Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society

Humanity-centered, data-driven, and adventurously collaborative.

Dear Friends,

Data-driven innovation holds the promise of transforming businesses and communities. At the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, we go far beyond 1s and 0s. We help forge connections between domains and the leading edge of data science and artificial intelligence to deliver translational, sustainable, ethical solutions for communities and industries. We are championing actionable innovation aligned with the University’s mission to be a powerful force for good in the world. We envision the Institute to be an intellectual and interdisciplinary beacon that produces impactful and equitable data-driven solutions for the good of society.

We are engaged in foundational and applied research, cross-disciplinary and cross-sector collaborations, and broad-based education and outreach programs. The domain-informed research of the Institute is focused on the future of work, life and physical sciences, health and well-being of communities, and socio-technical systems for sustainable societies. With its convergence seminar series, conferences and symposia, engagements with industry and community partners, and international collaboration on pressing challenges, the Institute acts as an incubation hub for translational data science for good. The Institute provides education for a data-driven future through various programs including Early Bridges to Data Science, iTREDS (Interdisciplinary Traineeship for Socially Responsible and Engaged Data Scientists), SEEDS (Summer Education and Engagement for Data Science program), and data analytics workshops. We are partnering with institutions and businesses in South Bend and throughout Indiana to support innovation and more equitable economic development.

Being keenly aware of the interdisciplinary nature of data-driven research, the Institute has developed creative ways to generate new collaborations and co-innovation opportunities. For example, the Institute’s Life in Pixels series creates a dialogue between people who think and do technology beyond disciplinary boundaries. Data Poetics is a series of interdisciplinary talks, readings and conversations that bring together poets and humanists with scientists and engineers for creative collaborations around issues of common concern. These conversations think broadly about the significance of data itself vis-à-vis language and affect, exploring the relationship between the critical imagination and computation. Our annual Fall Symposium will bring together academic, industry and community collaborators around the theme of becoming a force for good in the world.

The Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society generates ideas that connect data with innovations that help transform individual lives and society. I hope that you join us on our journey.