MS 1999; PhD 2005
VP Future Experience, HARMAN
After the Media Lab, Stefan spent five years as a project leader and principal researcher at Samsung R&D in San Jose, CA. He was affiliated with the secretive Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Korea, and was in charge of initiating and managing HCI research projects with his team of Ph.D. researchers. He then went on to become the Director for Future Concepts and Prototyping at Palm, from 2011 to 2012. He led teams of end-to-end prototyping and research engineers, UI prototyping engineers, and UI production developers the WebOS Human Interface group. He created working systems of future interaction methods and contributed to strategic roadmaps across all of Palm/HP. His projects were in the fields of wand and pen input, mobile 3D interfaces, remote multi-touch interfaces, and more.
Stefan joined HARMAN International (now a business division of Samsung) 5 years ago, and makes it his job to create future product opportunities for all HARMAN brands, and beyond. He founded and is leading HARMAN's famous Future Experience (FX) team, located strategically in the Silicon Valley, in order to "future-proof" all UX at HARMAN. The group does top-down vision driven UX R&D and prototyping, and claims to be the most forward looking team in all of HARMAN.
How did your experience at the Lab influence your next step?
The Media Lab enabled and launched my career. Period. Without the Media Lab, I would not be where I am now. As a wise ML leader once predicted, ever since I left the Lab, I continuously attempt to re-create the environment, the mentality, and the innovation of the Lab in my own corporate research groups.
You are extremely lucky! Enjoy your time at the Lab, every second of it, and create deep friendships and connections to your peers. After graduating, maintain these relationships carefully, because through your peers, you will always stay at the center of innovation. Experience shows that because of the Media Lab, you and your peers will make a dent in the universe, for the better!