If bubbles are to be used in a medical setting, for example as contrast agents in the imaging of tissue, or in the delivery of a drug to a blood clot or tumor, it is necessary to characterize the translational motion of a bubble subjected to acoustic excitation in the form of ultrasound. Further, because bubbles remain undissolved in a fluid for only a short period of time, it may be necessary to transport a bubble to its target location as quickly as possible. The acoustic radiation force, known as the primary Bjerknes force, and the recently derived expression [J. Magnaudet and D. Legendre, Phys. Fluids 10, 550–554 (1998)] for drag force acting on a bubble with time-dependent radius, are taken into account in developing an equation governing the translation dynamics of a bubble. This is used together with the Rayleigh–Plesset equation for volume oscillations and optimal control theory to design the ideal acoustic excitation for transporting a bubble to a particular location, or for maintaining the position of a bubble at the target location despite the adverse flow of the surrounding fluid, as in the case of a bloodstream. [Work supported by NSF.]