The University of Southern California has announced a $14 million gift from alumnus and USC trustee Daniel J. Epstein ('62) in support of industrial and systems engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering.

The endowment will enable the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) to expand research opportunities, enhance student experiences, provide increased support for doctoral student fellowships, boost diversity, and significantly expand recruitment of expert faculty members, with a focus on interdisciplinary areas such as computational systems, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. To that end, the department will recruit new faculty members with expertise in addressing the challenges facing society in health care, supply chains, security, and other critical areas. The gift also will fund the modernization of the facilities that house the Epstein ISE, which will make its new home in the renovated Salvatori Center, following the completion of the new Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Human-Centered Computation Building. The new facility will be designed to promote collaboration, learning, and innovation through flexible spaces for conversations, networking, meetings, and project-based teamwork.

To date, Epstein, the founder of the ConAm Group, has committed $25 million in cumulative support for ISE research, teaching, and learning at USC. Previous gifts named the Epstein ISE and established the Epstein Family Alumni Center, the USC Epstein Family Center for Sports Medicine, and the Epstein Family Plaza at USC Viterbi.

"My education in industrial and systems engineering at USC has provided a strong foundation for my career success," said Epstein. "I am honored to continue to support this department so that it may strengthen and advance its capacity to recruit the most excellent faculty and create the best educational outcomes for the future leaders in the field."

"Dan Epstein has been an incredible friend and benefactor to USC — especially our department of industrial and systems engineering," said USC president Carol L. Folt. "His gifts have already transformed the department and given a huge boost to the groundbreaking work it advances every single day. But this most recent gift takes that support to a new level and will ensure that the department continues its legacy of addressing society’s greatest challenges. We’re so grateful for his decades of generosity."