Interfacial Processes and Thermodynamics | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Interfacial Processes and Thermodynamics program (CBET; Funding Opportunity Number PD 10-1414) funds fundamental engineering research focused on three tightly connected topic areas: interfacial phenomena, mass transport phenomena, and solution-phase equilibrium thermodynamics. At its core, the program is interested in understanding and predicting how molecules behave in and near interfaces, how they move through complex environments, and how mixtures organize and separate under different conditions. While the scope is broad, the stated emphasis is on molecular engineering approaches at interfaces, particularly where those interfaces matter for processing soft materials. This includes work where molecules at an interface are designed or selected because they deliver a specific function, such as controlling wetting, adhesion, permeability, selectivity, stability, or biological activity at micro- and nanoscales.

A central theme is the formation and behavior of interfacial materials that arise through self-directed, templated, or otherwise guided molecular assembly. The program highlights that these structures are typically governed by thermodynamic intermolecular forces, with the option that weak chemical reactions may also play a supporting role in some systems. Many of the targeted systems involve polymers and surfactants, along with specialized biomolecules, reflecting the program's interest in soft matter, biological fluids, membranes, two-phase mixtures, and nanoscale or confined environments. In practical terms, the research can range from developing mechanistic theories of adsorption, aggregation, and phase behavior, to identifying how confinement and interfaces change transport, thermodynamics, and structure compared with bulk behavior.

The program explicitly encourages the use of advanced mathematical modeling and simulation for molecular design at interfaces, ideally paired with experimental validation. It supports new theories as well as complex simulation approaches aimed at determining transport and thermodynamic properties of fluids and fluid mixtures, including biologically relevant and other complex molecular systems. This includes situations where interfacial effects dominate (such as membranes or nanoporous media), where multiple phases interact (such as emulsions or two-phase flows with interfacial structure), and where nanoscale environments change equilibrium and transport in ways that standard continuum assumptions may not capture.

In terms of broader impacts and application relevance, the program historically connects to long-term needs in chemical processing, but it also signals newer and expanding relevance to advanced materials, biomedical and biotechnology industries, energy and water processing, environmentally benign processing, and microelectronics. The underlying idea is that deeper fundamental knowledge in interfacial science, transport, and thermodynamics can enable more efficient and cleaner processing routes, improvements in water quality, and the creation of novel functional materials (including sensor-related materials) for industrial and biomedical use.

The solicitation provides representative examples of appropriate research directions, including directed molecular assembly of surfactant-based films and composites; polymer microstructures at interfaces; thin films, coatings, and vesicles as model interfacial systems; antifouling and biocompatible surfaces; transport in nanoporous media and membrane systems; adsorption in complex porous structures; biomolecular interfaces and other advanced interfacial processing methods; self-assembly and crystallization under nanoscale confinement; protein immobilization strategies for array-based sensors; phase behavior of block and graft copolymers in near-critical and supercritical solvents; the role of macro-ions near confining surfaces and their influence on colloidal forces; templated molecular recognition materials supported by theory, simulation, and experiments; and nanostructure control through surfactant mixing and polymerization. Collectively, these examples show the program is interested not just in observing interfacial effects, but in controlling them through molecular design and in linking structure to measurable transport and thermodynamic outcomes.

On the administrative side, the opportunity is a discretionary NSF grant program under CFDA 47.041 (Engineering Grants), with no cost sharing requirement and broadly unrestricted eligibility (subject to any clarifications in the full text). Unsolicited research awards are typically 1 to 3 years in duration, with an average annual award size of about $80,000. The program also considers small equipment proposals up to $70,000, but emphasizes that these must be submitted during the designated submission windows; proposals received outside the announced windows are returned without review. The listed annual submission window runs from August 15 through September 15 (with the original closing date noted as September 15, 2009, and annual cycles thereafter at the time of the posting). CAREER proposals follow NSF Engineering CAREER timing, with a five-year duration and a July deadline each year.

The program also supports conference, workshop, and travel-related activities, and notes that conference/workshop/supplement proposals may be submitted at any time, but should be discussed with the program director before submission. Similarly, RAPID and EAGER mechanisms (which replaced the older SGER mechanism) are available, but require prior discussion with the program director before submitting. Proposal preparation is expected to follow the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) referenced in the announcement. The specific posting cited is archived (with an archive date of December 10, 2010) and directs readers to a successor listing (PD 11-1414) for the then-current version of the program description.

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