Dr. Matthias Steiner is Deputy Director for the Aviation Applications Program of the NCAR Research Applications Laboratory (http://staff.ucar.edu/users/msteiner).
He is broadly interested in the mitigation of avoidable weather impacts on various sectors based on creatively drawing upon his expertise in hydrometeorology and hydrology (including flash flooding), cloud and precipitation physics, mountain meteorology (especially flow past terrain and orographic precipitation), precipitation measurement with both in situ and remote sensing, and aviation weather (particularly the impact of thunderstorms on airline and airport operations), and employing heuristic, analytical, theoretical, and numerical approaches.
Prior to joining NCAR in 2006, Dr. Steiner held positions as Senior Research Scientist at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey (7/1995 – 7/2006), as Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington (2/1992 – 6/1995), and as Scientific Collaborator at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland (3/1985 – 12/1991). Dr. Steiner received his degrees (Dipl. Natw. ETH, 1985; Dr. sc. nat. ETH, 1991) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland.
Dr. Steiner has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in the leading journals of major professional societies on three continents (Europe, America, and Asia), and authored more than 160 conference papers, abstracts, and technical reports. His synergistic activities include serving on technical committees of professional societies, as organizer of national and international conferences, reviewer of countless scientific manuscripts submitted for publication to a wide range of journals (Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, Hydrology, Water Resources, Aviation), reviewer of research proposals submitted for funding to national and international agencies, and facilitator of best student paper awards.
Dr. Steiner’s dedication to the review process earned him the American Meteorological Society 2002 Editor’s Award for the Journal of Hydrometeorology. In addition, Dr. Steiner has been recognized for his outstanding contributions as a Fellow by both the Royal and American Meteorological Societies.
Dr. Steiner has extensive program and project management experience. In his current position, he is the Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, or person in charge of sponsored projects with a combined expenditure ranging between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000 per year (funding agencies have included: NSF, NASA, NOAA, FAA, ATEC, and international agencies).

Selected recent peer review publications
Steiner, M., A. R. S. Anderson, S. Landolt, S. Linden, and B. R. J. Schwedler,  Coping with adverse winter weather – Emerging capabilities in support of airport and airline operations,  The Journal of Air Traffic Control, 57(3), 36 – 45, 2015.
Pinto, J. O., J. A. Grim, and M. Steiner,  Assessment of the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model’s ability to predict mesoscale convective systems using object-based evaluation,  Weather and Forecasting, 30(4), 892 – 913, 2015.
Steiner, M., W. Deierling, K. Ikeda, and R. G. Bass,  Ground delays from lightning ramp closures and decision uncertainties,  Air Traffic Control Quarterly, 22(3), 223 – 249, 2015.
Ikeda, K., M. Steiner, J. Pinto, and C. Alexander,  Evaluation of cold-season precipitation forecasts generated by the hourly-updating High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model,  Weather and Forecasting, 28(4), 921 – 939, 2013.
Steiner, M., W. Deierling, and R. Bass,  Balancing safety and efficiency of airport operations under lightning threats,  The Journal of Air Traffic Control, 55(2), 16 – 23, 2013.
Keller, T. L., R. Rotunno, M. Steiner, and R. D. Sharman,  Upstream propagating wave modes in moist and dry flow over topography,  Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 69(10), 3060 – 3076, 2012.
Smith, J. A., M. L. Baeck, A. A. Ntelekos, G. Villarini, and M. Steiner,  Extreme rainfall from orographic thunderstorms in the Central Appalachians, Water Resources Research, 47(4), W04514, doi:10.1029/2010WR010190, 2011.
Steiner, M., R. Bateman, D. Megenhardt, Y. Liu, M. Xu, M. Pocernich, and J. Krozel,  Translation of ensemble weather forecasts into probabilistic air traffic capacity impact,  Air Traffic Control Quarterly, 18(3), 229 – 254, 2010.
Smith, J. A., E. Hui, M. Steiner, M. L. Baeck, W. F. Krajewski, and A. A. Ntelekos,  Variability of rainfall rate and raindrop size distributions in heavy rain,  Water Resources Research, 45(4), W04430, doi:10.1029/2008WR006840, 2009.
Saxen, T. R., C. K. Mueller, T. T. Warner, M. Steiner, E. E. Ellison, E. W. Hatfield, T. L. Betancourt, S. M. Dettling, and N. A. Oien,  The operational mesogamma-scale analysis and forecast system of the U.S. Army Evaluation Test and Evaluation Command. Part IV: The White Sands Missile Range Auto-Nowcast system,  Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 47(4), 1123 – 1139, 2008.
Javier, J. R. N., J. A. Smith, J. England, M. L. Baeck, M. Steiner, and A. A. Ntelekos,  Climatology of extreme rainfall and flooding from orographic thunderstorm systems in the upper Arkansas River basin,  Water Resources Research, 43(10), W10410, doi:10.1029/2006WR005093, 2007.
Sieck, L. C., S. J. Burges, and M. Steiner,  Challenges in obtaining reliable measurements of point rainfall,  Water Resources Research, 43(1), W01420, doi:10.1029/2005WR004519, 2007.
National Research Council,  NOAA's Role in Space-Based Global Precipitation Estimation and Application,  The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 166 pp., 2007.
National Research Council,  Assessment of the Benefits of Extending the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission: A Perspective from the Research and Operations Communities—Interim Report,  The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 116 pp., 2006.
Steiner, M.,  Estimation of precipitation using ground-based, active microwave sensors,  Encyclopedia of Hydrologic Sciences, M. G. Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Vol. 2, 951 – 964, 2005.
Steiner, M., and J. A. Smith,  Scale-dependence of radar rainfall rates — An assessment based on raindrop spectra,  Journal of Hydrometeorology, 5(6), 1171 – 1180, 2004.
Steiner, M., J. A. Smith, and R. Uijlenhoet,  A microphysical interpretation of radar reflectivity – rain rate relationships,  Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 61(10), 1114 – 1131, 2004.
Steiner, M., T. L. Bell, Y. Zhang, and E. F. Wood,  Comparison of two methods for estimating the sampling-related uncertainty of satellite rainfall averages based on a large radar data set,  Journal of Climate, 16(22), 3759 – 3778, 2003.
Uijlenhoet, R., J. A. Smith, and M. Steiner,  The microphysical structure of extreme precipitation as inferred from ground-based raindrop spectra,  Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 60(10), 1220 – 1238, 2003.
Steiner, M., O. Bousquet, R. A. Houze Jr., B. F. Smull, and M. Mancini,  Airflow within major Alpine river valleys under heavy rainfall,  Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 129(588), 411 – 432, 2003.
Uijlenhoet, R., M. Steiner, and J. A. Smith,  Variability of raindrop size distributions in a squall line and implications for radar rainfall estimation,  Journal of Hydrometeorology, 4(1), 43 – 61, 2003.
Steiner, M., and J. A. Smith,  Use of three-dimensional reflectivity structure for automated detection and removal of nonprecipitating echoes in radar data,  Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 19(5), 673 – 686, 2002.
Steiner, M., and J. A. Smith,  Reflectivity, rain rate, and kinetic energy flux relationships based on raindrop spectra,  Journal of Applied Meteorology, 39(11), 1923 – 1940, 2000.
Steiner, M., J. A. Smith, S. J. Burges, C. V. Alonso, and R. W. Darden,  Effect of bias adjustment and rain gauge data quality control on radar rainfall estimation,  Water Resources Research, 35(8), 2487 – 2503, 1999.
Steiner, M., and J. A. Smith,  Convective versus stratiform rainfall: An ice-microphysical and kinematic conceptual model,  Atmospheric Research, 47 – 48, 317 – 326, 1998.
Smith, J. A., M. L. Baeck, M. Steiner, and A. J. Miller,  Catastrophic rainfall from an upslope thunderstorm in the central Appalachians: The Rapidan storm of June 27, 1995,  Water Resources Research, 32(10), 3099 – 3113, 1996.
Steiner, M., R. A. Houze Jr., and S. E. Yuter,  Climatological characterization of three-dimensional storm structure from operational radar and rain gauge data,  Journal of Applied Meteorology, 34(9), 1978 – 2007, 1995.