Origin of the name "FEniCS"

On Fri, Aug 03, 2012 at 02:31:02PM -0000, tclamb wrote:
> Question #204935 on FEniCS Project changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/fenics/+question/204935
>
> Description changed to:
> I am curious about the origin of the name "FEniCS". It looks like an
> acronym, but I cannot find the phrase it abbreviates anywhere within
> FEniCS documentation. "Finite Element ... Computational Software"?

FE is Finite Element(s)

CS is Computational Science, Computer Science or Computational Software

ni sits nicely in the middle

--
Anders

Just to add a few more details here (although I was not around back then so correct me if I am wrong). The original "federation" of software packages that became the FEniCS software package were combined at the University of Chicago along with participation of Chalmers and TTI-C. The mascot of the UofC is a phoenix which I believe was part of the inspiration of the name .

It is also my understanding that FEniCS didn't have any overlap with the other packages named variants of phoenix (such as the popular commercial CFD product http://www.cham.co.uk/phoenics/d_polis/d_chron/earlyver.htm)

On Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 04:01:10PM -0000, Andy R Terrel wrote:
> Question #204935 on FEniCS Project changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/fenics/+question/204935
>
> Andy R Terrel posted a new comment:
> Just to add a few more details here (although I was not around back then
> so correct me if I am wrong).

Didn't we walk down to visit you in the catacombs of UofC where all
the MSc students were archived? This was in 2003 but maybe I remember
wrong, could have been a year or so later.

> The original "federation" of software
> packages that became the FEniCS software package were combined at the
> University of Chicago along with participation of Chalmers and TTI-C.
> The mascot of the UofC is a phoenix which I believe was part of the
> inspiration of the name .

Yes.

--
Anders