Who reads the NSF postdoc fellowship applications? (mathematics) I am applying for the NSF Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships, and I noticed the guidelines say the following:


  The Project Description should be written with both specialists and non-specialists in mind.


I am not sure what exactly "specialist" and "non-specialist" refer to. Suppose that in my application, my proposed research objective is to solve the Navier-Stokes equation. (This is just an example!) Will all the reviewers be experts in PDEs? Or at least in analysis? Or is the most I can assume that they are mathematicians (possibly working in areas like algebra or topology)?
Some NSF programs are reviewed across sub-disciplines with reviewers that present a cross-section of mathematics. If memory serves me right, then that's true for CAREER proposals, for example, and I think also for the postdoc fellowships. In those cases, you'll have to expect that your audience consists of people in applied and pure mathematics, and you will have to find a level that keeps both of these groups interested in your proposal.