the history of marriage as a legal institution.
Recent Stories
Registry allows state to track Alzheimer's and dementia cases
May 30, 2025, Megan Sexton
For more than 35 years, USC’s Alzheimer’s registry has collected information on all diagnosed cases of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in South Carolina. The first of its kind in the U.S., the registry provides a comprehensive resource for researchers, policymakers and caregivers, allowing them to track demographics and trends.
Thinking about Thinking
May 30, 2025, Téa Smith
Alamir Novin, assistant professor in the College of Information and Communications, recently conducted a volunteer-based study on user interaction with AI systems and how user bias evolves. Among the 200 participants, he found evidence of four basic types of cognitive bias: priming, anchoring, framing and availability.
Palmetto Power
May 19, 2025, Rebekah Friedman
As the state’s flagship public university, the University of South Carolina seeks solutions to a range of modern challenges. And our researchers are lighting the way.
New research explores the 'thoughts' and abilities of AI chatbots
November 04, 2024, Kristine Hartvigsen
Artificial Intelligence advocates might defensively suggest, in good humor, that chatbots are “only human” and therefore prone to occasional mistakes. New research by a team at the University of South Carolina Department of Psychology basically confirms that notion with some important caveats.
Law professor Josh Eagle works to expand public beach access
March 06, 2024, Page Ivey
Helping courts and regulatory bodies determine who has a right to the coastline is the focus of University of South Carolina law professor Josh Eagle’s scholarly work. His goal is to get courts to recognize greater public rights and to expand access to beaches.
Ring polymer research points way to new industrial and biomedical applications
March 06, 2024, Chris Horn
Imagine smartphones that bend, twist and stretch like rubber. Or 3D-printed material that mimics the pliable characteristics of human cartilage found in knees, noses and ears. It’s not much of a stretch for Ting Ge, an assistant professor in chemistry and biochemistry who has just begun a five-year CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to delve deeper into the field of ring polymers.
School of Medicine researchers pursue new treatment options for glioblastoma
March 05, 2024, Page Ivey
Assistant professor of medicine Deepak Bhere was drawn to the study of stem cell therapy because he wanted to do research that has real impact on patients’ lives. His team at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia has the potential to do just that as they pursue new treatment options for patients with glioblastoma.
From agribusiness to health care to flood management, artificial intelligence research clicks into place
March 01, 2024, Rebekah Friedman
Artificial intelligence is making plenty of headlines these days — and, in some cases, even writing them. Some concerns are valid, some are overblown, but as the global economy embraces the emerging technology, there’s no avoiding the larger conversation. There’s also no denying AI’s real-world potential. For every Sports Illustrated byline scandal or news story about the danger of self-driving cars, there’s an untold story of how AI research promises to change our world for the better, and a lot of that research is happening right here at the University of South Carolina.
Engineering team experiments with new method for processing problematic landfill compound
February 29, 2024, Chris Horn
An experimental project led by a team of USC engineering researchers could lead to a more efficient process for converting landfill gases into cleaner fuel — and simultaneously deal with a silicone-based compound called siloxane that has become problematic for landfills.
Engineering professor Sarah Gassman works to improve road pavement design
February 29, 2024, Megan Sexton
Engineering professor Sarah Gassman and her team collect road performance data, the rutting and the cracking, and feed that data into a model that gives us better predictions for how a pavement will perform.
Toby Jenkins, associate professor of higher education, explores how hip-hop values and ethics can help educators and other professionals succeed
February 28, 2024, Craig Brandhorst
Toby Jenkins is a a professor in USC’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the College of Education and associate provost for faculty development. Jenkins’ latest book, “The Hip-Hop Mindset: Success Strategies for Educators and Other Professionals” (Teachers College Press), combines her scholarly expertise with her lifelong appreciation for hip-hop music and culture.
Grant supports innovative teaching methods across different disciplines
June 15, 2023, Téa Smith
The Center for Teaching Excellence’s Innovative Pedagogy Grant supports innovative teaching methods across different disciplines. The goal is to invest in the improvement of courses taught by faculty members who provide students with exemplary, highly engaging learning experiences, offered in an online, blended or traditional format.
COVID gave QR codes new life
June 14, 2023, Page Ivey
After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the hospitality and tourism industries in March 2020, businesses, particularly restaurants, encouraged customers to return, in part, by offering contactless menus. One key piece of that was the QR code — a technology created by a subsidiary of Toyota as a means of tracking its manufacturing processes.
Study sheds light on inmate mortality in South Carolina
June 09, 2023, Chris Horn
In a first-ever analysis of deaths in South Carolina prisons, jails and youth detention centers, USC School of Law assistant professor Madalyn Wasilczuk and her students have compiled a report that aims to increase transparency in corrections facilities across the Palmetto State.
School of Medicine Greenville professor leads national genetics organization
June 08, 2023, Megan Sexton
Robert Best, a medical geneticist and professor at the USC School of Medicine Greenville, has been a major contributor to the fields of cytogenetics and bioethics. Last fall, Best was tapped to serve as interim CEO of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics.
Research looks at pet-based marketing strategies
May 25, 2023, Megan Sexton
Darla Moore School of Business marketing associate professor Xiaojing Yang along with researchers from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, examined the effects of pet exposure on consumers’ subsequent judgments and decisions, even in ads that are not focused on pet products.
Education professor helps Taiwanese communities combat indigenous language loss through children's books
May 24, 2023, Rebekah Friedman
Education professor Catherine Compton-Lilly traveled to Taiwan to help two indigenous communities reclaim their language through children’s books.
Study explores the gendered dynamics of inspirational labor in sport
May 24, 2023, Téa Smith
Tarlan Chahardovali, an assistant professor in the University of South Carolina’s Department of Sport and Entertainment Management, and Christopher McLeod, an assistant professor at the University of Florida, have developed the concept of inspirational labor as part of a study exploring the extra work that professional female athletes do for the future of their sports.
Saskia Coenen Snyder explores the role of Jews in the late 19th century diamond trade.
May 22, 2023, Q&A by Craig Brandhorst
In “A Brilliant Commodity” (Oxford University Press), USC history and Jewish studies professor Saskia Coenen Snyder explores the diamond trade of the late 19th century and the critical role played by Jews at every level of an emerging international commodity market.
USC researchers improve outcomes for pregnancy, birth and early childhood
May 22, 2023, Rebekah Friedman
When it comes to understanding the challenges related to pregnancy, birth and early childhood, USC’s researchers deliver answers.