Engineering (ENG): Chemical, Bioengineering, Energy, and Transport Systems (CBET)
NSF’s CBET program funds foundational research in chemical, bioengineering, energy, and transport systems, supporting innovative projects without requiring immediate commercial applications.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: August 19, 2076 (Proposals accepted anytime until this closing date)
Funding Amounts: Estimated total program funding: $100,000,000 | Award floor: $500,000 | Typical award duration and size vary by project scope
Summary: Supports foundational engineering research in chemical, bioengineering, energy, and transport systems through several core programs, with a focus on transformative and ambitious projects.
Key Information: Proposals may be submitted at any time; no cost sharing required; open to a wide range of applicant types.
Description
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering, through its Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET), invites proposals for foundational engineering research in chemical, bioengineering, energy, and transport systems. The program supports research through four core areas:
- Chemical Process Systems (CPS): Foundational research in chemical and biochemical processes for chemicals, fuels, energy, and materials.
- Engineering Biological and Biomedical Systems (EBBS): Research on platforms, devices, organisms, tissues, and processes advancing knowledge and control of biological functions.
- Energy, Water, and Resource Engineering (EWRE): Research to manage energy, water, minerals, and material resources.
- Transport Phenomena (TP): Research to understand, model, and control the transport of mass, momentum, energy, and species across multiple scales.
NSF particularly encourages intellectually ambitious and potentially transformative research, including projects that challenge prevailing paradigms, develop new theories or methods, and leverage emerging technologies such as AI and advanced computation. Both single-discipline and multidisciplinary proposals are welcome.
Proposals do not need to promise a near-term product or commercial outcome to be competitive. Early-career investigators and those working across disciplinary boundaries are especially encouraged to apply.
