Australia really has a strong presence in the automotive industry, with many foreigners reaching the top of their field in a variety of roles.
This week, Todd Willing was promoted. Ford Design Directorbecomes the second Australian to currently lead the future vehicle design team in Detroit, after Mike Simcoe was appointed General Motors’ design chief in 2016.
We also recently welcomed Jess Bala back home as managing director of GM Australia and New Zealand, after nearly a decade at General in Detroit.
There are countless other Australians making a name for themselves in the industry, but Dr Stella Clarke is doing it through an unusual route that could revolutionise automotive colour.
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Dr. Clarke used Electronic ink – a technology most commonly used in e-readers like the Kindle – and applying it to BMW concept cars, such as the iX Flow, I Vision Dee and i5 Flow Nostokana.
It not only allows for changing the exterior color of the vehicle, but also allows for unique designs and functional components such as charging status displays.
Dr Clarke – who studied Mechatronics at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney before earning a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from Penn State University in the US, and finally a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Munich – started working at BMW after failing to find a job that matched his qualifications in Australia.
“There were very few jobs in the Australian automotive industry and at that time there were actually a few jobs at Holden, but there weren’t really many jobs,” Dr Clarke said. Car expert.
“Unfortunately I had to go overseas, and to this day I say if I got this job in Australia I would stay here straight away.
“My first job at BMW was to develop a series of interior mechatronic components, such as user interface (UI) components. For example, the radio unit of the F25 BMW X3 (2011-2017).
“Back then, this little thing had a CD slot, buttons, and lights. It was basically a mechatronic component, so I was responsible for developing that and a few other interior components.”
There have been significant changes in car interiors over the past two decades and Dr Clarke has been at the forefront of BMW’s efforts to meet consumer needs while creating industry breakthroughs.
“UI is something that the consumer interacts with directly. It’s not like it’s somewhere behind the scenes with just technology.
“It’s something that you definitely have to work on what the consumer wants and also what’s good for the consumer in terms of a safe user interface so they can focus on driving.
“I’ve seen us move from a huge amount of buttons and switches in the interior, to BMW iDrive full of buttons in the center console, and now coming into the Neue Klasse, where everything is cleaned up, minimal, with only the necessary buttons.
“A panoramic display is coming, [it’s] extremely creative and never done before and coming to the series [production]. I actually got to see the insides being cleaned and sanitized, and was able to play a big part in that development because I was also responsible for the touch and feel inside.”
Instead of being tasked with developing the E Ink exterior, Dr. Clarke had to take the initiative to bring his ideas to BMW’s top brass.
What started as a hobby project in her spare time earned her a small salary after doing internal presentations and demonstrations with BMW executives, and ended up in an exhibition.
But there was still one hurdle to overcome. On the eve of her revolutionary idea being unveiled in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the exhibition and Dr Clarke flew back to Australia.
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iX Flow
But like many people in quarantine, she dug deeper into her passion project while stuck in a hotel room for 14 days, making a product launch video and boldly sending it to some of BMW’s senior executives.
Instead of looking down on her, the right people listened and saw her vision, empowering her to develop prototypes that eventually led to the birth of iX Flow that the world witnessed in 2022.
“If you have a new idea, you often doubt yourself and don’t know how the world will react to it,” Dr. Clarke reflects.
“And even within the company, I don’t think they knew how the world would react to it. So we’re extremely, extremely proud of this car. [iX Flow].
“We’ve won a lot of awards, won a lot of innovation awards from Time Magazine to things that we’re particularly proud of as a pretty tech-savvy team, like The Verge And UtilitiesThese are the magazines we love to read and enjoy.
“It was really a hobby project up until then, but now it’s become my full-time job. The i Vision Dee that came after was also challenging – it was a completely different stack, a completely new pitch, it took months for us to learn how to work with the materials.
“We’re incredibly proud to have done so much in-house – a lot of concept cars these days are designed by OEMs and then manufactured by an outside company, so we’re really proud of the young team we’ve assembled so dynamically to create this car.”
Dr Clarke’s most recent collaboration was with South African Ndebele artist Esther Mahlangu, who designed one of BMW’s famous ‘Art Cars’ in 1991, the E34 525i.
While BMW and Dr Clarke are the most notable companies using E Ink technology, the Australian has mixed feelings about what would happen if another carmaker brought a similar system to production first.
“That’s not nice. I wouldn’t be happy with that.
“On the one hand, it’s like a confirmation that the idea isn’t that bad if other people want to copy it. We know of a company that’s doing it, I’m probably not allowed to say which one.
“It’s an honor that they think it’s cool too. And we’re pretty sure someone else thinks it’s cool too, so we know there are competitions for it in both the automotive sector and other sectors like architecture and fashion.”
With the help of another Australian and many others within the BMW ranks, Dr Clarke has simple advice for anyone in Australia looking to break into the automotive industry.
“I think there are a lot of things you can do to get into a company like BMW, and the path of least resistance for anyone living in Australia is just to apply online. That’s one way to do it.
“If you really want to get a little exposure to Germany or BMW or the automotive industry, I really recommend if you are in engineering college, go to Germany for a semester.
“Germany is very inclusive in terms of education. They have the idea that your parents’ salary should not affect whether you go to university or not. I really like that and I think it’s even quite reasonable for international students, so don’t overlook Germany as a place to go and a place to study engineering.”
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