Katherine Steele PhD

Dr. Steele is the Albert S. Kobayashi Endowed Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. She leads the Ability & Innovation 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 her MS and Ph.D. 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. For her research and innovations, she has been awarded an Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Engineering Career Development Award from NIH, the NSF CAREER (Early Faculty Development) Award, and the American Society of Biomechanics Young Scientist Award. In 2020, she co-founded CREATE, the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences, with partners from industry and academia in engineering, rehabilitation medicine, disability studies, and information sciences, supported by an inaugural $2.5 million investment from Microsoft. She serves as the associate director of the center. Dr. Steele is also the co-founder of Access Engineering, an NSF-supported program that supports individuals with disabilities pursuing careers in engineering and trains all engineers in principles of both universal and ability-based design to create more inclusive products, environments, and experiences.