Maarten Steinbuch studied Mechanical Engineering at Delft University of Technology where he graduated cum laude in 1984 and obtained his PhD in 1989.

From 2006-2017 he acted as scientific director of the 4TU Research Centre High Tech Systems[2] of 4TU, the Federation of Dutch Technical Universities.

In 2013 he was appointed Distinguished University Professor at TU/e and in 2014 Scientific Director of the TU/e High Tech Systems Center,[3] which was established on his initiative.

He developed predictive models and implemented these in an integrated design strategy, taking into account all phenomena relevant to the robot's performance.

The design methodology of motion feedforward control was further explored for cooperative driving applications,[7] resulting in a highly cited 2010 IEEE Trans.

He was Editor-in-Chief of the leading journal IFAC Mechatronics[12] (2008-2015), and Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology[13] (2003-2008).

He is member of advisory and supervisory boards at multiple companies and foundations[14] and (co-)founded start-up companies including MI-Partners, Mechatronics Academy, Steinbuch in Motion, Eindhoven Medical Robotics, Preceyes The latter three are in the field of high precision surgical robotics, eye surgery (Preceyes), and vascular surgery (Microsure).

In his view of the next generation university[17] academia becomes an open innovation space and co-creation hotspot with part time positions for ‘residents’ from industry, art, government, and societal institutions.

He is a regular guest at Dutch national radio and television programmes such as the prime-time show De Wereld Draait Door and is often interviewed in newspapers.