Karl V. Steiner

Karl V. Steiner has been named associate director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute (DBI) effective Jan. 1. Steiner will be working closely with David S. Weir, DBI director, to position the institute as a center of excellence in biotechnology and the life sciences. Under the leadership of Weir, the institute has grown to become a $75 million statewide initiative.

Steiner has been the executive director of UD’s of Delaware’s Center for Composite Materials (CCM) since 1996. His duties at CCM will be assumed by John W. Gillespie Jr., technical director at CCM. Steiner brings to the institute significant expertise in research management and preparation of multidisciplinary contracts and grants.

"Karl’s proven expertise in dealing with funding agencies and his detailed knowledge about the operation of the University and the state will be of vital importance in establishing the institute as an outstanding research facility," Weir said. "He has been an integral part of the Institute’s strategic planning group since spring 1999."

Steiner joined UD in 1984 as a visiting researcher under a fellowship from the German Carl Duisberg Society. Before to his current position, he held several managerial positions at CCM, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in October. CCM is UD’s largest interdisciplinary engineering research center, with more than $5 million in contracts and grants a year.

From 1996-98, Steiner also served as the founding executive director of the Fraunhofer Center—Delaware, one of Delaware’s three initial Advanced Technology Centers under the state’s 21st Century initiative.

"I’m very excited about joining Dr. Weir’s team and the Institute at this important stage of its development," Steiner said. "The institute will provide a focus for interdisciplinary research, helping to position Delaware as a leader in the important and rapidly growing field of biotechnology."