Learn to Speak "Penngineering"

If someone tells you to take your DMD CPG to RAS for advising, you might think you are in a place where acronyms and abbreviations abound. And you might be right – Penn Engineering certainly has quite a few. Read on for helpful translations of the acronyms you are bound to see and hear.

Decoding Penn Engineering

Departments and Programs:

• BE = Bioengineering
• CBE = Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• CIS = Computer and Information Science
• DMD = Digital Media Design
• ESE = Electrical and Systems Engineering
• MSE = Materials Science Engineering
• MEAM = Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
• NETS = Networked & Social Systems Engineering

Centers + Institutes:

• LRSM = Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter
• GRASP Lab = General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Lab
• SIG Center = SIG Center for Computer Graphics
• PRECISE = Penn Research in Embedded Computing and Integrated Systems Engineering
• IME = Institute for Medicine and Engineering
• PCMD = Penn Center for Molecular Discovery

Resources, Offices and Groups:

• RAS = Research and Academic Services
• CETS = Computing and Educational Technology Services, pronounced “sets”
• EOS = Engineering Operations Services
• IKON = The Copy Center in Levine Hall (inside next to the Walnut Street entrance)
• EDAB = Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board
• ESAC = Engineering Student Activities Council
• AWE = Advancing Women in Engineering
• SWE = Society of Women Engineers
• ENIAC = Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, the first all-purpose computer that was invented here

Campus and Philadelphia Abbreviations:

• CPG = Course Planning Guides on Penn InTouch, AKA “Worksheet”
• VPUL = Vice Provost of University Life
• CTL = Center for Teaching and Learning
• DP = Daily Pennsylvanian, as in the Penn student newspaper
• SEPTA = Southeastern Pennsylvanian Transportation Authority
• LUCY = Loop through University City

Other Helpful Abbreviations

• HHMI = Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• NSF = National Science Foundation
• NIH = National Institutes of Health
• DOD = Department of Defense
• DOE = Department of Energy

Quick Pronunciation Tips

• When saying the names of the Levine and Towne Buildings, the “e” on the end doesn’t affect pronunciation.
  • Towne: pronounced “town,” as in your hometown.
  • Levine: pronounced “leVIN,” as in a vehicle’s VIN number.