The Transport Phenomena (TP) program funds fundamental engineering research on the transport of mass, momentum, energy, and species across multiple scales, aiming to advance national priorities such as AI, manufacturing, biotechnology, and energy. It exists to support experimental, theoretical, and computational work that improves understanding and creates novel analytical techniques with clear engineering applications.

- Intellectual Merit: Potential to advance knowledge in transport phenomena (e.g., multiphase flows, interfacial phenomena, thermal transport, combustion). - Broader Impacts: Benefits to society, education, and national priorities (e.g., biotechnology, microelectronics, energy). - Fundamental Focus: Research must be fundamental, not applied, but with a clear vision of engineering applications. - Methodological Rigor: Use of experiments, theory, and/or computational modeling; novelty of analytical techniques. - Feasibility: Realistic budget, timeline, and resources; PI qualifications and institutional support.

Typical awardees are faculty or postdocs at US universities or research institutions with strong engineering departments. Past projects include microfluidic device design, multiphase flow modeling, thermal management in electronics, and combustion kinetics. Named examples are not provided on the page, but archetypes are mechanical, chemical, or biomedical engineers with a track record in fluid dynamics or heat transfer.

The ideal applicant is a US-based engineering faculty member or postdoc with a PhD in mechanical, chemical, or biomedical engineering, proposing fundamental research on transport phenomena (e.g., multiphase flows, interfacial rheology, thermal transport) with clear experimental or computational methods and a vision for engineering applications. They have prior NSF funding or a strong publication record in relevant journals.