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Kat Steele
Born
Colorado, United States
Academic background
EducationB.S., Engineering, 2007, Colorado School of Mines
MS., Mechanical Engineering, 2009, PhD, Mechanical Engineering, 2012, Stanford University
ThesisThe dynamics of crouch gait in cerebral palsy (2012)
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Washington
Websitesteelelab.me.uw.edu

Katherine Muterspaugh Steele[1] is the Albert S. Kobayashi Endowed Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, United States.

Early life and education

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Steele was born to two engineers in Colorado.[2][3] She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the Colorado School of Mines and her Master's degree and Phd from Stanford University.[4] In 2012, following the publication of her thesis, she received the NIH Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Engineering Career Development Award.[5]

Career

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Upon earning her PhD, Steele joined the department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington (UW) in September 2013.[6] She stated that the number of women in the faculty influenced her decision to join.[7]

As an assistant professor in the department, Steele and Computer Science and Engineering professor Maya Cakmak received an NSF International grant to fund AccessEngineering.[8] She also received the UW's Coulter Translational Research Partnership Program funding for the 2014–15 academic year.[9] AccessEngineering was an initiative to promote the viability of engineering careers towards students with disabilities. The project aimed to make workspaces more accessible to students with disabilities, such as large signage and clear pathways.[10] She also co-published new guidelines to make spaces more available to students with disabilities at UW.[11] In February 2015, Steele sponsored the first Seattle "Handathon," a competition between students at UW, University of Washington Bothell, and Seattle Pacific University to design prosthetic hands.[12]

The following year, Steele continued working with AccessEngineering and other initiatives to create equal opportunities for students with disabilities. Collaborating with researchers from the UW Department of Mechanical Engineering and Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, she developed a Walk-DMC (Dynamic Motor Control Index During Walking), a quantitative method to assess the motor control of children with cerebral palsy.[13] Walk-DMC used electromyography data collected from electrodes placed on the skin to evaluate their patient's muscle activity. In a study published in the journal Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, it was found that Walk-DMC improved a patient's gait, walking speed and function after surgery.[14] She later received the American Society of Biomechanics Young Scientist Award[15] and was promoted to the Albert S. Kobayashi Endowed Professor of Mechanical Engineering.[16]

In 2017, Steele, Kristie Bjornson, and Jessica Zistatsis were awarded the Global Center for Integrated Health of Women, Adolescents, and Children pilot grant worth $30,000 to test PlayGait on children with cerebral palsy. PlayGait is a therapeutic device that is designed to allow children with cerebral palsy to strengthen their legs and increase their mobility.[17] The following year, she received the 2018 UW College of Engineering Team Award as part of the Engineering Innovation in Health teaching team[18] and was promoted to associate professor.[19] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft announced that they would partner with six UW departments and three different colleges, including Steele, to establish the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "BIOE282 Contact Info". web.stanford.edu. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Garnick, Coral (September 1, 2016). "People in Research: How Kat Steele applied her engineering roots to health care". American City Business Journals. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  3. ^ "Discovering You – Engineering Your World – Kat Steele". nbclearn.com. November 12, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "Kat Steele". me.washington.edu. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  5. ^ "Awards, Honors and Events" (PDF). me.washington.edu. Autumn 2012. p. 7. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  6. ^ "New Engineering Faculty 2013". engr.washington.edu. 17 September 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  7. ^ Long, Katherine (October 14, 2013). "UW female professors building a culture for engineering". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  8. ^ Burgstahler, Sheryl (January 2015). "New Funding: AccessEngineering (AccessComputing News)". washington.edu. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Wright, Laura Elizabeth (October 6, 2014). "2014-2015 UW COULTER TRP PROGRAM NEW AWARDEES". bioe.uw.edu. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Langston, Jennifer (August 5, 2015). "How makerspaces can be accessible to people with disabilities". washington.edu. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "Making a Makerspace? Guidelines for Accessibility and Universal Design". washington.edu. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  12. ^ Ma, Michelle (February 27, 2015). "'Handathon' challenges students to build better 3-D printed prosthetic hands". washington.edu. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  13. ^ Gruver, Tim (May 26, 2016). "UW researchers aim to improve the odds for children with cerebral palsy". dailyuw.com. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "'Walk-DMC' aims to improve surgery outcomes for children with cerebral palsy". sciencedaily.com. April 27, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  15. ^ "Kat Steele wins the Young Scientist Award at ASB 40". steelelab.me.uw.edu. August 5, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  16. ^ "Members of the Board of Regents" (PDF). washington.edu. May 5, 2017. p. 62. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  17. ^ "TEACHING CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY TO WALK: UW EXOSKELETON PROJECT WINS $30,000 TO DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGY". globalhealth.washington.edu. April 20, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  18. ^ "UWIN faculty members Steve Brunton and Kat Steele win 2018 UW College of Engineering Awards". uwin.washington.edu. May 8, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  19. ^ "Join us in welcoming Lucas Meza, Jeffrey Lipton and Soyoung Kang to ME and congratulating current faculty members on their recent promotions". me.washington.edu. October 8, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  20. ^ "Microsoft has paired with UW to CREATE!". steelelab.me.uw.edu. May 28, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
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Kat Steele publications indexed by Google Scholar

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