Iovine and Young Hall is the new home for the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation, a new institute at the University of Southern California (USC).
The facility, Supported by music producer Jimmy Iovine and rapper and entrepreneur Dr. Dre (Andre Young), is now under construction following a ground-breaking ceremony earlier this week.
Scheduled to open in 2019, the maker-spaces in the 10,000 square foot academy will include a lab for 3D printing and scanning, together with 2D large-format printing.
“The next episode”
The new USC school was initially set up in 2014 using a $70 million donation from Iovine and Young. The courses taught at the academy focus on the intersection between art and design; engineering and computer science; and business and venture management.
The school describes itself as a “collaborative environment that brings exceptional students together with visionary faculty and professional mentors”. It offers a four year undergraduate program mainly featuring design, computing, and business modules.
Commenting on his choice to fund the school, Apple music executive Jimmy Iovine stated on its opening that “the lines between technology and the arts are starting to become blurred—in a great way”. USC President C. L. Max Nikias added that “our goal is to ensure that the academy is the most collaborative educational program in the world”.
The academy, which now has 114 students enrolled on its programs currently has its premises in “the Garage”, a purpose built facility on top of USC’s Ronald Tutor Campus Center. In 2019, the academy will move to Iovine and Young Hall on USC’s main Los Angeles campus.
“What’s the difference”
Bearing the motto “the degree is in disruption”, the academy offers a number of modules involving 3D printing and scanning within its multi-disciplinary undergraduate program.
The curriculum’s core courses include a “Digital Toolbox: 3D Design” addressing 3D modelling and design, while “Product Design”, “Design Theory” and “Materials Science” courses provide students with a grounding in additive manufacturing and its application.
Amongst the elective 3D design courses that can be taken are modules dealing with “Materials and Tools” and “Objects and Space”
“Still D.R.E.”
When the academy was set up, Young was candid about the significance of his contribution, stating, “I feel like this is the biggest, most exciting and probably the most important thing that I’ve done in my career”.
In July 2017, the academy yielded its first startup, an augmented reality venture called Mira. Iovine and Young announced earlier this year that they would also be funding a expansive graduate level program at the academy, called “Design@USC”.
The University of Southern California has also seen extensive recent research on 3D printing large structures, 3D printing in nanoparticle production, and 3D scanning systems.
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Featured image shows Iovine (L) Young (C) and Nikias (R) beside a rendering of the new facility. Photo via Gus Ruelas/USC.
