The field of nonequilibrium thermodynamics has been a popular one outside the United States, especially in
Europe, and scientists there from various disciplines have published extensively on the use of nonequilibrium
thermodynamics in a large variety of biological, chemical, and mechanical engineering applications. In contrast,
the number of publications from North America has been relatively modest. Here, we review the field of
nonequilibrium thermodynamics to assess its utility and impact in engineering and science. We find that
developments in the fields thermodynamic optimality of processes, dissipative structures, coupled transport
and rate processes, and biological systems suggest that in some circumstances nonequilibrium thermodynamics
can be quite useful.