Mark W. Steiner is Director of the O.T. Swanson Multidisciplinary Design Laboratory and Clinical Associate Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He is responsible for overseeing the operation of the Multidisciplinary Design Laboratory (http://www.eng.rpi.edu/mdl/) and optimizing the experience for students working on "real-world" design problems.

Mark graduated from Rensselaer with a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1978 and a Ph.D. in 1987. He has been a member of the Rensselaer faculty since May 1999. He is a former senior project manager at Rensselaer's Center for Manufacturing Productivity and Technology Transfer.

Mark worked at GE Corporate from 1987 to 1991, consulting and introducing world-class productivity practices throughout GE operations. In 1991 he joined GE Appliances and led product line structuring efforts resulting in $18 million annual cost savings to the refrigeration business. Later as a design team leader he led product development efforts and the initial 1995 market introduction of the Built-In Style line of GE Profile refrigerators. His last assignment at GE Appliances was in the Office of Chief Engineer in support of GE's Design for Six Sigma initiative.

Dr. Steiner has taught advanced design methods to hundreds of new and experienced engineers. His research interests include; multidisciplinary design pedagogy, product architecture, mechanical reliability, design for manufacture, and quality.

Publications and Presentations

"Calculation of Product Architecture Metrics within a Solid Modeler," Line, J., Steiner, M., Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 2001.

"Toys and Assistive Devices for the Mentally and Physically Disabled," Presentation at NSF Informational Meeting on Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities, National Science Foundation, June 28-29, 2001.

"Panel on Recipes for Multidisciplinary Engineering," Steiner, M.W., Saunders, K., Nygren, K., ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, November 11, 2001.

"Multidisciplinary Project-based Learning at Rensselaer: Team Advisement, Assessment and Change," Steiner, M.W., Gabriele, G.A., Swersey, B., Messler, R.W., & Foley, W., Proceedings of NCIIA 5th National Conference, March 6-9, 2001.

"Automatic Calculation of Product Architecture Metrics within a Solid Modeler," Line, K., Steiner, M., ASME DETC2000/DFM-14000, 2000.

"Application of the Physics of Failure Approach to Reliability Prediction for Design Guidance of Commercial Appliance Components," Steiner, M., Zagray, K., Ganti, S., and Hasam, O., ASME DETC/RSAFP-8848, 1999.

"Evaluation of Mechanical Product Architecture Using Interaction Graphs to Model Part Connectivity and Joint Strength," Steiner, M., ASME DETC/DFM-8962, 1999.

"Estimating Robot Assembly Cycle Time During Product Design," Steiner, M. and Derby, S., ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 114, 61-67, March 1992.