Dr. Karl V. Steiner

Senior Associate Provost for Research Development
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Professor, Biomedical Engineering Program
University of Delaware
204A Hullihen Hall
Newark, DE 19716

Phone: (302) 831-6703
FAX: (302) 831-0132
E-mail: ksteiner@udel.edu
Web Site: http://www.dbi.udel.edu/visual.html

Education
Dr.-Ing., Mechanical Engineering, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany: 1995
Master of Electrical Engineering, University of Delaware: 1989
Dipl.-Ing., Information Technologies, University of Applied Sciences, Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Germany 1983

Biography:
Dr. Karl V. Steiner is the Senior Associate Provost for Research Development at the University of Delaware, a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Professor in the Biomedical Engineering Program.

Dr. Steiner received his Engineering Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the Institute for Composite Materials (IVW) at the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany, his Master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Delaware and completed his Engineering Diploma in Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies at the FH Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel, Germany.

Steiner joined the University of Delaware in 1984 and has served in leadership roles in numerous major multidisciplinary programs funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the State of Delaware, foundations and the private sector. He has been instrumental in securing over $100 million in externally funded programs for University and statewide initiatives.

In his current position, Steiner is working closely with institutional and faculty leaders to develop and support high profile, interdisciplinary research initiatives, especially in the areas of health sciences, energy, and the environment, as identified in the University's "Path to Prominence" Strategic Plan. Throughout his career, he has led and coordinated numerous major multi-disciplinary programs, among them several Centers of Excellence for the Department of Defense.

Since 2008, he chairs the Science & Technology Task Force of the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance, a key strategic partnership among UD, Christiana Care Health System, Nemours/A.I. duPont Children's Hospital and Thomas Jefferson University, dedicated to providing health care education, research and improved health services across the Delaware Valley.

In 2009, he coordinated the University's successful response to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) opportunity, which has led to over 100 awards, valued at $65 Million to UD.

Prior to his current position in the Research Office, he served as the founding Associate Director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute (DBI) from 2000 to 2008. As a key member of the DBI Leadership Team he oversaw the growth of the institute from a concept into a thriving, $200 Million Institute with a state-of-the-art laboratory that houses close to 200 researchers. Steiner also led the initiative of building a statewide network of academic and clinical institutions to develop a thriving life sciences community in the State of Delaware.

Before joining DBI, Dr. Steiner served as the Executive Director of the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials, an interdisciplinary research center in the College of Engineering, and one of the foremost international academic research centers in its field. In 1997, he served as the initial Principal Investigators for a new program by the Office of Naval Research to establish an Advanced Materials Intelligent Processing Center (AMIPC). Almost fifteen years later, this ONR Center is still thriving and has led to numerous process innovations and patents.

From 1996 to 1998 he was the Founding Executive Director of the Fraunhofer USA - Resource Center Delaware, a subsidiary of the German Fraunhofer Society, one of the largest non-profit applied research organizations in the world. This initial Center has since evolved into the Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biotechnology, the most successful Fraunhofer institution outside of Germany, with close to 100 employees at its Delaware location. In 2011, Dr. Steiner finalized a six-year, $36 Million collaboration agreement between Fraunhofer, the University of Delaware and the State of Delaware.

Dr. Steiner serves as the Principal Investigator of the NIH-NIGMS funded IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) a statewide partnership among Delaware's academic and medical institutions, to develop a competitive and sustainable biomedical research capability. He is also a Co-Principal Investigator for the NSF-funded EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Program, with a focus on building a research and education infrastructure to enhance environmental science and its application in Delaware. Since 2006, Steiner represents Delaware on the Board of the EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation.

Dr. Steiner has over twenty-five years of research experience in image enhancement and visualization methodologies. Much of his earlier research in composites was focused on nondestructive evaluation and image analysis of engineered structures, such as structural aerospace components, body panels for the automotive applications, lightweight armor structures, bridge components and composite hip implants.

His current research program is focused on interactive immersive visualization methodologies for the life sciences, primarily in complex multi-variant data analysis and in biomedical imaging with a focus on virtual surgery simulations. In 2003, Dr. Steiner was recognized for his work on visualization in the life sciences as a Computerworld Honors Laureate during a reception at San Francisco's City Hall.

Dr. Steiner has advised and co-advised 23 Ph.D. and master's students, and more than 40 senior theses by undergraduate students. He has been instrumental in establishing successful exchange programs with the German Carl Duisberg Society and other academic institutions that have enabled over 30 exchange students from across Europe to conduct a part of their research training in Delaware.

Dr. Steiner has contributed over 85 technical publications to international journals and conference proceedings to computer visualization, image analysis methodologies, haptic simulations, nondestructive evaluation and manufacturing science. He has served as conference and session chair in numerous regional and national technical conferences and workshops, as reviewer for journals focused on composite materials and nondestructive testing, and has given numerous invited research seminars and presentations at international conferences, academic institutions and industrial sites across the world.