Maarten Steinbuch (1960) received his M.Sc. degree (cum laude) in Mechanical Engineering from the Dutch Delft University of Technology in 1984. Five years later he received his Ph.D. degree from the same university.

Steinbuch worked as a member of the scientific staff at Philips Research Labs and later on as manager of the Dynamics & Control group at Philips’ Center for Manufacturing Technology. Since 1999 he is fulltime professor of the Control Systems Technology group at the Mechanical Engineering Department of Eindhoven University of Technology. His research interests are modelling and control of motion systems, robotics, automotive powertrains and fusion plasmas. He likes to call Eindhoven the smartest region of the world.

Steinbuch is an ardent evangelist for technical studies in general. In 2003, 2005 and 2008 he obtained the award for ‘best teacher’ of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, TU/e. ‘I absolutely love teaching. At HTI I have the opportunity to work with professionals with lots of experience. That makes teaching at HTI quite engaging. During every single course my main goal is to let participants completely grasp the technology at hand, not just teaching them how to apply it. My greatest kick is when I can see it click in the participants’ eyes. I’m partial to the ‘Motion Control’ training at HTI, because in this course we combine theory with simulations and practical experiments, a very exciting mix.’

Steinbuch is well known for his easy-going, accessible appeal. ‘I’m open-minded and value treating others with respect. This attitude provides the most enjoyable teaching experience, for student and master alike.’