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Katherine M. Steele

Faculty Photo

Associate Chair of Research, Mechanical Engineering

Director Neuromechanics & Mobility Lab

Co-Director of AMP Lab

Associate Director of CREATE,

HuskyADAPT Faculty Advisor

Arvid & Marianne Peterson Professor in Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Adjunct Professor
Human Centered Design & Engineering

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Biography

Katherine M. Steele, is the Peterson Endowed Professor and Associate Chair of Research in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. She leads the Neuromechanics & Mobility Lab , which integrates dynamic musculoskeletal simulation, motion analysis, medical imaging, and device design to understand and support human mobility . She earned her BS in Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. To integrate engineering and medicine, she has worked in multiple hospitals including the Denver Children’s Hospital, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. In research, she has led as PI multiple NIH R01/R21 grants from the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders & Stroke, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering. She currently leads the renewal of R01NS091056 "Quantifying patient-specific changes in neuromuscular control in cerebral palsy" from the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders & Stroke and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She has also been awarded a Career Development Award in Rehabilitation Engineering from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation CAREER Early Faculty Development Award, and the American Society of Biomechanics Young Scientist Award. She also co-founded and serves as Associate Director of CREATE, the Center for Research & Education on Accessible Technology & Experiences with partners from industry and academia in engineering, rehabilitation medicine, disability studies and information sciences. She is co-founded of AccessEngineering , a program founded with NSF-support that seeks to enable individuals with disabilities to pursue careers in engineering and trains all engineers in principles of inclusive design to create more accessible products, environments, and experiences. Her current work focuses on advancing access to and effects of assistive technology for children with developmental disabilities, including cerebral palsy and down syndrome, with funding from NIH, NIDILRR, Seattle Children's Hospital, and private donors.  In 2026 she was named a fellow of the American Society of Biomechanics.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2012
  • M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2009
  • B.S. in Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 2007

Previous appointments

  • Post-doctoral Fellow, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
  • Engineer, Lucille Packard Children's Hospital
  • Engineer, Denver Children's Hospital

Honors & awards

  • Fellow, American Society of Biomechanics, 2026
  • DO-IT Trailblazer Award, 2020
  • American Society of Biomechanics Young Scientist Award, 2016
  • UW College of Engineering Junior Faculty Award, 2016
  • NSF CAREER Early Faculty Development Award, 2015
  • OpenSim Fellow, 2014
  • NIH K12 Career Development Award, 2013
  • Kevin Granata Young Investigator Award, 2012