Diane Ainsworth, USC Science Writer and Editor, Dead at 56

Diane Ainsworth, a science writer for the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, died of a brain aneurysm March 29 in her Altadena home, according to her father Donald Ainsworth. She was 56.

Ainsworth had more than 25 years of experience covering science and technology at four major California universities.

She joined USC in 2003, where she became a prolific writer and editor, contributing hundreds of stories to USC media, including the Viterbi Engineer magazine (which she edited), the Viterbi news website, the USC Chronicle, and Trojan Family magazine.

She also aided faculty and engineering administration in the preparation of fact-sheets, mailers, brochures and other material. A skilled photographer, she illustrated many of her own stories.

“Diane was a very dedicated, hard working employee,” said Viterbi School Dean Yannis C. Yortsos.  “In 2008 she took over as editor of the Viterbi Engineer magazine, an activity she was particularly proud of.  Under her management, the quality of the magazine significantly improved.  Diane related very well to faculty and staff which is reflected in the quality of stories she generated about VSoE activities.

“She was very interested and curious about research at the school and was the person in charge of our NAE Grand Challenges section and its stories. We will miss her professionalism, kindness and dedication.”

Before coming to USC Ainsworth worked as a science writer for the Berkeleyan, the faculty-staff newspaper at UC Berkeley, in the school’s Public Affairs office.  Before that she had spent twelve years as a media relations specialist at the Caltech Jet Propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, covering such landmark events as NASA Mars missions, earth observation satellites, and arranging media access to shuttle missions. Previously, she was a senior staff writer in the UCLA public affairs office.

Earlier, she had worked as a reporter for media including the Associated Press, and as a public information officer at the RAND Corporation. Ainsworth received her B.A. degree from UCLA, and an M.A. from Cal State University, Northridge, both in cultural anthropology.

She is survived by her father and mother Virginia of La Crescenta, and her brothers Stephen John Ainsworth of Sunol and Donald Ainsworth III of Ventura.

No memorial is planned by the family, but the Viterbi School will hold a gathering at a time yet to be announced. The family requests any memorial donations go to the American Heart Association.