Our Mission

Viterbi Conversations in Ethics is an educational forum for reasoned, informed, and relevant discussion of engineering ethics. Written, edited, and published by USC Viterbi School of Engineering students, Viterbi Conversations in Ethics will publish exceptional student work and responses, counter-points, and new perspectives from both peers and professionals.

History


In 2013, Viterbi Conversations in Ethics was conceived at the USC School of Engineering as a way to showcase undergraduate student writing about ethics in the engineering professions and to highlight the important role of ethics in engineering. We in the Engineering Writing Program believe that our students must begin to see themselves as professionals within a larger community of thinkers and writers, and this is an opportunity for these students to enter into the larger professional conversation about ethics and to invite comment from other students and professionals.

Viterbi Conversations in Ethics is funded by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Office of the Dean. Seed money was also provided by the USC Fund for Innovative Undergraduate Teaching.

Core Team

Viterbi Conversation in Ethics’ core team is composed of student editors. Our staff also includes web developers and faculty advisors.

Current Editor-in-Chief

Jackie Finnemeyer

Class of 2024

Jackie is an undergraduate student studying Computer Engineering and Computer Science. She enjoys learning embedded system design, software development, and has created an autonomous robot using only a microcontroller and some simple I/O devices. In her free time, you will likely find her traveling, hiking, or playing video games.



Current Editors

Kaylee Tseng

Class of 2023

Kaylee is an undergraduate student studying Chemical Engineering with a Biochemistry emphasis. She is involved in a research lab focused on pancreatic beta cells, and is pursuing a Master’s degree through Viterbi’s Progressive Degree Program. In her free time, she enjoys doing crosswords, playing video games, and knitting.


Jennah Saqib

Class of 2024

Jennah is an undergraduate student studying Astronomical Engineering with a minor in Cinematic Arts. Outside of class, she is one of the dedicated leads of USC’s AeroDesign Team and a member of the USC Field Hockey Club. In her free time, she enjoys reading fantasy books, playing video games, and hiking.


Janessi Diaz

Class of 2025

Janessi Diaz is a second year Biology student with a minor in Screenwriting. In her free time she enjoys playing soccer and reading. She also loves to crochet beanies with Madhatter Knitts for babies in the NICU and is a proud sister of KDChi, one of USC’s Multicultural Greek Council organizations.  



Current Podcasting Team

Maya Neuenschwander

Class of 2024

Maya is a third-year industrial and systems engineering student with a minor in international health, development, and social justice. She works as a Viterbi student ambassador to represent the engineering school to prospective students and alumni. She has been involved in interdisciplinary research studying healthcare inequities as a result of the COVID pandemic. In her free time, you will find her doing yoga, working as a photographer, and exploring nature. 



Web Developers

Yifei Lu

Class of 2025

Yifei is a third-year undergraduate computer science student. After graduation, she hopes to become a software engineer. In her free time, you will likely find her watching TV, going to the gym, and online shopping.

Founding Editors

Naajia Jami, Civil Engineering

Julia Levy, Astronautical Engineering

Former Editors-in-Chief

Sabrina Sy, Biomedical Engineering

Isabel Brieler, Astronautical Engineering

Rebecca Thoss, Chemical Engineering

Rachel Longjohn, Computational and Applied Mathematics

Brandon Chew, Chemical Engineering

Isabel Yarwood-Perez, Mechanical Engineering

Teagan Ampe, Computer Science

Former Editors

Michael Delucia, Computer Science

Meera Gorjala, Public Policy and Environmental Studies

Laura Cook, Chemical Engineering

Ayman Siraj, Chemical Engineering

Tsung-Han Stephen Sher, Computer Science

Sharada Rayan, Computer Science and Business Administration

Krishnan Raman, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Anush Kadoyan, Computer Science

Nicole Pay, Mechanical Engineering

Tiarnan McCaffrey, Mechanical Engineering

Huaning “Wendy” Wang, Mechanical Engineering

Georgia Babikian, Biomedical Engineering

Connor Buckley, Computer Science

Tyler Amano-Smerling, Computer Science: Games

Former Web Developers

Nia Ignacio, Computer Science

Justin Wilfred, Computer Engineering

Tuling Zhao, Computer Science and Business Administration

Faculty Advisors

Martha J. Townsend teaches in the Engineering Writing Program at USC and serves as the founding and current Faculty Advisor to Viterbi Conversations in Ethics.