Glossary of User Facilities Acronyms and Abbreviations
| Acronym/Abbreviation | What it Stands For | Description |
|---|---|---|
ARL |
Applied Research Laboratory | The University center of excellence in naval science and technologies, with preeminence in undersea missions and related areas |
FPS Account |
Friends of Penn State Account | A digitial identity that can be assigned to those who do not have a regular Penn State Access Account; provides access to a limited variety of Penn State Web-based resources and services including RIMS |
IBIS |
Integrated Business Information System | The University's accounting mainframe system |
Huck Institutes |
Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences | The interdisciplinary institute at Penn State that brings together researchers working in the life sciences/biological fields |
L&W Bldg. |
Land & Water Building | The building behind the MRL Building on Hastings Road in which the SIRO staff members are located |
MCL |
Materials Characterization Laboratory | The analytical/characterization user facility in the Materials Research Institute |
MRL Bldg. |
Materials Research Laboratory Building | The building on Hastings Road near University Drive that houses some user facilities and materials faculty and students |
MRI |
Materials Research Institute | The interdisciplinary institute at Penn State that brings together researchers working with materials |
MRI Bldg. |
Materials Research Institute Building | The building in Innovation Park near The Penn Stater Hotel that houses some user facilities and materials faculty and students |
MSC |
Millennium Science Complex | The new 275,00 square foot building on Pollock Road which will provide central user facilities and house materials and life sciences faculty and students to foster collaborations |
Nanofab |
Nanofabrication Laboratory | The fabrication user facility in the Materials Research Institute |
NNIN |
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network | The geographically dispersed network of user facilities created by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant with the purpose of enabling rapid advancements in science, engineering, and technology at the nanoscale (the Penn State Nanofab Lab is a member) |
Portal |
User Facilities Portal | The former name of RIMS, the web-based system for reserving, tracking, and billing for facilities usage (renamed RIMS 7/2010) |
PSIEE |
Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment | The interdisciplinary institute at Penn State that brings together researchers working in energy and environment research |
RIMS |
Research Instrumentation Management System | The web-based system for reserving, tracking, and billing for facilities usage (formally known as Portal; renamed RIMS 7/2010) |
SIRO |
Strategic Interdisciplinary Research Office | An organization within the VPR Division that provides and improves administrative service to the VPR Institutes in the areas of business operations, facilities billing, and pre-award and post-award grant management |
SLEIC |
Social, Life, and Engineering Sciences Imaging Center | The SSRI center that supports interdisciplinary research in the social, behavioral, biological, engineering, and materials sciences where imaging methodologies play a central role |
SSRI |
Social Science Research Institute | The interdisciplinary institute at Penn State that brings together researchers working in the social sciences |
UFIS |
User Facilities Information System | The web-based data collection system used to collect user and billing project information for entry into RIMS |
VPR |
Vice President for Research | The Vice President for Research Division at Penn State |
Stumped by an acronym or abbreviation that isn't on this list? E-mail us at mcl@psu.edu to decipher it and then add it to the list.