Management summary of transportation and vehicle engineering discipline in NSFC: review and prospects in 2021

Transportation and vehicle engineering is a new discipline in the Natural Science Foundation of China's (NSFC) technology section. In 2021, related management team focused on the discipline development, collected and compiled One Hundred Scientific Questions on Transportation and Vehicle Engineering, and classified the discipline codes and key words. These activities helped to clarify the discipline boundaries, enhance popularity, and increase the number of applications. Using the discipline tree, field-specific seminars and demonstration meetings refined the disciplinary structure and balanced the development of various transportation systems. Efforts were made to strengthen the demand traction and problem orientation. An overall layout of major discipline projects was developed that emphasized addressing practical needs and scientific problems. Efforts were made to promote orderly sound talent team development, and get rid of the "four only" tendency. The team also endeavored to bring scientific and technological achievements from "bookshelves" to "market shelves", and accelerate the development of new disciplines. Specifically, this study includes: application, acceptance, evaluation, and funding of projects in the transportation and vehicle engineering discipline in 2021, funding areas and considerations behind the secondary code system adjustment and the definition of discipline boundaries, focus areas for future disciplinary work, the layout of key and talent projects, and discipline management work plans, such as promoting translating research advances into real productivities. In the future, the team will further deepen disciplinary surveys and research, coordinate programming key and major projects according to the research results, foster talent teams, smooth transformation mechanisms, and actively promote the implementation of innovation achievements. 6 tabs, 3 refs.