Ous Mellouli
B.S. CS ’07, competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, becoming only the fourth swimmer ever to compete in six Olympics. Mellouli is a three-time medalist, and was the first African male swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual swimming event (in the 1500-meter freestyle in 2008). He carried the flag for Tunisia in the opening ceremonies for the 2016 Olympics and in the closing ceremonies in 2012. Nicknamed “The Mediterranean Shark,” Mellouli still holds the USC record in the men’s 400-yard IM (3:39.19, 2003) and both the Uytengsu Aquatics Center 400-meter (3:44.79, 2006) and 800-meter (7:49.02, 2006) freestyle records.

Rachel Morford
B.S EE, M.S. EE ’07, is the new president of the Society of Women Engineers. She will lead the prominent global organization for a one-year term. Morford became involved with SWE at USC and has remained involved in the organization since, serving in a number of executive positions over the years. Morford is principal director at The Aerospace Corp.

Philip Moynihan
M.S. ME ’66, published his third book, “Spirit of the Sky Walkers.” The book captures the joys, poetries, and adventures of flying by detailing the more than three decades of aviation escapades that took him and his wife, Penny, all over North America. Before his retirement, Moynihan spent 45 years as an aerospace engineer, including 38 years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Philip A. Iannuzzi Jr.
M.S. Systems Management ’89, received a Citation of Honor from the Philadelphia City Council in September 2020 recognizing his commitment to service, scholarship, and industry. The retired Air Force colonel and military pilot serves as a workforce development leader for The Boeing Co. Iannuzzi also has a doctorate in education from Delaware Valley University and three other master’s degrees.

In Memoriam

Thuy Truong
B.S. CS ’09, passed away Jan. 25, 2020, at age 35, from genetic lung cancer. Truong leaves a legacy as a multilingual businesswoman, a driven computer engineer, a highly successful entrepreneur and a cancer advocate. Born in Vietnam in 1985, Truong and her family moved to the United States in 2003. After graduating from USC Viterbi, Truong moved back to Vietnam, where she launched a number of successful startups, including the country’s first frozen yogurt company, Parallel Frozen Yogurt. She also launched the app development company Greengar, which built several popular mobile apps. Truong was dubbed the “Queen of Startups” by the BBC, and was included in the “Forbes 30 Under 30” list by Forbes Vietnam magazine in 2015 and the “50 Most Influential Women of Vietnam” in both 2017 and 2019. Truong also starred in an award-winning documentary about female business founders called “She Started It.”

After being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016, Truong moved back to Los Angeles for treatment at USC and began to devote herself to improving treatment options and quality of life for people with cancer. In 2016, she launched the Salt Cancer Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to providing support and education to cancer patients and their caregivers in Vietnam. In 2017, Truong hosted USC’s first-ever “Hack for Health,” a three-day “hackathon” in which teams worked to develop technological solutions for cancer management.

Jason Weinstein
B.S. CE ’85, passed away Dec. 15, 2020. Weinstein worked for 34 years at Shoring Engineers, which provides services including drilling, shoring, and excavating that are essential for nearly all major construction projects. During his time there, he designed and managed hundreds of shoring projects, including at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, and at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, along with multiple projects at USC, UCLA, Universal Studios, Disneyland, and NBC Studios. During his college career, Weinstein was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and twice won concrete canoe engineering competitions.

Robert Melbourne
B.S. CS ‘51, passed away peacefully of natural causes at the age of 91 at his family home in San Luis Rey, California, on Dec. 24, 2020. After serving as a private in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and then as an officer in the U.S. Navy in the Civil Engineering Corp, Melbourne spent 28 years working to develop large-scale water construction projects for the San Diego County Water Authority. Melbourne earned his Ph.D. in history from USC in 1996. He was a life member and proud fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.