May 21, 2026
Natalie Lund
The Lorraine and Yuji Suzuki Center is the new home of the Data Science Institute
The University of Chicago’s first building devoted entirely to data science and artificial intelligence now bears the names of two alumni who met as students, married on campus and went on to support the University for decades.
The Lorraine and Yuji Suzuki Center, home of the Data Science Institute (DSI), was dedicated May 19. It honors the late Lorraine Suzuki, PhD’73, a scholar and educator who helped steer what is now the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, and her husband, Yuji Suzuki, SM’70, who led a global packaging network while serving nearly 20 years on the UChicago Physical Sciences Division Council.
“Through this dedication, we honor Yuji and Lorraine Suzuki, who united statistical thinking with positive community impact,” said President Paul Alivisatos in his remarks at the naming ceremony. “We place their mark indelibly on this campus, and on every scholar who will work within these walls.”
Across borders and boundaries
After marrying at UChicago’s Bond Chapel, the couple’s professional lives crossed continents, with home bases in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Tokyo, Japan.
Yuji, who earned his master’s in statistics, took a position with Tri-Wall, a company that manufactured transport packaging. There, he led the company’s expansion through a partnership with one of the largest paper companies in Japan. The company continued to expand over the next 30 years across China, South Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
Yuji now serves as founder and chairman emeritus of the Tri-Wall Group, a network of companies in over 35 countries that provides innovative and cost-effective packaging solutions.
After completing her Ph.D. at what was then known as the School of Social Work Administration, Lorraine became an associate professor in the University of Michigan School of Social Work. While working there, she earned a master’s degree in management from Stanford University. She later joined Yuji in Tokyo, taking a position with the Asian Division of the University of Maryland University College (now called the University of Maryland Global Campus), where she taught a new graduate program designed to serve U.S. military servicemembers, civilians and their families overseas.
She was later named associate dean of the Asian Division of Programs and, eventually, the vice president and interim director of the Asian Division, where she significantly expanded the institution’s regional research program.
In addition to serving on visiting and steering committees for UChicago, the couple also established the Lorraine R. and Yuji Suzuki Endowed Scholarship at Crown and the Yuji and Lorraine Suzuki Postdoctoral Research Fund Research Fund in the Physical Sciences Division.
“My wife said, ‘once you get to where you want to be, what do you do? You can do something more than retiring,’” said Yuji in his remarks at the dedication ceremony.
How humans and machines think together
Through his service on the Physical Sciences Division Council, Yuji remained connected to and curious about the University’s pioneering research in data science and AI. He supported the development of DSI, which was formed to seed research at the interdisciplinary frontiers of the field, develop partnerships with industry, government, and social impact organizations, and support data science and AI education.
The new center bearing the couple’s names marks the University’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of these fields and shaping how humans and machines think together.
“When Yuji made the gift, it wasn’t just about the building but about what matters: the foundations of inquiry, the social impacts of knowledge and the preparation of students to enter a complicated and ever-changing world,” said DSI faculty codirector Dan Nicolae in his remarks.
Formerly the home of the McCormick Theological Seminary, the building was constructed in 2003 and renovated in 2025. The Lorraine and Yuji Suzuki Center now houses two classrooms, nine collaborative spaces and huddle rooms, graduate student workspaces, faculty and staff offices, and a wellness room.
“Lorraine and Yuji’s legacy will endure, advancing research and education both within this building and through collaborations across the globe,” said Ka Yee C. Lee, dean of the Physical Sciences Division, in her remarks. “Their support will help drive AI-enabled scientific discovery, foster innovations to strengthen democracy, accelerate and transform climate research, and address other urgent challenges that we face now and in the decades ahead.”