A New York-based online learning firm with links to the University of Southern California has scored a round of funding, and added Redpoint's Greg Martin to its board, the firm said this morning. 2tor also has offices just North of USC on Figueroa Street. 2tor said it raised $10M in a Series A financing from Redpoint Ventures, along with Novak Biddle Venture Partnres and City Light Capital, for its service, which helps universities create online degree programs. The firm currently only offers one online program, from the University of Southern California's Rossier School of

The Department of Energy (DOE) said this week that it has awarded $377M in funding for 46, Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) focused on reducing dependence on imported oil and to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, including a center at the University of California, Santa Barbara , and one at the University of Southern California . The DOE said the awards--which were funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act--includes $19M given to UCSB, which will go towards discovering an developing materials that control the interactions between light, electricity, and heat at the nanoscale

Probability Scenario #1 - The "Duke, North Carolina, UCLA's of the world" - if they were entrepreneurs, they would have good chance to get funded. Probability Scenario #3 - The "Wisconsin, USC, Clemson's, #5 seeds of the world" - this is the interesting group of entrepreneurs. Tags: venture entrepreneur NCAA fundin I was filling out my winning March Madness Basketball brackets .. oops ..

The University of Southern California is reporting today that spinouts out of the school have raised $148m in the last two calendar years (2008-2009), and that there are now at least 24 USC spinouts currently in business. The school--which has been actively encouraging startup activity based on its research in recent years--said that 16 USC startups raised $148M, in a combination of new startup funding and additional rounds of financing for those companies. The school said that the 24 spinouts of the school employ approximately 500 full time employees, with at least 267 of those jobs in Los Angeles.

Lookout , a firm developing security software for mobile phones and started by two recent USC graduates, has raised $5.5M in a funding , according to the New York Times this morning. According to the Times, the firm raised the new round of funding this month from Khosla Ventures. Lookout, formerly known as Flexilis, was based in Los Angeles, however, apparently is now listing its headquarters in San Francisco. The firm was co-founded by John Hering and Kevin Mahaffey. ...Tags:

The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation , the effort of the University of Southern California to foster innovation within its campus and the community, has been turning an eye to how to more effectively spin out academic efforts into companies. Among tidbits from their study: inventors are expected to be involved start-ups, but shouldn't expect to run the company as CEO; venture capital funds shouldn't be considered as "ATMs"--they expect to be "highly involved" in portfolio companies; and understand that venture capitalists are looking for a return on investment--either an IPO or acquisition.

Citrix, RIM, USC. We won the Industry Awards category of Services Company of the Year that led to meeting the Executive Director of CTM at USC who asked me to become a member which led to many new relationships and speaking opportunities, then led to meeting Verizon where we secured a very unique partnership and they are now our radio show sponsor and we presented at VentureNet which led to a sizable funding from Tech Coast Angels. consider it INVALUABLE! Who are some of your go to people in Southern California? CTM and USC, staff of Citrix Online, I’ve recently had a chance to reconnect with Eric David Greenspan ( LinkedIn , Twitter ) He’s the CEO of Make It Work a high quality, personal, high touch technology service provider for homes and small businesses.

2tor , a New York-based firm with strong links to the University of Southern California and a local Los Angeles office, has raised $20M in a Series B funding round. The funding was led by Highland Capital, and also included Redpoint Ventures, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, and City Light Capital. The firm also has significant operations in Los Angeles, just north of USC on Figueroa. 2tor develops online degree programs for companies, including the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education. Redpoint's Greg Martin, who is based in Los Angeles, represents

The firm is venture backed by Mission Ventures, Selby Ventures, and the Tech Coast Angels; the firm's technology is a result of CIA-funded research efforts at USC. Pasadena-based Big Stage Entertainment , which develops 3D avatar technology, said today that it has partnered with video game company GGL Global Gaming, to provide free game content on its web site. According to Big Stage, the deal will allow users on the site to insert the firm's 3D avatars into game photos and videos.

We talked with Noah about how the company grew out of a business plan competition at the University of Southern California, his recent funding from the Maverick Angels, as well as how the firm hopes to stand out among a crowded list of comparison shopping sites. Noah, Noah Auerhahn: We got started right out of USC. For this morning's interview, we talked with Noah Auerhahn , President of San Diego-based Extrabux (www.extrabux.com), an online site focused on providing consumers with comparison shopping combined with discount offers. Noah, thanks for the interview.