The aim of this review paper is to encourage the drying community to discover and use modern tools derived from the fields of applied mathematics and physics. Among the computational methods, multiscale and multiphysics approaches are proposed as operational tools to address the practical problems of optimization, design, and innovation encountered by the industry. On a more fundamental level, some methods from the large family of meshless techniques offer vast potential for investigations at the pore level. On the experimental side, many amazing tools have emerged recently from the field of physics. Several time-resolved imaging possibilities are presented here. Among such techniques, X-ray micro-tomography is perfect for an accurate 3-D description of pore morphology, whereas NMR imaging is well adapted to obtaining time-resolved 3-D images of the moisture content field or other variable fields.
