An example rendering of the exterior of the new home of the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at USC.
The Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at USC will soon have a dedicated home at USC’s University Park Campus. Set to open in December 2026, the new facility will unite the department’s faculty, students, staff and research programs under one roof for the first time, a milestone made possible by USC Trustee and alumnus Daniel J. Epstein’s $25 million in cumulative gifts. Construction is now underway on the new department spaces, in a full renovation of the current Salvatori Computer Science Center.
“For as long as I can remember, the department has not had its own quarters, and it has been housed in various buildings on campus. This will bring everyone together under one roof,” said Epstein, who earned his bachelor’s degree with honors from USC Viterbi in 1962. “In my eyes, it is a game-changer in terms of where we have been and where we’re going.”
The transformation of the Salvatori Center represents a significant investment in collaboration and innovation. The renovation plans feature a spacious, modern first-floor student lounge and co-working spaces designed to foster both individual study and group collaboration. Students will benefit from a dedicated pantry and kitchen area, as well as a renovated lecture hall and expanded modern lab spaces throughout the building.
“Dan Epstein’s extraordinary vision and generosity have truly transformed our department,” said Maged Dessouky, Tryon Chair in Industrial and Systems Engineering and department chair. “These new facilities will be invaluable for both our students and faculty. For the first time, we’ll have spaces specifically designed to foster the kind of collaboration and innovation that defines modern industrial and systems engineering. This is a remarkable gift that will shape the future of our department for decades to come.”
A rendering of the first-floor student spaces in the new Epstein Department facilities.
Dessouky added that the importance of bringing the department together could not be overstated. With ISE faculty and students currently dispersed across multiple campus buildings, the new facility will overcome challenges in collaboration and community building, addressing these issues head-on with thoughtfully designed spaces throughout all three levels.
“Our keyword is ‘collaboration,’” Epstein said. “The building has been designed to foster interaction between the students in spaces that are set aside especially for them. There’ll be new collaborative areas for the professors and the teachers, and then the ultimate collaboration will be how the students will now be able to interact with our teaching staff.”
The renovation includes conference rooms and meeting spaces strategically placed throughout the building, enabling the kind of spontaneous interactions and scheduled collaborations that drive innovation. Faculty offices on levels two and three have been redesigned to promote accessibility and engagement with students, while maintaining the professional workspace academics require.
The timing of the Epstein Department’s renovated facilities coincides with the USC Industrial and Systems program’s rise in the 2025 U.S. News and World Report rankings. Now among the top 10 industrial and systems engineering departments in the country, the Epstein Department is well-positioned to tackle critical challenges around artificial intelligence’s transformation of industries and data-driven decision-making. The cumulative gifts from Epstein have also enabled the ramping up of recent faculty hires, including expanded expertise spanning healthcare optimization, analytics, operations research and applied probability.
The Epstein Department’s student areas will combine spaces for quiet individual study and group collaboration.
“The department has been moving up in stature every year for the last several years,” Epstein said. “I think, with the addition of this new space and the collaboration that will come with it, that will help us to continue to attract the best students in the country and continue to attract leading teaching and research staff,” Epstein said.
As the department prepares for this new chapter, the vision for the new facility is clear: a dedicated home that reflects the department’s growing impact and commitment to addressing society’s greatest challenges through innovation in industrial and systems engineering.
Published on December 2nd, 2025
Last updated on December 3rd, 2025
