About Us

Illumin is an online magazine dedicated to exploring the science and technology behind the things we encounter every day. Produced and published by the Engineering Writing Program at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Illumin features the work of talented USC undergraduate engineers along with submissions from universities across the nation. These articles, supplemented with innovative multimedia features, relate the far-reaching impact of the engineering profession, and provide a broader view of the socio-economic and political implications of rapid technological change.

History

In the Spring of 1999, Illumin was conceived at the USC School of Engineering as a way to demonstrate the relevance of engineering to engineers and non-engineers alike. In an effort to highlight the impact of engineering upon everyday life and to showcase the writing skills of USC Engineering students, the Engineering Writing Program at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering began the development of Illumin. Using articles submitted as part of a WRIT 340 class assignment, the editors and multimedia specialists built the Illumin website.

With worldwide readership, Illumin continues to evolve as an academic resource for modern society. Illumin articles have been selected for publication in textbooks and university course readers. Multimedia features now include flash animation, graphics correlating with each article, video and sounds clips, a glossary of terms, and an extensive archive of previously published articles. Additionally, a teacher’s edition of Illumin is currently being created for use in high school classrooms.

Illumin 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

Illumin’s core team is composed of students who edit and format papers for the online medium. Our staff also includes a web developer and multimedia guru. We interview and hire for open staffing positions every Spring.

Ashly Lam, Associate Editor

Ashly Lam is a freshman studying Computer Science. Outside of Illumin Magazine, she is involved with Women in Computing and 3D4E. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, journaling, and baking.

Ralph Jeanty, Associate Editor

Ralph Jeanty is a junior studying Computer Science and Business Administration. Besides Illumin, he is a part of LavaLab, and AcceptED USC. In his free time, he enjoys fashion, philosophy, reading, traveling and listening to wide-range of music.

Antonina Mintcheva, Associate Editor

Antonina Mintcheva is a sophomore studying Biomedical Engineering with an Electrical Engineering Emphasis and a minor in Computer Programming. Alongside Illumin, she is part of MEDesign, a medical device design club and Theta Tau, a professional co-ed engineering society. In her free time, she also enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, traveling, and painting.

Hashim Alshihari, Associate Editor

Hashim Alshihari is a senior studying Chemical Engineering. He is originally from Mecca, Saudi Arabia but came to Los Angeles for college. Besides Illumin, Hashim is a part of Alpha Lambda Delta as the Co-Director of Social Media and a member of the Chem-E-Car team at USC. In his free time, Hashim enjoys exploring new music, traveling, and reading novels.

Timothy Wang, Associate Editor

Timothy Wang is a current senior at USC majoring in computer science and minoring in screenwriting originally from Seattle, WA. Outside of Illumin Magazine, Timothy is the treasurer of Queers in Engineering, Science, and Technology (QuEST) and a student researcher with the JAUNTS Lab at USC’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI). He enjoys reading, creative writing, and going on long road trips.

Henry Vu, Webmaster

Henry Vu is a junior majoring in Computer Science/Games with a minor in Blockchain. Henry was originally born in Vietnam and he went to the U.S. when he was fouteen all by himself. On campus, Henry is a member of HackSC, LavaLab, and ProductSC. Outside of school, Henry works for Meetsee as a Software Engineer while internting at SmarGateVC. He loves meditating, reading, playing soccer and travelling.

Kaisey McCallion, Graphic Artist

Kaisey McCallion is a first year MFA student in the John C. Hench Division of Animation at USC. He grew up in the small town of Myersville in Maryland, and received his Bachelors of Science in 2019 from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in Applied Physics and Studio Art. When he’s not animating he enjoys sailing, mountain biking, and restoring his 1992 Jeep Cherokee.

Steve Bucher, Faculty Advisor

Stephen Bucher is the Director of the Engineering Writing Program at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He is the founder of and faculty adviser to Illumin magazine.

Past Editors

Mia Ahmady