Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing Hossein Haj-hariri officially welcomed SIOS Technology Corp. into a growing list of private partnerships at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon.
SIOS plans to use its new location on USC's campus to further its research on artificial intelligence with its information technology software.
Haj-hariri said he looks forward to working with SIOS and cited the many benefits that come with working with technological companies without the need to leave campus.
“Every student in engineering computing has to do a fourth-year design,” says Haj-hariri. “These guys will be providing topics for the design.”
Haj-hariri says SIOS will also be "providing case studies to be incorporated into our courses" and may even teach parts of them in the future. As relationships are built between SIOS and the college, Haj-hariri expects that graduate projects will also begin to form.
“The money flow is nice. I mean, it pays for graduate students, maybe it pays for some of faculty time, et cetera. But that is secondary,” says Haj-hariri. “The highest priority is to place our students.”
Due to USC's downtown location, it is not always easy to attract companies to rent space. Prices tend to be higher than what a company could afford than if they moved a few miles down the road, which is why Haj-hariri was happy that he and Jerry Melnick, president and CEO of SIOS Technology Corp., got along well during the first tour of the college.
“This one really started on the right foot,” says Haj-hariri. “He understood we were not BS-ing. I understood they have options, some were cheaper but they stayed.”
Melnick is not only excited to help students better develop their skills, but also for what he expects students to bring to SIOS.
“If you really want to engage students and you want to engage faculty, it has to be accessible,” says Melnick. “Having access to students that are really bright and enthusiastic just changes the culture in the company and the company changes the students.”
To facilitate research cooperation, SIOS is staffing its lab with 30 employees and is awarding the university a $475,000 grant for the use of its software.